ON THIS DAY

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April 16, 1746

Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden took place on this day in 1746 near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie - was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby ending the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Charles landed in Scotland in July 1745, seeking to restore his father James Francis Edward Stuart to the British throne. He quickly won control of large parts of Scotland, and an invasion of England reached as far south as Derby before being forced to turn back. However, by April 1746, the Jacobites were short of supplies, facing a superior and better equipped opponent.

Charles and his senior officers decided their only option was to stand and fight. When the two armies met at Culloden, the battle was brief, lasting less than an hour, with the Jacobites suffering an overwhelming and bloody defeat. This effectively ended both the 1745 rising, and Jacobitism as a significant element in British politics.

Jacobite casualties are estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 killed or wounded, with many of them occurring in the pursuit after the battle. In striking contrast to the Jacobite losses, the government losses were reported as 50 dead and 259 wounded.

After Charles was defeated at Culloden, effectively ending the Stuart cause, there were subsequent attempts such as a planned French invasion in 1759, but Charles was unable to restore the Stuart monarchy.

With the Jacobite cause lost, Charles spent the remainder of his life on the continent, except for one secret visit to London. On his return, Charles lived briefly in France before he was exiled in 1748 under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Charles eventually returned to Italy, where he spent much of his later life living in Florence and Rome. In his later life, Charles's health declined greatly, and he was said to be an alcoholic. However, his escapades during the 1745 and 1746 uprisings and his escape from Scotland led to his portrayal as a romantic figure of heroic failure. His life and the once possible prospects of a restored Stuart monarchy have left an enduring historical legend that continues to have a legacy today.

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