Culloden Decisive: Jacobite Uprising Crushed Forever
The Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, lasted less than an hour but permanently destroyed the Jacobite cause and the Highland clan system. The Duke of Cumberland's 9,000 government troops annihilated Bonnie Prince Charlie's 5,000 Highlanders on Drummossie Moor near Inverness using grapeshot artillery and disciplined volley fire. An estimated 1,500 Jacobites died on the field compared to 50 government soldiers. Cumberland earned the nickname "Butcher" for ordering the killing of wounded prisoners. The subsequent Act of Proscription banned Highland dress, tartans, and bagpipes. The Disarming Act confiscated weapons. The Heritable Jurisdictions Act abolished the clan chiefs' legal powers. The Highland Clearances that followed depopulated the Scottish Highlands for generations.
April 16, 1746
280 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Battle of Culloden
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Jacobitism
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Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
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Hanoverian
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Battle of Culloden
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Jacobitism
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House of Hanover
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Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
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Inverness
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Scotland
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British Army
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Charles Edward Stuart
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Histoire de l'Écosse
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James Francis Edward Stuart
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George II of Great Britain
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