There has not been an account of the first attempt made in Scotland
to restore the exiled Stuarts at the end of the seventeenth century
for three decades; most accounts stop with the death of the
movement's first leader, 'Bonnie Dundee'. This book is the first
full length account of the military struggle between forces loyal
to the newly established Scottish government and the Jacobite
cause. It does this by first considering the political and
religious situation in Scotland, and to a lesser extent its
southern neighbour, from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to
the revolution of 1688-1689, which was far more radical in Scotland
than it was in England, and which produced a constituency with a
grievance which a new restoration might solve. The book then turns
to the initial campaigning by both armies, led by Dundee and for
the government, General Hugh Mackay, a fellow Scot. With marches
and counter marches being inconclusive, the possession of Blair
Castle focussed attentions and led to confrontation. But before
examining the ensuing battle, the book turns to the officers and
men of each army, exploring who they were, their tactics, arms,
equipment and organisation. The most substantial chapter is a blow
by blow account of the battle of Killiecrankie, beginning with the
march to conflict on the day itself, discussions over whether to
fight, deployment and initial exchanges of fire. Then the crux of
the battle is described, the rush of the Highlanders, the musketry
of their opponents, melee and the flight and pursuit. Some of
Mackay's army stood and repelled their enemy, but by the day's end
were obliged to retreat. There is an examination of the numbers of
men who fought and the casualties and other losses taken by both
sides; including that of the Jacobite commander. A discussion of
the battle's aftermath and its importance then occurs. The conflict
was far from over, for the Jacobite army reached its numerical high
point after Dundee's death. There was another battle to be fought
that season, at Dunkeld, which was unusual for it was fought in a
town. As with the previous battle, this chapter looks at the
combatants involved as well as the fighting and its aftermath. The
chapter also reviews the campaigning before and after the battle to
take the reader until the end of the year. The penultimate chapter
covers the final major military engagement of the conflict, at
Cromdale, as well as numerous other lesser encounters, skirmishes
and sieges, and other developments in the government's strategy to
bring peace to the Highlands. Finally, there is a chapter covering
the campaign's end; which ended with a peace treaty and then the
tragedy of Glencoe, and a commentary about the ending of
hostilities and the careers of a number of prominent men who fought
in the campaign. The book is largely based on primary sources, both
published and manuscript from record offices and libraries in
London and Edinburgh. These include letters, memoirs, poems, army
listings and contemporary newspapers. Recourse has also been made
to studies of the battlefield archaeology and the author having
walked the battlefields, one with a local expert. There is also a
brief description of the battlefields as they are today.
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!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
