Prince Charles had grown up in Italy - as a member of a royal family in exile he had a very clear idea of his own destiny. By the time he reached his early twenties he had shown himself to be courageous and skilled in battle. He was determined and persuasive; born to be a fine leader of men.

In 1744 he was 24 years old at which point he decided the time had come. His persuasive qualities had won him the support of several hundred French Troops, with whom he gathered an artillery of military supplies and set sail on two ships bound for Scotland.

Bad luck struck the Prince's campaign early on, when the ship accompanying his own was targeted by a British Man-o-War and forced into retreat. So now the British Government knew what was underway - but they also knew that a massive proportion of the forces sent to oppose them had been on that ship they had turned back, so they were not overly concerned. When Prince Charles's vessel, "Du Teillay" landed on the Scottish mainland it was he and his accompaniment of seven friends who disembarked into Arisaig, on the shores of Loch nan Uamh in North West Scotland. These "Seven men of Moidart" as they became known, had with them most of the military supplies, arms, ammunition and a small amount of funds - but no troops. It is easy to see why the ruling forces did not feel terribly threatened!

The Prince and his men immediately set about assembling an army of supporters. They spoke to clan chiefs and men who they knew to be loyal to their cause. Not everyone was delighted to see the Prince. Some had been present when Charles's father faced defeat in 1715 and were reluctant to join in another doomed enterprise. Some felt it was too soon and that the Prince did not have enough support. Still, many of the old Jacobite supporters were won over by the charming young kinsman of their old monarch. And, like Charles himself, there were plenty of sons come of age in the intervening years since the last Uprising who were eager to step into the footsteps of their Jacobite fathers. In time a reasonable army was amassed as more and more clansmen stepped forward to pledge their support.

On 19th August 1745, Charles and his men sailed to Glenfinnan at the head of Loch Shiel. There they were met by more than a thousand men; 150 of Clanranald, 300 MacDonalds and more than 700 Camerons. The Standard was raised at Glenfinnan that morning - proclaiming his Majesty King James the King of Great Britain and Ireland. The next day the army equipped themselves with weapons from the cargo of the Prince's ship and prepared themselves for the march to Edinburgh.

They set off across the Corrieyarick Pass, passing through Blair Atholl, Perth and Striling before marching upon Edinburgh. This journey took nearly a month, as they took time along the way to gather troops and collect funds. They fully expected to be met by the army of Sir John Cope, Commander in Chief of Government forces in North Britain, but this army, hearing of the advance of the Jacobite supporters, changed direction and headed for Inverness. The Jacobites advanced to Edinburgh where they easily overpowered the city guard, and the Prince triumphantly took up residence in Holyrood Palace.

Now, at last, the government began to take notice and regarded the Jacobites as a more serious threat. A reward of £30 000 was offered for the capture of the Prince, and Cope saw fit to deploy some of his troops to quash the rebellion.

The two armies met in the Battle of Prestonpans. Government forces outnumbered Jacobites by almost two to one, but the Jacobites secured a victory through surprise tactics. They rushed down on the opposition from an unforeseen angle, successfully confusing and scattering Copes' troops. The battle won, they retired to Edinburgh to regroup and prepare for an invasion of England.

The victory at Prestonpans was an enormous boost for the Jacobite supporters and they found themselves with an influx of new recruits. When numbers increased to over 5000 men, the decision was made to march to London.

The Jacobite army crossed the border into England on the 8th of November 1745. Days later they marched into Carlisle and the town was surrendered without a fight. They marched on through the area we now know as the Lake District, all the way to Derby. They were within a couple of hundred miles from London now and had so far avoided serious opposition. General Wade of Newcastle had been their biggest threat in England and they managed to avoid him by doubling back to give a false impression of their approach.

So far, so good - but the Jacobites were disappointed by the turnout of supporters from England and Wales (remember, it was not only Scots who were Jacobites. In fact not all Scots or even all Highlanders supported Charles Edward Stuart. Sometimes even members of the same family would be on opposing sides.) Reinforcements from France (perhaps Charles' original army?) were also expected but so far they hadn't appeared. When the Prince heard of the approaching armies of Wade and the Duke of Cumberland - almost 30 000 men in total - he took the advice of Lord George Murray and taking into account his 5000 troops, began to withdraw.

Although not actually defeated, the Jacobites were quite badly discouraged as they marched back towards Glasgow. The Prince forbade the term "retreat" and insisted they were just backtracking - going North to spend the winter resting and replenishing supplies before making a proper assault on England in the Spring. But still many of his men deserted or were bribed to abandon the Jacobite cause. The remaining forces made their way to Inverness, winning back Edinburgh and sieging Fort Augustus and Fort William on the way. By now the army was in a bad way. Exhausted, dejected and running dangerously low on funds and supplies they sheltered in Inverness - nervously awaiting the approach of the Duke of Cumberland who had followed then Northwards with an army of 9000 men.

It was 16th April 1746 when The Duke of Cumberland finally caught up with the Jacobites and the two armies met in the last battle of the campaign. The Battle of Culloden took place on the ill-chosen Drummossie Moor outside Inverness. The Jacobites were poorly assembled, shivering and tired by the time they faced their enemy. The moor is almost entirely flat and thick with undergrowth which hindered their charge. Outnumbered and lacking the usual advantage of their "Highland Charge", the Jacobites were sorely defeated once and for all. The battle lasted all of 25 minutes. Many of those who escaped the relentless blows from Cumberland's army fled in fear. The remainder of the defeated army retreated to camp and before long received the message from the Prince to go forth and seek their own safety. The Jacobite campaign was ended and the Prince himself was forced into hiding. His only chance of survival was to go on the run, in the hope of an eventual escape back to the safety of France.

The Prince's Escape

© West Highland Museum 2004

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