Cope General Sir John

Cope, General Sir John, K.C.B., appears to have entered the army in 1707 and to have been colonel of the 7th Foot. He was in command of the king's forces in Scotland when the rebellion of 1745 broke out, and fell back before the Pretender as far as Preston Pans near Edinburgh. Here he trusted to a marsh to protect his front, and was consequently surprised and defeated. Though acquitted by a council of inquiry, he was much blamed for this disaster, but was afterwards employed in Ireland. He died in 1760, and his fame is preserved in the popular Scottish song, "Johnnie Cope."