Advance elements of the government army reached Carlisle on 21 December, but siege operations were delayed until their heavy artillery arrived six days later.

He held a commission in the French army from 1728 to 1736, which had been renewed in 1744, and the Jacobite cavalry officer Sir John MacDonald viewed him as having "the greatest intelligence and prudence" of those on Prince Charles' staff.

The Duke of Newcastle later suggested the garrison was made up of 'the worst of their troops;' many of the Manchester recruits were unarmed, while a subsequent inventory showed most of the 46 pieces of artillery available were unused, as the defenders had plenty of powder but very little ammunition.

[6] On 21 December, advance elements of Cumberland's army arrived outside the town; over the next few days, their numbers increased to over 5,000, including a contingent from Newcastle under George Wade.

[7] Taking even a rundown fort was not easy, a fact acknowledged by Cumberland, who wanted to prosecute the civic officials who surrendered the town to the Jacobites in November, despite their complete lack of siege equipment.

The Duke of Richmond, grandson of Charles II and one of Cumberland's officers, wrote to Newcastle on 24 December predicting the capture of Carlisle would take some time.

[8] In contests between regular armies, the garrison would have surrendered on terms, which at the minimum meant being treated as prisoners of war; as rebels, Cumberland only granted their lives, subject to the 'King's pleasure' ie they would not be summarily executed but receive a trial.

[16] One of those captured at Carlisle was Richard Riding, an 24 year old unemployed weaver who joined the Manchester Regiment in November 1745; in May 1747, he was one of 150 Jacobites transported to the West Indies.