Thursday, 11 June 2020
Battle of Prestonpans - 20th September 1745
On the Gilroy side of our family the majority of our earliest known ancestors hail from Haddingtonshire in the late 1600's and early/mid 1700s. It is unlikely that any of them took part in the Battle but about 36 of them were possibly alive when the battle took place. The families that may have been impacted are Allan, Cairncross, Crumbie, Jackson and Turnbull. The impact on their lives must have been tremendous, especially those residing in Prestonpans and Tranent. The effect of the arrival of the 2 armies comprising upwards of 5,000 men must have had a big impact on the local economy. They would certainly have been effected by the aftermath because the Jacobites ordered the local populace to gather the fallen and bury them on the beach. The link below is to one of the more lucid sites about the battle.
