   #copyright

Jacobite rising

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500-1750

   The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars
   in the British Isles occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings
   were aimed at restoring James VII of Scotland and II of England, and
   later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he
   was deposed by Parliament during the Glorious Revolution. The series of
   conflicts takes its name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.

   The major Jacobite Risings were called the Jacobite Rebellions by the
   new governments. The "First Jacobite Rebellion" and "Second Jacobite
   Rebellion" were known respectively as "The Fifteen" and "The
   Forty-Five", after the years in which they occurred ( 1715 and 1745).

   Although each Jacobite Rising has unique features, they all formed part
   of a larger series of military campaigns by Jacobites attempting to
   restore the Stuart kings to the thrones of Scotland and England (and
   after 1707, Great Britain) after James VII of Scotland and II of
   England was deposed in 1688 and the thrones claimed by his daughter
   Mary II jointly with her husband, the Dutch born William of Orange. The
   risings continued, and even intensified, after the House of Hanover
   succeeded to the British Throne in 1714. They continued until the last
   Jacobite Rebellion ("the Forty-Five"), led by Charles Edward Stuart
   (Bonnie Prince Charlie), was soundly defeated at the Battle of Culloden
   in 1746, forever ending any realistic hope of a Stuart restoration.

"Glorious" Revolution

   From the second half of the 17th century onwards, the British Isles
   suffered a time of political and religious turmoil. The Commonwealth
   ended with the Restoration of Charles II, re-establishment of the
   Church of England and imposition of Episcopalian church government.

   In 1685 Charles II was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, James
   II and VII, who tried to impose religious tolerance of Roman Catholics
   and Protestant Dissenters, antagonizing members of the Anglican
   establishment. In 1688 James's second wife had a boy, bringing the
   prospect of a Catholic dynasty, and the " Immortal Seven" invited
   James's daughter Mary and her husband and first cousin William of
   Orange to depose James and jointly rule in his place. On 4th November
   1689 William arrived at Torbay, England and, when he landed the next
   day, James fled to France: in February 1689 the Glorious Revolution
   formally changed England's monarch, but many Catholics, Episcopalians
   and Tory royalists still supported James as the constitutionally
   legitimate monarch. Scotland was slow to accept William, who summoned a
   Convention of the Estates which met on 14 March 1689 in Edinburgh and
   considered a conciliatory letter from William and a haughty one from
   James. On James's side a modest force of a troop of fifty horsemen
   gathered by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee was in town,
   and he attended the convention at the start but withdrew four days
   later when support for William became evident. The convention set out
   its terms and William and Mary were proclaimed at Edinburgh on 11 April
   1689, then had their coronation in London in May.

                             Williamite War in Ireland
   Derry – Dromore – Newtownbutler – Boyne – 1st Limerick – Athlone –
   Aughrim – 2nd Limerick

Jacobite war in Ireland

   The Williamite war in Ireland was the opening conflict in James'
   attempts to regain the throne. It influenced the Jacobite Rising in
   Scotland which "Bonnie Dundee" started at about the same time. When it
   ended in October 1691 the Irish Jacobite army left Ireland for France,
   becoming the Irish Brigade which provided forces assisting The
   'Forty-Five Jacobite Rising in Scotland.

Dundee's rising in Scotland

                17th Century Scottish Jacobite Rising
   Battle of Killiecrankie – Battle of Dunkeld – Battle of Cromdale

   On 16 April 1689 John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, raised
   James' standard on the hilltop of Dundee Law with fewer than 50 men in
   support. At that time he was known as Bluidy Clavers for his part in
   dealing with Covenanters, but nowadays he is sometimes remembered as
   Bonnie Dundee from the words of a sentimental popular song written by
   the romantic Walter Scott in 1830. James had already arrived in Ireland
   and his letter was on the way promising Irish troops to assist the
   rising in Scotland. At first Viscount Dundee had difficulty in raising
   many supporters, but that changed after the Williamite commander
   Major-General Hugh Mackay of Scourie proved ineffective in chasing
   after Dundee around the north, and 200 Irish troops successfully landed
   at Kintyre. Dundee received support in the western Scottish Highlands
   from Roman Catholic and Episcopalian Clans.

   By July the Jacobites had 8 battalions and 2 companies, almost all
   Highlanders. Dundee gained the confidence of the Clans by understanding
   the need to treat each Highlander as a touchy gentleman whose
   allegiance to his chieftain and clan with its etiquette and precedence
   was much more important than a secondary cause such as Jacobitism. At a
   time when infantry were trained to fight in formation, the Highlander's
   method was to set aside their plaids and other encumbrances before the
   battle, drop to the ground if their enemy fired a volley then, after
   quickly returning fire, run screaming at their foe in the Highland
   charge with broadsword and targe (shield) or whatever other weapon they
   had, sometimes pitchforks or Lochaber axes (a combined axe and spear on
   a long pole). This charge could be devastating to troops in formation
   still struggling to reload their muskets or fix bayonets.

   This charge defeated a larger lowland Scots force at the Battle of
   Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689, but about a third of the Highlanders
   were killed in the fighting, and Dundee himself died in the battle. At
   the street fighting of the Battle of Dunkeld on 21 August the Jacobite
   Highlanders were set back by the Cameronians (now a government
   regiment), but much of the north remained hostile to the government and
   expeditions to subdue the highlands met with a series of skirmishes.
   Jacobite forces suffered a heavy defeat at the Haughs of Cromdale on 1
   May 1690, and later that month Mackay constructed Fort William on the
   site of an old fort built by Cromwell. Then in June news arrived of
   William's victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne and Jacobite
   hopes petered out. On 17 August 1691 William offered all Highland clans
   a pardon for their part in the Jacobite Uprising, provided that they
   took an oath of allegiance before 1 January 1692 in front of a
   magistrate. The Highland chiefs sent word to James, now in exile in
   France, asking for his permission to take this oath. James dithered
   over his decision, eventually authorising the chiefs to take the oath
   in a message which only reached its recipients in mid-December. Despite
   difficult winter conditions a few took the oath in time. The exemplary
   brutality of the Massacre of Glencoe sped acceptance, and by the spring
   of 1692 the Jacobite chiefs had all sworn allegiance to William.

The "Old Pretender"

The Old Pretender's attempted invasion

   After a brief peace, the War of the Spanish Succession renewed French
   support for the Jacobites and in 1708 James Stuart, the Old Pretender,
   sailed from Dunkirk with 6000 French troops in almost 30 ships of the
   French navy. Their intended landing in the Firth of Forth was thwarted
   by the Royal Navy under Admiral Byng which pursued the French fleet and
   made them retreat round the north of Scotland, losing ships and most of
   their men in shipwrecks on the way back to Dunkirk.

The 'Fifteen

         First Jacobite Rising
   Preston – Sheriffmuir – Glen Shiel

   Following the arrival from Hanover of George I in 1714, Tory Jacobites
   in England conspired to organise armed rebellion against the new
   Hanoverian government, but were to prove indecisive and frightened by
   government arrests of their leaders. In Scotland, however, 1715 saw
   what is often referred to as the First Jacobite Rising (or Rebellion).
   James Stuart, the "Old Pretender"
   James Stuart, the "Old Pretender"

   The Treaty of Utrecht had ended hostilities between France and Britain.
   From France, as part of widespread Jacobite plotting, James Stuart, the
   Old Pretender, had been corresponding with the Earl of Mar and in the
   summer of 1715 called on him to raise the Clans. Mar, nicknamed Bobbin'
   John, rushed from London to Braemar and summoned clan leaders to "a
   grand hunting-match" on 27 August 1715. On September 6th he proclaimed
   James as "their lawful sovereign" and raised the old Scottish standard,
   whereupon (ominously) the gold ball fell off the top of the flagpole.
   Mar's proclamation brought in an alliance of clans and northern
   Lowlanders, and they quickly overran many parts of the Highlands.

   Mar's Jacobites captured Perth on 14 September without opposition and
   his army grew to around 8,000 men, but a force of less than 2,000 men
   under the Duke of Argyll held the Stirling plain for the government and
   Mar indecisively kept his forces in Perth. He waited for the Earl of
   Seaforth to arrive with a body of northern clans, but Seaforth was
   delayed by attacks from other clans loyal to the government. Planned
   risings in Wales and Devon were forestalled by the government arresting
   the local Jacobites.

   Starting around 6 October a rising in the north of England grew to
   about 300 horsemen under Thomas Forster, a Northumberland squire, then
   joined forces with a rising in the south of Scotland under Viscount
   Kenmure. Mar sent a Jacobite force under Brigadier William Mackintosh
   of Borlum to join them. They left Perth on October 10th and were
   ferried across the Firth of Forth from Burntisland to East Lothian.
   Here they were diverted into an attack on an undefended Edinburgh, but
   having seized Leith citadel they were chased away by the arrival of
   Argyll's forces. Mackintosh's force of about 2,000 then made their way
   south and met their allies at Kelso in the Scottish Borders on 22
   October, and spent a few days arguing over their options. The Scots
   wanted to fight government forces in the vicinity or attack Dumfries
   and Glasgow, but the English were determined to march towards Liverpool
   and led them to expect 20,000 recruits in Lancashire.

   The Highlanders resisted marching into England and there were some
   mutinies and defections, but they pressed on. Instead of the expected
   welcome the Jacobites were met by hostile militia armed with pitchforks
   and very few recruits. They were unopposed in Lancaster and found about
   1,500 recruits as they reached Preston on 9 November, bringing their
   force to around 4,000. Then Hanoverian forces (including the
   Cameronians) arrived to besiege them at the Battle of Preston, and the
   surviving Jacobites surrendered on 14 November.

   In Scotland, at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on November 13th, Mar's
   forces were unable to defeat a smaller force led by the Duke of Argyll
   and Mar retreated to Perth while the government army built up.
   Belatedly, on 22 December 1715 a ship from France brought the Old
   Pretender to Peterhead, but he was too consumed by melancholy and fits
   of fever to inspire his followers. He briefly set up court at Scone,
   Perthshire, visited his troops in Perth and ordered the burning of
   villages to hinder the advance of the Duke of Argyll through deep snow.
   The highlanders were cheered by the prospect of battle, but James's
   councillors decided to abandon the enterprise and ordered a retreat to
   the coast, giving the pretext of finding a stronger position. James
   boarded a ship at Montrose and fled to France on 4 February 1716,
   leaving a message advising his Highland followers to shift for
   themselves.

Spanish supported Jacobite invasion

   Cardinal Giulio Alberoni
   Cardinal Giulio Alberoni

   With France still at peace, the Jacobites found a new ally in Spain's
   Minister to the King, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. An invasion force set
   sail in 1719 with two frigates to land in Scotland to raise the clans,
   and 27 ships carrying 5,000 soldiers to England, but the latter were
   dispersed by storms before they could land. When the two Spanish
   frigates successfully landed a party of Jacobites led by Lord
   Tullibardine and Earl Marischal with 300 Spanish soldiers at Loch Duich
   they held Eilean Donan Castle, but met only lukewarm support from a few
   clans and at the Battle of Glen Shiel the Spanish soldiers were forced
   to surrender to government forces.

Aftermath of the 'Fifteen

   In the aftermath of the 'Fifteen, the Disarming Act and the Clan Act
   made ineffectual attempts to subdue the Scottish Highlands. Government
   garrisons were built or extended in the Great Glen at Fort William,
   Kiliwhimin (later renamed Fort Augustus) and Fort George, Inverness, as
   well as barracks at Ruthven, Bernera ( Glenelg) and Inversnaid, linked
   to the south by the Wade roads constructed for Major-General George
   Wade.

   In 1725 Wade raised the independent companies of the Black Watch as a
   militia to keep peace in the unruly Highlands, but in 1743 they were
   moved to fight the French in Flanders. Tellingly, their commander at
   the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745 was the Duke of Cumberland, soon to
   command at Culloden.

The "Young Pretender"

1744 French invasion attempt

   In 1743 the War of the Austrian Succession drew Britain and France into
   open, though unofficial, hostilities against each other. Leading
   English Jacobites made a formal request to France for armed
   intervention and the French king's Master of Horse toured southern
   England meeting Tories and discussing their proposals. In November 1743
   Louis XV of France authorised a large-scale invasion of southern
   England in February 1744 which was to be a surprise attack. Troops were
   to march from their winter quarters to hidden invasion barges which
   were to take them and Charles Edward Stuart, with the guidance of
   English Jacobite pilots to Maldon in Essex where they were to be joined
   by local Tories in an immediate march on London. Charles, (later known
   as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender) was in exile in Rome
   with his father ( James Stuart, the Old Pretender), and rushed to
   France.

   As late as 13 February the British were still unaware of these
   intentions, and while they then arrested many suspected Jacobites the
   French plans really went astray on 24 February when one of the worst
   storms of the century scattered the French fleets which were about to
   battle for control of the English Channel, sinking one ship and putting
   five out of action.

   The barges had began embarking some 10,000 troops and the storm wrecked
   the troop and equipment transports, sinking some with the loss of all
   hands. Charles was officially informed on 28 February that the invasion
   had been cancelled. The British lodged strong diplomatic objections to
   the presence of Charles, and France declared war but gave Charles no
   more support.

The 'Forty-Five'

                              Second Jacobite Rising
   Highbridge – Prestonpans – 1st Carlisle – Clifton – 2nd Carlisle –
   Inverurie – Falkirk – Fort William – Culloden

   Such is the connection between 1745 and the rising in the Gaelic
   mindset, that the '45 is known as Bliadhna Theàrlaich (Charles' Year)
   in Scottish Gaelic.

   Charles continued to believe that he could reclaim the kingdom and
   recalled that early in 1744 a small number of Scottish Highland clan
   chieftains had sent a message that they would rise if he arrived with
   as few as 3,000 French troops. Living at French expense, he continued
   to badger ministers for commitment to another invasion, to their
   increasing irritation. In secrecy he also developed a plan with a
   consortium of Nantes privateers, funded by exiled Scots bankers and
   pawning of his mother's jewellery. They fitted out a small frigate le
   Du Teillay and a ship of the line the Elisabeth and set out from Nantes
   for Scotland in July 1745 on the pretence that this was a normal
   privateering cruise, leaving a personal letter from Charles to Louis XV
   of France announcing the departure and asking for help with the rising.
   The Elisabeth, carrying weapons, supplies and 700 volunteers from the
   Irish Brigade, encountered the British Navy ship HMS Lion and with both
   ships badly damaged in the ensuing battle the Elisabeth was forced
   back, but the Frigate successfully landed Charles with his seven men of
   Moidart on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides on 2 August
   1745.

   The Scottish clans and their chieftains initially showed little
   enthusiasm about his arrival without troops or munitions (with
   Alexander MacDonald of Sleat and Norman MacLeod of MacLeod refusing
   even to meet with him), but Charles went on to Moidart and on 19 August
   1745 raised the standard at Glenfinnan to lead the Second Jacobite
   Rising in his father's name. This attracted about 1,200 men, mostly of
   Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan
   MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan Cameron. The Jacobite force marched
   south from Glenfinnan, increasing to almost 3,000 men, though two
   chieftains insisted on pledges of compensation before joining.
   Morier's painting "Culloden" shows the highlanders still wearing the
   plaids which they normally set aside before battle, where they would
   fire a volley then run full tilt at the enemy with broadsword and targe
   in the Highland charge wearing only their shirts
   Morier's painting " Culloden" shows the highlanders still wearing the
   plaids which they normally set aside before battle, where they would
   fire a volley then run full tilt at the enemy with broadsword and targe
   in the Highland charge wearing only their shirts

   A list of clans that "came out" to join the Prince, or were prevented
   from doing so, is given below.

   Most of the British army was in Flanders and Germany, leaving an
   inexperienced army of about 4,000 in Scotland under Sir John Cope. His
   force marched north into the Highlands, but found little support
   because of the unpopularity of the " Hanoverian"government of King
   George II and, believing the rebel force to be stronger than it really
   was, avoided an engagement with the Jacobites at the Pass of
   Corryairack and withdrew northwards to Inverness. The Jacobites
   captured Perth and at Coatbridge on the way to Edinburgh routed two
   regiments of government Dragoons. In Edinburgh there was panic with a
   melting away of the City Guard and Volunteers and when the city gate at
   the Netherbow Port was opened at night, to let a coach through, a party
   of Camerons rushed the sentries and seized control of the city. The
   next day King James VIII was proclaimed at the Mercat Cross and a
   triumphant Charles entered Holyrood palace.

   Cope's army got supplies from Inverness then sailed from Aberdeen down
   to Dunbar to meet the Jacobite forces near Prestonpans to the east of
   Edinburgh. On 21 September 1745 at the Battle of Prestonpans a surprise
   attack planned by Lord George Murray routed the government forces, as
   celebrated in the Jacobite song "Hey, Johnny Cope, are you waking
   yet?". Charles immediately wrote again to France pleading for a prompt
   invasion of England. There was alarm in England, and in London a
   patriotic song which included a prayer for Marshal Wade's success in
   crushing the Scots was performed, later to become the National Anthem.

   The Jacobites held the city of Edinburgh, though not the castle.
   Charles held court at Holyrood palace for five weeks amidst great
   admiration and enthusiasm, but failed to raise a regiment locally. Many
   of the highlanders went home with booty from the battle and recruiting
   resumed, though Whig clans opposing the Jacobites were also getting
   organised. The French now sent some weapons and funds, and assurances
   that they would carry out their invasion of England by the end of the
   year. Charles's Council of war led by Murray was against leaving
   Scotland, but he told them that he had received English Tory assurances
   of a rising if he appeared in England in arms, and the Council agreed
   to march south by a margin of one vote.

   The Jacobite army of under six thousand men set out on 3 November.
   During the delay the government had brought seasoned troops back from
   the continent and an army under General George Wade assembled at
   Newcastle. Charles wanted to confront them, but on the advice of Lord
   George Murray and the Council they made for Carlisle and successfully
   bypassed Wade. At Manchester about 250 Episcopalians formed a regiment,
   but no other Englishmen joined the Prince. At the end of November
   French ships arrived in Scotland with 800 men from the Écossais Royeaux
   (Royal Scots) and Irish Regiments of the French army.

   The Jacobite army, now reduced by desertions to under 5,000 men, was
   manoeuvred by Murray round to the east of a second government army
   under the Duke of Cumberland and marched on Derby.

   They entered Derby on 4 December, only 125 miles (200 km) from a
   panicking London, with a resentful Charles by then barely on speaking
   terms with Murray. Charles was advised of progress on the French
   invasion fleet which was then assembling at Dunkirk, but at his Council
   of War he was forced to admit to his previous lies about assurances.
   While Charles was determined to press on in the deluded belief that
   their success was due to soldiers of the regulars never daring to fight
   against their true prince, his Council and Lord George Murray pointed
   out their position. The promised English support had not materialised,
   both Wade and Cumberland were approaching, a militia was forming in
   London and they had a report of a third army closing on them
   (fictitious, from a government double agent).
   March of the Guards to Finchley (1750), William Hogarth's satirical
   depiction of troops mustered to defend London from the 1745 Jacobite
   rebellion.
   March of the Guards to Finchley (1750), William Hogarth's satirical
   depiction of troops mustered to defend London from the 1745 Jacobite
   rebellion.

   They insisted that their army should return to join the growing force
   in Scotland. This time only Charles voted to continue the advance, and
   he assented while throwing a tantrum and vowing never to consult the
   Council again. On December 6, the Jacobites sullenly began their
   retreat, with a petulant Charles refusing to take any part in running
   the campaign which was fortunate given the excellent leadership of
   Murray, whose brilliant feints and careful planning extracted the army
   virtually intact. The French got news of the retreat and cancelled
   their invasion which was now ready, while English Tories who had just
   sent a message pledging support if Charles reached London went to
   ground again.

   There was a rearguard action to the north of Penrith. The Manchester
   regiment was left behind to defend Carlisle and after a siege by
   Cumberland had to surrender, to face hanging or transportation. Many
   died in Carlisle Castle, where they were imprisoned in brutal
   conditions along with Scots prisoners who Morier painted to depict the
   kilted clansmen in battle. Many of the Cells there still show hollows
   licked into the stone walls, as prisoners had only the damp and moss on
   these stones to sustain themselves. By Christmas the Jacobites came to
   Glasgow and forced the city to re-provision their army, then on January
   3rd left to seize the town of Stirling and begin an ineffectual siege
   of Stirling Castle. Jacobite reinforcements joined them from the north
   and on 17 January about 8,000 of Charles's 9,000 men took the offensive
   to the approaching General Henry Hawley at the Battle of Falkirk and
   routed his forces.

   The Jacobite army then turned north, losing men and failing to take
   Stirling Castle or Fort William but taking Fort Augustus and Fort
   George in Inverness by early April. Charles now took charge again,
   insisting on fighting an orthodox defensive action, and on 16 April
   1746 they were finally defeated near Inverness at the Battle of
   Culloden by government forces made up of English and Scottish troops
   and Campbell militia, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. The
   seemingly suicidal Highland sword charge against cannon and muskets had
   succeeded in earlier battles but failed now owing to the completely
   unsuitable nature of the battlefield chosen by Charles, his irresolute
   tactics and Cumberland having trained his men well with new bayonet
   tactics to withstand the charge. Charles promptly abandoned his army,
   blaming everything on the treachery of his officers, even though after
   the defeat the stragglers and unengaged units rallied at the agreed
   rendezvous and only dispersed when ordered to leave.

   Charles fled to France making a dramatic if humiliating escape
   disguised as a "lady's maid" to Flora Macdonald. Cumberland's forces
   crushed the rebellion and effectively ended Jacobitism as a serious
   political force in Britain. The decline of Jacobitism left Charles
   making futile attempts to enlist assistance, and another abortive plot
   to raise support in England.

List of clans that joined the Prince

   Eventually the following clans "came out" to join the Prince: Clan
   Cameron, Clan Chisholm, Clan Drummond, Clan Farquharson, Clan Hay, Clan
   Livingstone or MacLea, Clan MacBain, Clan MacColl, Clan MacDonald of
   Clan Ranald, Clan MacDonald of Glencoe, Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry,
   Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, Clan MacFie, Clan MacGillvary, Clan
   MacGregor, Clan MacInnes, Clan MacKintosh, Clan MacIver, Clan
   MacKinnon, Clan MacLachlan, Clan MacLaren, Clan MacNeil of Barra, Clan
   Macpherson, Clan Menzies, Clan Ogilvy, Clan Oliphant, Clan Robertson,
   Clan Stewart of Appin.

   Furthermore, the regiment of Atholl Highlanders was mostly made up of
   members of Clan Murray, Clan Fergusson, and Clan Stewart of Atholl.
   Significant numbers of men from Clan Boyd, Clan Elphinstone, Clan
   Forbes, Clan Keith, Clan MacIntyre, Clan MacKenzie, Clan MacLean, Clan
   MacLeod of MacLeod, Clan MacLeod of Lewis, Clan MacTavish, Clan
   MacMillan, Clan Maxwell, Clan Ramsay, and Clan Wemyss also joined the
   Jacobite army.

   The Clan Fraser of Lovat also joined the prince and fought at Culloden
   although the other Clan Fraser remained neutral. Many men of the Clan
   Gordon also joined the Jacobites led by the chief's brother Lord Lewis
   Gordon. Although the chief of Clan Gordon claimed to support the
   British government his brother raised two regiments in support of the
   Jacobites.

   Some chieftains who were trying or planning to raise their clan for the
   Prince were stopped or even imprisoned, notably Sir James Campbell of
   Auchnabreck and Alexander MacDougall of Dunollie, who were stopped from
   raising Clan Campbell of Auchnabreck and Clan MacDougall by Campbell of
   Argyll, and Sir Hector MacLean and Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, who
   would have raised Clan MacLean and Clan MacTavish had they not been
   imprisoned by the English.

Common misconceptions about the Jacobites and the '45'

     * It is often mistaken as a war between Highlanders and Lowlanders;
       Many major Highland clans supported the British government
       including: Clan Sutherland, Clan Sinclair, Clan Campbell, Clan
       MacKay, Clan Munro, Clan Ross, Clan Gunn, Clan MacLeod, Clan Grant
       and others, along with Scottish Lowlands regiments. On the Jacobite
       side, Scottish Episcopalians provided over half of their forces in
       Britain, and although Dundee's rising in 1689 came mostly from the
       western Highlands, in later risings Episcopalians came roughly
       equally from the north-east Scottish Lowlands north of the River
       Tay and from the Highland clans In the '45 the Jacobite forces were
       joined by about 250 English Episcopalians, and at Culloden by 800
       men from the Écossais Royaux ( Royal Scots) and Irish Brigade
       Regiments of the French army.

     * It is often mistaken to be a war between England and Scotland. It
       was actually a bid to reclaim not just the defunct Scottish throne
       - but that of Great Britain as well as the Irish throne. - with
       support from Europe. Though donning Highland garb for psychological
       effect, the Jacobite army was made up of both Highland and (about
       one-third) Lowland troops, not to mention French and Irish troops.

     * It is often mistaken that Lowlanders were forced to join the
       Jacobite army. Recruiting records show the Lowlands provided many
       volunteers, including some gentry. Jacobite support was strong in
       the north-east Lowlands. England also supplied some volunteers,
       including a small regiment. Indeed, Highlanders were probably more
       often pressed into service than Lowlanders. The act of pressing was
       not exclusive to the Jacobites; it was also used by most other
       contemporary armies, including the British Army.

     * It is often said that the Jacobite army's organisation was a
       backward clan-based relic, with inexperienced commanders and
       untrained troops. The Jacobite army’s organisation was similar to
       that of most other contemporary armies. Many Jacobite commanders
       had seen service in various armies, and field commander George
       Murray was easily one of the best of the time. It is interesting to
       note that while Culloden was Prince Charles’s only defeat (caused
       by the decision to entrench and defend Inverness as Jacobite funds
       were very low), it was Cumberland’s only ever victory. While many
       Jacobite soldiers were of poor appearance, some without even shoes,
       they were among the most feared troops the British faced. The
       hardiness, individuality, and resourcefulness of Highlanders made
       them known as some of the best troops in the British Army.

     * It is also said that London was never threatened by the Jacobites;
       In fact at that time, London had no significant defending forces
       and the Jacobite army was only two to three days march away. London
       officials had made evacuation plans for themselves.

     * It is said that Jacobite soldiers were ordered to "give no quarter"
       at Culloden. That is what Cumberland’s troops believed, because
       that is what Cumberland told them after the battle: that an order
       to that effect, signed by the Jacobite General Lord George Murray,
       had been found on a prisoner. But the 'order' was apparently a
       forgery, which helped to dehumanise the Jacobite troops and
       perpetuate their image as savages. Many in Britain at once believed
       the story of a "no quarter" order, and many also thought it
       justified their own army’s uncommonly savage behaviour after
       winning the battle, when government troops abused and butchered
       many prisoners, wounded, and even onlookers (including children).
       To deepen the mystery of who wrote the alleged order, it has been
       persuasively argued that the 'forgery' was no such thing; that
       "Whoever wrote it cannot seriously have drawn it up with a view to
       passing it off as genuine orders issued by Lord George." On the
       contrary, the inserted command "to give no Quarters to the Electors
       Troops on any account whatsoever" may genuinely have been found on
       the official, signed orders in a Jacobite prisoner's pocket; it may
       indeed have been interpolated by a Jacobite hand, and Cumberland
       may have been sincere when he announced the discovery of the
       apparently incriminating document to his outraged army. After
       issuing instructions for the coming battle, Lord George Murray
       tried to pre-empt it by leading a bungled attempt to ambush the
       Hanoverian army in their tents as they slept. He refused to give
       any separate orders for this attack because "everybody knew what he
       had to do": that is, "to cut the tent strings and pull down the
       poles, and where we observed a swelling or bulge in the fallen tent
       there to strike and push vigorously” with “sword, dirk and
       bayonet". It is conceivable that a Jacobite officer, in the absence
       of any separate orders for the intended merciless night-attack,
       simply amended those he had already been given. (Speck, 148–155).

   Nonetheless, in the morning the exhausted Jacobite soldiers were
   certainly not ordered to “give no quarter” at the Battle of Culloden
   itself.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobite_rising"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
