Abstract

The Battle of Culloden on 16th April 1746 was the last set piece battle fought on British soil. It saw the end of the last military attempt by the Jacobites to reinstate the Stuarts on the throne of Great Britain. It also provided the Hanoverian succession with a much needed definitive victory over the Jacobite movement, which had evaded them and their predecessors since the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Since 1746, the battle has come to be viewed as a watershed in Scottish history. The army’s behaviour and actions immediately following Culloden and in the months afterwards are now seen as acts of oppression. The policies to prevent further rebellions amongst the independent minded Highlanders in the years after 1746 are now blamed for ending the clan way of life.

Using contemporary theology, comparisons of campaigns and memorials, this paper will examine how far these assumptions are true, how much they have been influenced by subsequent events and whether the soldiers of the British army deserve to be called ‘More Devils than Men’.