Nine months after Charles Edward Stuart – 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' – landed in the Outer Hebrides in his bid to retake the British crown for his father, the 'Old Pretender', a battle took place that settled the matter for good.
By this time, Charles's Jacobite army of at most 5,000 men had retreated to Scotland from Derby, the furthest south it would reach, and was based at Inverness. The government forces – under the duke of Cumberland, George II's favourite son – were in Aberdeen and Dunkeld. Contrary to popular opinion, they did not consist of English soldiers; the majority of the 8,000 men were, in fact, Scottish.
On 15 April 1746, the Highlanders moved to their chosen battlefield: Culloden, about five miles east of Inverness, a treeless, boggy moor that offered no protection from the guns of the opposition. The Jacobites also managed to leave most of their supplies and food behind.
That day was the duke of Cumberland's 25th birthday, and his troops, now in Nairn, spent the day drinking his health. At nightfall, the Jacobite commanders decided on a 12-mile forced march to Nairn, to make a surprise attack on the drunken government army. But by dawn, the Jacobites were two miles short of their target, and with the element of surprise gone, they turned around and marched back to Culloden.
By 11am, when Cumberland's hung-over army arrived, the Jacobites had not eaten for two days and had undergone a pointless forced march of over 20 miles. They were also outnumbered and woefully outgunned by the enemy, which rendered their main battle tactic – the charge with spear and broadsword – totally ineffective.
From the start, the government artillery picked off the Highlanders long before they reached Cumberland's lines, and those that got closer were dispatched with muskets. One charge did reach the southern end, but was repulsed after savage hand-to-hand fighting.
It was all over in less than an hour. Of the duke's troops, 364 were dead or wounded. Of the Jacobites, more than 1,000 were killed in the fight, as they lay wounded on the battlefield, after they had been taken prison or as they fled the scene. Some 3,470 Jacobites were taken prisoner and survived, but of these, 120 were executed and 88 died in prison, while 936 were transported to the colonies and 222 'banished'. The fate of nearly 700 is simply not known.
The duke's actions that day and the brutal reprisals that followed earned him the nickname 'Butcher Cumberland'. But the Jacobite defeat at Culloden did more than affect some thousands of individuals. It brought an end to a meaningful clan system – those clan chiefs who survived or had supported the government became little more than large landowners with tenants sharing the same surname. This opened the way for the Highland Clearances, when small-time crofters were removed in favour of sheep. It all spelled the end of the Jacobite cause and the end of a way of life that had lasted for centuries.
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 The Battle of Culloden
www.britishbattles.com/battle_of_cullode
n.htm
Good overview of the battle with some maps, lots of images and a breakdown of the military units involved.
The Stuart Claimants: The Battle of Culloden
www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/stuart_12.htm
The Highlanders stood their ground courageously at this ferocious battle that ended in carnage.
 Culloden Moor
Inverness
Highland IV2 5EU
Tel: 01463 790 607
E-mail: culloden@nts.org.uk
On the B9006, 5 miles east of Inverness. OS ref: NH745450
Website: www.nts.org.uk/Property/21/
The site remains much as it would have been in 1746. The dykes that played a crucial part in the battle have been reconstructed, and sheep are allowed to graze on the battlefield so that scrub and regenerating trees are gradually removed. The site also includes the restored Leanach Cottage, which survived the battle. Here, you can see a 'living history' presentation – A Day Like No Other – which runs throughout the summer. The Visitor Centre has a Jacobite exhibition with weapons and artefacts from the period.
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