Culloden Battlefield Tour: How Were The Jacobites Defeated?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 кві 2019
- In the early morning of 16 April 1746 the Battle of Culloden began with an exchange of artillery fire from both sides - mortar and cannon shot. Then, after what must have seemed like an age, the order was given for the feared Highland charge.
Dan Snow tells the story of how the last pitched battle ever fought on British soil unfolded.
#BattleOfCulloden #Jacobites #DanSnow
I really struggle to imagine how brave fighting men had to be in this and earlier eras. You just had to walk and run into absolute murderous hell.
Je Suis Prest
Alcohol helped, huge amounts was consumed by both sides in many battles. The British navy gave sailors a pint of rum before navel battles.
@@englishgoordie Excellent comment. Sherry and shortbread perhaps before hell on earth.
Interesting comment. Do imagine the Battle of the Somme was less fearsome? Every battle is individual. If you are the first in the door on raid, you can be inspired to sincere negotiation with your maker.
I don't think they had a choice with the Clan system.
Just walked the path around the memorial today 5/24/2022. It does an amazing job recreating or laying out the battlefield and how it transpired. There are tablets placed around the front lines showing the names of where clans stood and charged and the number of men in those clans. It was a surreal experience. As other people have stated it is a sad place to visit. And you can feel the dread walking around and knowing soo many men died there.
It’s all fake these markers where out there 100 years later
Our family used to go to Nairn for our summer holidays in the 70s. Every time we went to Culloden, no matter what time of year, it was always gloomy, with crows chatting in the background. Still remember my dad, just a few years ago, at the new centre, wandering around, checking out the clans gravesites & turning around saying "This is the saddest place in the world".
Yeah there is something eerie about the moor Andrew that is for sure. Don't know how comfortable I would be up there overnight alone.
The feeling of sadness is pervasive.
You bet it is,
@@jimhanna9251 I went last July and I can tell you the feeling of peace but eerieness is quite uncomfortable
I've been there. iv'e been to the WW1 battlefields and to Crimea. Definitely the saddest place I've ever been to is the Culloden battlefield.
The narrator is excellent. His enthusiasm and loud, clear voice made the battle come alive without the aid of combat reenactors.
Totally disagree can hardly understand a word the guy says
@@haggishead7558 Scottish accented English does sound like that.
@@jeffreygao3956 Having lived 60 years in Scotland I never hear an accent that BAD
He's a buddy of the Prince of Wales
Visited Culloden three days ago, did not have time to experience the visitor center; thank you for this riveting account of the battle. What a tragedy.
The whole episode of Culloden is more than a battle , it changes the Highland way of life , the end of clans and the clearance's of 1,000,000 people from Scotland to America and Australia
It was the feudal Highland Lairds, many who were Jacobites, who cleared the land for sheep. Not the British Government. In fact one of the biggest public peacetime expenditures in the UK before Covid was the British Hanovarian Government’s infrastructure program in the Highlands (such as the Caledonian Canal) which were specifically to employ cleared Highlanders and were mostly of little profitable value to the State.
Feudalism isn’t romantic. It’s effectively slavery and it’s end with the defeat of the Jacobites had a liberating effect on the nation.
@@chrisryan3770 The voice of reason. Good post!
it was genocide and the British will be forced to pay reparations once Scotland is free.
I would have never known about this rebellion, if it wasn't for Outlander.
You should watch Battlefield Britain then.
Which was a daft programme, full of Braveheart inspired nonsense that showed this battle
as the British soldiers getting decimated by whoever the lead actor for the Jocks was.
Depiction like that give a completely skewed, over romanticised version of what actually happened.
@@nigden1 well, that's what Tv shows and movies do.
True, which is why subsequent research is always needed, shows like that, or any Mel Gibson productions, are just fantasy exploiting actual events. No harm done.
but simply entertainment.
@@nigden1 ya, but they do bring history alive in some ways. And people who really care about historical accuracy digs deeper.
There's a small city called Culloden in the United States between Huntington and Charleston West Virginia that is named after the battle by Scottish and Irish settlers in the 1700's. I am a descendant of MacDonalds and the MacAllisters who settled there.
Wow. Great video. I was there roughly a month after this was filmed. The weather was exactly the same. It's hard to describe the constant feeling of sadness that hovers in the background upon this place.
Jerris -- Better to live under the English, than be a dead Scot. The English were fair, so long as you paid your taxes.
Amazing video. So informative and enthusiastic. Well done. Loved it. Thank you.
For me Soldiers(or fighting Men generally) of this era were the bravest of any era throughout history. Previously, you had Sword v Sword, Steel v Steel. The difference came down to training, and discipline. For the last 100 years or so, you've had Bullet v Bullet. Back then, when fire arms were essentially in their infancy, prior to rifling, when you had to get close to your enemy, they're firing cannon at you as you advance, shrapnel shot, cannister shot, they have more muskets. Yet still Men continued to move forward into this mayhem, watching friends, or family drop all around them. Looking your enemy in the eye as he takes aim and all you have is a sword. The courage of Men such as that is unfathomable in this day and age. They knew that death awaited, yet they went in there regardless. They were incredible Men.
Charges were still used in WW1, the difference was that war was now on a larger and industrial scale.
Being on the front row in a colonial era battle must’ve been one of the worst of any time period. Although in medieval battles if you were poor you were fighting armoured knights with whatever you could get your hands on so i doubt that was much fun either.
I just think they were a bit more stupid throwing their lives away 4 nothing
@@haggishead7558 It wasn't for nothing. People didn't go to war for no reason. They believed in a cause which truly meant something to them. To their minds they were prepared to die for that cause.
Sure they were tougher but back then life was cheaper and people did terrible things to each other. I wouldnt call it courage ,,,,more like narrow closed mindedness.
The BBC's 1964 docu-drama of the battle is still the best description. Way ahead of its time in terms of realism. It is on UA-cam and well worth watching.
But how unbeleivably brave to walk througg cannon fire chain fire musket fire and to continue on how strong and brave and courageous those highland warriors were truly
Read a bit more British military history & perhaps you'll realise that walking towards cannon & musketry was quite a common activity for British soldiers.
Not forgetting the Sailors in their wooden & eventually Steel ships. Then the Airmen of 2 wars.
Absolute lifesaver, got a war and rev assignment tomorrow and i think you've just saved me
did you fail?
One added factor for the British is that Cumberland trained his troops in a “new” style of close quarter fighting. As the Scots raised their, primarily right sword arm, they exposed their right chest/flank. Cumberland trained the troops to not attack the man directly in front of them, but rather attach the exposed flank of the oncoming man to his right. This was devastating in effect to the highland charge and greatly contributed to the devastation.
Don't believe this for a second. Men were deserting from one army to the other on a daily basis, so the Jacobites would have heard of this before half of the Hanoverians. I take it you do know that a huge percentage of Highlanders are left-handed.
I’ve read this over the years and thinks it’s being used way too much….the Highland charge was a mass of men and weight hitting the enemy not uniformly as one might imagine….it just wouldn’t work, the Jacobites were outgunned half starving and beaten by well fed well trained troops.
@@alexwilliamson1486 The Jacobites were outgunned, but, with the wind from the east, Cumberland's gunners could not see where their shots were landing, in order to fix the range. Further, there was a small regiment in the Jacobite army who were in Cumberland's pay and he did not want to kill them. To say that the Highland charge was not uniform is just daft. These men trained regularly and their victory at Prestonpans was down to iron discipline. That's why Cope was exonerated. As for half starving, that is even dafter, as they were on home territory, with Fraser and Chisholm farmlands on their doorstep. Do you seriously think that the Chisholm and Fraser chiefs would have allowed their clans to go into battle on an empty stomach?
@@georgecampbell5281 I've tried it, the diagonal bayonet defense look to be still effective if your opponents are right or left handed (ok, we used a broom and a long ruler for our accurate simulation and I am only 'bit of a leftie'). Not sure what percentage were left handed but only in the 'Kerr' strong holds in the borders had spiral staircases designed to favour left handed defenders - the others all favoured righties.
@@andymoore9977 Not true. If it didn't make a difference whether the Highlanders were right or left handed, then your bayonet tactic would not have been suggested. The Kerrs were indeed known for being left handed, but only because they could afford stone built castles, unlike most of the Highland clans. As I said earlier, watch some shinty matches to see that few players are exclusively right handed. The great shinty teams down the years have come from places which also had golf courses. A councillor and former shinty player from Newtonmore died a few years ago. He also played golf and had a scratch handicap playing right handed and a handicap of one, playing left handed. The story of Culloden is the most complete fraud in UK history. I have begun writing a book about it, which will NOT contain any theories of mine. Instead, it will contain evidence, which has been overlooked, ignored, misinterpreted, forgotten and, worst of all, corrupted by the flow of Chinese whispers down the centuries by so-called historians and self publicists. Oh, and don't take my word for it. Check out Cumberland's letter to the Secretary of State in which he says he can't put the true story of the battle in writing, but will have to reveal it verbally when they meet.
I'm a mcdougall, I had an ancestor who fought there.. only 200 clanmen went from our Land to fight with The Pretender.. not 1 returned..
My ancestor was 11 at tge time of the battle, but he lost 2 brothers during the rising.. and that's how things were.
So you're saying your ancestor got married and had children by 11? Or do you mean a 'non-direct ancestor'?
No he's saying that his ancestor was 11 at the time of the battle, not that he had a family at the time. The family most likely came a bit later.
@@gabrielgrimes8297 If none out of 200 rebels came back, then his ancestor didn't come back, unless he was on the other side!
By pretender you mean the rightful Heir to the throne Charles Edward Stuart
General Lord George Murray had originally proposed they strike Cumberland's force as it made the crossing of the river Spey but was countermanded by Prince Charles and Quartermaster John O'Sullivan who had little experience with Highland irregular forces. It was O'Sullivan and the Prince who chose to fight out in the open at Culloden field. Murray's proposed attack would have used the shock effect of the highland charge to full advantage and likely broken up Cumberland's army.
Not across that landscape, very difficult to keep up a 400yd charge.
@@philandminiphil Across an open moor after being shot to pieces by Cumberland's artillery,...No. But at a river crossing.....
Nope
The defeat was inevitable. These were hardened British troops with battle experience. They had the technological advantage and a huge advantage in firepower. A pitched battle was always going to favour the British army in the end. If they had stuck to small scale engagements then it may have prolonged the conflict but they were running out of supplies and money.
@@craigham93 Read John Prebble's account of the events leading up to Culloden. The highlanders were betrayed by Prince Charles and his sycophants who had no concept of irregular warfare and had an idiotic notion that they must meet the Duke of Cumberland in open combat. The story of a wild horde armed only with claymores, jedburgh axes and farm implements is discounted by the recovery after the battle of some 2,000 firelocks or muskets. Lord George Murray begged the Prince to let him lead the highland and French forces in a surprise attack on Nairn but the Prince's procrastination, reinforced by his drunken quartermaster, delayed the assault until it was too late.
Every time I watch videos or read accounts of battles like this, the mindset and bravery of the men fighting mystifies me. Then I watch or read accounts about what kind of lives these average folk were living and it all make sense. They either get a miserable existence or a miserable death. Next time my internet goes out or I had a bad day at work...I'm gonna close my eyes and think about this field, for a little perspective.
Well explained, thank you👍
i am using this for a history lesson very helpful 10/10
There was a long stone wall running at right angles to the left of the Royal line, which played an important part in the battle. Lord George Murray the Jacobite general had asked for it to be pulled down but was ignored by Prince Charles. The result was that the Campbell militia was able to use the wall to enfilade the highlanders. Also Wolfes regiment took up position in front of the wall adding flanking fire.
Great stuff.
In those days it was not considered murder when chasing the fleeing enemy it was merely mopping up to make sure they couldn’t fight another day, both sides would do it if they won.
Actually that’s not true. In other battles prisoners were taken and there are no records of victorious troops killing all the wounded after the battle. It didn’t happen at Dettingen or Fontenoy which were part of the same wider war. Please don’t make shit up.
Hoho Hoho the only prisoners taken were those they could ransom which were the aristocracy, All others were generally killed. Next you will be telling me they had ambulances and stretcher bearers to take the wounded to hospital . So now stop making shit up you moron, I was talking generally , if I am wrong prove it with references etc instead of insults you moron.
@@MarlboroughBlenheim1 Yes prisoners were taken, mainly for ransom or to ensure their family would not continue to fight.
@@TheScruph No, you claimed “in those days” - in other words generally at the time - wounded and prisoners were routinely killed just like at Culloden. I’ve explained that this wasn’t the case routinely, and that there are no recorded examples of British troops committing in other battles of that era what they did at Culloden - which was a punishment of a lesser race (as they saw it) and rebels.
@@TheScruph Please therefore evidence of another battle of that era where British troops killed prisoners and the wounded.
The comments below interestingly demonstrate how obsessed we are with the concept of nationalism today, which twists our perception of both history and of the minds our predecessors. Culloden was, as Dan Snow so clearly describes, the final act in a DYNASTIC war (in this case between the Jacobites and the Hanoverians). The same applies to previous medieval combats which were dynastic struggles between warlords, relying on feudal allegiances (The Bruce, Wallace, and so on) - never any sort of "national" campaign. In those days even the concept of nationality would not have been understood by the soldiers involved. This is a gloss that was put on all these actions by story tellers and politicians (same thing largely) to attract attention and garner public cohesion in subsequent years. But, ironically, in this current culturally homogenised world, the mythical sense of personal identity that nationalism provides, is spread like an appealing sauce over every historical event.
Despite his opening remarks explaining that there were English and Scottish fighting on both sides, he thereafter kept referring to the 'British Troops' when it would have been more accurate to have said Government (or Hanoverian)Troops. Saying 'The British' gives it a more nationalistic slant, just as some thirty years later they have Paul Revere saying "The British are coming", instead of the more historically accurate "the regulars are out".
The ones who weren't Brittish were the dead ones then and perhaps again and again and so forth and so on.
@@madcyclist58 Scots are British.
@@ruzzsverion2728 Yes, exactly. So to call the Hanoverian army British when the Jacobite army was also British, is wrong. Which was my point.
Well said Sir!
Lord Duncan Forbes fought on the Government side and Culloden was on his land. After the battle, he buried the fallen soldiers.
The primary school there is named after him.
@@jesusjohnny8286 Correct, my daughter was a pupil there before going on to Culloden Academy which is just up the road.
Yes man! Love it!
Wow, wasn't expecting to see all of my families names on one gravestone. My family had to come to America and joined the fur trade. That's why I'm sitting in northern Minnesota now.
You have à very strong bloodline, I imagine? My Ancestors made the journey, across the pond. My Ancestors came to Canada 5-generations-ago. My family came from England, for sure & Ireland/Scotland (still working on it). They all came to Canada and most worked in the Lumber Industry (from inside of a mill, to logging-outside. They made everything from matches, to t-p, to homes. A great great Uncle died at 18, working on the Ottawa River, detangling log-booms that were sent down river. I can proudly say, "My Great Great Uncle, walked on holy-water". How they first survived the Winters, I always feel sad about? We've certainly toughened-up in North America, haven't we? Staywell, neighbour, (and most-likely ancestor).🙄
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️🇺🇸🇬🇧✨🌎💫
Strange that the commentators at the time spoke in terms of an English victory over the Scots. At the Battle of Bannockburn there were Scots in Edward II’s Army but those two armies are always referred to as the Scots and English. Many of the Jacobites were motivated by the wish to to end the Treaty of Union and for Scotland to regain its independence under a Stuart Monarchy.
Dynasties and not nationalism were now sides been chosen. Nationalism is a more recent development
Mostly motivated by being ordered to fight by their clan leaders, or there would be repercussions.
@@Dom-fx4kt An appalling system of exploitation.
Love your historic statements you done your homework no matter which era thanks
Of the 16 British infantry battalions under the Duke of Cumberland, 4 were Scottish, 1 Irish and 11 English. The commentator fails to mention that the Jacobite army was exhausted from having marched to Nairn, where Cumberland was encamped, for a surprise attack. This was called off because not all arrived at the designated spot. They then returned to Culloden to rest and recuperate and all gather food for a meal. Not a great beginning for a battle.
Sorry, but the Jacobite army was NOT exhausted from the march to Nairn. They had done dozens of longer night marches in their time in England. One of my ancestors was recorded as walking 30 miles a day in the hills after he retired as a deerstalker. Cumberland later wrote that he knew the night march was coming, but did not bother to wake his men as he knew it was going to be sabotaged by his fifth columnists.
@@georgecampbell5281 how do you sabotage a night march? 🤔
@@MrRecrute Read Cumberland's letters.
@@georgecampbell5281, seems to me Cumberland was writing his own history, something victors frequently do.
If they had followed through with the suorise attack they wouldve had a much better chance because of the chaos wld suited their type of figgting better man to man.
I have been to the Culloden battlefield it rained all day brave men so historical and atmospheric from David trevena England
this battle totally transformed Scotland.
LO Aye maybe not for the better, especially the thousands of Gaels who suffered as a result
It transformed the Highland way of life forever to be fair…
@@alexwilliamson1486 No it didn't. We have been fed, not a tissue, but an overwhelming torrent of lies. When I was a young man, my mother wanted to visit my brother at college in Newcastle. My father initially refused. then conceded that, if he went, he would be the first since "the trip to Derby."
@@georgecampbell5281 Why would he refuse a trip to Newcastle? It’s a fine city.
Err, no it did not.
Great video, since I was a little girl I watched William Wallace I fell in love with the free spirit of the Scottish people and their songs and now I'm looking for their history after watching OUTLANDER, wish to visit Scotland, with all due respect and appreciation to the free martyrs of Scotland, from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦💗💗
The Jacobite army was a mix of highland and lowland Scots regiments with a few English (the Manchester Regiment provided additional crew for the Jacobite artillery) plus Scots (Royal-Ecossais) and Irish (a company each from Dillon's, Ruth's and Lally's with a squadron of Fitzjames Horse) from the French Army.
The idea that the highlanders threw down their muskets and drew swords is simply not supported by the evidence. The Jacobites suffered around 2000 killed plus over 300 prisoners and roughly the same number of muskets were collected by the Hanoverians after the battle. About half the casualties and prisoners were highlanders but less than 200 "broad swords and blades" were recovered so at best 1 in 5 of the highlanders were carrying a sword or dirk. The hand to hand fighting would have been bayonet to bayonet
Rubbish! God, I don't know how people can be so ignorant. Highland soldiers were ten times more professional than their English opponents. That is why scavengers who stripped bodies after a battle found that the corpses were easy to distinguish, because Highland soldiers did not have any lash marks on their backs. One of the harshest critics of Highlanders was Wolfe of Quebec. When he later became a general, he wrote that the Highlanders provided him with the finest corps of officers he had ever known. At the battle of the Plains of Abraham, he chose to fight with the Frasers and died in the arms of one of their sergeants. Of course Highlanders threw down their muskets after firing. Look at the supposed grave sites: there is hardly room there for 2000 mice.
Irish troops as well. In fact the Irish regiments covered the retreat and were the last off the field. A honourable episode of the Wild Geese
Not true. Irish say they surrendered, but unlike the othe French troops, nobody authorised it so they were deserters.
It was the Royal Ecossais who covered the retreat…no Wild Geese I’m afraid…they put up a good fight too, afterwards they surrendered to government forces and were then sent back to France.
@@alexwilliamson1486 The Irish Picquets under Lietuenant-Colonel Walter Stapleton held the field as the Jacobite Highland divisions and the half of the Garde Ecossaise that had not surrendered retreated. The Irish took 50 of their 100 casualties in this rear guard action. There is confusion in the sources as to whether this was actually the Garde Ecossais, or Scotish Royal guard, as both were considered part of the Irish contingent at the time but evidence presented in Irish Brigades Abroad by McGarry as well as Culloden Moor 1746 by Reid indicate that the Grade Ecossais were in retreat as the Irish held.
And by the way, "Wild Geese" is, in this context, Irish ex-pat divisions serving in the armies of non-Irish or non-British Crown commanders from 1691 with the flight of Patrick Sarsfield's Irish Jacobite Brigades to well into the early 19th century. While the Irish serving under Bonnie Prince Charlie could be interpreted as serving a British monarch, as he was not on the throne and these troops were officially part of the French army, I fell justified in referring to them as Wild Geese.
@@georgecampbell5281 Sources? Because everywhere I have looked has it that the Irish contingent under Stapleton covered the retreat of the Highlanders under orders from the Prince.
@@Gillemear But you still are not naming any sources. Try this for size; name me the person who authorised or instructed the surrender of the Irish Pickets (we know that one of the Drummonds authorised the surrender of the other Frenchmen). Only deserters are not authorised to surrender. Also, why did Keppoch, in his reported last words, refer to "the clan of my own name." instead of "my clan"? The answer involves my family, who passed down, not a lot, but some crucial information. Going back to the Pickets, have you not noticed that of all the Jacobite prisoners, they are the only ones who vanish forever from history within 24 hours of the battle?
From what I have read and seen the Jacobite army at this battle were out numbered, outgunned, out manoeuvred, outclassed tactically and in poor fighting condition, not the best way to fight a battle! Final score : British army ( made up from men from England, Lowland Scotland, Highland Scotland and Ireland) managed to inflict 1250 casualties including over 1200 dead, plus probably the same amount of wounded who probably died from their wounds or were put to the sword in the follow up operation. The Jacobites on the other hand killed 50 and wounded 300+ many of which would likewise have died from their wounds. 👍
Clive Newton you forgot to mention the european contingent and the fact that the Jacobites had marched through the night in a abborted attack on cumberlands army near Nairn
My wife and I made it to Culloden and got a print of the painting displaying the tragedy known as the end of Scotland by many. I believe it’s called the Aftermath of Culloden. It is such a powerful scene of the atrocities the people faced even after the Battle. The greed of the rich who stayed to the rear as always to profit from the spoils of War.
I want to visit Culloden. It’s on my bucket list. My cousin went pre covid and she said it’s the most haunting battlefield she has ever walked. She felt spirits all around. I cry thinking of the clearances. What an awful sad time for the Highlanders.
It’s important to remember that the Jacobite Uprising was a religious based civil war. The vast majority of Scots supported the Government side and were not Jacobites.
Far from the end of Scotland, Scotland flourished. The end of the Jacobite wars allowed the Scottish Enlightenment to step up into top gear and give the World everything from modern economic theory to advances in medicine and engineering that built the modern world.
@@chrisryan3770the end of catholic Scotland is the truth 😊
John Prebble was an English author who wrote the definitive account of Culloden and it’s horrific aftermath by the government troops, systematically raping and looting their way through the Highlands of Scotland. He backs every detail with reference to military records. It is a blood curdling account of what on in those days. It was nevertheless a brilliant book which changed forever my understanding of what really transpired.
They want to put a luxury home here? Despicable! Hope they get haunted.
A S we cannot let that happen there is a petition everyone can sign let’s all get behind this petition
I have heard that. That is hallowed ground. It should never be disturbed. My 5th Great Grandfather was born in Scotland in 1755.
God, don’t let that happen.
Theres been battles all over this planet. As long as we remember surely we can reuse land! Christ, that'd mean you couldnt build anywhere in United States after all the Natives that were slain there.
@@DimBeam1 yes indeed ms bean
The story enters my soul, shattering my heart.
My clan, the Mackinnons fought here with the Jacobites
As did my Clan MacLaren
Here now and visitor centre closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so really appreciated your history presentation. Odd to think English and French fought with the Jacobites and there were Scottish soldiers fighting for the Government!
A good reminder of why we shouldn't simplify history to suit beliefs or politics. Some fathers put a son on each side of the battle to hedge their bets.
Nationalism didn't exist then as lines were drawn by Dynasties - Nationalism is largely a modern development
It's was Protestants fighting Catholics
@@Meddled Same in the rather badly named English Civil Wars.
Never heard of the Jacobites until the Mini-Series Highlander, Reminds me of US Army Indian Wars.
The Battle of Littleferry took place on 15th April 1746, the day before Culloden, Littleferry was fought at Littleferry in Sutherland, the Government force of round 200 men was led by John Mackay, the defeated the larger Jacobite force of 400 to 500 highlanders from clan's MacGregor, MacKenzie and MacKinnon were led by George MacKenzie. There was only one MacGregor at Culloden, he was Prince Charles Edward Sruart's personal piper. The Jacobite survivors from Littleferry couldn't get down to Cullonen in time to assist their fellow Jacobites in the battle.
Great job Dan. This show reminds me of the show you did with your Dad 20th Century Battlefields Here in the USA that aired on PBS like 15 years ago and it is still my favorite documentary on different battles in history. That show and the two of you started my love of British history and British documentaries.
Just a shame it was not more accurate to what truly happened.
I have stood in that field at Swarkstone in Derbyshire, which was the furthest south that the Jacobite army penetrated. Some even camped on land that is now East Midlands Airport! It is said that with most of the Standing Army away fighting in Flanders London was virtually undefended and even the King and most of his court was ready to take flight, so why did they then turn about, and go home? Some say to tend the harvest but a noted historian has added, because spies infiltrated the army and told them they were surrounded!
I was in the process of watching "Outlander" and just ruined the ending, for myself?😡
Scotland's on my bucket list.
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️
Lorraine Spence There's more to Scotland than outlander sites, trust me you will not be disappointed, where & when you visit MY BONNIE HOMELAND
Neil Anderson Aye, believe me, since the Pandemic began, & before seeing Outlander, I've been studying a bit of Geographical-History. I prefer the wild and woods>people in cities, any day. The true gem of the Earth, is Scotland, in my heart and soul. I'm an "inquisitive wee lass", my grandfather told me. My Ancestors are from across the great pond, and lived and died building Canada, going back 5 generations, (as far as I can tell)? I've an-urge for going I can't explain. I just know I gottta'go. Kenna' know what I'm in for? (; "Scotland" to me, is 'Paradise on Earth'! I've thanked the Lord, for drones. I've always loved the rain.
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️🇬🇧✨🌎💫
btw, I've a Cousin named Bonnie and a Friend Bonny and I have many bonny Friends, too!
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️
@@rinalore WOW!!!..To me all lassies r BONNIE.. Don't believe the urban myth that Scotland is a wet place, just not 'totally' true. Btw I think u mean cannae not kenna?. Wild & Scotland's landscape goes hand in hand, I have walked for days wi not a hoose in sight let alone other folk. Aye i ken am biased but Scotland richly deserves all the plaudits about being a truly stunning beautiful wee country🏴🏴🏴🏴👍. I met two of your countrymen in the Mish on Mull, who thought it great there was a local beach named after Calgary, I pointed it out to them it was the other way round!!. If or when u visit, i cannae recommend Glen Affric highly enough, glorious wild scenery, lochs&mountains, and large remnant of Scotland's Caledonian Pine Forest!!!!!!.😎👍🏴
@Neil Anderson I love nothing more than rain, I was named-well. (; I get migraines from the bright sunshine and the brighter snow. I wish to retire, in Scotland. I already have Glen Affric on my bucket-list. I love the smell of pine and cedar too. I hope you get to visit Canada, one day? Each Province is unique. You probably have plenty of kin here, you never know. Staywell Laddie. (:
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️✨🇬🇧✨🌎💫
Always very interesting Dan. But, I would have liked to know what was it that caused the Jacobites to be so thoroughly defeated.
See "Culloden" (1964) on youtube
Lahayesaint several factors, poor choice of ground, tired&hungry soldiers, poor tactics, against superior better armed forces. A SAD DAY IN SCOTLAND'S HISTORY
Lahayesaint several factors, poor choice of ground, tired&hungry soldiers, poor tactics, against superior better armed forces. A SAD DAY IN SCOTLAND'S HISTORY
They were not "thoroughly " defeated. The entire Jacobite left wing and the Cumberland right wing never engaged. Thus, the Master of Lovat was free to patrol the battlefield , picking up dead and wounded. So many people have swallowed so much crap.
@@georgecampbell5281 George, whether or not part of an army engaged in a battle or not, to all intents and purposes, the Jacobites were defeated. At the end of the battle, they did not control the battlefield. The day belonged to the Duke of Cumberland. Remnants of the Jacobites were retreating, or more precisely, in a rout. Marshal Soulte, near the battlefield in Waterloo 1815, was similarly defeated, even though he had under his command 1/3 of Napoleon's army which did not take part in the battle.
My relative Benjamin McKimzey fought in that battle!
My clan fell that day
mr. meowgi So did mine. Fled on foot for 6 weeks after-got on a boat and went to America.
@@AkChiVibes as did mine after 50 years in exile in ireland
Mine kinda survived but only just..
The Clan system was a brutal system, which commanded many of these men to a battlefield they did not want to attend. If you want the definitive history of this event you can't get better than Culloden by John Prebble.
Copferhat -- At least you didn't have to pay rent!
@@LaHayeSaint Oh yes you did. The clan chief took what he wanted, when he wanted and you had no say in that. In many ways it was almost a form of slavery
If you are talking about reading John Prebble then you'll know that the internal colonialization of the highland people that proceeded the clan system was just as brutal....
Wrong. The clan system is a family system. Nobody was commanded to join the '45. That was a myth by the humanitarian Lord Loudoun who was trying to pour oil on troubled waters/
A superb read.
Okay! There’s the well trained and positioned British over there! What’s our plan?
LEROOOOY JENKAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!
Sound a bit like the Scottish soccer team!
Congrats from argentina
I also thought it was 9000 in the Hanoverian army and 4000 in the Jacob it army
Came here to understand Outlander, stayed for the documentary itself😍
Why are you not mentioning about the relevant bayonet drill that had been revampt since Prestonpans....
A fascinating subject in it own right. Having to trust the guy next to you to protect you! I always feel sorry for the man at the end of the line but I am told he usually had a great big bill hook or halberd.
When Dan Snow narrates, all I can hear is Dan Snow, Dan Snow, Dan Snow, Dan Snow, talking about Dan Snow
Anyone know a good non fiction book about this time period I can search, purchase, and devour?
Whsmith are really good for books on Scottish history, bought a couple good books about the Covenanters from there
@@Div_1992 can. You type that out again? Please.
@@RebelRosesPodcast Sorry?
@@Div_1992 Whsmith?
@@RebelRosesPodcast Here's a direct link to the kind of books you're looking for from that website :)
www.whsmith.co.uk/search?q=Culloden&cgid=ALL
You left out that "Bonnie Prince Charles" NEVER gave an order to charge or attack.
Bonnie Prince Charles, hid in the shadows and didn't have the balls to shoo-away a mosquito, let alone lead an attack! "Mark my words"!
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️🇬🇧✨🌎💫
@@rinalore He wasn't all that 'Bonnie' either apparently.
When the wee Bonnie Prince (aka the Spotty Moorhen) was whisked away after the Battle by the shattered remnants of his army, and taken to a waiting ship, he is said to have sailed back to France without so much as a backward glance.
Really enjoyed this commentary (and all because of Outlander!)
Savagery and conviction are no match for a intelligent, determined and focused defence.
I like how you included there was different nations fighting for the Jacobites 🏴
Yes! Most think it was a Scotland V England battle.
Germans, Dutch, Irish and French among the Jacobites, along with four Scottish and an Irish battalion on the other side.
The repercussions were quite brutal after the battle.
Highlanders we’re almost wiped out.
Such is the price of treason. Granted the methods were brutal. The brutality of the British govt was caused by the fear that the clans could wage another war unless strong measures were taken.
True warriors, victory or death
It was death!
Thankyou for getting your facts right, Dan. I only have one word to say, and that word is grapeshot. By the way, it wasn't the term British that's inappropriate, it's the Hanoverian army.
Not true…hardly any Hanoverian influence…these troops were British Army…most were not present.
@@alexwilliamson1486 Wrong.
Clan Fraser descendent, tragic story
Clan stuart and mackenzie
What I know about the Battle of Cullodden is that the Jacobites, constantly pursued by the English army, were completely exhausted and starved when they faced the English. The powder for the few cannons the Jacobites had was soggy, so the cannons did not work properly either. There was also the fact that the Jacobite leadership was making tactical mistakes, the terrain was unsuitable for their way of fighting. The English army was incomparably better equipped and also rested and better trained. It was an unequal fight from the start. To the best of my knowledge, the majority of the Jacobites did not die in direct combat, but were mercilessly cut down on the run on the orders of the English commander.
There was a huge percentage of the Jacobites were Irish. Not a mention.
I’m American descended from very early Colonists here. Actually I think the American Revolution was the last British Civil War
The Templar Knights treasure and Mary crown
There are alot more nuances to the "British" that Dan has barely mentioned here. The majority of the troops in the British Army at Culloden were drawn from Scotland, and there was also an Irish regiment fighting for the Government - 'British' side. Overall half were English and the other half was Scottish and Irish, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few Welsh soldiers in there somewhere as well. Bonnie Prince Charlie was an Italian chancer and no-hoper and he lead the Highlanders to unnecessary ruin, he wanted to become king of the whole of Great Britain whereas the Jacobites wanted independence, so he was essentially just using them for his own ends to get to the throne, of which he realistically never had much of a chance.
@Antivaxxer Ccp hater true, I shouldn't have said Jacobites, their goal was to simply put James on the throne; but there were numerous factors that came into play for the different factions and each had different motives. For alot of the Highlanders, they wanted independence
@Antivaxxer Ccp hater Believe me, I'm no victim of silly Celtic nationalist history revisionism that is so rife nowadays.
A bit wrong Cedric, the highlanders/Jacobites main purpose was to restore the Stuart's back to the throne
@Antivaxxer Ccp hater What has Braveheart got to with 18c Scotland??. Religion played a large part in turmoil of the 17c, not quite as simple as u claim, u could say 1689 was the catalyst as the english preferred a german prodestant to a Scottish catholic
Idk where you get you’re information from, 45% of the Jacobite Army at Culloden was from the highlands, the rest were a mix of Scottish lowlanders, French and Irish, there were almost no English if any, probably only a few catholic recruits
I had ancestors fighting on both sides.
I had Ancestors fighting on opposite-sides too, how crazy is that?😂And I'm Canadian! We're probably related too.🙄
🇨🇦✌🏻❤️
The Irish 150
Regarding the terrain that you are now walking in, Mr. Snow...... it would not have been quite as 'thick' with as much densely packed / overgrown grass / marshland as we see today. After all we are talking about almost 277 years of ground cover growth !!
After the massacre......after the battle I know from what I understand there were women and children left behind when their men went to battle. Obviously, when 100% of NONE of them returned from the battlefield they knew something went terribly wrong. Not even wounded men came back alive. Just curious.....there is a lot of documentary information written (naturally by the victors) about what happened. I think the only true survivor was the "Old Dubragh' who lived to be over 100.
However, I am curious to know whether or not there are any surviving records, comment, or any written accounts from any of the surviving women or young teenage children from that time period?
not much mention of the the englush cavalry that essentially won the battle as they destroyed the jacobite second line
Aye laddie, ye dina seem to ken much aboot the history of Culloden di ye. There was not 6000 Jacobite, there were around 4,500. During your description of the close in combat at the English lines you forgot, or more likely never knew the English soldier most useful tactic. That being as the Jacobites reached the English lines the English soldier were ordered my to thrust his bayonet at the man in front of him, but at the Jacobite on his right. So bring his bayonet up under the raised arm with broadsword in hand. If you would like a real good accurate history of the battle I would suggest John Preeble's excellent book " Culloden '.
I already knew about the bayonet drill now other people will be thankful you educated them and there are many books about culloden that all say different things laddie thanks for your comment though
Wrong video, mate. There were no 'English lines' at Culloden.
Alan Mac there were 2 English regiments on the field at culloden
@@Maniac3124 That's immaterial. They were British lines - not English.
Alan Mac regiments from England fighting for the British army yes
The wounds inflicted in this battle must have been terrible people split open from head to toe does not bear thinking about.
Fine presenter that Dan Snow. Gravitas.
thanks!
Lol.
What about the Irish troops Dan or do they don't count .!!!!!
Yes, the Irish held the field, whilst panic reined, allowing the Highlanders and Bonnie Prince Charlie to make their escape. That took real discipline and courage.
No, because there is no mention of them in our history!!
@@kara8307 , that because the version of "history" you may have known was deliberately opaque. Or like Dan's not interested in all the facts.
@@kara8307 Well they were certainly there. They were amongst the only professional soldiers in the Jacobite lines along with the Royal-Ecossais. Most of them came from the French Army
horrific battle for power
... they were not murdered in cold blood ... the Jacobites were told to give no quarter and as was the convention of the time, they were given none ... had the Jacobites won they would have done likewise ...
And Nigel Hedley, you know that for a fact?. Does not excuse the barbaric slaughter, some burnt alive, of injured Jacobites
@@neilanderson841 ....its a matter of historical record ... one of the conventions of war at the time ...
You are perpetuating a lie as there is no evidence that the Jacobites were told to give no quarter and you lie when you speak of that convention. The Jacobites were generous in affording parole to those they had captured. One of these groups was the Hessians, who refused Cumberland's insistence that they break their oath. Thus, they remained manning castles etc while others went to Culloden
I like outlander as much as the next person but it’s sad that for a lot of people that’s the extent of their knowledge on Scottish history
good old england...making friends since forever
He forgot to mention Spanish,Dutch,fought in this battle it was a geopolitical war.
Nice story but most of the Jacobite soldiers actually were spearmen or musketeers, not swordsmen. Also, the British heavy cavalry were the ones that sealed victory for the Redcoats so I would interpret it as cavalry proving their superiority over infantry rather than musket beats sword.
With all my respect, no British against Jacobites…no. English and Scottish Protestants( mostly Lutherans) against Scottish, Irish and English Roman Catholics and Anglicans ( many Northumbrian Catholics joined the Jacobite Flag)…
it was a very complex period that began in the previous century…Law of Toleration, Law of Supremacy…etc….King Charles I, Cromwell and the repression…the persecution of Catholics and Anglicans….actually a very hard and complex times.
@@pemacal57 By British, I meant British Army. It is true both armies had English and Scots in their ranks showing that it's not a cut and dry affair.
@@jeffreygao3956 Right!
There was more Scot’s on the Hanoverian side than were on the Jacobite side!
Brave men on both sides 16/4/2022
The British Army was at its best on an open battle field. It was the wrong place for the Jacobite's to make a stand. They should have looked for a place similar to their great victory at Killicrankie.
Hideous inescapable peer pressure, loyalties and feuds. They had no choice - forced to choose sides. Ghastly.
Sorry I gotta be that guy but... 3:30 he describes targes as “little shields” targes are big, he’s talking about bucklers. Then he says those were used in tandem with a longsword, longswords are two handed swords. He’s thinking of an arming sword, broadsword or sidesword. I believe the jacobites used both types of swords but he’s misusing the terms.
Yes
The way they fought against all odds. So sad. Scotland would have been better off staying away from this so called prince.
Buzz -- In the hands of a good commander, the Jacobites might have been able to pull this one off. Charles Stuart, in contrast, was a cowardly murderer.
@@LaHayeSaint With good commanders and up-to-date equipment they would have been formidable as their descendants were, fighting in the British army throughout the empire and both world wars.
He should have taken the advice of the Clan Chiefs when he landed in Moidart and gone home.
Great video. Sad that the highlanders didn’t win. Wish they had. If only they had better commanders. Charging with swords straight into a professional British army, on boggy flat ground was not the move
God damn ; holy shit well lads I think we :BOOM
The Irish also stood with us, why no mention?
Who's the us ? Both sides were a mix of Scottish and English. This wasn't a England vs. Scotland battle but a dynastic battle.
There were irish soldiers on both sides
Ryan I bet your ancestors support the Hanovarians, like many Lowlander Presbyterians did.
Ryan, you're absolutely correct. The Irish Piquettes were on the left Jocobite flank. They created a defensive line, allowing the Highland clan soldiers to escape. Approximately 100 men, from a company force of about 150, were killed. Very brave men. The remaining Irish soldiers were treated as POW.
@@Dom-fx4kt As did many Highland clans. Clan Campbell, Clan Ross, Clan Gunn, Clan Sutherland,Clan Mackay,Clan Grant etc.
Stewart of appin was my clan
Mine is clan MacLaren, their allies I believe.
Dan,
You have done some good work but this is not among it.
Some advice:
Maps
Plan view of the battlefield (drone would be good)
Timeline showing different phases of the battle
I have been to the Culloden battlefield and your video does not do it justice.
Graham,
Some advice:
Dan is not reading your comments
@@MrGoldenV But you did.
It's never a sound idea for infantry to charge toward artillery or prepared ranks of riflemen. The Scots tactics were hopeless.
You mean “Jacobite” tactics…..
It didn't help that many of the Jacobite army was hungry and tired the night before.
My clan is Mackintosh
I had ancestors in the 45, they fought in the mixed clans. They went to Ireland and to North America settling on the Western Frontier in Virginia.