Jacobite Highlander
1745-1746
James VII of Scotland (and II of England) succeeded his brother, Charles II, to the throne. He was a staunch believer that Kings ruled by divine right, and he was also a Roman Catholic. In 1688 Parliament drove him out of Britain on the grounds of his support for the Catholic faith. In 1689 James was deposed and William of Orange and James II’s daughter Mary were handed the crown by Parliament. Subseqently James tried to regain his throne and this led to the Jacobite uprisings (the term Jacobite is derived from the Latin Jacobus, which means James). In all, there were 5 attempts for James’ restoration to the throne, the most famous of which were the three uprisings in 1689, 1715 and 1745.
The first uprisings soon followed William and Mary’s succession to the throne. One of the main figures of the first rebellion in 1689 was John Graham (“Bonnie Dundee”), the Earl of Claverhouse - although he was killed at Killikrankie in July. Meanwhile James had fled to Ireland where he raised an army which was then defeated by William at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. Thereafter James fled to France where he was joined by some 10,000 Irishmen. The remaining Jacobite forces surren-dered after their defeat at Limerick. King James VII died in exile in 1701.
In 1708, James Francis Stuart (nicknamed “The Old Pretender” sails out of France, intent on landing in Scotland to support the Jacobites, but was forced to return to France. George I (Protestant Elector of Hanover) succeeded Queen Anne to the throne , although Stuart’s claims were supported in England and even more in Scotland.
In 1715, the Jacobites were rallied again when James landed in Scotland, some months after the Earl of Mar had raised the clans again. The battle at Sheriffmuir was indecisive; a small Jacobite army was defeated at Preston. James VIII had not brought the expected French military forces or any money and after two months, he was advised to withdraw and subsequently left for France.
In 1719 Eilean Donan Castle was attacked by an army of some 300 Spaniards after which Jacobite forces were defeated in June at Glen Shiel.
Fifth Jacobite Uprising (1745)
James Francis Stuart had married Princess Clementina Maria Sobieski of Poland and their son, Prince Charles Edward Stuart was born in Rome on 31 December 1720. Charles was treated as a Prince in Italy and later in France. The French and British were at loggerheads and in 1744 offered a fleet with 7,000 soldiers to help Charles restore the Stuarts to the British throne. But many of the ships were lost in a storm and wrecked on the Dunkirk coast.
In July 1745, Charles Edward Stuart, (nicknamed “The Young Pretender” and “Bonnie Prince Charlie”), landed in Scotland. The English advanced northwards, avoiding battle but were subsequently to meet the Jacobite forces at Dunbar. The Jacobites, led by Lord George Murray, won the Battle of Presonpans. The English troops broke ranks and fled from the 2500 fighting men.
Prince Charles crossed the English border with 5,500 men and advanced through England. By 4 December they had reached as far as Derby in the heart of England, 120 miles from London. Without support from the Scottish lowlands or England, and with a promised French force never materializing, they were forced to retreat. Murray led a skilful retreat from Derby. On 17th January, the Jacobite and Hanoverian armies met near Falkirk. Thanks once again to the tactics of Lord George Murray, the Highlanders inflicted heavy casualties on the redcoats who left the field of battle in confusion. In the entire campaign from Glenfinnan to Falkirk the Jacobite army had never been defeated.
After Falkirk, Charles was forced to turn north on the advice of his officers, even though he was totally opposed to this idea. While Charles’ army headed north, growing ever smaller, the Duke of Cumberland (known to the Scots as “Butcher Cumberland”) was in pursuit with fresh troops. Charles reached Inverness in February with less than 5,000 men as opposed to the 8,000 men marching from Moray Firth.
On 16 April 1746 the opposing forces met on Culloden Moor. The Scots were cut down by cannonfire and the exhausted few that made it to English lines were cut down. It is estimated that Jacobite losses amounted to 2,000; the Hanoverians lost 300. Bonnie Prince Charlie was hounded for months by English troops who hunted down anyone who was thought to have participated in the "Jacobite Rebellion" and many houses and castles were torched. Wearing of the kilt, use of the tartan was prohibited on pain of death, the gathering of clans was forbidden and no Highlander could carry a weapon. Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped only with the help of Flora MacDonald, who dressed him up as her servant "Betty Burke" to get him safely to the Isle of Skye where he then took ship to France.
References: The Scottish Jacobite Army 1745-46, Stuart Reid, Osprey Publishing (Elite 149) 2006; Highland Clansman 1689-1746, Stuart Reid, Osprey Publishing (Warrior 21) 1997; The Jacobite Rebellions 1689-1745, Michael Barthorp, Osprey Publishing (Men-at-Arms 118) 1982; British Battles, Ken and Denise Guest, Harper Collins 1996. Online: www.tartanregister.co.uk; www.historichighlanders.com.