The Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden took place on the 16^th of April in 1746. It was fought on a moor and, at that point in time, it was called Drummossie Moor. The two armies that fought against each other were the Jacobites and the Government Army.

The Jacobites main leader was Prince Charles Edward Stuart but he was known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. The General was Lord George Murray and there were clan chiefs controlling their clans. The clans included in the Jacobite Army were the Appin Stewarts, the Frasers, Clan Chattan, the Irish Picquets, the Farquharsons and other small mixed clans. The Jacobites mainly got support from the Roman Catholic Highland Clans. There were men aged from as little as 12 to as old as 52 in the army and there were actually more Scots fighting against the Jacobites than for them. The condition of this army was very poor, they were cold, hungry, homesick, unprepared, they needed good weapons and clothes and are not getting paid. On top of all that they are exhausted. They had planned to make a surprise attack on the opposing army through the night before but failed and had to walk 16 miles in the cold, wet boggy land. This army only consisted of about 3,000 men. The only properly trained men were the Irish Picquets but there were only 150 of them. They had some cannons and little ammunition that worked, they had few horses and 13 light guns.

William, Duke of Cumberland, was in charge of the Government troops but General Wade was also in back-up with his army at Newcastle. The condition of this army was superb compared to the Jacobites. They were warm, properly dressed, well fed, they had proper weapons and ammunition, they were actually getting paid and had slept the night before. This army had seven thousand men and two thousand in back-up totalling to nine thousand men, so they were three times the size of the Jacobites. This army had about 800 horses and many guns, cannons and ammunition. So, compared to the Jacobites, they were very well organised and were in good condition.

Drummossie Moor was a plain field but it was quite boggy and marshy. It was chosen because it was thought to be a fair place to fight the battle. It was boggy after heavy rain, so was slippy and cold. The Redcoats - Government troops – benefited from this most because they didn’t move around much whereas the Jacobites did. They didn’t check the battlefield before because they said it was unnecessary. There was a big wall running all the way up the side. The Redcoats were not happy because they said they would not be able to escape the charge because of the wall.

On the day of the battle, April 16^th, at 11 a.m. both armies came into sight of each other but it was not until 1 o’clock that they were in the correct position for the fight. The Jacobites tactics were to just charge and slash everyone with their broadswords. Everyone feared the charge so Bonnie Prince Charlie was happy with that. The Redcoats tactics were to kill the partners opponent so when the Jacobites charged and lifted their swords, they were free to kill. So, everyone relies on their buddies to hit the enemy.

The Jacobites opened fire first but achieved nothing so the Government retaliated. This was at 1.06 p.m. There were devastating results in the Jacobite army, and they were feeble in reply. At the start, Lord George Murray asked for command that they should start first but there was a delay as the messenger was killed by cannon. The Redcoats kept firing but the Jacobites didn’t know what to do. Bonnie Prince Charlie was not ordering and he didn’t want to charge because he wanted the Redcoats to make the first move. So while the Government army kept firing they were doomed. The clansmen were crushed by grapeshot (canisters of lead balls, nails and iron scrap) and musketry. The Jacobites did not fire much but the Government troops went on and on. For every single shot from the Jacobite army about 15-20 shots were fired back. The bloodshed was awful but the clansmen had to carry on.

When the order finally came out for the Jacobite charge it was not so good. The ground was slippy and people fell behind. The attack wasn’t fierce enough. Also Cumberland sent his men up the wall so the Jacobites were being fired at from all angles. This was called “crossfire”. The weapons used by the Redcoats (sword, rifle and bayonet) had a terrible effect on the Jacobites whereas the Jacobites’ weapons (targe, pistol, broadsword and dirk) were not so good and most did not have a chance to use them.

The battle lasted for just over an hour. The Prince was led away upset and confused. Just after 2.00 p.m., “Run away you cowardly Italian” was shouted after him. Although he did not yet realise it, the Jacobites had lost.

For every 1 dead in the Government army about 24 were dead in the Jacobite army. The actual numbers were 50 out of 9,000 dead troops in the Redcoats and 1,200 from 3.000 in the Highland army. All wounded on the field were ordered to be killed. The Redcoats claimed they had found a letter saying if the Jacobites had won they would show no mercy. So, the Government army said they would do the same. They killed all the troops on the battlefield and randomly killed innocent bystanders. For days after, they chased the Highlanders, killing everyone near the battlefield including women and children. Some of the Jacobites were taken back to Inverness and put to jail, into churches, and even sent away in ships.

Months after, there were patrols and new laws in the Highlands. They were not allowed Highland dress, to play the bagpipes, and weapons were banned. All this because the Government did not want another rebellion. Clan chiefs did not own the land anymore. The Government behaved like butchers, this was how Cumberland earned his nickname “The Butcher”. Inverness was the beginning of murder and mutilation. While the Government troops got biscuits and cheese, the Jacobites faced the fact of death.

Bonnie Prince Charlie and his men ran away. There was a search for him but he managed to escape. He sailed back to France. He then lived for another 42 years and died in Rome an alcoholic.

Cumberland returned to London in triumph. Songs were composed in his name and a flower was named “Sweet William” after him. His personal allowance was raised and he lived a happy life. The Scots retaliated by naming him after a weed “Stinking Willie”.

The battle of Culloden became the last battle fought on British soil and the end of the Stuart line of power.