Culloden Moor Battlefield, Scotland
Historic Site of the Defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie near Inverness
May 1, 2009
Culloden Moor was a damp, marshy place, a dreadful site for the retreating Jacobites led by Bonnie Prince Charlie to mount a last stand to regain the throne. The Battle of Culloden was the last hand-to-hand battle fought on British soil, and changed Highland life dramatically.
Background to the Jacobite Rebellion leading to the Battle of Culloden
The scene had been set during the previous century King James II of England and VII of Scotland fled the country, to be replaced by William of Orange and his wife Mary at the invitation fo the English and Scottish Parliaments. Thus was the rule of the House of Stuart replaced by the House of Hanover, and the country favoured a balance of power between the King and Parliament, as opposed to the absolute power of the monarchy favoured by the Stuarts.
King James' son, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, exiled to France, saw an opportunity when the British lost a key battle against the French. He arrived in the Highlands of Scotland with just a handful of men, but parlayed his way to gain more support from local chiefs to raise the Jacobite flag at Glenfinnan. The British government expected this to be dealt with locally, but the Jacobite forces won a decisive victory at Prestonpans and began to march south, reaching Derby on the 4th December 1745. They had overextended themselves as promised French support did not materialise, and retreated to Scotland, defeating government forces again at Falkirk in January 1746.
The plan was to recover over the winter, however, Jacobite forces were spread out and he was beginning to run out of money. Government forces advanced westwards from Aberdeen; they camped on the 15th April 1746 and Nairn, celebrating the Duke's 25th Birthday. The Jacobites hatched a desperate plan to attack the government forces in the night after their celebrations. It would have been a good plan, but parts of the Jacobite forces got lost, and the remaining forces took too long to get to Nairn. In confusion the ambush was aborted.
Charles could have withdrawn his tired army back to Inverness, retreating ahead fo the Duke of Cumberland's redcoats. However, he did not do this, preferring to stand and fight a close battle in the marshy grounds of Culloden Moor.
The Battle of Culloden
The Highland Clans fought on the Jacobite side and had perfected the Highland Charge in previous battles, rushing the enemy lines and scattering them in disarray by firing their muskets at close range. At 1pm the Jacobites opened fire on the line of Government forces opposing them.
However, Cumberland's forces were trained for this attack and stood their ground, having learned to tackle the Highland charge with a combination of gunfire, grapeshot and bayonets. Within almost an hour government forces had exactled a deadly toll on Bonnie Prince Charlie's army, which had to flee.
After the battle Cumberland earned the title of Butcher for his ruthless pursuance of the rebellion, destroying Highland society and punishing anyone suspected of having been on the other side.
Visiting Culloden Moor Battlefield and Visitor Centre
There is a pay and display car park at Culloden Moor, signposted from the A96 Inverness to Nairn road. It is possible to visit the battlefield from here, which interpretative signs, and blue flags at the intial Jacobite lines and red flags showing the initial position of the Duke of Cumberland's forces.
The visitor centre has an excellent audiovisual exhibition which really does help fill in the background, however, it is quite expensive at £10 a head (adult, 2009).
GPS Location of Culloden Moor Battlefield
57.483587N 4.072752W
Culloden Moor Battlefield on Google Maps
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