The bid of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobites for the throne
of Britain has never lost its grip on the popular imagination. In
July 1745 he and a tiny group of companions arrived in Scotland.
They came unannounced and unsupported, and yet within less than
five months Charles was able to lead an army to within marching
distance of London and make King George II fear for this throne.
Afterwards the Highland Army continued to out-fight the redcoats in
every encounter, except its very last. These were not the
achievements of a backward-looking cause, and this ground-breaking
study is the first to explain exactly why. Almost to the very end
the Jacobites had the literal and metaphorical 'edge' over their
enemies, thanks to the terror-inspiring highland charge, and also,
as this book as this book is the first to reveal, to the
highly-advanced organisation of their forces in 'divisions' -
miniature armies that allowed them to out-manoeuvre their enemies
on the strategic plane. At the same time Prince Charles made a
credible bid for the political and ideological high ground, an
appeal based on religious toleration, and a monarchy working in
cooperation with an empowered and accountable Parliament. The
Prince therefore not only drew on traditional loyalties, but
attracted the support of heavyweights of the new 'Enlightenment'.
It all made a telling contrast to the demeaning nature of the
Hanoverian government in Britain, which was mired deep in
corruption. The Hanoverian politicians in London and Scotland, who
had honed their skills in petty advantage, were now all of a sudden
called upon to act as strategists, and they failed completely. The
prime minister lost the Carlisle to the Jacobites simply because he
refused to pay the cost of a courier. These revelations, which show
the Jacobite enterprise of 1745 as a potent and modernising force,
turn the accepted interpretation of this episode on its head. As an
impartial historian Christopher Duffy deals comprehensively with
the reasons for ultimate triumph of the Hanoverian cause in 1746.
Due credit is given to the Duke of Cumberland. He was an
inspirational leader. He had the measure of the strength and
weaknesses of the British Army, and he evolved the cautious and
systematic kind of war that helped to bring him victory at Culloden
on 16 April 1746. Conversely the Jacobites had been dogged even
from the start of the Rising by their failure to reconcile two
perspectives - that of Prince Charles, who was striving to reclaim
the crown for the Stuarts in London, and the narrower visions of
the more overtly Scottish party. It led to the contentious
turn-around of the Jacobites at Derby, and finally and fatally to
the dispersal and exhaustion of the Highland Army before Culloden.
These assertions rest on the recent advances by other historians in
'Jacobite studies', and the author's continuing researches in to
unexploited primary sources. His documentary finds extend to the
autobiography of Lieutenant-General Hawley, Lord George Murray's
explanations of key episodes of the Rising (and his detailed
accompanying map of Culloden), the material collected by the
restored Whig administration in Edinburgh towards an 'official'
history of the Rising, the Reverend John Home's detailed
questioning of survivors, and much more. Lastly Duffy returns to
his starting point, the enduring appeal of the '45 to our
instincts. He concludes that it comes from the elusive nature of
the episode, recognised by tough-minded men of the time as
something 'epick' and 'miraculous' - literally beyond rational
explanation, and capable ever since of being re-fashioned according
to our imaginings.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!