Valiant but Doomed

Following on from our refight of Falkirk Muir, Prince Charles Stuart has another chance to secure the British throne for his father — the King over the Water.

After a failed night attack on the Government camp the exhausted Jacobites form up for battle at Culloden. Lord George Murray commands the far right. The MacDonalds are on the left  (foreground) under the Duke of Perth supported by the Irish Piquets and two regiments of horse. Lord John Drummond commands the highlanders in the centre supported by a second line of lowlanders and the Royal Ecossais.

Concerned by the preponderance of artillery in the Hanoverian centre the Jacobites decide to hold back their centre, and to attack the relatively exposed Hanoverian right.

To further confound the enemy, Murray leads the Jacobite right wing into the Culwhiniac enclosure, hoping to draw the Hanoverians to their left before they are attacked on their right.

All goes swimmingly well so far. As the Atholl brigade lines the walls of the enclosure the Hanoverians strip out their reserve line and move it off to reinforce their left.

Then the Jacobite Horse and the MacDonalds advance rapidly against the Hanoverian right as Prince Charles personally leads his second line of lowlanders from the centre to support them.

The Hanoverian dragoons are sent reeling back in disorder with the Jacobites in hot pursuit, turning the enemy right flank.

The victorious Jacobites turn in to envelop the Royal Scots and force them back with heavy casualties but it is not enough. Exhausted from their night march and their lines in disorder from crossing boggy ground, the MacDonalds have had enough. Their men start to disperse leaving the Jacobite cavalry isolated as the Hanoverians bring up reserves.

The Jacobite supporting line on their left is unable to make any headway after taking heavy casualties from artillery and musketry.

With the attack on the left faltering, Murray leads his men forward to attack on the right despite the preponderance of enemy facing him.

At the same time the highlanders in the centre also surge forward, prodded on by the casualties they are taking from artillery fire.

The charge in the centre is valiant but doomed. Raked by canister fire and musketry the Stewarts, Frasers, Mackintoshes and Camerons are dispersed before their charge can reach home.

The brave but hopeless attempt to restore the Stuarts is over. The result of our game was not dissimilar from what happened on on 16 April 1746 although the MacDonalds did much better in the game than they did historically — at least initially.

The games were played using Close Fire and European Order rules with amendments for this later period and to take into account the highland charge. A Quick Reference Sheet is available as a free download from the rules section of my website.