Jacobite Rising

The major Jacobite Risings were called the Jacobite Rebellions by the new governments. The "First Jacobite Rebellion" was the 'Fifteen, and the "Second Jacobite Rebellion" was the 'Forty-Five.

Jacobite war in Ireland

The Williamite war in Ireland was the opening conflict in James' attempts to regain the throne. It influenced the Jacobite Rising in Scotland which "Bonnie Dundee" started at about the same time. When it ended in October 1691 the Irish army left Ireland for France, becoming the Irish Brigade which provided forces assisting The 'Forty-Five Jacobite Rising in Scotland.

Bonnie Dundee

Morier's painting "Culloden" shows the highlanders still wearing the plaids which they normally set aside before battle, where they would fire a volley then run full tilt at the enemy with broadsword and targe in the Highland charge wearing only their shirts

On April 16th 1689, almost a month after he left the Convention in Edinburgh and five days after it had proclaimed William and Mary, Viscount Dundee, known as Bonnie Dundee, raised James' standard on the hilltop of Dundee Law with less than 50 men in support. James had already arrived in Ireland and his letter was on the way promising Irish troops to assist the rising in Scotland. At first Viscount Dundee had difficulty in raising many supporters, but that changed after the Williamite commander Major-General Hugh Mackay of Scourie had been ineffective in chasing after Dundee around the north and 200 Irish troops had landed at Kintyre. In the northern Scottish Highlands there was opposition to William from Catholic and Episcopalian Clans, though Dundee received little support from the Episcopal Bishops of the Scots nobility.

By July the Jacobites had 8 battalions and 2 companies, almost all Highlanders. Bonnie Dundee gained the confidence of the Clans by understanding the need to treat each Highlander as a touchy gentleman whose allegiance to his chieftain and clan with its etiquette and precedence was much more important than a secondary cause such as Jacobitism. At a time when infantry were trained to fight in formation, the Highlander's method was to set aside their plaids and other encumbrances before the battle, drop to the ground if their enemy fired a volley then, after quickly returning fire, run screaming at their foe in the Highland charge with broadsword and targe (shield) or whatever other weapon they had, sometimes pitchforks or Lochaber axes (a combined axe and spear on a long pole). This charge could be devastating to troops in formation still struggling to fix their "plug" bayonets which were inserted in the barrel of their rifles.

This charge defeated a larger lowland Scots force at the Battle of Killiecrankie on July 27th, 1689, but a third of the Highlanders and Bonnie Dundee were killed in the fighting. At the street fighting of the Battle of Dunkeld on August 21st the Jacobite Highlanders were set back by the Cameronians (now a government regiment), but much of the north remained hostile to the government and expeditions to subdue the highlands met with a series of skirmishes. Jacobite forces suffered a heavy defeat at the Haughs of Cromdale on May 1st 1690 and later that month Mackay constructed Fort William on the site of an old fort built by Cromwell. Then in June news arrived of William's victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne and Jacobite hopes petered out. A year later they were forced to agree to a truce while the Clan chieftains sent requests to the exiled James VII and II for permission to submit to William, and in January 1692 the Jacobite Clans formally surrendered to the government.

The Old Pretender's attempted invasion

William's main interest was in the War of the Grand Alliance in the Low Countries against the French and he paid little attention to Scotland, trying to bribe or coerce the lawless clans. His demands that each chief put in writing the submission authorised by James resulted in the Massacre of Glencoe on February 13th 1692. In 1701 King James VII and II died and the claimed succession passed to his son, James Francis Edward Stuart who claimed to be James VIII and III and became known as the Old Pretender

After a brief peace, the War of the Spanish Succession renewed French support for the Jacobites and in 1708 the Old Pretender sailed from Dunkirk with 6000 French troops in almost 30 ships of the French navy. Their intended landing in the Firth of Forth was thwarted by the Royal Navy under Admiral Byng which pursued the French fleet and made them retreat round the north of Scotland, losing ships and most of their men in shipwrecks on the way back to Dunkirk.

The 'Fifteen

William and Mary's daughter became Queen Anne, who left no immediate successor. By then the Act of Settlement 1701, confirmed by the Act of Union of 1707 required the monarch to be Protestant, excluding James Stuart, the Old Pretender, and bringing in from Hanover George I, great grandson of James VI of Scotland and I of England. He was opposed by the Royalist Tories, and his arrival in 1714 was greeted by riots in the south of England. In Scotland years of famine and hardship fed discontent with the Union, providing fertile ground for what is often referred to as the First Jacobite Rising (or Rebellion).

The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) had ended hostilities between France and Britain. From France, as part of widespread Jacobite plotting, James Stuart, the Old Pretender had been corresponding with the Earl of Mar and in the summer of 1715 he called on Mar to raise the Clans without further delay. Mar, nicknamed Bobbin' John, had signed the Act of Union as Secretary of State for Scotland and pleaded to continue in that office in the incoming Hanoverian government of King George I, but was rebuffed and turned his loyalty to James. He met James' call by travelling from London to Braemar and summoning clan leaders to "a grand hunting-match" on August 27th 1715 where he announced his change of allegiance. On September 6th he proclaimed James as "their lawful sovereign" and raised the old Scottish standard, whereupon (ominously) the gold ball fell off the top of the flagpole. Mar's proclamation called on men to fight "for the relief of our native country from oppression and a foreign yoke too heavy for us or our posterity to bear". This brought in a strange alliance of clans united only in detesting the Union and recent Whig repression, who quickly overran many parts of the Highlands.

Mar's Jacobites captured Perth on September 14th without opposition and his army grew to around 8,000 men, but a force of less than 2,000 men under the Duke of Argyll held the Stirling plain for the government and Mar indecisively kept his forces in Perth. He waited for the Earl of Seaforth to arrive with a body of northern clans, but Seaforth was delayed by attacks from other clans loyal to the government. Planned risings in Wales and Devonshire were forestalled by the government arresting the local Jacobites.

Starting around October 6th a rising in the north of England grew to about 300 horsemen under Thomas Forster, a Northumberland squire, then joined forces with a rising in the south of Scotland under Lord Kenmure. Mar sent a Jacobite force under Brigadier Mackintosh of Borlum to join them. They left Perth on October 10th and were ferried across the Firth of Forth from Burntisland to East Lothian. Here they were diverted into an attack on an undefended Edinburgh, but having seized Leith citadel they were chased away by the arrival of Argyll's forces. Mackintosh's force of about 2,000 then made their way south and met their allies at Kelso in the Scottish Borders on October 22nd, and spent a few days arguing over their options. The Scots wanted to fight government forces in the vicinity or attack Dumfries and Glasgow, but the English were determined to march towards Liverpool and led them to expect 20,000 recruits in Lancashire.

The Highlanders resisted marching into England and there were some mutinies and defections, but they pressed on. Instead of the expected welcome the Jacobites were met by hostile militia armed with pitchforks and very few recruits. They were unopposed in Lancaster and found about 1,500 recruits as they reached Preston on November 9th, bringing their force to around 4,000. Then Hanoverian forces (including the Cameronians) arrived to besiege them at the Battle of Preston (1715), and the surviving Jacobites surrendered on November 14th.

In Scotland, at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on November 13th, Mar's forces were unable to defeat a smaller force led by the Duke of Argyll and Mar retreated to Perth while the government army built up. Belatedly, on December 22nd 1715 a ship from France brought the Old Pretender to Peterhead, but he was too consumed by melancholy and fits of fever to inspire his followers. He briefly set up court at Scone, Perthshire, visited his troops in Perth and ordered the burning of villages to hinder the advance of the Duke of Argyll through deep snow. The highlanders were cheered by the prospect of battle, but James' councillors decided to abandon the enterprise and ordered a retreat to the coast, giving the pretext of finding a stronger position. James boarded a ship at Montrose and fled to France on February 4th, 1716, leaving a message advising his Highland followers to shift for themselves.

Spanish supported Jacobite invasion

With France still at peace, the Jacobites found a new ally in Spain's Minister to the King, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. An invasion force set sail in 1719 with two frigates to land in Scotland to raise the clans, and 27 ships carrying 5,000 soldiers to England, but the latter were dispersed by storms before they could land. When the two Spanish frigates successfully landed a party of Jacobites led by Lord Tullibardine and Earl Marischal with 300 Spanish soldiers at Loch Duich they held Eilean Donan castle, but met only lukewarm support from a few clans and at the Battle of Glen Shiel the Spanish soldiers were forced to surrender to government forces.

Aftermath of the 'Fifteen

In the aftermath of the 'Fifteen, the Disarming Act and the Clan Act made ineffectual attempts to subdue the Scottish Highlands, and efforts at "rooting out of the Irish language" (Gaelic) were renewed. Government garrisons were built or extended in the Great Glen at Fort William, Kiliwhimin (later renamed Fort Augustus) and Fort George, Inverness, as well as barracks at Ruthven, Bernera and Inversnaid, linked to the south by the Wade roads constructed for Major-General George Wade. Jacobitism lingered on amid resentment of economic hardship and the Whig government, and Catholic missionaries increased their influence with some clans, but political resistance to the Union lessened and Jacobitism became more of a secretive game with the glasses of claret being waved over water before the Loyal Toast so that it became a toast to "the King (over the water)".

In 1725 Wade raised the independent companies of the Black Watch as a militia to keep peace in the unruly Highlands, but in 1743 they were moved to fight the French in Flanders. Tellingly, their commander at the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745 was the Duke of Cumberland, soon to command at Culloden.

The 'Forty-Five

During 1743 the War of the Austrian Succession drew Britain and France into open, though unofficial, hostilities against each other. Leading English Jacobites made a formal request to France for armed intervention and the French planned a large-scale invasion of southern England, together with an expeditionary force to Scotland to support a Jacobite rising. Charles Edward Stuart (later known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender) who was in exile in Rome with his father (James Stuart, the Old Pretender) was invited to accompany the expedition and rushed to France. The fleet began embarking some 10,000 troops and got under way in March 1744, alerting British warships, but a violent storm scattered the French escort ships and wrecked many troop transports with the loss of all hands. The British lodged strong diplomatic objections to the presence of Charles, and France declared war but abandoned ideas of Jacobite risings and gave Charles no more encouragement.

Even against the warnings of his advisers from Scotland, Charles was determined not to turn back. He borrowed funds and pawned his mother's jewellery for funds to fit out a small frigate le Du Teillay and a ship of the line the Elisabeth and set out from Nantes for Scotland in July 1745. The Elisabeth, carrying weapons and supplies, encountered the British Navy and was forced back, but the Frigate successfully landed Charles with his seven men of Moidart on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides on August 2nd 1745.

The Scottish clans initially showed little enthusiasm, but Charles went on to Moidart and on August 19th 1745 raised the standard at Glenfinnan to lead the Second Jacobite Rising in his father's name. This attracted about 1,200 men, mostly Clan Cameron. The Jacobite force marched south from Glenfinnan, increasing to almost 3,000 men. Most of the British army was in Flanders and Germany, leaving an inexperienced army of about 4,000 in Scotland under Sir John Cope. His force marched north into the Highlands, but found little support because of the unpopularity of King George II's government and, believing the rebel force to be stronger than it really was, avoided an engagement with the Jacobites at the Pass of Corryarrick and withdrew northwards to Inverness. The Jacobites captured Perth and at Coltbridge on the way to Edinburgh routed two regiments of government Dragoons. In Edinburgh there was panic with a melting away of the City Guard and Volunteers, and when the city gate at the Netherbar Port was opened at night to let a coach through a party of Camerons rushed the sentries and seized control of the city. The next day King James VIII was proclaimed at the Mercat Cross and a triumphant Charles entered Holyrood palace.

Cope's army got supplies from Inverness then sailed from Aberdeen down to Dunbar to meet the Jacobite forces near Prestonpans to the east of Edinburgh. On September 21 1745 at the Battle of Prestonpans a surprise attack planned by Lord George Murray routed the government forces, as celebrated in the Jacobite song "Hey, Johnny Cope, are you waking yet?". There was alarm in England, and in London a patriotic song was performed including the defiant verse:

This song was widely adopted and was to become the National Anthem (usually without that verse).

The Jacobites held the city of Edinburgh, though not the castle. Charles held court at Holyrood palace for five weeks, exciting great admiration and enthusiasm but failing to raise a regiment locally. Many of the highlanders went home with booty from the battle and recruiting resumed, though Whig clans supporting the government were also getting organised. The French now sent some weapons and funds, and assurances that they would carry out their invasion of England by the end of the year. Charles' Council of war was against leaving Scotland, but he was convinced that the English would rise to support him and insisted on marching south.

The Jacobite army of under six thousand men set out on November 3rd. During the delay the government had brought seasoned troops back from the continent and an army under General George Wade assembled at Newcastle. Charles wanted to confront them, but on the advice of Lord George Murray and the Council he made for for Carlisle and successfully bypassed Wade. At Manchester about 250 Episcopalians formed a regiment, but no other Englishmen joined the Prince. At the end of November French ships arrived in Scotland with 800 men from the Eccosais Royeaux (Royal Scots) and Irish Regiments of the French army.

The Jacobite army, by now reduced by desertions to under 5,000 men, manoeuvred round to the east of a second government army under the Duke of Cumberland and marched on Derby. They entered Derby on December 4th, only 125 miles (200 km) from a panicking London, and Charles was advised of progress on the French invasion fleet which was then assembling at Dunkirk. While Charles was determined to press on, his Council and Lord George Murray insisted that both Wade and Cumberland were closing on them, a large militia was forming in London, the promised English support had not materialised and they should return to join the growing force in Scotland. On December 6th the Jacobites sullenly began their retreat. There was a rearguard action to the north of Penrith. The Manchester regiment was left behind to defend Carlisle and after a siege by Cumberland had to surrender, to face hanging or transportation. By Christmas the Jacobites came to Glasgow and forced the city to re—provision their army, then on January 3rd left to seize the town of Stirling and begin an ineffectual siege of Stirling castle. Jacobite reinforcements joined them from the north and on January 17th about 8,000 of Charles' 9,000 men took the offensive to the approaching General Henry Hawley at the Battle of Falkirk and routed his forces.

The Jacobite army then turned north, losing men and failing to take Stirling Castle or Fort William but taking Fort Augustus and Fort George in Inverness by early April. On April 16th 1746 they were finally defeated near Inverness at the Battle of Culloden by Hanoverian forces made up of English and Scottish troops under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. By this time there were more Scottish troops against Charles than he ever had under his command. The seemingly suicidal Highland sword charge against cannon and muskets had succeeded in earlier battles but failed now owing to the completely unsuitable nature of the battlefield chosen by Charles, his irresolute tactics and Cumberland having trained his men well with new bayonet tactics to withstand the charge.

Charles fled to France making a dramatic if humiliating escape, helped by supporters like Flora Macdonald, that fed romantic legend. Cumberland's forces crushed the rebellion and effectively ended Jacobitism as a serious political force in Britain.