William Augustus, the third
son of George
II and Caroline
of Ansbach, was
born in 1721. Created the Duke of Cumberland in 1726, he became a
soldier and in May 1745 commanded the British, Hanoverian, Austrian
and Dutch forces at the Battle of Fontenoy. Later that year he was
sent to Scotland to crush the Jacobite
Rebellion.
When Charles
Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) arrived in Scotland, most of the
highland clans gave him their support. At the Battle of Prestonpans
in September 1745 and the Battle of Falkirk in January 1746, the Highland
Charge once again proved successful against the English army.
By the time the two sides
met again in Culloden in April 1746,
the Duke of Cumberland had developed a new strategy against the Highland
Charge. The infantry were put into three ranks. The front rank were
ordered not to fire until the Highlanders were only twelve yards away.
While the front rank reloaded, the second rank fired their guns. By
the time the third rank had fired their guns, the first rank were
ready to fire again.
The infantry now used
firelocks which were faster to reload than the previous matchlock
guns. These guns were also fitted with bayonets so that even if some
of the enemy were able to reach the English front-lines they were
able to defend themselves against the broadswords of the Highlanders.
This time the English army
did not run away when the Highlanders charged. Faced with the well-organised
infantry that fired their guns in stages, very few Highlanders managed
to reach the English lines. Unable to get dose enough to use their
broadswords, some Highlanders even resorted to throwing stones at
the English army.
George
II gave the
Duke of Cumberland instructions that the Scots had to be punished
for supporting Charles. Many of those who had joined his army were
executed and their land was given to those who had remained loyal
to the king.
After their victory the
English were determined to make sure the highland clans did not rebel
again. The English army killed any Highlander they could find that
had been a member of Charles Stuart's Jacobite
army. Even Highlanders who had not joined the rebellion were slaughtered.
There were even cases of highland women and children being murdered.
As a result of these atrocities the Duke of Cumberland was given the
name "Butcher".
Cumberland's army was defeated
in the War of the Austrian Succession at Langfield in 1747. He was
also forced to surrender at Kloster-Zeven (1757) during the Seven
Years War.
William Augustus, Duke
of Cumberland, died in 1765.
(1)
Edward Lunn was an English soldier who fought at the Battle of Culloden.
They came
up very boldly and fast all in a cloud together, sword in hand. They
fired their guns and flung them away.... They thought that it was
such a bad day (heavy rain)... that our firelocks would not fire....
but we kept them dry with our coat laps... not one in our regiment
missed firing... we also had two or three cannon that fired grape-shot...
this upset them very much.
(2)
Chevalier Johnstone was an officer in the Jacobite army. After the
battle he described how the Highlanders reacted when they realised
they had been beaten.
The Highlanders gave vent
to their grief with wild howlings... tears flowed down their cheeks...
They knew that their country was now under the control of the Duke
of Cumberland and would be plundered whilst they and their children
would be reduced to slavery.
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