Correction - the Act of Proscription didn’t ban the playing of pipes but rather the bearing of arms and the wearing of highland dress in certain counties (including a long list of tartan garments). While the teaching of Gaelic wasn’t specifically mentioned, the act required all teachers in private schools to be registered and to swear an oath to the king and forbade parents from sending their children to any unregistered schools.
Much like our Civil War battle fields, these fields hold more then the bones of the men that fought, they hold the aspirations of men who believed in their cause for the love of country. They usually are disquieting and eerie places,interesting but sobering! Wonderful Robert! K.
Most people who ended up here was forced their either by impressment, or the brutal clan system or human serfdom and rent, and they died horrible, paintful, pointless deaths over a squabble between two ruling houses.
When I visited culloden several years ago, I felt the same solemness as when I visited Pearl Harbor. Being there is so moving and sad, you can feel the sorrow and pain in both places.
‘Bonnie’ Prince Charlie was a disaster for Highlanders who fled back to France without a care for the utter ruin of his loyal supporters. Never understand why he remains so revered. Murray was a good commander, let down by Charlie’s poor staff and decision making.
This is about much more than the battle itself. That isn't a criticism, on the contrary, it is an excellent account of what led up to such a tragic conclusion. As somebody who flatters himself in thinking he knows more than a little about this, I was really impressed with this. Thank you.
I first heard of this battle as a teenager in the early 1970s, when I saw the brilliant documentary "Culloden" (1964). That movie is on RUclips for free, and anyone with the slightest interest should watch it!
Wish we had seen your video before we visited Culloden, you explain everything so well 🏴 We felt very moved when we visited Culloden last April and was so glad we went. Thank you for sharing Morgs Jo and Boo 🐕 ❤
All the Stuarts were, unfortunately, losers. They mainly led to the deaths of thousands at the hands of each King and Queen. Denial was indeed a gem they clutched desperately to their breasts. Although many of us carry Scots genetics because Highland Clearances, I for one would rather my ancestors lived. As a veteran of the US Navy I do believe in honor. Honor was not served at Culloden or at Charlie's feet. Losing your cultural identity is a tragedy that can not be put into words. Thank you Bard for putting Culloden into words (I listened to you and didn't watch the video); you again painted a vivid picture.
@SvenTviking the 4 james es that were about in the 15 century were they related to james 1 Charles 1 Charles 11 and james 11 in the 17 century james 1v died at flooden didn't he were the earlier james s stuarts
I'm a day late but at work and had a moment so I watched your video. It was sad yet beautiful at same time. I was in tears for both reasons. I appreciate all of the work and dedication that you have put into this. You're such an eloquent storyteller. Thank you!
Just stumbled across this video. Really know how to get a lot of information across in a digestible and engaging manner. Thanks algorithm- this definitely deserves more views!
Thank you for giving a thorough and clear account! Gives a bit of insight as to how my Grandmother's ancestors may have left Scotland for England and then for the U.S.. And here I am wanting to come to Scotland. Complicated business but you made it understandable.
So tragic! It's a given that soldiers die in battles, but it's criminal for a commander to foolishly waste the lives of his men. I heard a story about President Bush (the senior) who after Desert Storm personally wrote letters to the family of every man killed. He reportedly said something to the effect that nothing brought home the ultimate responsibility to him like doing that. This from a man who was shot down over the Pacific in WWII.
@@scotlandunplugged Your RUclips presentations got me started on re-reading Jack Whyte's The Guardians of Scotland series again (probably for the 3rd or 4th time). I just finished The Forest Laird, and started Robert the Bruce yesterday. One of the things I really enjoy about Jack's writing is the philosophical bits in the story. I encountered them for the first time in The Camulod Chronicles series. They were unexpected, and for me, just golden. As a Scot and an historian he really seems to have done his research and brings the history of Scotland to life. I'd love an opinion from another Scot. Diana Gabaldon, in her Outlander series, really did a good job on history in general, and specifically Scottish history. Fun fact: she was a professor at Arizona State University, and wrote the first book, Outlander, "just for practice, to learn how" to write a novel. Home run, first time out! The rest is history. I've yet to watch the series, but I think it's cool that the cast have read all the books and are trying to stay true to them.
I have always wondered if or how many of my ancestors took part in this struggle as most of the Armstrongs were either hanged or driven out by James VI/I! Nonetheless, I am drawn to the history and lore of Scotland and hope to someday visit and ultimately retire there.
And yeah, my ancestors did some awful things. That probably has more than a little to do with why I felt compelled to breathe that awkward sigh of relief when I found out that they didn't die en masse for Prince Charlie. It's strange to feel these things for 300 and 400 and 1000 year old strangers, isn't it?😕
I wasn't raised with a strong sense of either general or personal history, but my ex's family were Scottish, so we'd visit them every year and they would tell me all the history and take me to every Historic/Trust location included in their memberships, plus anything interesting on the road along the way (like standing stones, distilleries, etc). I cried at Culloden--not knowing yet that genetically i did have an attachment to the larger culture there; but it was such a 'still' place--people were respectful and treated it with reverence, which really makes the emotional impact easier to experience. I'm always impressed by how well the Scottish know their own history, how proud they are of their cultural identity, and how entertainingly and thoroughly they can pass that information along to the rest of us. :)
Very interesting. Im from near Derby, and often pass the furthest southern point the Jacobites got at Swarkstone bridge. It always makes me think about what might have happened had things gone differently when i pass there. Ghosts of the past, I guess.
Thanks for this, well done and love the Scots accent as a big part of this report. What sad days there were, and still are with these conflicts taking people's lives and often for so little gain. The bravery of these souls must never be forgotten!
Very good presentation of a battle that changed history, after Culloden the clans lost their power and many a Scotsman joined the British army a tradition that lasts today.
Thank you for the details I never heard before. I have been to Culloden and it's eerie. There is an overwhelming feeling of sadness. As for the Bonnie Prince, I hope my mother's Alexander relatives are related to Flora and I admire that the young pretender wanted Scotland to be Scotland and not part of the British empire, even if it was said that he had a hard time understanding the Scots language. Please keep the education coming along with the beautiful scenes in your videos!
Excellent analysis Robert. The 1964 docudrama "Culloden" based on John Prebble's book is well woth watching and shows the tragedy of the Highlanders pressed into the fight against their will and poorly armed. Charles Stuart does not come out of it well.
Really good, accessible, eloquent and unbiased - exactly what most other accounts out there AREN'T. I agree you can really feel 'something' upon Culloden Muir - what a stupid place to choose to fight
Very informative. The only English Jacobite regiment raised was the Manchester regiment. They suffered terribly when the regiment surrendered at Carlisle castle.
WOO HOO!! Back to death and religion! But I guess that's a good part of history anywhere.. Thanks much,, I've learned more about history, a favorite subject, from you than from any class. Although I'm in the US,, history to us is about 100 yrs!! Can't wait to see what's next...
@@kimfleury There is history here,, but it’s not quite the same. I lived in Belgium for four years and traveled Europe. When you see a cathedral built in the 1500’s,, it’s different from the history here. I often joke that we don’t have any history here which is not true,, that being said it’s not the same as in Europe.
A challenge to condense the huge amount of stories into a coherent presentation. Thanks, and I hope you inspire viewers to dig deeper and discover the treasure trove of writings around the Jacobite risings. Hope, betrayal, bravery and spies. No wonder the swirling savagery and poisoned politics of those times have begat a legacy of enduring tales oft retold.
Corrections/Notes 8:40 and 9:08 Those paintings aren't of Charles, but instead of his brother. The first painting was done when his brother was in France preparing to lead a French army of 8,000 to 9,000 soldiers in support of Charles. The enterprise was cancelled when news of Culloden reached France. The Clans and his Jacobite Supporters knew that the Stuarts wanted to reclaim the Crowns of the 3 Kingdoms Charles never hided his intention to do that. Another reason the Clans supported him was his willignes to end the act of union which he did in a declaration made on octuber in Edinbourgh. He abolished this when he entered Edingbourgh trough a declaration/edict. Another reason the Clans though they were going to get French support is because France had actually send 2000 soldiers from the Scottish and Irish regiments of the French Army to Scotland and altough they were attacked by the navy around 700 to 900 were able to reach the Jacobite Army. 9:08 The divide of going to England or not was more of a strategic divide some Clan Chiefs tought that it was better move to stay in Scotland secure their positions and fight in Scotland. While Charles tought that is what better to strike while the Iron was still hot. And not the council didn't went out of the window it operated, it was in a council reunion that they voted to retreat from England. 9:34 His supporters didn't started to lose faith until after they started retreating. It was the Clan Chiefs who when not seeing support voted in a council reunion to retreated back to Scotland to avoid being pined in hostil territory. While Charles in the same council reunion argued to keep advancing.
Great video and wish I had found it earlier I first heard about Culloden in the 70’s as a young teenager when my father and I saw the 1964 Watkins film. That’s affected me ever since and very proud of my Scottish ancestry
My family were fishermen living in nearby Nairn at the time of the Culloden battle. I don't know what side they were on, if any. However, everyone seems to have survived the event.
Very good and fair assessment of a complex piece of history. When all is said is done, this tragic waste of life was a result of the folly of Charles Edward Stuart and his ego obsessed with getting his hands on the British Crown. This misunderstanding of the background as an England v Scotland battle is unfortunate. The Clearances were led by the Clan Chiefs who became lairds, and again this has been lost over the years, and continues to create unnecessary division.
And Durham County Council built a road on top of Nevilles Cross battle field 1346 . When they've turned this Battle Field into a place that people can visit.
I was born and raised in Yorkshire. I feel British first and English second. At school we were taught that Culloden was a battle between the forces of the British Government and rebels who wanted to reinstate the Stuart line by force of arms that had to be opposed and, if necessary, destroyed. For this reason I could never understand why, in later years, so many Scots said to me that it was "The English bloodily subduing the brave Scots". It wasn't! It was a lawful Government Army, made up of troops from all parts of the British Isles INCLUDING SCOTS along with some foreign mercenaries, fighting an insurrection by an unofficial Militia made up mainly of Highland Scots but also some others. Keep in mind that in 1746 Scotland had been part of the United Kingdom for 39 years, since the two Acts of Union had been passed in 1707. The retribution that followed though was shocking and probably helped spread the myth of an all Scots Army being cruelly defeated by an "English" Army. Thank you for putting the record straight on this. 👍 🙂
You are a disgrace, ask any Scottish person if they are British first and Scottish second, I never class myself as British always English no matter what part of the world I was in, even my passport states English on the inside.
Not unlike the Wars of the Roses. To this day people believe it was a struggle between Yorkshire and Lancashire. It was good to have this video introduced by telling us how complicated history is. Never a truer word spoken.
@@ab4113They were definitely fighting for Scotland; that's how they got the support they did in Scotland and why their army was a Scottish army. There would have been no way for BPC to deny Scotland its independence simply by the fact that his forces were Scottish and in the event of his victory, the english forces would have been destroyed so he obviously couldn't have used them.
The War of Austrian Succession was really a war to stop French influence in Austria and Spain. The French wars in North America were an extension of this. French support for a Scottish rebellion was merely a distraction. They wanted England to be threatened from within. The Germans copied this plan in 1916.
There’s always a sadness with Scots and Irish history that lingers .Maybe because it feels quite recent. These days people around the world have much information and can retrace their ancestors. That is the part they want to retrace because everyone has a multitude of ancestors to choose from
@@DavidBroadley-tw7ksMost of the slaughter in the wake of the battle was carried out by the English cavalry. But there is a point here that really, the Hanovarian cause was never popular enough in Scotland that it could, by itself, ever counter the levels of support naturally enjoyed by the Jacobites.
@@DavidBroadley-tw7ks Whilst it is true that the treacherous Scots that fought for the Hanoverians were brutal in their oppressions, it should also be remembered that they were only capable of rallying very limited numbers of troops compared to what the Jacobites had been able to muster, precisely because the Hanoverian cause (and the union) was not altogether that popular in Scotland.
Bagpipes were never banned… England had a bagpipe tradition as well, not just Scotland… and it only started to decline in the early 20th century. In England they are explicitly mentioned in The Canterbury Tales… “A baggepype wel coulde he blowe and sowne, and ther-with-al he broghte us out of towne”… contrast this with the first clear reference to the use of Scottish Highland Pipes is there mention of use at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, from the French.
This was a side theatre in the wider war of Austrian succession and needs to be understood in that context. The timing was determined by French interests in that war. The Stuart’s were French clients.
Yes it was but had much more effect on the world at the time The War of Austrian Succession dragged all the main powers into what actually should be called The First World War it was part of another war raging in India between the British and French which spread to the Caribbean and North America and changed the history of America and Europe forever, both England and France bankrupted each other leading to taxes being levied to pay for The Anglo French War 1757 to 1763 we know were that led to.1776 and 1789 two revolutionary movements that changed the world forever...
The bulk (not all) of the highlanders had been trained to fight musket and bayonet with French supplied muskets by French advisors in the Royal Escossaies which fought alongside the Scots along with the few Irish brigades that weren't fighting in Flanders. The French regiments are included in the Pike and Shot Campaigns version of Culloden with the Irish regiments vaugely named "Irish Piquets".
While its likely the highland clearances wouldn't have happened, I don't think there would have been massive changes to our lives had Charles succeeded. Instead of the sponging Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family, we'd now have the sponging Stewart family in Buckingham Palace. I don't think he'd have dissolved the act of union. Why remove the opportunity for more money and a bigger kingdom to rule. I believe only his life would have benefitted. And many lives were lost for his vanity.
I remember visiting the site in the seventies and it did not look like that. I later visited in the 90’s and there were trees now there is a reduction towards heather. History can be so strange!
My dad passed down some "family history" regarding that battle. Banning kilts and Pipes weren't the only thing "The Butcher" did to break the Clan system...organized rapine was also used as a weapon. Or so my dad said....
@koriw1701 indeed. It bears an unfortunate resemblance to an even more heinous crime. Basically it seems that Cumberland's orders drove people from their homes and appropriated their stuff. Not entirely unheard of in wars up to and including this period.
I read about the British using a new defensive strategy with their hand to hand fighting, namely cover the man to your right knowing your left flank was also covered. So the British line held in more places than not. Murray and the Prince should have vacated the field and found another Falkirk type field.
@@jonesyjones7626 It was my clumsy attempt at highlighting the difference between British and English. Many non-UK people seemed to interchange the two even though they are different - think I just need to go for a lie down? lol!
You mentioned gold, and this should never be underestimated. A lot (maybe even the majority) of the common Scots and foreign soldiers on the Scots side would never have fought this battle, and others, for a "cause", romance, or affection for The Pretender. Money and gold being the motivation, not crown or country. Thank God the battles we fight among us now are on the places like rugby fields, long that may stay, and we remain as one.
Culloden is one of the few places I have been where I felt a spiritual sense of history. One of the tragedies of Culloden is it didn't have to happen. The last natural barrier between the Jacobite Army and Cumberlands Army was the river Spey. Cumberland had to ford the river, which meant his Army was vulnerable as it was crossing. If the jacobites had attacked them then they would have seriously damaged or destroyed them. They knew this and for some inexplicable reason did nothing allowing Cumberland to cross unmolested. The second missed opportunity was the disastrous night attack they launched before Culloden where the Army basically got lost. Leadership knew their best chance was to surprise Cumberland yet they failed on both occasions to do so and ended up outgunned in a pitched battle on unsuitable terrain.
Excellent documentary but you might want to double check the bayonet drill claim at Culloden. This appears th have originated in an London magazine which later published a retraction. According to more recent study, the Govt forces were sumply very well drilled and, unlike the previous army Charles faced, had many veterans of the European was and in particular had some excellent veteran officers including the future General Wolfe. These men were unlikely to break.
The Stewarts made the mistake of trying to re-fight the issues that had been settled by the Tudors, the Catholic/Protestant dispute, and the Civil War. Trying to impose Catholic religion and the absolute rule of the Crown over parliament was a lost cause, the Stewarts were never going to get support from ordinary people.
I’ve visited Culloden twice as an adult, and it is a powerfully moving place. My 9x great grandfather, William Wallace Anderson, fought in the 1715 uprising and fled to the Colonies after their defeat. His parents, Jacob and Mary, sent his inheritance to him there, and he eventually used a fair chunk of it to fund the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. William died at age 104, never again having set foot in Scotland since the ‘15. More than 300 years later, his 9x and 10x great granddaughters are preparing to relocate to Scotland.
Oi you! Scotland are playing pretty well at football the now. Got a good squad of young players and a good manager at the helm. Euro 2024 here we come!
Hi Robert I just found your channel I was wandering if you could help my mother had always said since I was a wean that we were related to the black Douglas I had no idea who the black Douglas was,James Douglas and that he was Robert the Bruce's right hand man,I'd love to find out more about it especially to show my family about it have you any ideas how I could go about it thanks and thanks for the videos
The Douglas family are pretty well known in Scottish history, and the Black Douglas especially. David R Ross wrote a book about him “James the Good: The Black Douglas”. Might be worth a look 🙂
Was told the last pitched battle on UK soil was actually somewhere around the Bristol countryside in the 1960s between mods, hippies snd i think teddy men with flick knives and apparently even some with WW2 lugers and flare guns. It was actually not reported on to widely but it did constitute a battle in its scale and deadlines. Think the whole thing has been kept under wraps since because some key players and instigaters where sons of aristocratic families and political figures, some bodies have still not been found or recovered, despite the few that know about it doing metal detecting and digs on the site.
Poor old Lachlan MacLachlan! I suppose he must've been an ancestor of mine...I'll have to check it out. (Although my paternal grandfather emigrated to Australia in the 1950's. He was a huge man, a butcher with a great big moustache.) For some reason, anytime I see photos of Culloden, the first one is always the multi-clan cairn with the MacLachlan's. Weird... And on the Bonnie One... I think he was a French Fop who didn't know his people, didn't know the land, and who caused the death and destruction of Scotland better than the English could've done on their own. Running away dressed as a woman to drink himself to death in luxury. Maybe I'm missing something... I think he should have stayed in France. Ouch!
Aye a sad and humorous take on it all My scots ancestors left cos of the increasing hardship in the 1800s Some went to america Some came to nz Northern english as well werent treated that well by them in london either as weve seen in the not too distant past Just shows how much of the govt dosh dont go far from london A bit annoying the english throne having one leg over the channel in europe and the other in london Still a problem some say
There was at least 500 of my clan who fought there, they're still there now. So as multicultural as you wish to make Culloden there was plenty of Highlanders none the less.
These are a great videos but you keep on showing cardinal Henry Benedict's picture as Charles Edward Stuart. the man in armor is not Bonnie Prince Charlie it is his brother cardinal Henry Benedict. Even I know that and I am not a Scottish.
It wasn't a "doomed" campaign, in fact, it almost succeeded. "The Stewarts" didn't believe in the divine right of kings - some did - and the later Stewarts supported religious freedom, including CES. The supposed "bayonet technique" was absolute nonsense. It was simply a morale booster, completely impractical and didn't work. The Jacobites cut through both government lines and only an enfilade by the Hanoverians, who fired into their own troops, as well as Jacobites, stopped an outflanking movement. The "no quarter" claim was a forgery designed to allow the butchery on the battlefield, on the road to Inverness and the attempted ethnocide following it.
Alas the bayonet drill is a myth, they were just better trained and better led than the blokes who were beaten at Prestonpans and Falkirk. The charge relied on the fear it provoked but seasoned troops aren’t easy to frighten especially when holding your formation saves your life.
Poor representation of events. Fail to mention Charles Edward Stewart being forced to turn north by the Scottish commanders even though the only way to succeed was to take London. Although the Jacobites were not a purely Scottish force, it was by all intents and purposes a Scots Army. They referred to themselves as a 'Highland army', even the Manchester regiments wearing tartan. Saltires were used heavily throughout the uniforms of Jacobite troops, even the payroll of the army was in line with the last independent army the Scottish state prior to 1707. Around 1700-1800 Scots fought in the Government force, failing to support the contentious claim that more Scots fought on the government side. Of these Scots, almost all were place in the front line with the principle of set a thief to catch a thief.
Correction - the Act of Proscription didn’t ban the playing of pipes but rather the bearing of arms and the wearing of highland dress in certain counties (including a long list of tartan garments).
While the teaching of Gaelic wasn’t specifically mentioned, the act required all teachers in private schools to be registered and to swear an oath to the king and forbade parents from sending their children to any unregistered schools.
Nice videos... I am all agog!
Bagpipes They are actually warpipes.
Pipes like Northumbrian pipes, were the social type.
Wrong pipes were regarded as a instrument of War
Very well done! 👏❤️ Thank you.
Culloden is definitely a place for quiet respect, reflection, and honor for the many that lost their lives there.🕊🕯
Thank you!
Much like our Civil War battle fields, these fields hold more then the bones of the men that fought, they hold the aspirations of men who believed in their cause for the love of country. They usually are disquieting and eerie places,interesting but sobering! Wonderful Robert! K.
Thank you!
@kathleenmuller306 what a beautiful way of describing the feelings one gets when walking a battlefield. ❤
It was an uprising, not a civil war.
@@HaveMonkeyWillDance It was both. The Jacobite Uprising of '45 (the last one of several before it) pitted Scot against Scot and Clan against Clan.
Most people who ended up here was forced their either by impressment, or the brutal clan system or human serfdom and rent, and they died horrible, paintful, pointless deaths over a squabble between two ruling houses.
When I visited culloden several years ago, I felt the same solemness as when I visited Pearl Harbor. Being there is so moving and sad, you can feel the sorrow and pain in both places.
Growing up in Inverness, I often cycled to Culloden field as a boy. I found an eerie peace there among my fallen forebears.
‘Bonnie’ Prince Charlie was a disaster for Highlanders who fled back to France without a care for the utter ruin of his loyal supporters. Never understand why he remains so revered.
Murray was a good commander, let down by Charlie’s poor staff and decision making.
Typical French. Always see their backs as they run away. Cowards.
Tom Weir did a great two part documentary on BPC. Well worth a watch.
This is about much more than the battle itself. That isn't a criticism, on the contrary, it is an excellent account of what led up to such a tragic conclusion.
As somebody who flatters himself in thinking he knows more than a little about this, I was really impressed with this. Thank you.
Thanks Marcus!
Great coverage Robert.
I grew up with all the romance and little real history thanks to my grandparents on both sides of my family.
Thank you!
I first heard of this battle as a teenager in the early 1970s, when I saw the brilliant documentary "Culloden" (1964). That movie is on RUclips for free, and anyone with the slightest interest should watch it!
It's an excellent documentary that shows the human cost in all its brutal reality and also reminds us that this was a civil war
Wish we had seen your video before we visited Culloden, you explain everything so well 🏴
We felt very moved when we visited Culloden last April and was so glad we went.
Thank you for sharing
Morgs Jo and Boo 🐕 ❤
The visitor centre at Culloden is excellent. Well worth the trip.
I’m seriously enjoying your videos. Much more than any other history lesson. I look forward to more, Thank you!
Thank you!
Dude, you are the coolest ever! How is it even possible that you don't have your own TV show?!
Haha. I’ll take that! 🙂 Thank you!
All the Stuarts were, unfortunately, losers. They mainly led to the deaths of thousands at the hands of each King and Queen. Denial was indeed a gem they clutched desperately to their breasts.
Although many of us carry Scots genetics because Highland Clearances, I for one would rather my ancestors lived. As a veteran of the US Navy I do believe in honor. Honor was not served at Culloden or at Charlie's feet. Losing your cultural identity is a tragedy that can not be put into words.
Thank you Bard for putting Culloden into words (I listened to you and didn't watch the video); you again painted a vivid picture.
Thank you! 🙂 Hope the sound wasn’t too awful 😅
@@scotlandunpluggedThe sound was fine.
You are correct. One of the most disastrous families in British history, even before they got to England.
Charles II, Mary and Anne were all decent monarchs.
@SvenTviking the 4 james es that were about in the 15 century were they related to james 1 Charles 1 Charles 11 and james 11 in the 17 century james 1v died at flooden didn't he were the earlier james s stuarts
I'm a day late but at work and had a moment so I watched your video. It was sad yet beautiful at same time. I was in tears for both reasons.
I appreciate all of the work and dedication that you have put into this. You're such an eloquent storyteller. Thank you!
Thank you! 🙂
Amazing info Robert 👍🏆 I'm so glad I wasn't about in those days 😮 lol about the shortbread ❤
Me too!
Just stumbled across this video. Really know how to get a lot of information across in a digestible and engaging manner. Thanks algorithm- this definitely deserves more views!
Denial ran deep in that family… wonder what he thought about divine right when it was denied him so many times
Thank you so much! I learned about that in English history at University - but your explanation is much more enjoyable!!!
Thank you 🙂
I can’t wait for more videos! I love learning about my heritage! You really have a nature story telling about you
You have a knack for bringing Scottish history to life, Robert. Thank you so much for sharing it. 🙂❤️
Thanks Shirley! 🙂
Yeah, it’s nice to have a bit of humour thrown in there too.
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Thank you for this tragic history story. Such sadness. You tell it well.
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for giving a thorough and clear account! Gives a bit of insight as to how my Grandmother's ancestors may have left Scotland for England and then for the U.S.. And here I am wanting to come to Scotland. Complicated business but you made it understandable.
So tragic! It's a given that soldiers die in battles, but it's criminal for a commander to foolishly waste the lives of his men. I heard a story about President Bush (the senior) who after Desert Storm personally wrote letters to the family of every man killed. He reportedly said something to the effect that nothing brought home the ultimate responsibility to him like doing that. This from a man who was shot down over the Pacific in WWII.
It’s crazy to think they were so detached. Scotland History Tours did a video on just how close the commanders were at Culloden.
@@scotlandunplugged Your RUclips presentations got me started on re-reading Jack Whyte's The Guardians of Scotland series again (probably for the 3rd or 4th time). I just finished The Forest Laird, and started Robert the Bruce yesterday. One of the things I really enjoy about Jack's writing is the philosophical bits in the story. I encountered them for the first time in The Camulod Chronicles series. They were unexpected, and for me, just golden. As a Scot and an historian he really seems to have done his research and brings the history of Scotland to life. I'd love an opinion from another Scot.
Diana Gabaldon, in her Outlander series, really did a good job on history in general, and specifically Scottish history. Fun fact: she was a professor at Arizona State University, and wrote the first book, Outlander, "just for practice, to learn how" to write a novel. Home run, first time out! The rest is history. I've yet to watch the series, but I think it's cool that the cast have read all the books and are trying to stay true to them.
I have always wondered if or how many of my ancestors took part in this struggle as most of the Armstrongs were either hanged or driven out by James VI/I! Nonetheless, I am drawn to the history and lore of Scotland and hope to someday visit and ultimately retire there.
The Armstrongs have a fascinating history - all that reiving 🙂
And yeah, my ancestors did some awful things. That probably has more than a little to do with why I felt compelled to breathe that awkward sigh of relief when I found out that they didn't die en masse for Prince Charlie. It's strange to feel these things for 300 and 400 and 1000 year old strangers, isn't it?😕
Armstrongs were outlaws and anglo saxons from England most of their leaders were executed and many more were sent to Ulster to subdue the irish
I wasn't raised with a strong sense of either general or personal history, but my ex's family were Scottish, so we'd visit them every year and they would tell me all the history and take me to every Historic/Trust location included in their memberships, plus anything interesting on the road along the way (like standing stones, distilleries, etc). I cried at Culloden--not knowing yet that genetically i did have an attachment to the larger culture there; but it was such a 'still' place--people were respectful and treated it with reverence, which really makes the emotional impact easier to experience.
I'm always impressed by how well the Scottish know their own history, how proud they are of their cultural identity, and how entertainingly and thoroughly they can pass that information along to the rest of us. :)
Very interesting. Im from near Derby, and often pass the furthest southern point the Jacobites got at Swarkstone bridge. It always makes me think about what might have happened had things gone differently when i pass there. Ghosts of the past, I guess.
So sad but I find this period of Scottish history fascinating..Great video Mr Parker 💪🏴👍
Thank you! 🙂
Thanks for this, well done and love the Scots accent as a big part of this report.
What sad days there were, and still are with these conflicts taking people's lives and often for so little gain. The bravery of these souls must never be forgotten!
Very good presentation of a battle that changed history, after Culloden the clans lost their power and many a Scotsman joined the British army a tradition that lasts today.
Thank you for the details I never heard before. I have been to Culloden and it's eerie. There is an overwhelming feeling of sadness. As for the Bonnie Prince, I hope my mother's Alexander relatives are related to Flora and I admire that the young pretender wanted Scotland to be Scotland and not part of the British empire, even if it was said that he had a hard time understanding the Scots language. Please keep the education coming along with the beautiful scenes in your videos!
❤ thank you for telling us about this dark side of Culloden. 😢
Thanks for watching it! 🙂
Excellent analysis Robert. The 1964 docudrama "Culloden" based on John Prebble's book is well woth watching and shows the tragedy of the Highlanders pressed into the fight against their will and poorly armed. Charles Stuart does not come out of it well.
pleased you showed who really did the land clearances. It's about time the current Clan Leaders apologised for Profit over People!!
Really good, accessible, eloquent and unbiased - exactly what most other accounts out there AREN'T. I agree you can really feel 'something' upon Culloden Muir - what a stupid place to choose to fight
Very informative. The only English Jacobite regiment raised was the Manchester regiment. They suffered terribly when the regiment surrendered at Carlisle castle.
WOO HOO!!
Back to death and religion!
But I guess that's a good part of history anywhere..
Thanks much,, I've learned more about history, a favorite subject, from you than from any class. Although I'm in the US,, history to us is about 100 yrs!! Can't wait to see what's next...
I'm in Michigan. I live near the site of a French trading fort that only dates to around 1640. And the fort itself didn't last long.
@@kimfleury
There is history here,, but it’s not quite the same. I lived in Belgium for four years and traveled Europe. When you see a cathedral built in the 1500’s,, it’s different from the history here. I often joke that we don’t have any history here which is not true,, that being said it’s not the same as in Europe.
Haha. Always comes back to death and religion! 🙂
A challenge to condense the huge amount of stories into a coherent presentation. Thanks, and I hope you inspire viewers to dig deeper and discover the treasure trove of writings around the Jacobite risings.
Hope, betrayal, bravery and spies. No wonder the swirling savagery and poisoned politics of those times have begat a legacy of enduring tales oft retold.
Corrections/Notes
8:40 and 9:08 Those paintings aren't of Charles, but instead of his brother. The first painting was done when his brother was in France preparing to lead a French army of 8,000 to 9,000 soldiers in support of Charles. The enterprise was cancelled when news of Culloden reached France.
The Clans and his Jacobite Supporters knew that the Stuarts wanted to reclaim the Crowns of the 3 Kingdoms Charles never hided his intention to do that. Another reason the Clans supported him was his willignes to end the act of union which he did in a declaration made on octuber in Edinbourgh. He abolished this when he entered Edingbourgh trough a declaration/edict.
Another reason the Clans though they were going to get French support is because France had actually send 2000 soldiers from the Scottish and Irish regiments of the French Army to Scotland and altough they were attacked by the navy around 700 to 900 were able to reach the Jacobite Army.
9:08 The divide of going to England or not was more of a strategic divide some Clan Chiefs tought that it was better move to stay in Scotland secure their positions and fight in Scotland. While Charles tought that is what better to strike while the Iron was still hot. And not the council didn't went out of the window it operated, it was in a council reunion that they voted to retreat from England.
9:34 His supporters didn't started to lose faith until after they started retreating. It was the Clan Chiefs who when not seeing support voted in a council reunion to retreated back to Scotland to avoid being pined in hostil territory. While Charles in the same council reunion argued to keep advancing.
Great video and wish I had found it earlier
I first heard about Culloden in the 70’s as a young teenager when my father and I saw the 1964 Watkins film. That’s affected me ever since and very proud of my Scottish ancestry
👍
My family were fishermen living in nearby Nairn at the time of the Culloden battle. I don't know what side they were on, if any. However, everyone seems to have survived the event.
Nice outline of a battle which is often wrongly protrayed as England vs Scotland.
Brilliant. Like the museum itself, informative and moving.
What an ansolute excellent presentation & content.
Very good and fair assessment of a complex piece of history.
When all is said is done, this tragic waste of life was a result of the folly of Charles Edward Stuart and his ego obsessed with getting his hands on the British Crown. This misunderstanding of the background as an England v Scotland battle is unfortunate.
The Clearances were led by the Clan Chiefs who became lairds, and again this has been lost over the years, and continues to create unnecessary division.
Thanks. That was great.
😊👍👍
Thank you!
Fantastic xpat from Arbroath live in New Zealand cheers mate love your work 😏👌
And Durham County Council built a road on top of Nevilles Cross battle field 1346 .
When they've turned this Battle Field into a place that people can visit.
One day Robert, one day I will be able to fulfil my dream. Thank you.❤️🇦🇺🏴
Throughout history, millions of men have died following one man’s thirst for riches and power. Charlie was one of those lusting for the crown.
I would think he felt it was his duty to take the crown.
@@Prfdt3 What's your point?
I was born and raised in Yorkshire. I feel British first and English second.
At school we were taught that Culloden was a battle between the forces of the British Government and rebels who wanted to reinstate the Stuart line by force of arms that had to be opposed and, if necessary, destroyed.
For this reason I could never understand why, in later years, so many Scots said to me that it was "The English bloodily subduing the brave Scots". It wasn't! It was a lawful Government Army, made up of troops from all parts of the British Isles INCLUDING SCOTS along with some foreign mercenaries, fighting an insurrection by an unofficial Militia made up mainly of Highland Scots but also some others. Keep in mind that in 1746 Scotland had been part of the United Kingdom for 39 years, since the two Acts of Union had been passed in 1707. The retribution that followed though was shocking and probably helped spread the myth of an all Scots Army being cruelly defeated by an "English" Army.
Thank you for putting the record straight on this. 👍 🙂
You are a disgrace, ask any Scottish person if they are British first and Scottish second, I never class myself as British always English no matter what part of the world I was in, even my passport states English on the inside.
And i may add, Stuarts were not fighting for Scotland only themselves, most of Scotland, were lowlanders and had no love of the Stuarts
Not unlike the Wars of the Roses. To this day people believe it was a struggle between Yorkshire and Lancashire. It was good to have this video introduced by telling us how complicated history is. Never a truer word spoken.
@@ab4113They were definitely fighting for Scotland; that's how they got the support they did in Scotland and why their army was a Scottish army. There would have been no way for BPC to deny Scotland its independence simply by the fact that his forces were Scottish and in the event of his victory, the english forces would have been destroyed so he obviously couldn't have used them.
Awesome! Most educational 👍👏👌
Poor Charlie was in over his head
The War of Austrian Succession was really a war to stop French influence in Austria and Spain. The French wars in North America were an extension of this. French support for a Scottish rebellion was merely a distraction. They wanted England to be threatened from within. The Germans copied this plan in 1916.
Hey man nice video, did you by any chance as the man who was painting the house if there were any ghost sightings near the battlefield? thanks
There’s always a sadness with Scots and Irish history that lingers .Maybe because it feels quite recent. These days people around the world have much information and can retrace their ancestors. That is the part they want to retrace because everyone has a multitude of ancestors to choose from
What makes it worse was scottish lowlanders fought with the German king and did a lot off the slaughtering after the battle scotlands shame
@@DavidBroadley-tw7ksMost of the slaughter in the wake of the battle was carried out by the English cavalry.
But there is a point here that really, the Hanovarian cause was never popular enough in Scotland that it could, by itself, ever counter the levels of support naturally enjoyed by the Jacobites.
Lowland Scots and ulster troops helped in the killings off the highlanders
@@DavidBroadley-tw7ks Whilst it is true that the treacherous Scots that fought for the Hanoverians were brutal in their oppressions, it should also be remembered that they were only capable of rallying very limited numbers of troops compared to what the Jacobites had been able to muster, precisely because the Hanoverian cause (and the union) was not altogether that popular in Scotland.
Glencoe is also a sad place
Awesome video!!
In the introduction you said that in the jacobites army there were Italians also. Have you come other information about that?
Bagpipes were never banned… England had a bagpipe tradition as well, not just Scotland… and it only started to decline in the early 20th century.
In England they are explicitly mentioned in The Canterbury Tales… “A baggepype wel coulde he blowe and sowne, and ther-with-al he broghte us out of towne”… contrast this with the first clear reference to the use of Scottish Highland Pipes is there mention of use at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, from the French.
Yes Northumberland has a revived bagpipe tradition.
They were also used by the British army all up until the modern day. Yeah that BS
This was a side theatre in the wider war of Austrian succession and needs to be understood in that context. The timing was determined by French interests in that war. The Stuart’s were French clients.
Yes it was but had much more effect on the world at the time The War of Austrian Succession dragged all the main powers into what actually should be called The First World War it was part of another war raging in India between the British and French which spread to the Caribbean and North America and changed the history of America and Europe forever, both England and France bankrupted each other leading to taxes being levied to pay for The Anglo French War 1757 to 1763 we know were that led to.1776 and 1789 two revolutionary movements that changed the world forever...
I liked it ! 👍😎🇺🇸 !
Thank you!
The bulk (not all) of the highlanders had been trained to fight musket and bayonet with French supplied muskets by French advisors in the Royal Escossaies which fought alongside the Scots along with the few Irish brigades that weren't fighting in Flanders.
The French regiments are included in the Pike and Shot Campaigns version of Culloden with the Irish regiments vaugely named "Irish Piquets".
While its likely the highland clearances wouldn't have happened, I don't think there would have been massive changes to our lives had Charles succeeded. Instead of the sponging Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family, we'd now have the sponging Stewart family in Buckingham Palace. I don't think he'd have dissolved the act of union. Why remove the opportunity for more money and a bigger kingdom to rule. I believe only his life would have benefitted. And many lives were lost for his vanity.
Banning bagpipes was a welcome relief.
I remember visiting the site in the seventies and it did not look like that. I later visited in the 90’s and there were trees now there is a reduction towards heather. History can be so strange!
If the Scot’s knew how well the English fought AND their battle tactics, why didn’t them come better prepared? Why bring a sword to a gun fight?
My dad passed down some "family history" regarding that battle. Banning kilts and Pipes weren't the only thing "The Butcher" did to break the Clan system...organized rapine was also used as a weapon. Or so my dad said....
There were certainly atrocities committed by his troops following the battle.
Rapine is not what you think it is. The definition of rapine is the violent and forcible seizure of property.
@@paulkirk7120now I'd call that atrocious as well! (But you must have known that not everyone understands that word...)
@koriw1701 indeed. It bears an unfortunate resemblance to an even more heinous crime. Basically it seems that Cumberland's orders drove people from their homes and appropriated their stuff. Not entirely unheard of in wars up to and including this period.
@@koriw1701 nor, in fact, since...
It’s in one episode of the serie Outlanders
Well, it was exactly what I thought it was. Good video, though. Thanks.
Glad it's history. Shame about all the lost Americans.
Haha surprised there is any of them left
Great video. Have you covered Flodden yet?
I read about the British using a new defensive strategy with their hand to hand fighting, namely cover the man to your right knowing your left flank was also covered. So the British line held in more places than not. Murray and the Prince should have vacated the field and found another Falkirk type field.
Please note the difference between English and British
Use of the British in your comment doesn’t really fit. It’s better to say Government as this included lots and lots of lowland Scots.
But as England and Scotland had been united since 1707 all Scots and English were British so it was the British Army that was in action that day.
@@jonesyjones7626 It was my clumsy attempt at highlighting the difference between British and English. Many non-UK people seemed to interchange the two even though they are different - think I just need to go for a lie down? lol!
@@pittarak1
The government army was British
It consisted of English,Irish welsh and Scots
You mentioned gold, and this should never be underestimated.
A lot (maybe even the majority) of the common Scots and foreign soldiers on the Scots side would never have fought this battle, and others, for a "cause", romance, or affection for The Pretender. Money and gold being the motivation, not crown or country.
Thank God the battles we fight among us now are on the places like rugby fields, long that may stay, and we remain as one.
Culloden is one of the few places I have been where I felt a spiritual sense of history. One of the tragedies of Culloden is it didn't have to happen. The last natural barrier between the Jacobite Army and Cumberlands Army was the river Spey. Cumberland had to ford the river, which meant his Army was vulnerable as it was crossing. If the jacobites had attacked them then they would have seriously damaged or destroyed them. They knew this and for some inexplicable reason did nothing allowing Cumberland to cross unmolested. The second missed opportunity was the disastrous night attack they launched before Culloden where the Army basically got lost. Leadership knew their best chance was to surprise Cumberland yet they failed on both occasions to do so and ended up outgunned in a pitched battle on unsuitable terrain.
Excellent documentary but you might want to double check the bayonet drill claim at Culloden. This appears th have originated in an London magazine which later published a retraction. According to more recent study, the Govt forces were sumply very well drilled and, unlike the previous army Charles faced, had many veterans of the European was and in particular had some excellent veteran officers including the future General Wolfe. These men were unlikely to break.
Referred by the Hoof GP
Me too. You can "hear" they are brothers
The Stewarts made the mistake of trying to re-fight the issues that had been settled by the Tudors, the Catholic/Protestant dispute, and the Civil War.
Trying to impose Catholic religion and the absolute rule of the Crown over parliament was a lost cause, the Stewarts were never going to get support from ordinary people.
It was all about claiming the stuart throne back
I’ve visited Culloden twice as an adult, and it is a powerfully moving place. My 9x great grandfather, William Wallace Anderson, fought in the 1715 uprising and fled to the Colonies after their defeat. His parents, Jacob and Mary, sent his inheritance to him there, and he eventually used a fair chunk of it to fund the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. William died at age 104, never again having set foot in Scotland since the ‘15. More than 300 years later, his 9x and 10x great granddaughters are preparing to relocate to Scotland.
Drumossie moor....Culloden house
Oi you! Scotland are playing pretty well at football the now. Got a good squad of young players and a good manager at the helm. Euro 2024 here we come!
Hi Robert I just found your channel I was wandering if you could help my mother had always said since I was a wean that we were related to the black Douglas I had no idea who the black Douglas was,James Douglas and that he was Robert the Bruce's right hand man,I'd love to find out more about it especially to show my family about it have you any ideas how I could go about it thanks and thanks for the videos
The Douglas family are pretty well known in Scottish history, and the Black Douglas especially. David R Ross wrote a book about him “James the Good: The Black Douglas”. Might be worth a look 🙂
@@scotlandunplugged thanks Robert
😢Check the result and scorecard.
If the Stuarts didnt act like the Pharaohs on the throne none of this would have happened
No one can train a soldier to ignore a man coming at him with a broadsword and point his bayonet elsewhere.
Was told the last pitched battle on UK soil was actually somewhere around the Bristol countryside in the 1960s between mods, hippies snd i think teddy men with flick knives and apparently even some with WW2 lugers and flare guns. It was actually not reported on to widely but it did constitute a battle in its scale and deadlines. Think the whole thing has been kept under wraps since because some key players and instigaters where sons of aristocratic families and political figures, some bodies have still not been found or recovered, despite the few that know about it doing metal detecting and digs on the site.
Hippies?? What kind of self-respecting hippy would have involved himself in that sort of 'battle'?
Poor old Lachlan MacLachlan!
I suppose he must've been an ancestor of mine...I'll have to check it out.
(Although my paternal grandfather emigrated to Australia in the 1950's. He was a huge man, a butcher with a great big moustache.)
For some reason, anytime I see photos of Culloden, the first one is always the multi-clan cairn with the MacLachlan's.
Weird...
And on the Bonnie One...
I think he was a French Fop who didn't know his people, didn't know the land, and who caused the death and destruction of Scotland better than the English could've done on their own.
Running away dressed as a woman to drink himself to death in luxury. Maybe I'm missing something...
I think he should have stayed in France.
Ouch!
Scot’s to left of me Scot’s to the right stuck in the middle of you (Scot’s probably)
I got my hole twice on that battle field. Couple a ghouls probably watched us jamming it in bawwwws deep like ❤😂
Quality.
Subjugated the highlands lead to what we have now
Aye a sad and humorous take on it all
My scots ancestors left cos of the increasing hardship in the 1800s
Some went to america
Some came to nz
Northern english as well werent treated that well by them in london either as weve seen in the not too distant past
Just shows how much of the govt dosh dont go far from london
A bit annoying the english throne having one leg over the channel in europe and the other in london
Still a problem some say
100% hero!
There was at least 500 of my clan who fought there, they're still there now. So as multicultural as you wish to make Culloden there was plenty of Highlanders none the less.
North Carolina Scot here.
These are a great videos but you keep on showing cardinal Henry Benedict's picture as Charles Edward Stuart. the man in armor is not Bonnie Prince Charlie it is his brother cardinal Henry Benedict. Even I know that and I am not a Scottish.
It wasn't a "doomed" campaign, in fact, it almost succeeded.
"The Stewarts" didn't believe in the divine right of kings - some did - and the later Stewarts supported religious freedom, including CES.
The supposed "bayonet technique" was absolute nonsense. It was simply a morale booster, completely impractical and didn't work. The Jacobites cut through both government lines and only an enfilade by the Hanoverians, who fired into their own troops, as well as Jacobites, stopped an outflanking movement.
The "no quarter" claim was a forgery designed to allow the butchery on the battlefield, on the road to Inverness and the attempted ethnocide following it.
My ancestors fought on both sides at the battle .But I side with the Georgians, thus we have the Glorious revolution.
Alas the bayonet drill is a myth, they were just better trained and better led than the blokes who were beaten at Prestonpans and Falkirk. The charge relied on the fear it provoked but seasoned troops aren’t easy to frighten especially when holding your formation saves your life.
No mention of the Jacobite Manchester regiment
Poor representation of events. Fail to mention Charles Edward Stewart being forced to turn north by the Scottish commanders even though the only way to succeed was to take London. Although the Jacobites were not a purely Scottish force, it was by all intents and purposes a Scots Army. They referred to themselves as a 'Highland army', even the Manchester regiments wearing tartan. Saltires were used heavily throughout the uniforms of Jacobite troops, even the payroll of the army was in line with the last independent army the Scottish state prior to 1707. Around 1700-1800 Scots fought in the Government force, failing to support the contentious claim that more Scots fought on the government side. Of these Scots, almost all were place in the front line with the principle of set a thief to catch a thief.
Please go and stop whingeing.