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'A Race from Prestonpans to Berwick' (Sir John Cope, Brigadier-General Fowkes, Colonel Lascelles and Lord Mark Kerr)

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About this artwork

This humorous print shows Sir John Cope, Brigadier General Fawkes and Colonel Lascelles as they encounter Lord Mark Kerr. The three on galloping horses look worried as they meet Kerr who apparently exclaimed: “Good God! I have seen some battles, heard of many, but never of the first news of a defeat being brought by the general officers before”. The generals had abandoned their troops at Prestonpans leaving the Jacobites to defeat their men in a bloody battle that lasted just fifteen minutes. Although Cope did not desert his troops, Fawkes and Lascelles made for Berwick. A separate group fled towards Edinburgh and galloped straight up the High Street and into the castle. This image, although not an accurate recording, is contemporary and combines such events into an entertaining print.

Updated before 2020

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