Jacobite rising
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England
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...
, and later his descendants of the 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...
, to the throne after he was deposed by Parliament during the Glorious Revolution
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...
. The series of conflicts takes its name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
The major Jacobite Risings were called the Jacobite Rebellions by the ruling governments. The "First Jacobite Rebellion" and "Second Jacobite Rebellion" were known respectively as "The Fifteen" and "The Forty-Five", after the years in which they occurred (1715 and 1745).
Although each Jacobite Rising had unique features, they were part of a larger series of military campaigns by Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
attempting to restore the Stuart kings to the thrones of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(and after 1707, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
). James VII of Scotland and II of England was deposed in 1688 and the thrones were claimed by his daughter Mary II
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
jointly with her husband, the Dutch-born William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
.
After the 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...
succeeded to the British throne
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
in 1714, the risings continued, and intensified. They continued until the last Jacobite Rebellion ("the Forty-Five"), led by 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...
(the Young Pretender), who was soundly defeated at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
in 1746. This ended any realistic hope of a Stuart restoration.
"Glorious Revolution"
From the second half of the 17th century onwards, the kingdoms in Great Britain and Ireland suffered political and religious turmoil. The CommonwealthCommonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
ended with the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, re-establishment of the Church of England and imposition of Episcopalian
Episcopal polity
Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...
church government.
In 1685 Charles II was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, James II and VII
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...
. He tried to impose religious tolerance of Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters, but antagonized many of the Anglican establishment by this action, as they were suspicious of Catholic power. Although these actions were widely unpopular, at first the majority of his subjects tolerated these acts because James was in his 50s and both of his daughters were committed Protestants. It seemed that James' reign would be short and the throne would soon return to Protestant hands. In 1688 however James's young second wife Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
gave birth to a boy, Prince James
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
who was promptly baptized a Roman Catholic. Due to English and Scottish succession laws, baby James immediately supplanted his older half sisters as heir to the throne. Now the prospect of a Catholic dynasty on the English throne seemed all but certain.
The "Immortal Seven" invited James's daughter Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
and her husband William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
to depose James and jointly rule in his place. On 4 November 1688 William arrived at Torbay, England. After he landed the next day, James fled to France. In February 1689 the "Glorious Revolution
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...
" formally changed England's monarch, but many Catholics, Episcopalians and Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
royalists still supported James as the constitutionally legitimate monarch.
Scotland was slow to accept William, who summoned a Convention of the Estates which met on 14 March 1689 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. It reviewed a conciliatory letter from William and a haughty one from James. On James's side, a modest force of a troop of fifty horsemen gathered by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee was in town. Graham attended the convention at the start but withdrew four days later when its support for William became evident. The convention set out its terms, and William and Mary were proclaimed at Edinburgh on 11 April 1689, then had their coronation in London in May.
Rising in Scotland
On 16 April 1689 John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, raised James' standard on the hilltop of Dundee LawLaw, Dundee
Law, Dundee is an area located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. Its predominant feature is an extinct volcano which gives it its name.-Geology:...
with fewer than 50 men in support. Although Presbyterian historians later labelled him "Bluidy Clavers" for his vicious persecution of Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s, he has also been called "Bonnie Dundee". This was from a song written by Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
in 1830. James had already arrived in Ireland and his letter was on the way promising Irish troops to assist the rising in Scotland.
At first Viscount Dundee had difficulty in raising many supporters. The ineffectiveness of the Williamite commander Major-General Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay was a Scottish general best known for his service in the Revolution of 1688.- Early military career :...
of Scourie encouraged support. Two hundred Irish troops successfully landed at Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
to add to Dundee's forces. Dundee also received support in the western Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
from both Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
clans.
By July the Jacobites had eight battalions and two companies, almost all Highlanders. Dundee gained the confidence of the clans by cultivating the allegiance of each Highlander and respecting the precedence of the clans. He realized that to them, the cause of Jacobitism was secondary. At a time when infantry were trained to fight in formation, the Highlanders' method was more informal. They set aside their plaids
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
and other encumbrances before the battle, and dropped to the ground to avoid enemy volleys. After quickly returning fire, they pursued their foes, screaming in the Highland charge
Highland charge
The Highland charge was a battlefield shock tactic used by the clans of the Scottish Highlands which incorporated the use of firearms.-Historical Development :...
. They used heavy broadsword
Broadsword
Broadsword may refer to:*Broadsword , a military sword used by heavy cavalry during the 17th to early 19th centuriesIn more modern times, it has also been used to refer to:...
s and targe
Targe
Targe was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, target, came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century....
(shield), or whatever weapons they had, including pitchforks or Lochaber axe
Lochaber axe
The Lochaber axe was a halberd that came into use in Scotland around 1300. The name of the weapon derives from Lochaber, an area in the western Scottish Highlands, as the weapon was employed principally by the Scottish highlanders, who required armament against cavalry.The axe itself is similar to...
s (a combined axe and spear on a long pole). Such a charge was devastating to troops struggling to reform their lines, or fix the recently introduced 'plug' bayonets.
The Highland charge (and troop strength) defeated a larger lowland Scots force at the Battle of Killiecrankie
Battle of Killiecrankie
-References:*Reid, Stuart, The Battle of Kiellliecrankkie -External links:* *...
on 27 July 1689. About one-third of the Highlanders were killed in the fighting, and Dundee died in the battle. At the street fighting of the Battle of Dunkeld
Battle of Dunkeld
The Battle of Dunkeld was fought between Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland and a government regiment of covenanters supporting William of Orange, King of Scotland, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland, on 21 August 1689 and formed part of the...
on 21 August, the Jacobite Highlanders were decisively defeated by the Cameronian
Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
s who were led by George Munro, 1st of Auchinbowie. Much of the North remained hostile to the English government. Expeditions to subdue the highlands were met with a series of skirmishes.
Jacobite forces suffered a heavy defeat at the Haughs of Cromdale on 1 May 1690. Later that month Mackay constructed Fort William on the site of an old fort built by Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
. News in July of William's victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
caused Jacobite hopes to fall. On 17 August 1691 William offered all Highland clans a pardon for their part in the Jacobite Uprising, provided that they took an oath of allegiance before 1 January 1692 in front of a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. The Highland chiefs sent word to James, now in exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, asking for his permission to take this oath. James eventually authorised the chiefs to take the oath, but it was mid-December before his message arrived. Despite difficult winter conditions, a few took the oath in time. The brutality of the Massacre of Glencoe
Massacre of Glencoe
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in...
sped acceptance by the clans. By the spring of 1692 the Jacobite chiefs had all sworn allegiance to King William.
Jacobite war in Ireland
The Williamite war in Ireland was the opening conflict in James' attempts to regain the throne. It influenced the Jacobite Rising in Scotland which "Bonnie Dundee" started at about the same time. By its end in October 1691, the Irish Jacobite army left Ireland for France, becoming the Irish BrigadeIrish Brigade (French)
The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles, led by Robert Reid. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland...
. This later provided forces assisting The 'Forty-Five (Second Jacobite Rebellion of 1745) in Scotland.
The Old Pretender
After the death of James II in 1701, the Jacobite claim to the thrones of Scotland and England was taken up by his only surviving legitimate son, James Francis Edward StuartJames Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
(1688–1766). His supporters proclaimed him James III of England and Ireland, and James VIII of Scotland. The French king 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...
and Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
formally recognised the Catholic monarch as King James III & VIII. Later, James was called "the Old Pretender", to distinguish him from his 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...
(1720–1788), who became known as "the Young Pretender".
The abortive invasion of 1708
After a brief peace, the outbreak of the War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
in 1701 renewed French support for the Jacobites. In 1708 James Stuart, the Old Pretender, sailed from Dunkirk with 6000 French troops in nearly 30 ships of the French navy. His intended landing in 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...
was thwarted by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, under Admiral Byng
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB PC was a British naval officer and statesman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His career included service as First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II.-Naval career:Byng was born at Wrotham, Kent, England...
. The British pursued the French fleet and made them retreat round the north of Scotland, losing ships and most of their men in shipwrecks on the way back to Dunkirk.
The Rebellion/Rising of 1715 ('The Fifteen')
Following the arrival from Hanover of George IGeorge 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....
in 1714, Tory Jacobites in England conspired to organise armed rebellions against the new Hanoverian
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...
government. They were indecisive and frightened by government arrests of their leaders. In Scotland 1715 was the time of the First Jacobite Rebellion (or Rising).
The Treaty of Utrecht ended hostilities between France and Britain. From France, as part of widespread Jacobite plotting, James Stuart, the Old Pretender
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, had been corresponding with the Earl of Mar. In the summer of 1715 James called on Mar to raise the Clans. Mar, nicknamed Bobbin' John, rushed from London to 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 ....
. He summoned clan leaders to "a grand hunting-match" on 27 August 1715. On 6 September he proclaimed James as "their lawful sovereign" and raised the old Scottish standard. Mar's proclamation brought in an alliance of clans and northern Lowlanders, and they quickly overran many parts of the Highlands.
Mar's Jacobites captured 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...
on 14 September without opposition. His army grew to around 8,000 men. A force of fewer than 2,000 men under the Duke of Argyll held the Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
plain for the government and Mar indecisively kept his forces in Perth. He waited for the Earl of Seaforth
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth was a Scottish nobleman.He who joined the Jacobite standard at Braemar, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties...
to arrive with a body of northern clans. Seaforth was delayed by attacks from other clans loyal to the government. Planned risings in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
were forestalled by the government arresting the local Jacobites.
See separate article on the Jacobite uprising in Cornwall
Starting around 6 October, a rising in the north of England grew to about 300 horsemen under Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster was a Northumbrian politician and landowner, who served as general of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising.-Life:...
, a Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
squire. They joined forces with a rising in the south of Scotland under Viscount Kenmure
William Gordon, 6th Viscount of Kenmure
William Gordon, 6th Viscount of Kenmure and Lord Lochinvar was a Scottish Jacobite.William Gordon was the only son of Alexander Gordon, 5th Viscount of Kenmure and succeeded his father on his death in 1698, but was not able to inherit his family's property until 1700, because of a protracted law...
. Mar sent a Jacobite force under Brigadier William Mackintosh of Borlum to join them. They left Perth on 10 October and were ferried across 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...
from Burntisland
Burntisland
Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....
to East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
. Here they were diverted into an attack on an undefended Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, but having seized Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
citadel they were chased away by the arrival of Argyll's forces. Mackintosh's force of about 2,000 then made their way south and met their allies at Kelso
Kelso, Scotland
Kelso is a market town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence...
in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
on 22 October, and spent a few days arguing over their options. The Scots wanted to fight government forces in the vicinity or attack Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, but the English were determined to march towards Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and led them to expect 20,000 recruits in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
The Highlanders resisted marching into England and there were some mutinies and defections, but they pressed on. Instead of the expected welcome the Jacobites were met by hostile militia armed with pitchforks and very few recruits. They were unopposed in Lancaster and found about 1,500 recruits as they reached Preston on 9 November, bringing their force to around 4,000. Then Hanoverian
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...
forces (including the Cameronians) arrived to besiege them at the Battle of Preston
Battle of Preston (1715)
The Battle of Preston , also referred to as the Preston Fight, was fought during the Jacobite Rising of 1715 ....
, and the surviving Jacobites surrendered on 14 November.
In Scotland, at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
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...
on 13 November, Mar's forces were unable to defeat a smaller force led by the Duke of Argyll and Mar retreated to 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...
while the government army built up. Belatedly, on 22 December 1715 a ship from France brought the Old Pretender to Peterhead
Peterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
, but he was too consumed by melancholy and fits of fever to inspire his followers. He briefly set up court at Scone, Perthshire, visited his troops in Perth and ordered the burning of villages to hinder the advance of the Duke of Argyll through deep snow. The highlanders were cheered by the prospect of battle, but James's counsellors decided to abandon the endeavour and ordered a retreat to the coast, giving the pretext of seeking a stronger position. James boarded a ship at Montrose
Montrose, Angus
Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
and eluded to France on 4 February 1716, leaving a message assigning his Highland adherents to shift for themselves.
Aftermath of 'The Fifteen'
In the aftermath of the 'Fifteen', the Disarming ActDisarming Act
After the Jacobite Rising of 1715 ended it was evident that the most effective supporters of the Jacobites were Scottish clans in the Scottish Highlands and the Disarming Act attempted to remove this threat....
and the Clan Act made some attempts to subdue the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. Government garrisons were built or extended in the Great Glen
Great Glen
The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth, to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe.The Great Glen follows a large geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault...
at Fort William, Kiliwhimin (later renamed Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
) and Fort George, Inverness
Inverness
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...
, as well as barracks at Ruthven
Ruthven Barracks
Ruthven Barracks near Ruthven, Highland in Scotland are the smallest but best preserved of the four barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobite rising, set on an old castle mound. It comprises two large three-storey blocks occupying two sides of the enclosure each with two rooms per floor...
, Bernera (Glenelg) and Inversnaid
Inversnaid
Inversnaid is a village on the east bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland, near the north end of the loch. It has a pier and a hotel, and the West Highland Way passes through the village. A small passenger ferry runs from Inversnaid to Inveruglas on the opposite shore of the loch. To reach Inversnaid by...
, linked to the south by the Wade roads constructed for Major-General George Wade
George Wade
Field Marshal George Wade served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.-Early career:Wade, born in Kilavally, Westmeath in Ireland, was commissioned into the Earl of Bath's Regiment in 1690 and served in Flanders in 1692, during the Nine Years War, earning a...
.
On the whole, the government adopted a gentle approach and attempted to 'win hearts and minds' by allowing the bulk of the defeated rebels to slip away back to their homes and committing the first £20,000 of revenue from forfeited estates to the establishment of Presbyterian-run, Scots-speaking schools in the highlands (the latest in a series of measures intended to promote Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
at the expense of Scottish Gaelic).
The Rebellion/Rising of 1719 ('The Nineteen')
With France at peace with Britain and enjoying a rapprochment due to the Anglo-French Alliance
Anglo-French Alliance
This article covers the Anglo-French Alliance between 1716 and 1731. For the alliance that has existed since 1904 see Entente CordialeThe Anglo-French Alliance is the name for the alliance between Great Britain and France between 1716 and 1731...
, the Jacobites found a new ally in Spain's Minister to the King, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni
Giulio Alberoni
Giulio Alberoni was an Italian cardinal andstatesman in the service of Philip V of Spain.-Early years:He was born near Piacenza, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola d'Arda in the Duchy of Parma....
. An invasion force set sail in 1719 with two frigates to land in Scotland to raise the clans. Twenty-seven ships carried 5,000 soldiers to England, but the latter were dispersed by storms before they could land. When the two Spanish frigates successfully landed a party of Jacobites led by Lord Tullibardine and Earl Marischal
George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal
George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal was a Scottish and Prussian army officer and diplomat...
with 300 Spanish soldiers at Loch Duich
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
, they held Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Eilean Donan is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617...
Castle. They met only lukewarm support from a few clans. At the Battle of Glen Shiel
Battle of Glen Shiel
The Battle of Glen Shiel was a battle in Glen Shiel, in the West Highlands of Scotland on 10 June 1719, between British government troops and an alliance of Jacobites and Spaniards, resulting in a victory for the government forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on...
, the Spanish soldiers were forced to surrender to government forces.
Further action by Wade
In 1725 Wade raised the independent companies of the Black Watch42nd Regiment of Foot
The 42nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Originally the 43rd Highlanders they were renumbered the 42nd in 1748.- Early history :...
as a militia to keep peace in the unruly Highlands, but in 1743 they were moved to fight the French in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. Their commander at the Battle of Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...
in May 1745 was the Duke of Cumberland, soon to command at Culloden.
1744 French invasion attempt
In 1743 the War of the Austrian SuccessionWar of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
drew Britain and France into open, though unofficial, hostilities against each other. Leading English Jacobites made a formal request to France for armed intervention and the French king's Master of Horse toured southern England meeting Tories and discussing their proposals. In November 1743 Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
authorised a large-scale invasion of southern England in February 1744 which was to be a surprise attack. Troops were to march from their winter quarters to hidden invasion barges which were to take them and 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...
, with the guidance of English Jacobite pilots to Maldon
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
where they were to be joined by local Tories in an immediate march on London. Charles, (later known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender) was in exile in Rome with his father (James Stuart, the Old Pretender
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
), and rushed to France.
As late as 13 February the British were still unaware of these intentions, and while they then arrested many suspected Jacobites the French plans really went astray on 24 February when one of the worst storms of the century scattered the French fleets which were about to battle for control of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, sinking one ship and putting five out of action.
The barges had begun embarking some 10,000 troops and the storm wrecked the troop and equipment transports, sinking some with the loss of all hands. Charles was officially informed on 28 February that the invasion had been cancelled. The British lodged strong diplomatic objections to the presence of Charles, and France declared war but gave Charles no more support.
The Rebellion/Rising of 1745 ('The Forty-Five')
Such is the connection between 1745 and the rising in the Gaelic mindset, that the '45 is known as Bliadhna Theàrlaich (Charles' Year) in Scottish Gaelic.Charles continued to believe that he could reclaim the kingdom and recalled that early in 1744 a small number of Scottish Highland clan chieftains had sent a message that they would rise if he arrived with as few as 3,000 French troops. Living at French expense, he continued to petition ministers for commitment to another invasion, to their increasing irritation. In secrecy he also developed a plan with a consortium of Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
privateers, funded by exiled Scots bankers and pawning of his mother's jewelry. They fitted out a small frigate Du Teillay and a ship of the line the Elisabeth and set out from Nantes for Scotland in July 1745 on the pretence that this was a normal privateering cruise, leaving a personal letter from Charles to Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
announcing the departure and asking for help with the rising. The Elisabeth, carrying weapons, supplies and 700 volunteers from the Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade may refer to:* Irish Brigade , the Jacobite brigade in the French army, 1690–1792 * Irish Brigade , pro-Union Civil War brigade of Irish immigrants...
, encountered the British Navy ship HMS Lion
HMS Lion (1709)
HMS Lion was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment and launched on 20 January 1709....
and with both ships badly damaged in the ensuing battle the Elisabeth was forced back, but the Du Teillay successfully landed Charles with his seven men of Moidart on the island of Eriskay
Eriskay
Eriskay , from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Eriskay became the ferry terminal for...
in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
on 2 August 1745.
The Scottish clans and their chieftains initially showed little enthusiasm about his arrival without troops or munitions (with Alexander MacDonald of Sleat
Clan MacDonald of Sleat
Clan Macdonald of Sleat, sometimes known as Clan Donald North and in Gaelic Clann Ùisdein , is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald — one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Sleat is Ùisdean, 6th great-grandson of Somhairle, a 12th century Rì Innse Gall...
and Norman MacLeod of MacLeod
Clan MacLeod
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
refusing even to meet with him), but Charles went on to Moidart
Moidart
Moidart is a district in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.Moidart lies to the west of Fort William and is very remote. Loch Shiel cuts off the south-east boundary of the district. Moidart includes the townships of Dorlin, Mingarry, Kinlochmoidart and Glenuig. At Dorlin is located the ancient fortress...
and on 19 August 1745 raised the standard at Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan is a village in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located at the northern end of Loch Shiel, at the foot of Glenfinnan.- Glenfinnan Monument :...
to lead the Second Jacobite Rising in his father's name. This attracted about 1,200 men, mostly of Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald
Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Clanranald is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of Somerled. The Macdonalds of Clanranald descend from Reginald's elder son Allan and the MacDonells of...
, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald.-History:The MacDonalds of Keppoch are descended from Alistair Carrach Macdonald who was a younger son of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, 6th chief of Clan Donald and his second...
, and Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
. The Jacobite force marched south from Glenfinnan, increasing to almost 3,000 men, though two chieftains insisted on pledges of compensation before joining.
Britain was still in the midst of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
and most of the British army was in Flanders and Germany, leaving an inexperienced army of about 4,000 in Scotland under Sir John Cope. His force marched north into the Highlands but, believing the rebel force to be stronger than it really was, avoided an engagement with the Jacobites at the Pass of Corryairack and withdrew northwards to Inverness
Inverness
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...
.
The Jacobites captured 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 at Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
on the way to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
routed two regiments of the government's Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s. In Edinburgh there was panic with a melting away of the City Guard and Volunteers and when the city gate at the Netherbow Port was opened at night, to let a coach through, a party of Camerons rushed the sentries and seized control of the city. The next day King James VIII was proclaimed at the Mercat Cross and a triumphant Charles entered Holyrood palace.
Cope's army got supplies from Inverness then sailed from 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 ....
down to Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
to meet the Jacobite forces near Prestonpans
Prestonpans
Prestonpans is a small town to the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian. It has a population of 7,153 . It is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, and has a history dating back to the 11th century...
to the east of Edinburgh.
On 21 September 1745 at the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
a surprise attack planned by Lord George Murray
Lord George Murray (general)
Lord George Murray was a Scottish Jacobite general, most noted for his 1745 campaign under Bonnie Prince Charlie into England...
routed the government forces, as celebrated in the Jacobite song Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?
Hey, Johnnie Cope, Are Ye Waking Yet?
Hey, Johnnie Cope, are Ye Waking Yet?, also Hey Johnnie Cope, are you awake yet?, Heigh! Johnnie Cowp, are ye wauken yet?, or simply "Johnny Cope" is a Scottish folk song....
. Charles immediately wrote again to France pleading for a prompt invasion of England. There was alarm in England, and in London a patriotic song which included a prayer for Marshal Wade's success in crushing the rebels was performed, later to become the National Anthem
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
.
The Jacobites held the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, though not the 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...
. Charles held court at Holyrood palace for five weeks amidst great admiration and enthusiasm, but failed to raise a regiment locally. Many of the highlanders went home with booty from the battle and recruiting resumed, though Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
clans opposing the Jacobites were also getting organised. The French now sent some weapons and funds, and assurances that they would carry out their invasion of England by the end of the year. Charles's Council of war led by Murray was against leaving Scotland, but he told them that he had received English Tory assurances of a rising if he appeared in England in arms, and the Council agreed to march south by a margin of one vote.
Success at Prestonpans had not, as is often claimed, left the rebels in control of Scotland, for the great bulk of the population remained bitterly hostile to the absolutist Stuarts who, prior to their expulsion in a popular revolution, had presided over the notorious persecutions known as Scotland's 'Killing Times
The Killing Time
thumb|240px|[[Margaret Wilson |Margaret Wilson]], one of the 'Wigtown Martyrs', executed by drowning in the incoming tide of the Solway Firth ....
'. Many Scottish burghs offered burgess status to any man who would volunteer to fight against the Jacobites and, when the rebels passed near the town of Ecclefechan
Ecclefechan
Ecclefechan is a small village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway.Ecclefechan lay in the early middle ages within the British kingdom of Rheged, and the name is derived from the Brythonic for "small church"...
in Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, local loyalists mounted a raid on their baggage train.
The Jacobite army of under six thousand men had set out on 3 November. During the delay the government had brought seasoned troops back from the continent and an army under General George Wade
George Wade
Field Marshal George Wade served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.-Early career:Wade, born in Kilavally, Westmeath in Ireland, was commissioned into the Earl of Bath's Regiment in 1690 and served in Flanders in 1692, during the Nine Years War, earning a...
assembled at Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Charles wanted to confront them, but on the advice of Lord George Murray and the Council they made for Carlisle and successfully bypassed Wade. At Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
about 250 Episcopalians formed a regiment, but no other Englishmen joined the Prince. At the end of November French ships arrived in Scotland with 800 men from the Écossais Royeaux (Royal Scots) and Irish Regiment
Irish Brigade (French)
The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles, led by Robert Reid. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland...
s of the French army.
The Jacobite army, now reduced by desertions to under 5,000 men, was manoeuvred by Murray round to the east of a second government army under the Duke of Cumberland and marched on Derby.
They entered Derby on 4 December, only 125 miles (200 km) from London, with a resentful Charles by then barely on speaking terms with Murray. Charles was advised of progress on the French invasion fleet which was then assembling at Dunkirk, but at his Council of War he was forced to admit to his previous lies about assurances. While Charles was determined to press on in the deluded belief that their success was due to soldiers of the regulars never daring to fight against their true prince, his Council and Lord George Murray pointed out their position. The promised English support had not materialised, both Wade and Cumberland were approaching, London was heavily defended and there was a fictitious report from a government double agent of a third army closing on them.
There was a rearguard action to the north of Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
. The Manchester Regiment was left behind to defend Carlisle and after a siege by Cumberland had to surrender, to face hanging or transportation. Many died in Carlisle Castle, where they were imprisoned in brutal conditions along with Scots prisoners whom Morier allegedly painted to depict the kilted clansmen in battle. Many of the cells there still show hollows licked into the stone walls, as prisoners had only the damp and moss on these stones to sustain themselves.
The Young Pretender had his headquarters at the County Hotel during a 3-day sojourn in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
towards the end of 1745. £2,000 was demanded by the Prince, together with 1,000 pairs of brogues for his kilted Jacobite rebel army, which was camping in a field not one hundred yards distant. A rumour, however, that the Duke of Cumberland was approaching, made Bonnie Prince Charlie decide to leave with his army, with only £1,000 and 255 pairs of shoes having been handed over.
By Christmas the Jacobites came to Glasgow and forced the city to re-provision their army, then on 3 January left to seize the town of Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
and begin an ineffectual siege of 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...
. Jacobite reinforcements joined them from the north and on 17 January about 8,000 of Charles's 9,000 men took the offensive to the approaching General Henry Hawley
Henry Hawley
Lieutenant General Henry Hawley was a British Army officer who entered the army in 1694.-Early life:He saw service in the War of Spanish Succession as a captain of Erie's Foot. After Almanza he returned to England, and a few years later had become lieutenant-colonel of the 19th...
at the Battle of Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1746)
During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk Muir was the last noteworthy Jacobite success.-Background:...
and routed his forces.
The Jacobite army then turned north, losing men and failing to take Stirling Castle or Fort William but taking Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
and Fort George in Inverness
Inverness
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...
by early April. Charles now took charge again, insisting on fighting an orthodox defensive action, and on 16 April 1746 they were finally defeated near Inverness at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
by government forces made up of English and Scottish troops and Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
militia, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. The seemingly suicidal Highland sword charge against cannon and muskets had succeeded when launched against unprepared or disordered troops in earlier battles but failed now that it was pitted against regulars who had time to form their ranks properly. Charles promptly abandoned his army, blaming everything on the treachery of his officers, even though after the defeat the stragglers and unengaged units rallied at the agreed rendezvous and only dispersed when ordered to leave.
Charles
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...
fled to France making a dramatic if humiliating escape disguised as a "lady's maid" to Flora MacDonald. Cumberland's forces crushed the uprising and effectively ended Jacobitism as a serious political force in Britain. The decline of Jacobitism left Charles making futile attempts to enlist assistance, and another abortive plot to raise support in England.
Planned Invasion of 1759
During the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, the French drew up a plan to invade the British Isles
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759)
A French invasion of Great Britain was planned to take place in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, but due to various factors including naval defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay was never launched. The French planned to land 100,000 French soldiers in Britain to end British...
and met with Charles Stuart to discuss the possibility of his landing in either Ireland or Scotland to raise a rebellion. Charles refused, saying he would only cross the channel if it was to lead a rebellion in England. The French were not convinced that Charles could deliver on his promises of raising large support in Britain, and cut him out of the plan. Nonetheless they hoped that Jacobites would support their forces once they landed. The planned invasion was eventually abandoned following British victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...
in November 1759 which dramatically weakened the French navy.
Many of the Highland clans which had previously taken up arms for the Jacobite cause were now fighting with British forces around the world, where they played an important part in the many British victories during the war
Great Britain in the Seven Years War
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
.
List of clans that joined the Pretender
Eventually the following clans "came out" to join the Pretender:Clan Baird, Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
, Clan Chisholm
Clan Chisholm
Clan Chisholm is a Scottish clan. The clan had its origin outside Scotland. The first Chisholm to appear in the records of Scotland was Alexander de Chesholme, who witnessed a charter in 1248/49.-Origins of the Clan:...
, Clan Drummond
Clan Drummond
Clan Drummond is a Scottish clan deriving its name from the parish of Drymen, in what was western Stirlingshire. Legend gives Maurice of Hungary as founder of the clan...
, Clan Farquharson
Clan Farquharson
Clan Farquharson of Invercauld is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan hails from Aberdeenshire and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:Farquhar - from the Gaelic 'fear' and 'char' meaning 'dear one'...
, Clan Grant
Clan Grant
-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of Siol Alpin, and descend from the 9th century Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots; and also of Norse origin, from settlers who are the descents of Haakon inn Riki Sigurdarsson , Jarl of Hladr, Protector of Norway ,-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of...
of Glenmoriston, Clan Hay
Clan Hay
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan that has played an important part in the history and politics of Scotland. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e...
, Clan MacLea
Clan MacLea
The Clan MacLea is a Highland Scottish clan, which was traditionally located in the district of Lorn in Argyll, Scotland, and is seated on the Isle of Lismore. There is a tradition of some MacLeas Anglicising their names to Livingstone, thus the also refers to clan as the Highland Livingstones...
, Clan MacBain
Clan MacBain
-Origins of the clan:There are several possible Gaelic origins for this name but the most likely is ben or ban which means "higher ground" and to a lesser extent bheathain and the step form MacBain which means "life". This could also have been rendered as Mac ic Bheatha which means MacBeth, a name...
, Clan MacColl, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonald of Glencoe
Clan MacDonald of Glencoe
The MacDonalds of Glencoe also known as Clann Iain Abrach are a branch of Clan Donald.-History:The founder of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was Iain Fraoch MacDonald The MacDonalds of Glencoe also known as Clann Iain Abrach are a branch of Clan Donald.-History:The founder of the MacDonalds of Glencoe...
, Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry
Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry is a branch of Clan Donald taking its name from Glen Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles north of Fort William...
, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald.-History:The MacDonalds of Keppoch are descended from Alistair Carrach Macdonald who was a younger son of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, 6th chief of Clan Donald and his second...
, Clan Macfie
Clan Macfie
Clan Macfie is a Scottish clan. Since 1981, the clan has been officially registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, which is the heraldic authority of Scotland...
, Clan Macgillivray
Clan Macgillivray
Clan Macgillivray is a Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.-Origins of the clan:...
, Clan Gregor, Clan MacInnes
Clan MacInnes
Clan MacInnes is a Scottish clan from the highlands. As there is currently no clan chief, it is currently regarded as an Armigerous clan.-Origins of the name:...
, Clan Mackintosh
Clan MacKintosh
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
, Clan MacIver
Clan MacIver
Clan MacIver, also known as Clan Iver, is Scottish clan recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The clan, however, does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this the clan can be considered an armigerous clan. The clan name of MacIver is of Gaelic origin, derived...
, Clan Mackinnon
Clan MacKinnon
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
, Clan Maclachlan
Clan MacLachlan
Clan Maclachlan, also known as Clan Lachlan, is a Highland Scottish clan that historically centred on the lands of Strathlachlan on Loch Fyne, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland...
, Clan MacLaren
Clan MacLaren
Clan MacLaren is a Highland Scottish clan.-History:-Origins:The origins of the clan are uncertain, but by tradition the MacLarens are descended from Loarn mac Eirc of Dál Riata, who landed in & settled Argyll in 503 A.D. The clan name is supposedly derived from Lorn ; these variations are all...
, Clan MacLeod of Raasay, Clan MacNeil of Barra, Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson
Clan Macpherson is a Highland Scottish clan from Badenoch, on the River Spey. It is a leading member of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
, Clan Menzies
Clan Menzies
For Menzies as a personal name, including its pronunciation and a list of famous people of that name, see Menzies.Clan Menzies ; , a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the Clan:...
, Clan Morrison
Clan Morrison
Clan Morrison is a Scottish clan. There are numerous Scottish clans, both Highland and Lowland, which use the surname Morrison. In 1965, the Lord Lyon King of Arms decided to recognise one man as chief of all Morrisons, whether their clans were related or not.-Morrisons of mainland Scotland:The...
, Clan Ogilvy
Clan Ogilvy
-Origins of the clan:The Ogilvys are one of the most distinguished families in Scotland and take their name from Gillebride the second son of Gille Chriosd, Celtic Earl of Angus...
, Clan Oliphant
Clan Oliphant
-Origins of the clan:The earliest record of the name was Osbernus Olifardus circa 1046 in Normandy.The first known Oliphant landholding was in England at Lilleford in Northampton by the family of David Olifard, who is commonly held to be the progenitor of the clan...
, Clan Robertson
Clan Robertson
Clan Donnachaidh , also known as Clan Robertson, is one of the oldest of all Scottish clans.-Origins:There are two main theories as to the origins of the Clan Donnachaidh:...
, Clan Stewart of Appin
Clan Stewart of Appin
Clan Stewart of Appin is a west highland branch of the Clan Stewart and have been considered a distinct clan since the 15th century. They are descended from Sir James Stewart of Perston, who was himself the grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland...
, Clan Urquhart
Clan Urquhart
Urquhart is a Highland Scottish clan. They traditionally occupied the lands in the district and town of Cromarty, a former Royal Burgh with an excellent natural harbour on the tip of The Black Isle. Chiefs of the Clan were Barons and hereditary Sheriffs of the county for hundreds of years...
.
Furthermore, the regiment of Atholl Highlanders
Atholl Highlanders
The Atholl Highlanders is a Scottish infantry regiment. Based in Blair Atholl, the regiment is not part of the British Army. Instead, the regiment is in the private employ of the Duke of Atholl, making it the United Kingdom's, and indeed Europe's, only legal private army.-77th Foot:The name Atholl...
was mostly made up of members of Clan Murray
Clan Murray
Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The Murrays were a great and powerful clan whose lands and cadet houses were scattered throughout Scotland.- Origins of the Clan :...
, Clan Fergusson
Clan Fergusson
Clan Fergusson is a Scottish clan which has multiple geographic origins across Scotland. Consequently the Fergussons may be viewed as both a Highland and a Lowland clan....
, and Clan Stewart of Atholl. Significant numbers of men from Clan Elphinstone
Clan Elphinstone
Clan Elphinstone is a Lowland Scottish clan-Origins of the Name:The Clan Elphinstone is believed to have originated from Airth in Stirlingshire. The surname Elphinstone derives from the territory of Elphinstone in the parish of Tranent, East Lothian. The original name is thought to have been 'de...
, Clan Forbes
Clan Forbes
Clan Forbes is a Lowland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.-Origins:Concerning the origin of this Scottish clan, John of Forbes, the first upon record, seems to have been a man of importance in the time of William the Lion, and was the father of Fergus, from whom the clan are descended....
, Clan Keith
Clan Keith
Clan Keith is a Scottish clan associated with Aberdeenshire and Caithness.-Origins:It is said that a Scottish warrior slew the Danish General Camus at the legendary Battle of Barrie in 1010. For this, King Máel Coluim II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the slain and drew them...
, Clan MacIntyre
Clan Macintyre
Clan MacIntyre is a Scottish clan. The name MacIntyre , means "son of the carpenter." Although no documented history of the clan exists, it is most commonly said to descend from Maurice Mac Neil a nephew of Somerled, the great 12th century leader of the Scottish Gaels...
, Clan MacKenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
, Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
, Clan MacLeod of MacLeod
Clan MacLeod
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
, Clan MacLeod of Lewis
Clan MacLeod of Lewis
Clan Macleod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis, is a Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the beginning of the 17th century there were two branches of Macleods: the...
, Clan MacTavish
Clan MacTavish
-Origins:The MacTavishes and Campbells are thought to share a common origin. Clan MacTavish claims to descend from Taus Coir, illegitimate son of Colin Mael Maith and a daughter of Suibhne Ruadh . Nothing certain is known of Taus Coir other than he is listed in traditional genealogies...
, Clan MacMillan
Clan MacMillan
Clan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the clan:The MacMillans are one of a number of clans - including the MacKinnons, the MacQuarries, and the MacPhees - descended from Airbertach, a Hebridean prince of the old royal house of Moray who according to one account was the...
, Clan Maxwell, Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay is a Lowland Scottish clan of Anglo-Norman origin. The clan can be traced to the 12th century in Scotland.-Origins:A ram in the sea is said to have been an emblem on the seal of Ramsay Abbey in Huntingdon in the 11th century...
, Clan Wemyss
Clan Wemyss
Clan Wemyss is a Lowland Scottish clan.-Origins of the Clan:The name "Wemyss" is derived from the Gaelic word ‘uaimh’, meaning ‘cave’, and is believed to be taken from the caves and cliffs of the Firth of Forth in that part of Fife where the family of Wemyss made its home. Wemyss in Fife has been...
and a few members of the Clan Innes
Clan Innes
Clan Innes is a Scottish clan. The clan is without a chief that is recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms therefore it can be considered an armigerous clan. The clan takes its name from the lands of Innes in Moray, Scotland....
also joined the Jacobite army.
The Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
also joined the pretender and fought at Culloden. Many men of the Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a Scottish clan. The chief of the clan was the powerful Earl of Huntly, now also Marquess of Huntly.-Origins:...
joined the Jacobites led by the chief's brother Lord Lewis Gordon. Although the chief of Clan Gordon claimed to support the British government his brother raised two regiments in support of the Jacobites.
Some chieftains who were trying or planning to raise their clan for the Pretender were stopped or even imprisoned, notably Sir James Campbell of Auchnabreck and Alexander MacDougall of Dunollie, who were stopped from raising Clan Campbell of Auchnabreck and Clan MacDougall
Clan MacDougall
Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan consisting of the descendants of Dubgall mac Somairle, son of Somerled, who ruled Lorne and the Isle of Mull in Argyll in the 13th century...
by Campbell of Argyll, and Sir Hector MacLean and Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, who would have raised Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
and Clan MacTavish
Clan MacTavish
-Origins:The MacTavishes and Campbells are thought to share a common origin. Clan MacTavish claims to descend from Taus Coir, illegitimate son of Colin Mael Maith and a daughter of Suibhne Ruadh . Nothing certain is known of Taus Coir other than he is listed in traditional genealogies...
had they not been imprisoned by the government.
Common misconceptions about the Jacobites and the '45
- It was not a war between Highlanders and Lowlanders. Many major Highland clans supported the British government including: Clan SutherlandClan SutherlandClan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern highlands of Scotland and was one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The clan seat is at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland...
, Clan SinclairClan SinclairClan Sinclair is a Highland Scottish clan of Norman origin who held lands in the north of Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians which they received from the Kings of Scots...
, Clan CampbellClan CampbellClan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
, Clan MacKayClan MacKayClan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...
, Clan MunroClan Munro-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
, Clan RossClan RossClan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...
, Clan GunnClan GunnClan Gunn is a Scottish clan associated with northeastern Scotland, including Caithness and Sutherland as well as the Orkney Islands.The clan's origins stretch over the sea to Norway, and the Clan Gunn themselves claim descent from the legendary viking Sweyn Asleifsson, the progenitor of the clan,...
, Clan MacLeodClan MacLeodClan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
, Clan GrantClan Grant-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of Siol Alpin, and descend from the 9th century Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots; and also of Norse origin, from settlers who are the descents of Haakon inn Riki Sigurdarsson , Jarl of Hladr, Protector of Norway ,-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of...
of Freuchie and others, along with Scottish LowlandsScottish LowlandsThe Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....
regiments. On the Jacobite side, Scottish EpiscopaliansScottish Episcopal ChurchThe Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
provided over half of their forces in Britain, and although Dundee's rising in 1689 came mostly from the western Highlands, in later risings Episcopalians came roughly equally from the north-east Scottish Lowlands north of the River TayRiver TayThe River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui , then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochhart, Loch Lubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay , in...
and from the Highland clans. In the '45 the Jacobite forces were joined by about 250 English Episcopalians, and at Culloden by 800 men from the Écossais Royaux (Royal Scots) and Irish BrigadeIrish Brigade (French)The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles, led by Robert Reid. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland...
Regiments of the French army. - It was not a war between England and Scotland. It was actually a bid to reclaim not just the defunct Scottish throne but that of Great Britain as well as the Irish throne with support from Europe. Though donning Highland garb for psychological effect, the Jacobite army was made up of both Highland and (about one-third) Lowland troops, not to mention French and Irish troops and small numbers of northern English (a contingent which is often overlooked).
- Not all Lowlanders were forced to join the Jacobite army. Recruiting records show the Lowlands north of the Tay provided many volunteers, including some gentry. England also supplied some volunteers, including a small regiment. Indeed, Highlanders were probably more often pressed into service than Lowlanders. The act of pressing was not exclusive to the Jacobites; it was also used by most other contemporary armies, including the British Army.
- Although the Jacobite army's organisation has been characterised as a backward clan-based relic, with inexperienced commanders and untrained troops, it was similar to most other contemporary armies. Many Jacobite commanders had seen service in various armies, and field commander George Murray was capable and experienced in modern warfare. While many Jacobite soldiers were of poor appearance, some without even shoes, they proved capable of defeating British regulars under certain circumstances. The hardiness, individuality, and resourcefulness of Highlanders made them known as some of the best troops in the British Army.
- It is said that LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was defenceless and might easily have fallen to the rebels had they advanced in 1745. In fact London was garrisoned by significant forces at that time and King George IIGeorge II of Great BritainGeorge II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
had no intention of abandoning his capital. - It is said that Jacobite soldiers were ordered to "give no quarter" at Culloden. That is what Cumberland’s troops believed, because that is what Cumberland told them after the battle: that an order to that effect, signed by the Jacobite General Lord George Murray, had been found on a prisoner. But the 'order' was apparently a forgery, which helped to dehumanise the Jacobite troops and perpetuate their image as savages. Many in Britain at once believed the story of a "no quarter" order, and many also thought it justified their own army’s uncommonly savage behaviour after winning the battle, when government troops abused and butchered many prisoners, and even onlookers (including children). To deepen the mystery of who wrote the alleged order, it has been persuasively argued that the 'forgery' was no such thing; that "Whoever wrote it cannot seriously have drawn it up with a view to passing it off as genuine orders issued by Lord George." On the contrary, the inserted command "to give no Quarters to the Electors Troops on any account whatsoever" may genuinely have been found on the official, signed orders in a Jacobite prisoner's pocket; it may indeed have been interpolated by a Jacobite hand, and Cumberland may have been sincere when he announced the discovery of the apparently incriminating document to his outraged army. After issuing instructions for the coming battle, Lord George Murray tried to pre-empt it by leading a bungled attempt to ambush the Hanoverian army in their tents as they slept. He refused to give any separate orders for this attack because "everybody knew what he had to do": that is, "to cut the tent strings and pull down the poles, and where we observed a swelling or bulge in the fallen tent there to strike and push vigorously” with “sword, dirk and bayonet". It is conceivable that a Jacobite officer, in the absence of any separate orders for the intended merciless night-attack, simply amended those he had already been given. (Speck, 148–155). Nonetheless, in the morning the exhausted Jacobite soldiers were certainly not ordered to “give no quarter” at the Battle of Culloden itself.
Cultural references
The history of the Jacobite risings has inspired many stories and songs. Sir Walter ScottWalter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
drew on the second rising for his first novel Waverley
Waverley (novel)
Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...
, which features a vivid description of the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
and a description of the Jacobite stronghold of Doune Castle
Doune Castle
Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies north-west of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth...
. Scott returned to the first rising for his novel Rob Roy
Rob Roy (novel)
Rob Roy is a historical novel by Walter Scott. It is narrated by Frank Osbaldistone, the son of an English merchant who travels first to the North of England, and subsequently to the Scottish Highlands to collect a debt stolen from his father. On the way he encounters the larger-than-life title...
. In The Master of Ballantrae
The Master of Ballantrae
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is a book by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745...
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, a family decides that their two sons will take opposing sides in the 'Forty Five rebellion to preserve the estates whoever wins. Stevenson's Kidnapped
Kidnapped (novel)
Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis...
is based on real events in the aftermath of the 1745 rebellion, which also provides the political backdrop to the narrative of Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
's The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. First published on 28 February 1749, Tom Jones is among the earliest English prose works describable as a novel...
.
Diana Gabaldon
Diana Gabaldon
Diana J. Gabaldon is an American author of Mexican-American and English ancestry. Gabaldon is the author of the Outlander Series. Her books they contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and science fiction.-Early life and science career:Diana J. Gabaldon was...
's historical time-travel series, Outlander
Outlander (novel)
Outlander is the first novel in a series of seven by Diana Gabaldon. The book focuses on two main characters, Claire Randall and James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, and takes place in 18th- and 20th-century Scotland...
, chronicles the events of the second rising.
The First Jacobite Rebellion is recounted in the song "Eleventh Earl of Mar" by Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, from their Wind & Wuthering
Wind & Wuthering
"It's Yourself" is the B-side to "Your Own Special Way", released February 1977-Related EP:All tracks from the Single Spot the Pigeon 20 May 1977-2007 SACD/CD/DVD Release:...
album, and the risings have inspired bands as diverse as Argentinian band Sumo
Sumo (band)
Sumo was a 1980s Argentine alternative rock band, merging post-punk with reggae and ska. Headed by Italian-born Luca Prodan, it remained underground for most of its short activity, but was extremely influential in shaping contemporary Argentine rock. Sumo introduced British post-punk to the...
and German metal band Grave Digger
Grave Digger (band)
Grave Digger are a German heavy metal/power metal band formed in 1980. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene to emerge in the early to mid 1980s.-Band history:...
.
The classic Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial The Highlanders
The Highlanders (Doctor Who)
The Highlanders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 17 December 1966 to 7 January 1967....
begins just after the Battle of Culloden and concerns the Doctor's attempts to free several captured Highlanders from a corrupt English officer intent on selling his prisoners as slaves to the colonies.
Several flashback sequences in various episodes of Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
deal with or reference the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
and the actions of the Series protagonist Duncan MacLeod
Duncan MacLeod
Duncan MacLeod is a fictional character from the Highlander multiverse. Duncan MacLeod serves as the protagonist for the TV continuation of the Highlander franchise, which comprises Highlander: The Series and its spin-off movies, Highlander: Endgame and Highlander: The Source...
, in the battle's aftermath.
The television adaptation of Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
's novel Monarch of the Glen
The Monarch of the Glen (novel)
The Monarch of the Glen is a Scottish comic farce novel written by English-born Scottish author Compton Mackenzie and published in 1941. It depicts the life in the fictional Scottish castle of Glenbogle....
, centered around a modern day Clan MacDonald
Hector Naismith MacDonald
Hector Naismith MacDonald, Laird of Glenbogle MC, is a fictional character in the BBC TV series Monarch of the Glen. Hector is played by English actor Richard Briers.-Plot:...
, has numerous references to the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
, at which they supposedly fought, including relics of the battle and clan disputes remaining fresh to this day.
External links
- The Jacobites
- The Jacobite Heritage
- "The Jacobite Rebellion — could it have succeeded?" on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
’s In Our TimeIn Our Time (BBC Radio 4)In Our Time is a live BBC radio discussion series exploring the history of ideas, presented by Melvyn Bragg since 15 October 1998.. It is one of BBC radio's most successful discussion programmes, acknowledged to have "transformed the landscape for serious ideas at peak listening time"...
featuring Murray Pittock, Stana Nenadic and Allan Macinnes