centre. Attacked on three sides, they were over-run in less than 15 minutes, with their retreat blocked by the park walls to their rear; government losses were 300 to 500 killed or wounded and 500 to 600 taken prisoner. Unable to rally his troops, Cope left the field with his artillery commander, Colonel Whitefoord, while his infantry commander Peregrine Lascelles fought his way out. Joined by Fowke and the dragoons, they reached Berwick-upon-Tweed the next day with some 450 survivors. Several hours after the battle, Cope wrote to Tweeddale; I cannot reproach myself; the manner in which the enemy came on was quicker than can be described...and the cause of our men taking on a destructive panic... He was replaced as commander in Scotland first by Roger Handasyd, then Henry Hawley, who was also over-run by the Highland charge at Falkirk Muir in January 1746. Cope had retained his ability to make friends in high places; by inviting him to a public reception, George II indicated his personal support. Tried by a court-martial in 1746, the only witness against Cope was the mathematician Richard Jack, whose testimony was discounted owing to his exaggeration of his own accomplishments and the lack of corroboration. In the end, all three officers were exonerated, the Court ruling that the defeat had occurred due to the 'shameful conduct of the private soldiers'. Despite this, Cope never held field command again, although Lascelles and Fowke continued their careers. A modern historian has summarised the Report's findings as follows: Legacy In 1751, Cope was appointed Governor of Limerick, and deputy to Viscount Molesworth, commander of the army in Ireland; neither post required residence, and he seems to have quietly accepted the end of his career. Writing to Fowke on 19 July 1753, he states 'I am just as desirous not to be employed, as those who could employ me are unwilling to do it, so in that we are perfectly agreed.' He also suffered from severe gout, a common illness at the time; another letter dated 8 July 1755 mentions his residence in Bath, whose Spa waters were a favourite remedy for invalids. Many perceptions of Cope's responsibility for Prestonpans come from third party accounts, none of whom were present, and often written with specific objectives. In his 1747 book Life of Colonel Gardiner, Nonconformist minister Philip Doddridge turned evangelical convert Gardiner into a Christian hero, largely