| Battle of Culloden | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theJacobite rising of 1745 | |||||||||
 An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745, byDavid Morier | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Great Britain |  Jacobitism | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Duke of Cumberland van Keppel John Huske John Mordaunt Henry Hawley | Charles Edward Stuart George Murray Donald Cameron John O'Sullivan John Drummond James Drummond | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 6,900–7,200[1] | 5,000–6,000[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| c. 50 killed, 259 wounded[2] | 1,500–2,000 killed and wounded[3] 376 captured | ||||||||
| |||||||||
 | |||||||||
TheBattle of Culloden[a] took place on 16 April 1746, nearInverness, in theScottish Highlands. AJacobite army underCharles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by aBritish government force commanded by theDuke of Cumberland, thereby ending theJacobite rising of 1745.
Charles landed inScotland in July 1745, seeking to restore his fatherJames Francis Edward Stuart to the British throne. He quickly won control of large parts of Scotland, and an invasion ofEngland reached as far south asDerby before being forced to turn back. However by April 1746 the Jacobites were short of supplies, facing a superior and better-equipped opponent.
Charles and his senior officers decided their only option was to stand and fight. When the two armies met at Culloden, the battle was brief, lasting less than an hour, with the Jacobites suffering an overwhelming and bloody defeat. This effectively ended both the 1745 rising andJacobitism as a significant element in British politics.
TheJacobite rising of 1745 began on 23 July whenCharles Edward Stuart landed in theWestern Isles and launched an attempt to reclaim the British throne for the exiledHouse of Stuart.[5] After their victory atPrestonpans in September, theJacobites controlled much ofScotland, and Charles persuaded his colleagues to invadeEngland. TheJacobite army reachedDerby before successfully retreating across the border.[6]
Despite its lack of tangible results, the invasion boosted recruitment, bringing Jacobite strength to more than 8,000.[7] These troops, along with French-supplied artillery, were used tobesiege Stirling Castle, the strategic key to theScottish Highlands. On 17 January the Jacobites repulsed a government relief force underHenry Hawley at theBattle of Falkirk Muir, although the siege itself made little progress.[8]
Soon after,Cumberland arrived inEdinburgh to take over command from Hawley. On 1 February, the Jacobite army abandoned the siege and withdrew toInverness.[9] Cumberland's army enteredAberdeen on 27 February and both sides halted operations until the weather improved.[10] Although several French shipments were received during the winter, theRoyal Navyblockade left the Jacobites short of money and food. When Cumberland marched out of Aberdeen on 8 April to resume the campaign, Charles and his senior advisers agreed their best option was to gamble on a set-piece battle.[11]
On 12 April, the government army forded theRiver Spey, which was guarded by 2,000 Jacobites underLord John Drummond. He decided the position could not be held and withdrew towardsNairn, an action for which he was later criticised. The Jacobites evacuated the town on 14 April, and Cumberland's troops camped just to the west.[12] Although significant elements were absent elsewhere, the main Jacobite army of about 5,400 leftInverness on 15 April,p and assembled on theCulloden estate, five miles (eight kilometres) to the east.[13]
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Prince Charles and his senior officers debated whether to give battle or abandon Inverness, but with most of their dwindling supplies stored in the town they feared retreat meant the army might disintegrate.[14]Sir John O'Sullivan, theadjutant-general, identified a suitable site for a defensive action at Drummossie Moor,[15] a stretch of open moorland between the walled enclosures of Culloden Park to the north[16] and those of Culwhiniac to the south.[17]
However,Lord George Murray felt the relatively flat and open ground selected by O'Sullivan favoured the government troops. He suggested an alternative, steeply sloping site nearDaviot Castle, which was inspected by Brigadier Stapleton of the Irish Brigade and Colonel Ker on the morning of 15 April. They rejected Murray's suggestion, arguing the ground was "mossy and soft" and would fail to protect the road into Inverness.[18] The Jacobites ultimately formed their line west of the site originally chosen by O'Sullivan.[14]
On 15 April the government army celebrated Cumberland's 25th birthday by issuing two imperial gallons (nine litres) ofbrandy to each regiment.[19] Hoping they would be less vigilant as a result, the Jacobite leaders decided to conduct a night attack on the government encampment. Murray's instructions were for his troops to use only swords,dirks and bayonets, to overturn tents and subsequently to locate "a swelling or bulge in the fallen tent, there to strike and push vigorously".[20][note 1]
The plan drawn up by Murray called for simultaneous attacks on Cumberland's front and rear by his troops and a second force under theDuke of Perth, supported by Lord John Drummond and Prince Charles. The Jacobite force did not begin its march until well after dark, partly to avoid being spotted by ships of the Royal Navy then in theMoray Firth. Murray led it across country to avoid government outposts, but one participant,James Johnson, later wrote "this march...on a dark night [was] accompanied with confusion and disorder".[22]
As a result, it was one hour before dawn when Murray's leading elements reached Culraick, still two miles (three kilometres) from the intended crossing point over the River Nairn. After a heated debate, Murray concluded the attack should be aborted, but this message was not communicated to the 1,200 men underPerth. While Murray led his detachment back to camp along the Inverness road, Perth continued, unaware of the change in plan. One account claims his troops made contact with government sentries before realising their colleagues had turned around. Although some historians suggest the night attack might have remained viable if he had continued, most argue their numbers were too small to have any effect.[23][24]
Not long after the exhausted Jacobite forces had made it back to Culloden, an officer of Lochiel's regiment, who had been left behind after falling asleep in a wood, arrived with a report of advancing government troops.[22] By then, many Jacobite soldiers had dispersed in search of food or returned to Inverness, and others were asleep in ditches and outbuildings. Several hundred of their army may have missed the battle.
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After the abortive night attack, the Jacobites formed up in substantially the same battle order as the previous day, the Highland regiments forming the first line. They faced north-east over common grazing land, with theRiver Nairn about 1 km to their right.[25] Their left wing, anchored on the Culloden Park walls, was nominally led by James Drummond, titular Duke of Perth, while his brother John commanded the centre. The right wing, flanked by the Culwhiniac enclosure walls, was led by Murray. Behind them, the conventionally trainedLowland regiments were drawn up in accordance with French practice. During the morning, heavy snow and rain saturated the already wet ground, although the weather cleared just before the battle started.[26]
Cumberland's army left their encampment by5 am, leaving the main Inverness road and marching across country. By10 am the Jacobites finally saw them approaching at a distance of around4 km. At3 km from the Jacobite position, Cumberland gave the order to form line, and the army marched forward in full battle order.[27] John Daniel, an Englishman serving with Charles's army, recorded that on seeing the government troops, the Jacobites began calling out insults, but without response.[28] Once within 500 metres, Cumberland moved his artillery up through the ranks.[27]
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As his troops formed up, it became clear that Cumberland's right flank was exposed, and so he moved additional units up to reinforce it.[29] Meanwhile, Sullivan ordered two battalions ofLord Lewis Gordon's regiment to cover the walls at Culwhiniac against a possible flank attack, while Murray shifted the right wing slightly forward. Since these alterations had the unintended result of skewing the Jacobite line and opening gaps, Sullivan transferred the Edinburgh Regiment, along with those of Perth andGlenbucket, from the second line into the first. This meant the Jacobite front rank now substantially outnumbered that of Cumberland, but depleted their reserve and increased their reliance on a successful initial attack.[30]
At approximately 1 pm, Finlayson's Jacobite batteries opened fire; possibly in response to Cumberland sending forwardLord Bury to within 100 m of the Jacobite lines to "ascertain the strength of their battery".[31] The government artillery responded shortly afterwards. Some later Jacobite memoirs suggest that their troops were then subjected to artillery bombardment for 30 minutes or more while Charles delayed an advance, but government accounts suggest a much shorter exchange before the Jacobites attacked. Campbell of Airds, in the rear, timed it at 9 minutes, but Cumberland's aide-de-camp Yorke suggested only 2 or 3 minutes.[32]
The duration implies that the government artillery is unlikely to have fired more than thirty rounds at extreme range: statistical analysis concludes that would have caused only 20–30 Jacobite casualties at that stage, rather than the hundreds suggested by some accounts.[32]
Shortly after 1 pm, Charles issued an order to advance, which Colonel Harry Kerr of Graden first took to Perth's regiment, on the extreme left. He then rode down the Jacobite line, giving orders to each regiment in turn.Sir John MacDonald and Brigadier Stapleton were also sent forward to repeat the order.[33] As the Jacobites left their lines, the government gunners switched tocanister shot, which was augmented by fire from theCoehorn mortars situated behind the government front line. As there was no need for careful aiming when canister was used, the rate of fire increased dramatically, and the Jacobites found themselves advancing into heavy fire.[31]
On the Jacobite right, theAtholl Brigade, Lochiel's and the Appin Regiment left their start positions and charged towards Barrell's and Munro's regiments. Within a few hundred yards, however, the centre regiments, Lady Mackintosh's and Lovat's, had begun to swerve rightwards to try to avoid canister fire or to follow the firmer ground along the road running diagonally across Drummossie Moor. The five regiments became entangled as a single mass, converging on the government left. The confusion was worsened when the three largest regiments lost their commanding officers, all at the front of the advance: MacGillivray and MacBean of Lady Mackintosh's both went down; Inverallochie of Lovat's fell, and Lochiel had his ankles broken by canister within a few yards of the government lines. In 2024, in a 60 m² area near what is believed to have been the government front line, archaeologists recovered large numbers of musket balls and grapeshot, indicating extremely intense close-range combat.[34]
The Jacobite left, by contrast, advanced much more slowly, hampered by boggy ground and by having several hundred yards further to cover. According to the account ofAndrew Henderson, Lord John Drummond walked across the front of the Jacobite lines to try and tempt the government infantry into firing early, but they maintained their discipline. The three MacDonald regiments (Keppoch's, Clanranald's and Glengarry's) stalled before resorting to ineffectual long-range musket fire. They also lost senior officers, as Clanranald was wounded and Keppoch killed. The smaller units on their right (Maclachlan's Regiment and Chisholm's and Monaltrie's battalions) advanced into an area swept by artillery fire and suffered heavy losses before falling back.[citation needed]
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As it charged, the Jacobite right was hit hard by a volley at nearly point-blank range, but many of its men still reached the government lines. The brunt of the Jacobite impact, led by Lochiel's regiment, was taken by only two government regiments:Barrell's 4th Foot andDejean's 37th Foot. Barrell's lost 17 killed and suffered 108 wounded, out of a total of 373 officers and men. Dejean's lost 14 killed and had 68 wounded, with the unit's left wing taking a disproportionately higher number of casualties. Barrell's regiment temporarily lost one of its twocolours.[note 2]
John Huske, commanding the government second line, quickly organised acounterattack by Lord Sempill's Fourth Brigade, comprising 1,078 men from the25th,59th, and8th Regiment of Foot. He also instructed the20th Foot to take up position between the 25th and 37th, leaving the Jacobite right surrounded on three sides by five battalions.[36][b]
With the Jacobite left under Perth failing to advance further, Cumberland ordered two troops ofCobham's 10th Dragoons to ride them down. The boggy ground, however, impeded the cavalry, and they turned to engage the Irish Picquets whom Sullivan and Lord John Drummond had brought up in an attempt to stabilise the deteriorating Jacobite left flank. Cumberland later wrote: "They came running on in their wild manner, and upon the right where I had placed myself, imagining the greatest push would be there, they came down there several times within a hundred yards of our men, firing their pistols and brandishing their swords, but the Royal Scots and Pulteneys hardly took their fire-locks from their shoulders, so that after those faint attempts they made off; and the little squadrons on our right were sent to pursue them".[37][38]
With the collapse of the left wing, Murray brought up theRoyal Écossais and Kilmarnock's Footguards, who were still unengaged, but when they had been brought into position, the Jacobite first line had beenrouted. TheRoyal Écossais exchanged musket fire withCampbell's 21st and commenced an orderly retreat, moving along the Culwhiniac enclosure to shield themselves from artillery fire. Immediately, the half battalion of Highland militia, commanded by Captain Colin Campbell of Ballimore, which had stood inside the enclosure, ambushed them. In the encounter, Campbell of Ballimore was killed along with five of his men. The result was that theRoyal Écossais and Kilmarnock's Footguards were forced out into the open moor and were engaged by three squadrons of Kerr's 11th Dragoons.
The Irish Picquets under Stapleton bravely covered the Highlanders' retreat from the battlefield, preventing the fleeing Jacobites from suffering heavy casualties. That action cost half of the 100 casualties that they suffered in the battle.[39] TheRoyal Écossais appear to have retired from the field in two wings; one part surrendered after suffering 50 killed or wounded, but their colours were not taken and a large number retired from the field with the Jacobite Lowland regiments.[40] A few Highland regiments also withdrew in good order, unhindered by the government cavalry.[41]
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The stand by the French regulars gave Charles and other senior officers time to escape. Charles seems to have been rallying Perth's and Glenbucket's regiments when Sullivan rode up to Captain Shea, commander of his bodyguard, and ordered him to take the Prince away.[c] Charles reportedly called for a final charge into the government lines,[44] but Shea led him from the field.
From that point onward, the fleeing Jacobite forces were split into several groups: the Lowland regiments retired southwards, making their way toRuthven Barracks, and the remains of the Jacobite right wing also retired southwards. The MacDonald and the other Highland left-wing regiments, however, were cut off by the government cavalry and were forced to retreat down the road to Inverness. The result was that they were a clear target for government dragoons. Major-GeneralHumphrey Bland led the pursuit of the fleeing Highlanders, giving "Quarter to None but about Fifty French Officers and Soldiers".[40]
Jacobitecasualties are estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 killed or wounded, with many of them occurring in the pursuit after the battle.[45][46] Cumberland's official list of prisoners taken includes 154 Jacobites and 222 "French" prisoners (men from the "foreign units" in the French service). Added to the official list of those apprehended were 172 of the Earl of Cromartie's men, captured after abrief engagement the day before nearLittleferry.
In striking contrast to the Jacobite losses, the government losses were reported as 50 dead and 259 wounded. Of the 438 men of Barrell's 4th Foot, 17 were killed and 104 were wounded. However, a large proportion of those recorded as wounded are likely to have died of their wounds. Only 29 men out of the 104 wounded from Barrell's 4th Foot later survived to claim pensions, and all six of the artillerymen recorded as wounded later died.[45]
Several senior Jacobite commanding officers were casualties, includingKeppoch;Viscount Strathallan; Commissary-General Lachlan Maclachlan; andWalter Stapleton, who died of wounds shortly after the battle. Others, includingKilmarnock, were captured. The only high-ranking government officer casualty wasLord Robert Kerr, the son ofWilliam Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian.Sir Robert Rich, 5th Baronet, who was a lieutenant-colonel and the senior officer commanding Barrell's 4th Foot, was badly wounded, losing his left hand and receiving several wounds to his head. A number of captains and lieutenants had also been wounded.
As the first of the fleeing Highlanders approached Inverness, they were met by the 2nd battalion of Lovat's regiment, led by theMaster of Lovat. It has been suggested that Lovat shrewdly switched sides and turned upon the retreating Jacobites, an act that would explain his remarkable rise in fortune in the years that followed.[47]
Following the battle, the Jacobites' Lowland regiments headed south towards Corrybrough and made their way to Ruthven Barracks, and their Highland units made their way north towards Inverness and on through to Fort Augustus. There, they were joined by Barisdale's battalion of Glengarry's regiment and a small battalion of MacGregors.[47] At least two of those present at Ruthven, James Johnstone and John Daniel, recorded that the Highland troops remained in good spirits despite the defeat and were eager to resume the campaign. At that point, continuing Jacobite resistance remained potentially viable in terms of manpower. At least a third of the army had either missed or slept through Culloden, which along with survivors from the battle gave a potential force of 5,000 to 6,000 men.[48] However the roughly 1,500 men who assembled at Ruthven Barracks received orders from Charles to the effect that the army should disperse until he returned with French support.[49]
Similar orders must have been received by the Highland units at Fort Augustus, and by 18 April, the majority of the Jacobite army had been disbanded. Officers and men of the units in French service made for Inverness, where they surrendered as prisoners of war on 19 April. Most of the rest of the army broke up, with men heading for home or attempting to escape abroad,[47] although the Appin Regiment, amongst others, was still in arms as late as July.
Many senior Jacobites made their way toLoch nan Uamh, where Charles Edward Stuart had first landed at the outset of the campaign in 1745. There, on 30 April, they were met by two Frenchfrigates: theMars andBellone. Two days later, the French ships were spotted and attacked by three smallerRoyal Navysloops: theGreyhound,Baltimore, andTerror. The result was the last real engagement of the campaign. During the six hours in which the battle continued, the Jacobites recovered cargo that had been landed by the French ships, including£35,000 of gold.[47]
With visible proof that the French had not deserted them, a group of Jacobite leaders attempted to prolong the campaign. On 8 May, nearby atMurlaggan, Lochiel, Lochgarry, Clanranald and Barisdale all agreed to rendezvous at Invermallie on 18 May, as didLord Lovat and his son. The plan was that they would be joined by what remained of Keppoch's men and Macpherson of Cluny's regiment, which had not taken part in the battle at Culloden. However, things did not go as planned. After about a month of relative inactivity, Cumberland moved his army into the Highlands, and on 17 May, three battalions of regulars and eight Highland companies reoccupied Fort Augustus. The same day, the Macphersons surrendered. On the day of the planned rendezvous, Clanranald never appeared, and Lochgarry and Barisdale showed up with only about 300 combined, most of whom immediately dispersed in search of food. Lochiel, who commanded possibly the strongest Jacobite regiment at Culloden, mustered 300 men. The group dispersed, and the following week, the government launchedpunitive expeditions into the Highlands that continued throughout the summer.[47][49]
After his flight from the battle, Charles Edward Stuart made his way towards theHebrides, accompanied by a small group of supporters. By 20 April, Charles had reachedArisaig on the west coast of Scotland. After spending a few days with his close associates, he sailed for the island ofBenbecula in theOuter Hebrides. From there, he travelled toScalpay, off the east coast ofHarris, and from there made his way toStornoway.[50] For five months, Charles crisscrossed the Hebrides, constantly pursued by government supporters and under threat from locallairds, who were tempted to betray him for the £30,000 upon his head.[51] During that time, he metFlora Macdonald, who famously aided him in a narrow escape toSkye. Finally, on 19 September, Charles reached Borrodale onLoch nan Uamh in Arisaig, where his party boarded two small French ships, which ferried them to France.[50] He never returned to Scotland.
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The morning after the battle, Cumberland issued a declaration to his troops claiming the rebels had been instructed to give "no quarter".[note 3] This alluded to the belief such orders had been found on the bodies of fallen Jacobites, versions of which were published in theNewcastle Journal and theGentleman's Journal.[20] Only one copy still exists, which appears to be forged since it was not signed by Murray, and appears on the bottom half of a copy of a declaration published in 1745. Over the next two days, the moor was searched, and wounded rebels were put to death. In total, over 20,000 head of livestock, sheep, and goats were driven off and sold atFort Augustus, where the soldiers split the profits.[53]
While in Inverness, Cumberland emptied thejails that were full of people imprisoned by Jacobite supporters by replacing them with Jacobites themselves.[47] Prisoners were taken south to England to stand trial forhigh treason. Many were held onhulks on theThames or inTilbury Fort, and executions took place inCarlisle,York andKennington Common.[51] In total, 120 common men were executed, one third of them being deserters from the British Army.[51][note 4] The common prisonersdrew lots amongst themselves, and only one out of twenty actually came to trial. Although most of those who stood trial were sentenced to death, almost all of them had their sentences commuted topenal transportation to theBritish colonies for life by theTraitors Transported Act 1746 (20 Geo. 2. c. 46).[55] In all, 936 men were thus transported, and 222 more werebanished. Even so, 905 prisoners were actually released under theAct of Indemnity that was passed in June 1747. Another 382 obtained their freedom by being exchanged forprisoners of war being held by France. Of the total 3,471 prisoners recorded, nothing is known of the fate of 648.[56] The high-ranking "rebel lords" were executed onTower Hill in London.
Following the military success won by their forces, the British government enacted laws to further integrate Scotland, specifically the Scottish Highlands, with the rest of Britain. Members of theEpiscopal clergy were required to give oaths of allegiance to the reigningHanoverian dynasty.[58] TheHeritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 ended the hereditary right of landowners to govern justice upon their estates through barony courts.[59] Prior to the Act,feudal lords (which included clan chiefs) had considerable judicial and military power over their followers such as the oft-quoted power of "pit and gallows".[51][58] Lords who were loyal to the government were greatly compensated for the loss of these traditional powers. For example, theDuke of Argyll was given £21,000.[51] The lords and clan chiefs who had supported the Jacobite rebellion were stripped of their estates, which were then sold and the profits were used to further trade andagriculture in Scotland.[58] The forfeited estates were managed byfactors.Anti-clothing measures were taken against theHighland dress by anAct of Parliament in 1746. The result was that the wearing oftartan was banned except as a uniform for officers and soldiers in the British Army and laterlanded men and their sons.[60]
There appears to have been little interest in commemorating the battle before the 1840s.The Inverness Courier's account of the events surrounding the centenary in the spring of 1846 suggests that they had a recreational dimension, but as the century progressed, commemoration became more solemn and elegiac. Thoughts turned to erecting a physical memorial, and in 1849, a foundation stone for a Culloden monument was laid on the battlefield. By 1852, the project had been abandoned due to a lack of funds. A memorial stone carved by Edward Power in 1858 was eventually incorporated into the cairn erected on the battlefield in 1881. An annual commemoration ceremony under the auspices of the Gaelic Society of Inverness began in 1925, and a major event, attended by up to 500 people, marked the 200th anniversary of the battle in 1946.[61]
It was the lastpitched battle fought on British soil.[63] Today, avisitor centre is located near the site of the battle. It was first opened in December 2007, with the intention of preserving the battlefield in a condition similar to how it was on 16 April 1746.[64] One difference is that it is currently covered in shrubs andheather. During the 18th century, however, the area was used as commongrazing ground, mainly for tenants of the Culloden estate.[65] Those visiting can walk the site by way of footpaths on the ground and can also enjoy a view from above on a raised platform.[66] Possibly the most recognisable feature of the battlefield today is the 20-foot (6 m)-tall memorialcairn, erected by Duncan Forbes in 1881.[62] In the same year, Forbes also erected headstones to mark the mass graves of the clans.[67] Thethatched roofed farmhouse of Leanach that stands today dates from about 1760; however, it stands on the same location as theturf-walled cottage that probably served as afield hospital for government troops following the battle.[65] A stone, known as "The English Stone", is situated west of the Old Leanach cottage and is said to mark the burial place of the government dead.[68] West of this site lies another stone, erected by Forbes to mark the place that the body of Alexander McGillivray of Dunmaglass was found after the battle.[69][70] A stone lies on the eastern side of the battlefield and is supposed to mark the spot from which Cumberland directed the battle.[71] The battlefield has beeninventoried and protected byHistoric Scotland under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.[72]
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Since 2001, the site of the battle has undergonetopographic,geophysical andmetal detector surveys in addition toarchaeological excavations. Interesting finds have been made in the areas on which the fiercest fighting occurred on the government left wing, particularly where Barrell's and Dejean's regiments stood. For example, pistol balls and pieces of shattered muskets have been uncovered here, indicating close-quarters fighting, as pistols were used only at close range, and the musket pieces appear to have been smashed by pistol/musket balls or heavy broadswords. Finds of musket balls appear to mirror the lines of men who stood and fought. Some balls appear to have been dropped without being fired, some missed their targets, and others are distorted from hitting human bodies. In some cases, it may be possible to identify whether the Jacobites or government soldiers fired certain rounds because the Jacobite forces are known to have used a large number of French muskets, which fired a slightly smaller calibre shot than that of the British Army'sBrown Bess. Analysis of the finds confirms that the Jacobites used muskets in greater numbers than previously thought. Not far from where the hand-to-hand fighting took place, fragments of mortar shells have been found.[73] Though Forbes's headstones mark the graves of the Jacobites, the location of the graves of about 60 government soldiers is unknown. However, the recent discovery of a 1752 silverThaler, from theDuchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, may lead archaeologists to these graves. A geophysical survey, directly beneath the spot at which the coin was found, seems to indicate the existence of a large rectangular burial pit. It is thought possible that the coin was dropped by a soldier who once served on the Continent while he visited the graves of his fallen comrades.[73] The National Trust of Scotland is currently trying to restore Culloden Moor, as closely as possible, to the state it was in during the Battle of Culloden Moor. It is also trying to expand the land under its care to ensure the full battlefield is protected under the NTS. Another goal is to restore Leannach Cottage and allow visitors to tour its interior once again.
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If we mean an engagement between two armies, then the last battle on British soil was fought on 16 April 1746 at Culloden near Inverness in Scotland...Although it might be argued that it was too small to qualify as a battle, the last military engagement on British soil against members of a foreign armed force took place during the Second World War. On 27 September 1940, a German Ju 88 bomber crash-landed on Graveney Marsh in Kent. When some British troops who were billeted in a nearby pub turned up to investigate, they came under machine-gun fire from the crew. The British returned fire, and – after one German airman was shot in the foot – the crew surrendered.
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