He made no change in his
line, but wheeling it as it stood upon the right wing, he marched it up
the slope on to this new ground in the face of the enemy.[100] His
position was now better than it had been; but it was bad enough. The
river was in his rear, and behind the river the inhospitable mountains.
His only way of escape, should the day go against him, lay through that
terrible pass up which, with no enemy to harass him, he had just climbed
with infinite toil. He could hardly hope to make good his retreat down
such a road with a victorious army maddening in his rear. In the
preliminary game of tactics he had been completely out-manoeuvred by
his old comrade.
The clans were now forming for battle. The Macleans of Duart held the
post of honour on the right wing. Next to the Macleans stood Cannon with
his Irish. Then came the men of Clanranald, the men of Glengarry, and
the Camerons. The left wing was composed of the Macdonalds of Sleat and
some more Macleans. In the centre was the cavalry, commanded not as
hitherto by the gallant Dunfermline, but by a gentleman bearing the
illustrious name of Wallace. He had crossed from Ireland with Cannon;
but nothing is heard of him till apparently on the very morning of the
day he produced a commission from James superseding the Earl of
Dunfermline in favour of Sir William Wallace of Craigie.
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