The Battle of Culloden has spawned a slew of intriguing but often inaccurate stories in the decades since it was fought.The fact that on April 16, 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was comprehensively defeated by a British government force led by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland on Drummossie Moor near Inverness, is undeniable. The war brought an end to an almost 60-year monarchy contest.Culloden is a stretch of moorland in the county of Inverness, Scotland, that lies about 6 mi (10 km) east of Inverness and forms part of the northeast of Drummossie Moor.If you are curious to know more about such fun facts, why not check out our articles on Battle of Cowpens facts and Battle of fort Sumter factsFacts About Battle Of CullodenOn April 16, 1746, 275 years ago, the battle of Culloden was fought.The Battle of Culloden, which took place on April 16, 1746, was one of Scotland’s most famous battles and the culmination of a decades-long campaign to restore the House of Stuarts to the British throne.The conflict on Drummossie Moor between the British troops, led by the Duke of Cumberland, and the Jacobite army, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the deposed James II of England, was the final pitched battle fought on British soil by government troops.It also effectively killed any prospects of returning the Stuart dynasty to the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 45 terrible minutes, though neither side seemed to realize it at the time.It could even be argued that the Jacobites’ defeat at Culloden paved the way for Britain’s global domination in the century that followed.The night before the fight, the Highland army tried a surprise attack. It had not arrived at Cumberland’s camp by daybreak, however, due to men wandering in their search for food. It retreated to Culloden Moor, a battleground 5 mi (8 km) east of Inverness.In the period leading up to the battle, the clan chiefs had earlier expressed support for Charlie, saying they would ‘come out’ and fight for him if he could also recruit French troops.The battlefield was a poor choice, as it afforded a clear field of fire to Cumberland’s artillery. The Highlanders were cannonaded for nearly half an hour without effective response.To dislodge the British troops from flanking positions and to slow down the British cavalry assault in the last stages of the conflict, the Jacobites appear to have fired many rounds at close proximity with the British front line (one British officer had six musket balls through his coat alone). The Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie, had arrived in Scotland with a small group of supporters and was quickly gaining support among the Highland clans. With his army, Prince Charles fled north to Inverness. From there, he pursued the remaining government troops over the Highlands, taking Fort George and Fort Augustus. The battle was more correctly defined as a triumph for British swords over Jacobite muskets than the other way around since British cavalry and dragoons (mounted infantry) typically attacked with swords rather than guns.Rather than launch a guerrilla campaign, Charles preferred to organize a defensive action and confront his foe at Drummossie Moor, which was close by. He also disregarded warnings that the marshy, uneven terrain would favor the greater government forces. As a result, on a rainy morning, the Government army left camp and marched to the moorland around Culloden and Drummossie to take up positions. On April 16, 1746, the two armies clashed at Culloden Moor in this setting. Cumberland’s artillery pounded the Jacobite lines for the first half-hour of the engagement, first with round shot and then with grapeshot.Historical Facts Battle Of CullodenCulloden, like the Anglo-Irish War of 1919-21 and the American War of Independence, was a civil war.Every national battle, however, divides the country, and the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46 was unquestionably a fight for the Scottish nation. The main war goal of the Jacobites was to undo the Anglo-Scottish union of 1707 and reinstate the Stuarts’ multi-kingdom monarchy.Charles was the grandson of the ousted James II of England and the son of the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart. In the final battle of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, a well-supplied Hanovarian Government army commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II, would face the fighters of Charles Edward Stewart, The Young Pretender.The battleground itself, which played a significant role in the Jacobite loss, was not chosen by Charles and his adjutant and quartermaster general, John O’Sullivan, against the advice of Jacobite general Lord George Murray, as has been stated. Instead, it was there that Charles’ army was forced to fight after being surprised by advancing government troops on the morning of April 16, after returning from a fruitless night raid into Cumberland’s camp.Culloden was the final big defeat of a Scottish alternative to the British state, therefore not only is the ‘primitives’ narrative incorrect, but the conflict was also substantially different from what is remembered.Facts About Clans Involved In The BattleThe Battle of Culloden was fought between a modern army and the Highland clans –the Jacobite forces’ designation as a ‘Highland army’ was an allusion to northern Scotland’s patriotic traits rather than a description of its men’ background.The average Jacobite supporter fared better than the high-ranking officials. Around 100 ordinary men were executed, with one-third of them being British Army deserters.It’s worth considering why, in Murray Pittock’s words, “Culloden has been so systematically misremembered as a fight” over the past 275 years. It’s easy to see how the victorious constructed history to denigrate their defeated foes. The well-armed and disciplined British army could never have been conquered by a rabble of kilted primitives led by an incompetent and so-called ‘pretended Prince of Wales’; the Jacobites were no threat, an irrelevance, they claimed (though at the same time we know that the government in London took the Jacobite challenge very seriously). It was unavoidable that progress and civilization (ideally British) would emerge.Another, more sinister rationale for depicting the Jacobites as alien-looking, badly-armed savages with dubious loyalties who favored antiquated ways of living to progress, order, and the British way of life emerges. However, they are being categorized as foreigners.It is noteworthy that the Highland clans that fought on the side with the government army at Culloden included the Clan Sutherland, Clan MacKay, Clan Ross, Clan Gunn, Clan Grant, and others. The most feared Scottish clan was the Clan Campbell of Breadalbane.Facts About The Aftermath Of The BattleCulloden and its aftermath continue to stir up strong feelings.The Duke of Cumberland was given an honorary degree by the University of Glasgow, although many later observers claim that the battle’s aftermath and the ensuing crackdown on Jacobite sympathizers were cruel, giving Cumberland the moniker ‘Butcher’. Civil sanctions were implemented to undercut the Scottish clan system, which had supplied the Jacobites with the ability to quickly mobilize an army, and efforts were undertaken to further incorporate the Scottish Highlands into the Kingdom of Great Britain.The battle, which lasted around 40 minutes, ended in a crushing defeat for the Jacobites, who were vastly outnumbered. The destructive killing of the Jacobites was the conclusion of the opening British cannonade and succeeding tactics of the Redcoats during the Highlanders’ attack, when each British soldier bayoneted the exposed side of the man to his right, rather than attacking the Highlander directly in front of him.The Jacobites were defeated in terrible combat that lasted under an hour; between 1500-2000 Jacobites were killed or injured, while roughly 300 government soldiers were killed or wounded. The Jacobite campaign comes to a halt. The second battalion of Lovat’s regiment, led by the Master of Lovat, met the first of the fleeing Highlanders as they approached Inverness. It’s been alleged that Lovat shrewdly switched sides and turned on the fleeing Jacobites, an act that would account for his meteoric rise in fortune in the years that followed.In terms of numbers, Jacobite resistance remained plausible at this point: at least a third of the army had either missed or slept through Culloden, leaving a prospective force of 5000-6000 men, plus survivors from the conflict. However, Charles issued orders to the roughly 1500 troops gathered at Ruthven Barracks, instructing them to disperse until he returned with French support.The Highland units at Fort Augustus must have received similar orders, as the majority of the Jacobite army was disbanded by 18 April. Officers and troops from French units marched to Inverness, where they were taken prisoner of war on April 19. The majority of the army disbanded, with men returning home or seeking to flee abroad while the Appin Regiment, among others, was still fighting in July.Cumberland gave a written order to his men the morning after the Battle of Culloden, reminding them that “the public instructions of the rebels yesterday was to give us no quarter”. Cumberland alluded to the idea that such orders had been discovered on the bodies of Jacobites who had died in battle. Versions of the supposed commands were reported in the Newcastle Journal and the Gentleman’s Journal in the days and weeks that followed. Only one copy of the claimed ‘give no quarter’ command remains today.It is, however, thought to be nothing more than a crude forgery, as it is neither written nor signed by Murray and appears on the bottom half of a 1745 copy of a declaration. In any case, Cumberland’s command was not carried out for two days, following which the moor was searched and all those wounded were put to death, according to contemporary records. The orders provided by Lord George Murray for the conduct of the abortive night raid in the early hours of April 16, on the other hand, show that it would have been just as ruthless. The orders were to topple tents with only swords, dirks, and bayonets, then find swelling or bulge in the overturned tent and strike and press ferociously there. Over 20,000 heads of animals, lambs, and goats had been driven away and sold at Fort Augustus, with the earnings split between the men.Following their military victory, the British government introduced legislation to better integrate Scotland – specifically the Scottish Highland– with the rest of the United Kingdom. It is commonly believed that the Battle of Culloden was a defeat for Scottish nationalism. However, the Jacobite leadership wasn’t ‘nationalist’ in the modern sense. The Battle of Culloden put an end to any serious attempt by the Jacobites to re-establish the Stuart dynasty’s military power over the British throne. Prince Charles was pursued by troops and spies for five months before fleeing to France and final exile.The British Government would simply find another army and fight on if the Jacobites had won at Culloden. Given that the Jacobites were effectively a ‘franchise’ of the Austrian Wars of Succession, if they had won the rising, it has been suggested that it would have been part of a larger war for power across Europe.A 20 ft (6 m) high memorial cairn was erected by Duncan Forbes in 1881.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 167 Battle Of Culloden facts to refresh your history lessons then why not take a look at Battle of Franklin facts or Battle of Fredericksburg facts.
The Battle of Culloden has spawned a slew of intriguing but often inaccurate stories in the decades since it was fought.
