John & Noreen Hamilton - Scottish History: Strange But True

When Charles Edward Stuart went south in England after Prestonpans and the victory, he mustered troops in Manchester called the Manchester Regiment. They disbanded by the time the army got back after the retreat. The retreat happened because there were reports by a spy of a ''ghost army'', which frightened the clan chiefs. The spy alerted the chiefs about an incoming army, so they fled back to Scotland after reaching Derby. Charles was adamant that they should progress to London, but the chiefs had been spooked. Also, John O'Sullivan, the third in command was a terrible tactician and so Charles had many clowns in his ranks. He was essentially let down by his own men, such is the nature of leaving a council of arrogant fiends fiercely object to the main goal. Charles was a military man and had grown up watching battles as a child.