Jacobite Rising of 1715
Encyclopedia
The Jacobite rising of 1715, often referred to as The 'Fifteen, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart
(also called the Old Pretender) to regain the British
throne for the exiled House of Stuart
.
The Glorious Revolution
of 1688–89 resulted in the Roman Catholic Stuart king, James II of England and VII of Scotland
, fleeing to exile in France under the protection of Louis XIV
. James' daughter and her husband, who was also James's nephew, ascended the British throne as joint sovereigns William and Mary
. In 1690 Presbyterianism was established as the state religion of Scotland. The Act of Settlement 1701
settled the succession of the English throne on the Protestant House of Hanover
. The Act of Union 1707 applied the Act of Settlement to Scotland. With the death of Queen Anne
in 1714, the Elector of Hanover, George I
, succeeded to the British throne. The accession of George I ushered in the Whig supremacy, with the Tories deprived of all political power. The new Whig regime sought to prosecute members of the 1710–1714 Tory ministry for financial irregularities, with Robert Harley being imprisoned in the Tower of London
and Lord Bolingbroke
fleeing to France before arrest. Bolingbroke became the Pretender's Secretary of State and accepted an earldom from him.
On 14 March 1715, the Pretender appealed to Pope Clement XI
for help for a Jacobite rising: "It is not so much a devoted son, oppressed by the injustices of his enemies, as a persecuted Church threatened with destruction, which appeals for the protection and help of its worthy pontiff". On 19 August Bolingbroke wrote to the Pretender: "Things are hastening to that point, that either you, Sir, at the head of the Tories, must save the Church and Constitution of England or both must be irretrievably lost for ever". The Pretender believed the Duke of Marlborough
would join him when he landed in Scotland, writing to the Duke of Berwick
on 23 August: "I think it is now more than ever Now or Never".
sailed from London to Scotland and on 27 August at Braemar
held the first council of war. On 6 September at Braemar Mar raised the standard of "James the 8th and 3rd", accompanied by 600 supporters.
In response Parliament
suspended habeas corpus
and passed an Act that gave tenants who refused to support the Jacobites the land of their landlord if he was a Jacobite. Some of Mar's tenants travelled to Edinburgh to prove their loyalty and acquire title to their land.
, Gordon Castle
, Aberdeen
and Dundee
, although they were unable to capture Fort William
. In Edinburgh Castle
were arms for up to 10,000 men and £100,000 paid to Scotland when she entered the Union with England. Lord Drummond, with 80 Jacobites, tried under the cover of night to take the Castle, although the Governor of the Castle learnt of their plans and successfully defended it.
By October, Mar's forces (nearly 20,000) had taken control of all Scotland above the Firth of Forth
, apart from Stirling Castle
. However Mar was indecisive and the capture of Perth
and the move south by 2,000 men were probably decided by subordinates. Mar's indecisiveness gave the Hanoverian forces under the command of the Duke of Argyll
time to increase their strength.
On 22 October Mar received his commission from James appointing him commander of the Jacobite army. The Jacobite army outnumbered Argyll's forces by three-to-one and Mar decided to march on Stirling Castle. On 13 November at Sheriffmuir
, the two forces joined in battle
. The fighting was indecisive but nearing the end of the battle the Jacobites numbered 4,000 men, compared to Argyll's 1,000. Mar's army began to close in on Argyll's forces, who were poorly protected, but Mar did not order them to advance, possibly believing that he had won the battle already (Argyll had lost 660 men, three times as many as Mar's). Mar then retreated to Perth. On the same day as the Battle of Sherrifmuir, Inverness surrendered to Hanoverian forces and the English Jacobite forces were defeated at Preston
.
. The government sent reinforcements to Bristol
, Southampton
and Plymouth
to ensure they did not fall into Jacobite hands. Oxford
was a city famous for its monarchist sentiment and was held by the government to be favourable to the Pretender, and so on 17 October General Pepper led the dragoons into the city and arrested some leading Jacobites without resistance.
the day after.
James's son Charles Edward Stuart
attempted to win the throne for his father in 1745 in another Jacobite rising
but this failed. James died in 1766.
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
(also called the Old Pretender) to regain the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
throne for the exiled House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
Background
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688–89 resulted in the Roman Catholic Stuart king, James II of England and VII of Scotland
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, fleeing to exile in France under the protection of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. James' daughter and her husband, who was also James's nephew, ascended the British throne as joint sovereigns William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
. In 1690 Presbyterianism was established as the state religion of Scotland. The Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
settled the succession of the English throne on the Protestant House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. The Act of Union 1707 applied the Act of Settlement to Scotland. With the death of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
in 1714, the Elector of Hanover, George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, succeeded to the British throne. The accession of George I ushered in the Whig supremacy, with the Tories deprived of all political power. The new Whig regime sought to prosecute members of the 1710–1714 Tory ministry for financial irregularities, with Robert Harley being imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
and Lord Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...
fleeing to France before arrest. Bolingbroke became the Pretender's Secretary of State and accepted an earldom from him.
On 14 March 1715, the Pretender appealed to Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
for help for a Jacobite rising: "It is not so much a devoted son, oppressed by the injustices of his enemies, as a persecuted Church threatened with destruction, which appeals for the protection and help of its worthy pontiff". On 19 August Bolingbroke wrote to the Pretender: "Things are hastening to that point, that either you, Sir, at the head of the Tories, must save the Church and Constitution of England or both must be irretrievably lost for ever". The Pretender believed the Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
would join him when he landed in Scotland, writing to the Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
on 23 August: "I think it is now more than ever Now or Never".
Raising the standard
Despite receiving no commission from James to start the rising, the Earl of MarJohn Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 22nd and de jure 6th Earl of Mar, KT , Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the 21st Earl of Mar , from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. By modern reckoning he was 22nd Earl of Mar of the first creation and de jure 6th Earl of Mar of the seventh...
sailed from London to Scotland and on 27 August at Braemar
Braemar
Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....
held the first council of war. On 6 September at Braemar Mar raised the standard of "James the 8th and 3rd", accompanied by 600 supporters.
In response Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
suspended habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
and passed an Act that gave tenants who refused to support the Jacobites the land of their landlord if he was a Jacobite. Some of Mar's tenants travelled to Edinburgh to prove their loyalty and acquire title to their land.
Struggle for Scotland
In central Scotland, the Jacobites were successful. They took InvernessInverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Gordon Castle
Gordon Castle
Gordon Castle is located in Gight, near Fochabers in Moray, Scotland. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight, it was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, although they were unable to capture Fort William
Fort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
. In Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
were arms for up to 10,000 men and £100,000 paid to Scotland when she entered the Union with England. Lord Drummond, with 80 Jacobites, tried under the cover of night to take the Castle, although the Governor of the Castle learnt of their plans and successfully defended it.
By October, Mar's forces (nearly 20,000) had taken control of all Scotland above the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, apart from Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
. However Mar was indecisive and the capture of Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
and the move south by 2,000 men were probably decided by subordinates. Mar's indecisiveness gave the Hanoverian forces under the command of the Duke of Argyll
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
time to increase their strength.
On 22 October Mar received his commission from James appointing him commander of the Jacobite army. The Jacobite army outnumbered Argyll's forces by three-to-one and Mar decided to march on Stirling Castle. On 13 November at Sheriffmuir
Sheriffmuir
Sheriffmuir , the site of the inconclusive 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir , lies on the slopes of the Ochil Hills just inside the Perthshire border in Scotland...
, the two forces joined in battle
Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...
. The fighting was indecisive but nearing the end of the battle the Jacobites numbered 4,000 men, compared to Argyll's 1,000. Mar's army began to close in on Argyll's forces, who were poorly protected, but Mar did not order them to advance, possibly believing that he had won the battle already (Argyll had lost 660 men, three times as many as Mar's). Mar then retreated to Perth. On the same day as the Battle of Sherrifmuir, Inverness surrendered to Hanoverian forces and the English Jacobite forces were defeated at Preston
Battle of Preston (1715)
The Battle of Preston , also referred to as the Preston Fight, was fought during the Jacobite Rising of 1715 ....
.
England
Amongst the leaders of a Jacobite conspiracy for a rising in western England were three peers and six MPs. On the night of 2 October the government arrested the leaders and on the day after easily obtained Parliament's permission for these arrests. Included among those arrested was the head of the English Jacobites, Sir William WyndhamSir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet
Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet , English politician, was the only son of Sir Edward Wyndham, Bart., a grandson of Sir William Wyndham and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, who was created a baronet in 1661.Educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, he...
. The government sent reinforcements to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to ensure they did not fall into Jacobite hands. Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
was a city famous for its monarchist sentiment and was held by the government to be favourable to the Pretender, and so on 17 October General Pepper led the dragoons into the city and arrested some leading Jacobites without resistance.
Aftermath
On 22 December the Pretender landed in Scotland but by the time he arrived at Perth on 9 January 1716, the Jacobite army numbered less than 5,000. In contrast, Argyll's forces had acquired heavy artillery and were advancing quickly. Mar decided to burn a number of villages inbetween Perth and Stirling, so as to deprive Argyll's army of supplies. On 30 January Mar led the Jacobite army northwards out of Perth and on 4 February the Pretender wrote a farewell letter to Scotland, sailing from MontroseMontrose
-Places:Scotland* Montrose, AngusAustralia* Montrose, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart* Montrose, Victoria, a suburb of MelbourneCanada* Montrose, British Columbia* Montrose , neighborhood in Edmonton, Alberta* Montrose No...
the day after.
James's son Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
attempted to win the throne for his father in 1745 in another Jacobite rising
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
but this failed. James died in 1766.
Further reading
- Daniel Szechi, 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion (Yale University Press, 2006).