In September 1715, a group of Jacobite plotters came astonishingly close to seizing one of Britain‘s most important fortresses. Their plan was careful and well-funded, and it was ruined by a ladder that fell short.
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The scheme relied on bribery. A sergeant and two soldiers inside Edinburgh Castle agreed to help, in exchange for money. During their night watch, they planned to let a small group of Jacobites in through an old side gate.
The plotters built a wide rope ladder, big enough for several men to climb side by side. The plan was simple. Throw the ladder up to the sentry. He would pull it up and tie it firmly to the wall.
One conspirator became nervous before the attack and told his wife about the plan. She quietly sent the authorities an anonymous warning. It arrived at the castle shortly before the attack was due to begin. This gave the garrison just enough time to double the guard.
That alone might not have stopped the plot. What truly ruined it was a merchant named Charles Forbes. He had been given the job of bringing part of the rope ladder to the meeting point that night. Instead, Forbes lingered in a tavern, drinking to the plan’s success. He never turned up.
Roughly 80 Jacobites were still expecting Forbes and his missing section. They climbed the castle rock anyway and settled at the base of the wall to wait. They hoped he would still arrive in time. He never did.
When the sentry finally hauled up the ladder they had, it was far too short for the men below to reach it. It was missing exactly the section Forbes was meant to bring.
Realising the plan had collapsed and fearing he would be caught, the sentry let the ladder fall from the wall, fired his pistol into the air and raised the alarm himself, shouting that the next guard was about to arrive and that he could help them no longer.
Most of the plotters scattered into the night. Only a handful were caught. Among them was an injured former army officer, who had fallen on the steep rock face, and two Edinburgh lawyers who were unlucky enough to still be nearby.