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1922 IN THE ' FORTY -FIVE' 381 defence of Fort William. There Scott had shown himself a master of his profession, active, resolute, bold, and wary. It was perhaps only a small occasion, but the service which Scott had rendered at a critical time was great. For nearly a month Fort William had held a large part of the rebel force, and its successful defence had baulked them of their hopes. Lest Cumberland's praise may be deemed prejudiced, let us take the opinion of Lord Albe- marle, who had known Scott years before at Gibraltar and described him in 1746 as ' a very pretty man and a diligent officer '.* A soldier of Scott's courage and resource might have been expected to rise far. That, however, was not to be his good fortune. He was promoted major in his own regiment, and in 1749 was transferred as Lieutenant -Colonel to the 29th Foot. On 11 Octo- ber 1752, when he is described as ' Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland and a gentleman of distinguished abilities and character ', Scott was appointed by the East India Company to be engineer -general of all their forts in the East Indies. 2 He was also given the command of all their forces in Bengal with a seat on the council ; and the court at Calcutta were directed to treat him with the respect due to his distinguished merit and abilities. Scott reached Calcutta in September 1753, when his first task was to draw out a plan for the defence of another Fort William. 3 In March 1754 he went on a visit of inspection to Madras, where two months later he died of fever. 4 His plans for the defence of Fort William were in consequence of his death left unfinished, and the failure to complete them was a contribu- tory cause of the disaster, two years later, which he had in part foreseen. A nephew, Ensign William Scott, perished in the tragedy of the Black Hole at Calcutta. Caroline Scott during the short time that he was in India had impressed all with his ability. He was one of the first, if not the first, to realize the possibility of the conquest of Bengal. 5 Had he lived his name would almost certainly have ranked high amongst the founders of our Indian Empire. Yet after all Scott has only shared the fate of his patron and general. Cumberland has been branded with the name of ' butcher ', and the invaluable service which he rendered in Scotland by force of his own personality has been too often forgotten. Much of the vilification comes again from Jacobite sources. Bishop Forbes, in The Lyon in Mourning, repeats a story which he heard at the dinner-table five years later, of how 1 Albemarle Papers, i. 270. 2 Old Fort William in Bengal, ii. 244, ed. C. R. Wilson (Indian Records Series). 3 Ibid. i. 255 ; ii. 4, 14-18, 72, with a copy of the plan drawn under his direction. 4 Ibid. ii. 4, 9, 13. 5 Ibid. ii. 73. Scott was the officer to whom Clive was to have been second in command when he returned to India in 1755.