The Battle of Culloden,
which caused major changes in the lives of our Scottish history
was fought 250 years ago on April 16, 1746. History has recorded the starting
time as twenty minutes after one in the afternoon. In twenty-five
minutes the battle was over with the losers, faithful Highland followers
of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Royal House of Stuart, facing an unknown
future.
The armies facing each other on
that date were vitually opposite in skill, ability
and equipment; the victors were the armies of the Duke
of Cumberland versus those of his cousin, Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Rebellions and ill-treatment of both Highlanders and Lowlanders,
culminating at the Battle of Culloden,
were compounded by happenings during the reign
of King James II of England and VII of Scotland (same person).
Bonnie
Prince
Charlie
To fully understand the enormity
of the loss, some of the happenings we find leading up to April
16, 1746 should be reviewed. There are several main
characters in this paper, mainly Bonnie Prince Charlie,
generally known by part of his full name: Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
The full name of the prince differs in various
books: (a) In "THE JACOBITE RISING OF 1745" his name is given
as Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir of the Royal House of Stuart;
(b) In "BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE" his name is Charles Edward Louis
Philip Sylvester Casimir Maria of the Royal House of Stuart; (c)
Another variation in "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE"
is Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir.
Why or how could one man, born December
31, 1720 (New Style date) [Old Style date is December 20, 1720]
change the course of Scottish history for many? He was born at the Palazzo
Muti, Rome, a gift from the Pope to King James. As an infant, he
was baptized by the Pope and he died in Rome 68 years
later, in 1788, in his daughter's arms.
The Scottish people, Highlanders and Lowlanders
alike, had a strong belief and desire to keep Scotland free
of the dictates of the Catholic church and to make the lives of all
Scottish people better than at the present time. A leader was needed
for this cause and as such, Bonnie Prince Charlie was given
assistance with men, goods, support, and finally, after
defeat, with the loss of many lives.
Family
Members
His parents were Princess Clementina Maria Sophia
Sobieska, a granddaughter of King John Sobieski of Poland,
and Prince James Edward, son of King James II of
England and VII of Scotland. To attempt to prevent the marriage,
Clementina was kept in a castle at Innsbruck, Austria.
Prince James Edward had, since his father
died in 1701, been recognized as the true king of Britain,
called King James III of England and VIII of Scotland.
He is remembered as 'The Old Pre- tender' (claimant).
True love and gallantry led to the rescue of Clementina, James
married her very shortly after that to protect her. Their family
consisted of two sons, at least, our Bonnie Prince
Charlie and also Henry, Cardinal of York. The family members were of the
Catholic faith, but Prince Charles converted to
the Protestant faith following the Battle of Culloden.
In 1685 King Charles II was succeeded
by his brother James, only king of Britain for about three years,
although he lived until 1701. King James II of the House of
Stuart had been converted to the Catholic religion; Catholics were
appointed to the high ranking positions in army, navy, against parliamentary
law. James' wife had a son in June, 1688 and he would
have been brought up in the Catholic faith. Their daughter,
Mary, a Pro-testant, was married to William, ruler of Holland, also
Protestant.
William
and Mary
Important people wrote to Holland and
requested William to come to England's assistance, which he
agreed to do, landing with his army at Torbay in Devonshire. The
throne was offered to William and Mary who accepted in 1689. Parliament
met and agreed James had abdicated, he had sent his family to France for
safety.
William and Mary were accepted by Parliaments of
both England and Scotland, laws were passed to prevent future
sovereigns ruling as James had done. Called the "Glorious
Revolution", it ensured Parliament controlled the government,
yet the welcome for William and Mary was not felt by all the people;
many thought of James as the true king of England.
When James died in 1701, his son was accepted as
the rightful heir to the throne as James III of England
and VIII of Scotland. Several attempts were made between 1701 and
1745 to alter what had happened in 1689. The ones who
did not welcome William and Mary were called Jacobites,
from JACOBUS, Latin for James.
To the Jacobites, Prince Charles Edward Stuart
was known as the "Young Chevalier"; to the Highlanders as the "Young Pretender".
He married Princess Louise of Stolberg, with no family.
His only child, a daughter, Charlotte, was born
October 29, 1753, with baptismal ceremony at the
Church of Our Lady of the Fountains at Liege --- Charlotte's mother
was Charles' mistress, Clementina Walkinshaw. It
is not definite if Prince Charles had her legitimatized as his daughter,
but she was faithful to him until his death. Charles died in Charlotte's
arms January 30, 1788; Charlotte died November 17, 1789 at
Bologna after a fall from a horse three days
earlier.
PersonalHistory
The personal history of Prince Charles
Edward Stuart, is inserted here, as the members of the many clans
deserve recognition as our ancestors. Following the birth of his daughter
in 1753, Charles and his mistress moved from place to place,
used various surnames, among these Thompson. His father, James, was old
and pleaded with Charles to visit him in Rome. Clementina left with their
child for Paris on July 22, 1760.
Charles was married by proxy in
Paris on March 28, 1772 in great secrecy to Princess Louise of Stolberg.
Louise was escorted to Venice and Ancona, met Charles at Macerata
on Good Friday April 17, 1772 with the real wedding taking
place the same day. Charles gave up some of his heavy drinking,
which had very possibly been the cause of the Culloden
downfall. Their married life was not happy and Louise
left to enter a convent -- however, as part of her freedom, she enjoyed
living with another. Finally a satisfactory settlement was
arranged ... Charles and his daughter, Charlotte enjoyed
their life together until his death in 1788, followed by her
death at the age of 36.
Prince Charles Edward Stuart had never set foot
on English or Scottish soil; he did not fully understand the powerful clan
system and he still felt his father, James III, to be the rightful king
as did his Jacobite supporters. They had endured many
problems over the years and were hopeful a final
revolution or rebellion would change the course of history
for the better. They welcomed the prince as their
leader, hopeful that James III, not William and Mary, would
be returned as rightful king.
The Landing
Prince Charlie had never been in the land of his
forefathers, and finally, on July 23, 1745, the Du Teillay
[often called 'La Doutelle'], a French transport vessel, landed at Eriskay,
among the Hebrides. A monument marks the place of his landing, plus
flowers only found at this landing place, within a certain
distance from the water.
One possible story is this: "The Prince had some
seeds of the convolvulus flower in his pocket when he left
Nantes in France. When he landed, climbing over rocks, he must
have spilt them. The seeds took root and have flourished
there for a few yards up the hill (from his place of landing) ever
since. This is the only place the convolvulus grows in all
two hundred and fifty or so Hebridean islands."
Another significant voyage was
on the L'HEUREUX, a French frigate on which Prince Charlie
sailed for France September 20, 1746, following his defeat
at Culloden. Prince Charles was only on soil in England and Scotland
for fourteen months!
CULLODEN
by John Preble, 1961 : Martin Secker & Warburg Limited, England,
has picture graphic passages of the Battle of Culloden, listed below
in brief:
The Battle of Culloden, 16 April 1746, was fought "five
hundred feet above sea level.
Between the Moray Firth and the valley of the Nairn the land
stretches some twelve miles ...
in a descending gradient from Loch Ness to the town of Nairn
... This was the country of Clan Chattan, Mackintoshes
principally and the people were tenants of the Laird of Mackintosh
at Moy Hall."
"... half a dozen schoolboys, playing truant ... sons of chiefs and tacksmen, had come to watch their kinsmen in battle ... among these the son of Mackintosh of Farr, and Arthur, son of the Laird of Inshes [Inness] ... Young James Mackintosh saw his father, Angus, pass by at the head of a company in the Clan Chattan Regiment ... boy was fourteen ... lived to be ninety ... last time he (James) saw his father (Angus Mackintosh of Farr)."
At the Battle of Culloden, Prince Charles Edward was 25 years and four months. The Duke of Cumberland, his cousin, was also 25 years old, born William Augustus, second son of George II, Commander of the King's Army in Scotland.
Differences:-
- The Prince and his supporters were ill-fed and untrained yet all
the Highland men were in favor of his
(and their) cause.
- The Duke of Cumberland had well-trained men, gathered
many honors and as soon as possible departed from the
area.
- After the Battle of Culloden, Prince Charles wandered
from place to place, disguised at times, kept hidden by many of Clan
Chattan, Flora MacDonald, the Farquhars, Mackintoshes, Campbell,
Stewart, Mackenzie.
"Black Friday", December 6, 1745, was actually the beginning of the 'retreat' or loss of the battle -- Prince Charles, sullen and depressed, was not of much assistance to his officers -- the loss culminated April 16, 1746.
"Captain John Farquharson of Allargue of Clan Chattan Regiment was a "Highland blooder", an unqualified doctor who administered to the sick by letting blood....Any instruments were taken away."
"The lovely ballad of Loch Lomond came from executions. Nineteen men hanged at Carlisle, twenty-three at York, seven at Penrith, seven at Brampton. The Scots at Carlisle and Brampton were hanged within a short ride of their own country, and from the death of one of them, taking the 'low road home by the grave' came the ballad. "Executions were held for very little reason."
Total of prisoners was 3,470 as follows:-
- Executed - 120; Transported - 936; Banished* - 222; Died in Prison
- 88; Escaped From Prison - 58; Conditional Pardon - 76; Released/Exchanged
- 1,287; Unknown - 684.
*[In the FATAL SHORE by Robert Hughes, George Farquhar, banished as a convict to Australia, directed and produced the first stage play in Australia 1789. The Australian families are justly proud of their convict ancestors - their own 'United Empire Loyalists'.]
The transported prisoners came under indenture as bound servants, shipped to many centres from New England to the Windward Islands. From January to spring, 1747, they were sent from gaol (jail) to Liverpool, handcuffed in pairs. Many Highlanders were among these prisoners: Farquhar, Mackintosh, MacDonald, Stewart, Campbell, Cameron, and MacKenzie.
They were a varied people from John MacIntosh, Inverness, who
played fiddle, to carpenters, shoemakers, bookbinders, bakers, tailors,
trades of all kinds.
- Entered Chesapeake Bay summer 1747;
- Many settled Virginia and Pennsylvania;
- After seven years were free men (of their indenture);
- Citizens were Americans by residence;
"in almost all of them there was kept alive a memory of their homeland.
Their children inherited this nostalgia and its loyalties."