Osprey Campaign 12 : Culloden 1746 : The Highland Clans' Last Charge

Culloden marked the end of the last and greatest of the Jacobite adventures - the '45 Rebellion - in which the Highland clans challenged the power of the Hanoverian King of England. Charles Edward Stuart, better known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' had landed in the Hebrides in early August and with a newly collected Highland army occupied Edinburgh and defeated a Royal army at Prestonpans. He later went on to capture Carlisle and Manchester, and reached Derby on 4 December. The following year he beat the British once again at Falkirk. It was at Culloden that Charles' plans finally became seriously unstuck. His hopes of finding Cumberland and his army unprepared were thwarted, and the tired Highlanders had little chance against the steady infantry and heavy artillery fire of the English. His troops were finally cut down and routed by Cumberland's cavalry, the Highlanders losing about 1,000 men killed and another 1,000 captured by the end of the battle. Peter Harrington examines all aspects of the battle, including its background and the massacre that took place in the aftermath. The reasons for the '45 Rebellion and the Highlander victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk are looked at, and the men and commanders of both sides examined.

Contents

• Background to the 'Forty Five'
  Opening Movements
  The Battle of Prestonans
  The Invasion of England
  The Campaign of Falkirk
  
• The Opposing Commanders
  Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender'
  William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
  
• The Opposing Armies
  The Royal Army - Infantry
  The Royal Army - Cavalry
  The Royal Army - Artillery
  The Allied Contingent
  The Jacobite Army
  The Irish and French Contingent
  
• Culloden - The Approach March
• The Battle of Culloden
  The Opening Cannonade
  The Highlander's Charge
  The Cavalry Attacks on the Flanks
  The Pursuit
  
• The Aftermath of the Battle
• The Battlefield Today
• Chronology
• A Guide to Further Reading
• Wargaming the 'Forty Five'