[5] Elcho left Winchester in 1738 for Reims, followed by a period at the French military academy in Angers, a popular location for young British noblemen.

"[7] This changed in the late 1730s, as French statesmen sought to reduce British commercial strength, whose growth was considered a threat to the European balance of power.

French defeat at Dettingen in June 1743 prompted efforts by Louis XV to divert British resources from mainland Europe, including an invasion of England in early 1744 to restore the Stuarts.

[9] James gave Elcho a commission as Colonel of dragoons, but the French fleet was severely damaged by winter storms in March and the plan was abandoned.

[10] Elcho returned to Edinburgh in December 1744, where he joined the Freemasons and the newly-formed pro-Jacobite Buck Club, whose members included his former Winchester classmate James Hamilton.

[11] The Club urged him not to do so, unless he brought 6,000 French troops, money and weapons; Charles Stewart, 5th Earl of Traquair (1699–1764), agreed to communicate this to the Prince but failed to do so.

[14] Elcho was appointed aide-de-camp and a member of the Council of War; made up of 15-20 senior leaders, it was dominated by the Highland chiefs and Perthshire lords who provided most of their manpower.

[15] Divisions within the Jacobite leadership were apparent even at this early stage, Charles warning him against Lord George Murray, who he claimed had joined only to 'better betray the cause.

On 3 May, Elcho, Lord George Murray and other Jacobites were picked up by two French ships, Le Mars and Bellone, who fought their way out past four Royal Navy vessels.

'[17] Charles escaped from Scotland in October but the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 ended French support for the Stuart cause, while the Scots no longer trusted him.

[2] The former Jacobite leaders argued bitterly over responsibility for the Rising's failure, and Charles refused to reimburse Elcho for the money advanced at Edinburgh in 1745.

[20] He left two manuscripts, a journal in French, covering the principal years of his life and "A Short Account of the Affairs of Scotland, 1745-1746;" edited by Evan Charteris, this was first published in 1907.