War of the Austrian Succession in 1741, he was offered command of British land forces sent to capture Cartagena de Indias in the West Indies but turned it down. Why he did so is unclear, although it was a notoriously unhealthy posting; the expedition ended in failure, with over 9,000 deaths from yellow fever. Instead, he served in Flanders as deputy to Sir John Cope, commander of the cavalry reserve at the victory of Dettingen in June 1743. In December, Cope was appointed military commander in Scotland and Hawley made second-in-command of the cavalry under Cumberland. At Fontenoy in April 1745, the British cavalry was a spectator for most of the battle; after Hawley took over command from Cumberland, his handling of the cavalry enabled the Allied infantry to retreat in good order. Fontenoy was a defeat but enhanced his reputation. 1745 Jacobite Rising The Jacobite rising of 1745 began in July when Charles Edward Stuart landed in Scotland; in September, he defeated Sir John Cope at Prestonpans. The Jacobite army then invaded England, reaching Derby on 4 December before retreating into Scotland due to lack of English or French support. Hawley was among the troops that returned to Britain and was present at the Clifton Moor skirmish on 18 December; two days later, he was appointed commander-in-chief in Scotland. The immediate objective was to secure Lowland Scotland and on 6 January Hawley arrived in Edinburgh; he had about 8,000 troops available locally, plus 2,000 militia with the Earl of Loudoun near Inverness. The Jacobites were besieging Stirling Castle and on 13 January, he ordered 4,000 troops under John Huske (1692-1761) to move towards its relief. Hawley's previous experience at Sheriffmuir in 1715 led him to overestimate the vulnerability of Highland infantry to cavalry while he seriously underestimated their fighting qualities. This overconfidence contributed to his defeat at Falkirk Muir on 17 January, which started late in the afternoon in poor light and heavy snow and was marked by confusion on both sides. Hawley's artillery became stuck in the mud and were abandoned by their gunners, while his dragoons charged the Jacobite right. They were repulsed in disorder, scattering their own infantry but his right under Huske held its ground, retrieved the artillery and withdrew in good order, helped when the Highlanders stopped to loot the baggage train. Neither he or Cumberland viewed Falkirk as a serious defeat but a