Note 394 — A TRUE ACCOUNT OF MR. JOHN DANIEL’S PROGRESS WITH PRINCE CHARLES

The colonel appointed was Francis Towneley, an English Roman Catholic; b. 1709; fifth son of Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Lancashire; went to France 1728, and entered the French army; served at the siege of Philipsbourg under the Duke of Berwick, but after the peace following the War of the Polish Succession, returned to England, and lived privately in Wales until 1745. The French king sent him a colonel’s commission about the time of the intended invasion of 1744. (See Towneley MSS., privately printed.) He was given command of the Manchester regiment, as told here; was left governor of the town of Carlisle when the army retreated to Scotland in December; entirely opposed to surrendering to Cumberland, flying into a passion with Hamilton, the governor of the castle (see pp. 118, 193), and declaring ‘that it was better to die by the sword than to fall into the hands of those damned Hanovarians.’ (Evidence at Trial.) At Hamilton’s trial evidence was given that he too desired to hold out to the last, but was overruled by his officers. Towneley was tried at Southwark in July 1746; pled that his French commission entitled him to be treated as a prisoner of war, not a rebel; but this was repelled as, being an Englishman born, it was illegal to serve a sovereign at war with the British king; executed on Kennington Common, July 30th, and Hamilton on Nov. 15th.