The Spark of Rebellion: Charles Edward Stuart’s Gamble

In August 1745, a young prince stepped onto Scottish soil with a bold claim—to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne. Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the deposed James II, landed on Eriskay with just seven companions, later immortalized in legend as the “Seven Men of Moidart.” His arrival ignited the last major Jacobite uprising, a dramatic but ultimately doomed attempt to overthrow the Hanoverian monarchy.

The stage had been set decades earlier. The 1688 Glorious Revolution had exiled James II, replacing him with the Protestant William of Orange. Though the 1715 Jacobite rising failed, Stuart loyalists—particularly in Scotland and Catholic Europe—never abandoned their cause. By 1745, Britain was embroiled in the War of Austrian Succession, with troops deployed on the Continent. Charles saw an opportunity: a distracted government, a lightly defended Scotland, and lingering resentment over the 1707 Union.

The Phantom Victory: From Edinburgh to Derby

The Jacobite campaign began improbably well. Avoiding fortified positions, Charles captured Perth and then Edinburgh by September 1745, despite minimal resistance from cautious city officials. His crowning moment came at Prestonpans, where his forces ambushed and routed General Cope’s government troops in under 15 minutes. This shock victory, achieved with inferior numbers, sent tremors through London.

Yet cracks appeared immediately. The Jacobite army, though victorious, lacked clear direction. Charles argued for marching south to capitalize on England’s military vacuum, while his pragmatic commander Lord George Murray urged consolidating power in Scotland. Against Murray’s advice, the Jacobites pressed onward, reaching Derby by December—just 130 miles from London. Panic gripped the capital; bank runs ensued, and patriotic songs like “God Save the King” (originally a Jacobite anthem) were repurposed for Hanoverian propaganda.

The Unraveling: Culloden and Its Aftermath

The decision to retreat from Derby proved fatal. No French invasion materialized, nor did the promised English Jacobite uprising. As the exhausted army trudged north, their earlier momentum dissolved. By April 1746, the Duke of Cumberland’s better-equipped forces cornered them at Culloden Moor. In a brutal, one-hour clash, Cumberland’s artillery and bayonets decimated the Highlanders. The aftermath was merciless: wounded Jacobites were slaughtered, and Cumberland earned his infamous nickname “Butcher” for the ensuing repression.

Cultural Legacy: Myth Versus Reality

The rebellion’s collapse accelerated the destruction of Highland culture. The Disarming Acts banned tartan and Gaelic, while clan chiefs lost hereditary jurisdictions. Yet the romanticized Jacobite cause endured—in Walter Scott’s novels, in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s folkloric escape (aided by Flora MacDonald), and even in modern Scottish nationalism.

Conversely, the Hanoverian victory reshaped British identity. Anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiment intensified, while the Union’s stability was cemented. The rebellion’s failure marked the end of armed challenges to the constitutional monarchy, paving the way for Britain’s global ascendancy.

Echoes in Modern Britain

Today, Culloden’s battlefield is a pilgrimage site, and the Jacobite cause symbolizes resistance against centralized authority. The rebellion’s legacy is contested: a tragic last stand for some, a cautionary tale about romantic idealism for others. Yet its central question—what defines Britishness—still resonates, particularly in debates over Scottish independence and the United Kingdom’s future.

In the end, the ’45 was more than a civil war; it was a collision of worlds—between ancient loyalties and modern states, between charismatic leadership and cold geopolitical calculus. Its echoes remind us that history’s losers often shape collective memory as powerfully as its winners.