Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie and the '45) Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Severino Maria Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, was born in Rome on 31 December, 1720. He was the son of the Stuart claimant to the English throne, James Francis Edward Stuart. His mother Maria Clementina Sobieska, was the granddaughter of the Polish King John III, but the Bonnie Prince had been raised in Italy, Italian was his first language and he was culturally, intellectually and temperamentally an Italian. His father, the Old Pretender, had been the son of the last Stuart King of England, James II, who had been deposed by William of Orange in 1688. Since the old king's death his son had made numerous attempts to regain the throne. In 1708, his attempt had been thwarted by an impromptu attack of measles. In 1715, he landed in Scotland but despite an indecisive battle being fought at Sheriffmuir, he was so disappointed by the response of the Highland Clans to the possibility of a Stuart Restoration that he left a terse note telling his supporters to look to themselves and took ship back to France. Once safely abroad he established a Court in exile, but his attempts at open rebellion had come to an end. In December, 1743, he named his son as Prince Regent and gave him full authority to regain his throne for him in any way he felt fit. His son was determined to do so through force of arms. It seemed to trouble him little that he had no army with which to do so.
The Bonnie Young Prince On 23 July, 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie landed on the Island of Eriskay in the Hebrides, with just 7 companions. He had nothing to offer the Highlanders, he had no troops and no arms, just a desire, he said, to make Scotland happy, and the promise of a French army to come. His venture was considered foolhardy to say the least, and the initial response to his arrival was less than enthusiastic. Many of the Clan Chieftains were unwilling to commit themselves to his cause but he was a Stuart and he was a Catholic, and he had people willing to work on his behalf. By the time he raised his Standard at Glenfinnan on 19 August, 1745, he was joined by 1200 men of the MacDonald's, Cameron's and MacDonnell's. The Clan's had rallied. The Prince continued to gather support as he advanced further south where he met little, if any, resistance. He easily captured the towns of Coatbridge and Perth, and on 11 September he entered Edinburgh, though he was unable to capture the Castle which held out. On 21 September, the Jacobites, as they were known, attacked and destroyed the only Hanoverian force of any note in Scotland. Sir John Cope with 2,500 men had set up camp near the town of Prestonpans. A brilliant plan devised by Lord George Murray, by far and away the most able Jacobite commander, which entailed a forced night march, enabled the Jacobite army to emerge out of the mist at first light and charge the English camp. The English troopers woken from their slumbers by the shouting and screams of a full-bloodied Highland charge broke and fled in panic. More than 400 were killed and a further 1500 captured. The Jacobites had suffered just 30 killed and 70 wounded. For the time being at least, Scotland belonged to the Bonnie Prince. For five weeks the Bonnie Prince lauded it in Edinburgh as a King in waiting, where he read
letters of congratulation and received delegations of admirers, but still very little practical support, for the truth was most of Scotland opposed him. But then Charlie wasn't content to be a King of Scotland his aim was to regain the throne of England for his father. At a heated Council of War, Charlie argued vehemently that his Highlanders must invade England itself. The Hanoverian army, he insisted, was in disarray, much of it indeed was still engaged in Flanders. He had received messages of support from Tories in England who were just waiting to flock to his banner, and a French invasion was imminent. Lord George Murray, on the other hand, was sceptical that any such support would materialise and that the Prince should instead cement his position in Scotland. In the end the decision went the Prince's way, but only by 1 vote. On 3 November, 1745, the Jacobite army, 6,000 strong, set out for London. Though London was in a panic and preparations had already been made should George I have to make a hasty departure, the English did not rush to support a Stuart Restoration. At Manchester 250 English Episcopalians volunteered to join the ranks of the Prince's army, but these were the only Englishmen to do so. Despite the unpopularity of the Hanoverians there was no desire in the country to see a Catholic back on the throne of England. Forced to leave garrisons at Carlisle and Manchester the further south the Prince advanced the more tenuous his position became. Armies had been formed to oppose him. In pursuit was the army of General George Wade and barring his way to London was the army of George I's youngest son, the Duke of Cumberlan, while London itself had been transformed into an armed camp. Thus far, masterful manoeuvring by Lord Murray had allowed the Jacobites to evade their pursuers, and on 4 December they reached the town of Derby, just 125 miles from London. On the insistence of Lord George Murray a new Council of War was held. Questions were now raised: where was the support of the English Tories? Where was the promised French invasion? The Prince was forced to admit that his assurances had been so much hot air; but he insisted that should they reach London the French invasion would come. Lord George argued that in London they would be trapped by superior forces with more arriving all the time and that their retreat back to Scotland would be cut off. This time Lord George won the argument, unanimously. The Prince threw a tantrum and sulked, he refused to take responsibility for his army and barely ever spoke to Lord Murray again. It was possibly the best decision he ever made. Again through a series of brilliant feints and sleights of hand Lord Murray was able to evade his pursuers and return the army to Scotland intact. The garrisons left at Manchester and Carlisle, alas, had to be abandoned and when forced to surrender, were made to suffer grievously. On their return to Scotland, after forcing the city of Glasgow to replenish his army, the Prince wasted time, men and resources on a pointless siege of Stirling Castle. Sir Henry Hawley, commanding the 7,000 strong Hanoverian army in Scotland was keen to lift the siege at Stirling. Lord George Murray, however, decided to pre-empt the arrogant, brutal Hawley, by attacking first. Hawley, who had housed himself some 2,000 yards behind his army's encampment near Falkirk, on being informed of an imminent attack refused to believe that the Jacobite army was upon him, and did not react until it was too late. With his troops still forming as the Jacobites attacked, Hawley decided to take the battle to them with his cavalry. The Jacobites were ready for this, however. More than 80 Dragoons were killed in the first volley of gunfire, the rest fled riding over and dispersing the Glasgow Regiment as they did so. For the first time, however not all the Hanoverian troops fled from the terrifying charge of the Highlanders and they managed to withdraw in some disorder but intact. Even so, Lord George Murray had won a great victory. The Hanoverian army had lost some 350 killed and 300 captured, the Jacobites just 50 killed and 80 wounded. The Prince, however, did not take advantage of his victory instead he continued to besiege Stirling Castle. Sir Henry Hawley, was now removed from command of the Hanoverian forces in Scotland. The responsibility for removing the Jacobite threat in Scotland now fell to the Duke of Cumberland who had brought his own army north to complete the task. In the meantime, the Prince had again decided to take personal charge of his army. He refused to hold any further Councils of War or to discuss tactics with his Highland commanders. He had come to rely more and more on his Irish advisors in particular, his adjutant-general, Walter O'Sullivan. It was O'Sullivan who chose the
ground of Drumrossie Moor at Culloden as the place to face the Army of Cumberland. All the Prince's Highland commanders knew this was a mistake. It was perfect ground for Cumberland to utilise his superiority in artillery, and it was open ground that was perfect for cavalry. Also, the Highlander's would be attacking uphill that would negate the ferocity of their charge. They begged the Prince not to give battle at Culloden. They were also perturbed by his liking for the bottle that they believed was clouding his judgement. They wanted to retreat back to the Highlands and fight a guerrilla campaign. The Prince would have none of it, however. He would trust in God. Culloden On 15 April, 1746, the Hanoverian encampment resounded to the sound of music and much frivolity as it celebrated the Duke's birthday. Extra rations of rum had been widely distributed and the soldiery were relaxed and battle far from their minds. Lord George Murray believed this was the perfect time to try and repeat the success at Prestonpans with a night attack. Despite barely being on speaking on terms he managed to convince the Prince to give the go-ahead. Hastily organised and in pitch darkness the march was confused and disordered. The Jacobite troops, after constant delays, didn't arrive at Cumberland's camp until first light. Lord George was forced to abandon the attack. The following day, 16 April, Cumberland's army advanced onto Drumrossie Moor. The Jacobite's, many exhausted by their march of the previous night but reinforced by 800 men of the Ecossais Royaux (Royal Scot's) and Irish Piquets, lined up to meet them. It was the Jacobites who opened fire first but their artillery barrage was short, ineffective and quickly silenced. Cumberland's artillery, on the other hand, was highly effective and for 30 minutes it raked the Jacobite formations cutting swathes in its lines. Impotent to respond the Clan leaders begged the Prince to order the charge but he had determined upon a defensive strategy and wished to coax Cumberland to break formation and advance upon him. Far behind the Jacobite front-line and unable to see what was happening he refused to order the charge. It was a costly mistake as more than 500 Highlanders fell during this period. Frustrated and angry some of the Clan's began to advance of their own accord. Seeing this, the order to begin the charge was at last given but the damage had already been done. Instead of the much feared headlong rush of the Highland charge the attack was uncoordinated and sporadic. Clan Chattan which had been the first to attack had been held up by the grapeshot of the cannon while the MacDonald Clan, which traditionally occupied the central position in Clan battle formations, had been placed on the left and offended at the insult refused to charge when ordered to do so. Still the Highland charge was something to behold and they hit the left-flank of the Hanoverian army hard. The brunt of the Highland attack was taken by two regiments, Barrell's and Dejeans. In no time at all Barrells line had been broken and his regiment smashed. He had suffered 17 killed, 103 wounded and the colours had been lost. Cumberland was quick to react filling the gaps in the lines with the 1,000 men of Semphill's Brigade, including the regiment of Wolfe, the future hero of Quebec. Likewise, Dejean had also been hard hit losing 14 killed and 68 wounded in a matter of minutes but his line held. Cumberland was marshalling his troops well and unable to make the breakthrough the Jacobites now looked to the MacDonald's. When they finally did charge they did so reluctantly. Standing just off the Hanoverian lines they shouted and insulted the troops but refused to come into contact with them. Eventually, under intense fire they broke and began to flee the field. Seeing what was happening Lord George Murray brought forward the Ecossais Royaux and the Irish Picquets to stiffen the line and though they exchanged volleyed gunfire with Cumberland's troops they could not stop a retreat from becoming a rout as the Highlander's now fled the field in great numbers. The Prince now tried to rally his men, riding forward he begged them to remain - "for God, for your Prince". But it was to no avail. The Prince's escort now led him from the field of battle, as they did so a Clan leader was heard to shout after him - "that's it, run you cowardly Italian". The Battle of Culloden had been lost but necessarily the Jacobite cause. Though casualties had been high 1500 killed, 1'000 wounded and 154 captured, more than a third of their army had not been present at Culloden. The Hanoverian casualties, on the other hand, had been relatively light, just 50 killed and 259 wounded, though many of these would die of their wounds. Still, some
of the Clan's tried to rally after Culloden and 1500 gathered at Ruthven Barracks to await orders. They could still continue a guerrilla campaign they insisted. Instead they received an order from the Prince that echoed the terse message sent by his father 30 years earlier - that all was lost and each man should shift for himself as best he could. Without direction and shorn of any leadership the Jacobite army dispersed. Aftermath
The Drunken Old Lecher In the days immediately following the battle Cumberland's troops scoured the battlefield looking for wounded Jacobites to kill. Cumberland had fortified his men's resolve by reminding them that the Jacobites had ordered no quarter be given, though no proof of such an order has ever been found. In the meantime, the Bonnie Prince had reached Arisaig on the west coast of Scotland from where he made his way to the Island of Benbecula in the Hebrides, finally reaching Stornoway. With a £30,000 price on his head, government troops in hot pursuit, fearing betrayal and frequently drunk, his position was precarious. A Jacobite loyalist, Flora Macdonald, now came to his rescue. Disguising him as her Irish maid, Betty Burke, she took him into her household. Finally, on 19 September, 1746, he managed to board a ship from the Island of Skye which ferried him to France and safety. What the Prince left behind was a country prostrate and the last tribal society in Western Europe destroyed. Jacobite prisoners were sent south to stand trial, 3,471 of them. Of these 648 cannot be accounted for, 120 were executed, and 936 transported to the colonies for life. Most of the rest were released in 1747. The captured Clan leaders met the traditional traitor’s death on Tower Hill. Cumberland's exacting elimination of Jacobitism in Scotland and the Highland Clearances that followed earned him the epitaph of Butcher. After his return to mainland Europe the Bonnie Prince very quickly ceased to be quite so bonnie. Increasingly irascible, mired in scandal and almost always drunk, he very soon became an embarrassment. Further attempts at a French invasion of England eliciting Jacobite support for a restoration of a Stuart monarchy foundered on the Prince's habitual drunkenness. After the death of the Old Pretender in 1766, Pope Clement XIII refused to bestow on his son the title of King of England, Scotland and Ireland that had been held by his father. Bonnie Prince Charlie, the heir to the Stuart crown, spent his final years in Rome drinking, whoring, and complaining that he had been betrayed by the cowardice of the Clans. He was every bit as much a physical ruin as his plans for a Stuart Restoration in England had been ruinous.