Battle of Culloden 1746: Jacobites, Cumberland & Complete Field Guide

Culloden was the last major battle fought on British soil, but its importance lies as much in the campaign that led there and the repression that followed as in the hour of fighting itself.

On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart faced the government force commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Culloden Moor east of Inverness. The result was decisive and brutal.

The armies that reached Culloden

The Jacobites were exhausted after months of campaigning, retreat from England and winter operations. Their force included Highland regiments but also Lowlanders, Irish troops in French service and other supporters.

Cumberland's army had trained specifically to meet the Highland charge, improved its supply system and approached the battle in better condition.

The ground

The moor was open, wet and uneven. It offered little of the broken terrain that could help a fast close assault disrupt a linear army.

Jacobite commanders disagreed over whether to stand there at all. The previous night's attempted surprise march on the government camp at Nairn had failed and left troops tired and scattered.

Artillery opens the battle

Government guns fired first and more effectively. Jacobite artillery was weaker and ammunition limited. Charles delayed ordering the charge while his line absorbed fire.

The Highland charge

When parts of the Jacobite line advanced, the attack was uneven. Terrain and alignment caused units to bunch toward one sector.

Some Highlanders reached the government line and broke into close fighting, but disciplined musketry, artillery and supporting formations prevented a general collapse.

Why the government line held

Government infantry had trained a method of bayonet use intended to attack the exposed side of the man engaging the soldier next to them. How consistently that drill worked in the chaos is debated, but the broader point is secure: Cumberland's infantry were prepared for the charge and supported by artillery and cavalry.

The rout

Once the Jacobite attack failed, government cavalry and infantry pursued. Casualties fell heavily on the Jacobite side. The killing did not stop cleanly when organised resistance ended.

After Culloden

The government pursued Jacobite fugitives, executed prisoners and imposed measures intended to dismantle armed resistance and reduce the military autonomy of Highland society.

Traditional dress legislation and restrictions on weapons became part of the later memory, but the transformation of the Highlands had wider economic and political causes too.

What happened to Charles Edward Stuart?

He escaped after months in hiding and eventually returned to continental Europe. The romantic escape narrative became central to Jacobite memory, while the political cause never again mounted a comparable rising in Britain.

Was Culloden England versus Scotland?

No. Scots fought on both sides. The government army included Scottish regiments, while the Jacobite cause included supporters with different regional and dynastic motives.

Related Regimental Record

• Jacobite Rising 1745–46
• Glorious Revolution 1688
• Crowns & Kingdoms

The night march that failed

On the night before Culloden, Jacobite commanders attempted to surprise Cumberland's army near Nairn. The plan depended on moving tired men over poor roads in darkness and arriving before dawn. The columns fell behind schedule and the operation was abandoned.

The consequences were serious. Men returned hungry and exhausted, some units were still scattered, and the government army now had time to march toward the Jacobite position in daylight.

Order of battle: a mixed Jacobite army

The Jacobite front included famous Highland regiments, but it was not an exclusively Highland force. Lowland Scots, Irish troops in French service and other units also stood in the line. Government forces similarly included English, Scottish and other British regiments.

This is why the battle cannot be reduced to Scotland against England. It was a civil and dynastic conflict fought inside a broader European war.

Cumberland's artillery advantage

Government artillery was better served and opened an effective bombardment while the Jacobite line waited. Charles's guns could not answer on equal terms. Every minute of delay therefore imposed casualties without bringing the Jacobites closer to the type of close combat in which their attack was most dangerous.

The pressure contributed to an uneven advance rather than one perfectly coordinated charge.

Why the charge bunched to one side

The moor was not a featureless flat field. Wet ground, drainage and obstacles disrupted alignment. Several Jacobite regiments converged as they moved forward, concentrating fighting against parts of the government left while other sectors engaged less effectively.

This local density produced fierce hand-to-hand combat but did not create a general break in Cumberland's line.

Musketry, bayonets and supporting fire

Government infantry had trained to meet Highland attacks with disciplined platoon fire and coordinated bayonet work. Artillery firing canister at close range added to the effect. The often-repeated claim that one special bayonet drill alone defeated the Highland charge is too simple.

The line held because several arms worked together and because the Jacobite attack reached it already disrupted by distance, fire and terrain.

Cavalry and the collapse

Government cavalry moved against Jacobite flanks and retreat routes once the main attack failed. This turned defeat into rout for many units. Some Jacobite formations withdrew in better order than others, but the army could no longer remain on the field.

Casualties and the killing after battle

Jacobite losses were far heavier than government losses. The exact numbers vary, but contemporary evidence makes clear that wounded men and fugitives were killed after organised resistance had ended.

This violence forms part of Culloden's history and should not be softened into a clean battlefield statistic.

The battlefield today

The preserved landscape east of Inverness makes Culloden unusually valuable for understanding eighteenth-century combat. Visitors can see how short the distances were, how open the main killing ground appears and how slight changes in wetness or drainage could affect movement.

The best way to read the site is as the end point of a campaign: an exhausted army accepted battle on unfavourable ground against an opponent that had adapted specifically to defeat it.

Sources & further reading

• National Trust for Scotland research and archaeology at Culloden.
• Government and Jacobite correspondence from April 1746.
• Christopher Duffy, detailed studies of the 1745 campaign.