The Battle of Culloden

With the soldiers weak, tired, and hungry the Scots found themselves at a disadvantage. Scouts were immediately sent to Inverness to recover the deserters and hard tack was passed around the campground. Murray voiced a protest to cross the river Nairn to an area that would be advantageous to the Jacobites. The ground at Culloden was marshy in some place, with thick underbrush in others. But perhaps the worst aspect of the battleground was that it was uphill towards the advancing English position, a fact that impeded the frontal charge. Charles, in his vigor to meet Cumberland, ignored this advice in favor of glorious battle.

The Duke of Cumberland, with Highland spies, learned of the aborted night attack. It is for this reason that he pressed the attack when he did, when his own officers were hung-over and tired. He sent patrolling dragoons between his ground and Nairn, thus eliminating any surprises that the Scots could throw at him. The Jacobite quarter-master O�Sullivan gave the Duke a boon by refusing to tear down some enclosure walls running parallel to the battlefields. The patrolling dragoons would go into hiding here and lay a nasty surprise for the Highlanders.

The Highlander drew up their men into tree battle vans. They were assembled in a structure like this: -_-. The right van, a position of high honor, was usurped from the MacDonalds who traditionally held this place. The honor was bestowed upon them in perpetuity by Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn for shelter received from Angus MacDonald. Murray however, held that the Marquis of Montrose had bestowed that honor unto the Athol brigade. Charles was less than sympathetic to the MacDonalds plight and they were shunted to the left van which they solely comprised. Finally the leftovers and Charles� personal guards were designated the rear third van. The front lines were protected by four cannon, yet in their haste the Jacobites mismatched the caliber of the shot.

The Duke of Cumberland formed up his legions a mile away from the battle field and marched onto the field in formation, a sight that did little to dishearten the Scots. They were arranged in a regressive trapezoid formation starting with six formations and regressing to five, then four. Between the formations in the first and second line cannon were placed. Due to the placement of grapeshot cannon in the second row, if the Highlanders broke the first line they would be met with hails of grapeshot. They finally halted about a mile away from the Jacobites and at the top of a slope. After some rousing words from the Duke, they continued onwards to the distance of a half mile. this took them across a morass and protected them from a rear flanking effort by the Jacobites. While waiting for the battle to commence, a shower of sleet came upon the moor that would obscure the vision of both sides.

At this point the traitorous Campbell reared their heads and fled to the enclosure where the English dragoons were hiding. This was in order to be closer to their traditional foes the MacDonalds. Little did they know that their enemies were on the other side of the field grumbling about the ill that the position change importuned. Cumberland sent his aides-de-camp, Lord Bury, out to reconnoiter the Scottish position. At this point, a Scot showing the typical embattered optimism of the Highlanders march forth alone onto the field. He felt that history would honor him as an aid to Prince Charles by assassinating Duke Cumberland at the forfeit of his own life. Mistaking Bury for the duke, the lone Scot shot at him but missed and paid with his life. This singular event started the battle that would mark the end of the Highland way of life.

Bury�s advance signaled to the Scot the start of the battle and loud huzzahs ensued from their lines. They opened fire with their meager cannonades around one o�clock April 16, 1746. The British aimed their cannon at the horses that comprised a great deal of the third van, that of Charles. The Highlanders suffered this attack for up to an hour due to Charles problems with a mount removed from commission by a cannonball, and his general inadequacy in the role of general. Finally the MacDonald clansmen, incensed by the slight to their honor, and sick of seeing their brothers cut down around them charged the field.

Avochy, a Scotsman, saw the dragoons and Campbells in the enclosure trying to flank the army and pursued them. The Highlanders charged them and a battle was matched rather evenly. However the Royals had the walls to their advantage and the Jacobites were forced to warily withdraw. While this occurred the main charge took place. With clansmen falling everywhere to the muskets of the British and the crossfire from the Campbell/dragoon enclosure, the Scottish suffered even greater losses. Divesting themselves of guns they rushed headlong until they broke upon the English formations. The Macintosh sept of clan Chatten became the first to do so and swept through the line, renewing the British fear of the Scots as savage beasts. Their rush carried them through the formation killing them almost to a man, yet exposing them to the grapeshot fire from the second line.

As clan after clan found themselves broken by the reinforced English lines, it was enough to draw Avochy�s men away from their sentry duty. They too found their charge ineffective as they fell to the new bayonet drills and grapeshot from the cannons. As the clansman retreated the dragoons from the enclosure broke free and truly wreaked havoc with the already disorganized Highlanders. Knowing the battle was lost they retreated, except for the MacDonalds who still wanted to taste English blood. Eventually they too would turn and flee, for no honor was lost for turning your back on a lost cause. The third van held back the over zealous dragoons and calvary long enough for the Jacobites to escape. Stuart, still convinced that a rally was possible was led off the by a servant. Members of his own guard taunted him as he rode off the field and out of the affairs of Scotland.