Prince Charles Edward Stewart.
Culloden moor (Cuil Lodair) as it is known the world over or Drummossie muir is the site of the last great battle to have taken place on British soil.
On the morning of the 16th of April 1746 the Jacobite army loyal to Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) was defeated by the Duke of Cumberland and his government troops loyal to the house of Hanover. It was a bitterly cold, wet and windy day that saw a swift and bloody end to the young pretenders attempts to regain the throne and to reseat a Stuart as a British monarch.
Against the advice of some of his most highly regarded aide-de-camps the decision was made to face the redcoats on Culloden moor. It would be a decision that would change British history and the Highland clan system forever.
Government troops (Redcoats) led by Bonnie Prince Charlie`s cousin, Prince William Augustus the Duke of Cumberland also known as Butcher Cumberland defeated the Jacobites and over the coming months did all they could to ensure no further uprisings or attempts at the throne. Thousands of Highlanders were executed, murdered or died in captivity after the battle and many more were deported. Cumberland was known as the Butcher for the bloody and indiscriminate manner in which he attempted to clear the Highlanders from their homes. Men were hunted down and executed and the their women abused. Their houses were burned and their cattle taken. Regardless of it being a single croft or a whole village he was determined to `cleanse` the Highlands.
Fort Augustus in the Great Glen was so named in his honour and along with Fort William played a large part in the aftermath of Culloden .After the battle and to ensure that no further attempts were made to start any uprisings Fort George was built at Ardersier. It was named in honour of what was considered by the South as the `rightful King`.
Bonnie Prince Charlie himself fled to the Outer Hebrides and spent months evading capture. He headed for Skye with the help of Flora MacDonald (Whose statue stands today at Inverness castle) and eventually onwards to Loch nam Uamh (Loch of the caves) where he boarded the French ship L`Heureux and then sailed safely back to France.
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This site is not about the history of the battle, the 1745 uprising or indeed the aftermath . We are not historians and prefer to leave that to the experts. However the History page will give you many great sites where you can find out all about it.
Our aim is to show you the battlefield today, throughout the year. A bit of what goes on locally and how the battlefield changes throughout the seasons. We will try to add things that we find of interest and that we think might be of interest to you. Keep up with it as it happens on the Latest page. |
