Those
who have studied British history know all about Culloden which was the site of
the Jacobite uprising in 1746. Jacobite forces supporting
Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) fought against British government
troops led by the Duke of Cumberland.
A
few years ago, I came across a beautiful photograph in the London Times showing
the famous Leanach Cottage with bewitching colours due to the Northern lights. I
kept it and then painted it later in oils on a canvas. Naturally, the next step
was to see it when we were in Scotland. My family was with me and my young grandchildren
were fascinated by the Scots wearing kilts not trousers~ rather than learning
about the battle !!
I am
not going to give a picture wise description – this is a walking tour of the
site which I think is self explanatory.The
Culloden site is vast. The Visitor centre is well organized: it features
interactive exhibitions, artifacts from both warring sides, a 360-degree
immersion film, and a rooftop viewing platform. There is the obligatory listing
of the donors who helped creae and maintain this wonderful piece of history. 
We
turned out to be a largish group and the guide was excellent. Our guide gave a brief
background to the uprising and the fact that the Jacobite army was decisively
defeated in less than an hour, marking the last pitched battle on British soil.
Marking the spot of the last major battle on British soil, the
wild moor at Culloden is the resting place of 1,500 Jacobite and 50 Government
soldiers who fought and died here in 1746. Today, you can walk along the battle
lines and see the graves of the soldiers beside the memorial cairn in the
centre of the battlefield.
Flags represent
the front lines of both armies and show the vast scale of the battle, whilst in
the centre clan markers indicate the graves of the fallen.
The Scottish National Trust says: “There are still many discoveries waiting to be
unearthed on the battlefield. This landscape has been lived in for over 4,000
years. The Battle of Culloden only lasted for 1 hour. Searching for remains
from the battle is like looking for a needle in a haystack. In addition, there
has been continued agricultural use of the land since 1746. People also visited
the site in Victorian times, regularly taking ‘souvenirs’ away with them.
“There are many accounts of the battle – some were written
down immediately, other years later. The opposing sides have very different
perspectives on what happened. To try and get an accurate picture, we use
forensic evidence to recreate what happened on the day. The archaeological
remains, along with historical records, give a snapshot of the battle.
“What we have found in recent years has changed some of what
we thought we knew. When the present visitor centre was constructed in 2007,
care was taken to choose an area of the battlefield where there was little
chance of disturbing archaeological remains. Testing was done. The location was
believed to line up with the second Government line, where the embankment
stands today. However, excavations undertaken in 2021 revealed substantial
evidence to suggest the second Government line was in fact almost 200m behind
the berm, on the other side of the road to the car park.”.
`
Leanach Cottage is more than it seems. During the battle, a
similar cottage stood on this spot and served as a field hospital for
Government soldiers. Over time, the cottage has seen many changes. After
falling into disrepair, Leanach Cottage was rebuilt in the early 19th century.
The cottage became a symbol for the battlefield, and the people who lived there
became the site’s first tour guides. The cottage’s last resident, Mrs Annabelle
Cameron (née Belle Macdonald) moved out in 1912 and the cottage stood empty.
In
1944, Leanach Cottage was given to the National Trust for Scotland by Hector
Forbes, the landowner. In the early 1960s, the cottage became the first
‘museum’ at Culloden Battlefield. In 1970, a new visitor centre opened beside
Leanach Cottage, later became a ‘Living History experience’ with costumed
interpretation and presentations.
The only other home on the battlefield was a
cottage built in 1925 – the daffodils that were in its garden still bloom each
spring. At other points, there was a tearoom and even a petrol station. These
buildings are no longer there.
Today, Leanach Cottage houses temporary
exhibitions relating to the battlefield. These exhibitions cover current
research including new archaeological discoveries, people’s connection to the
battlefield and the threats to the battlefield in modern times.
Thatching on the cottage is made from heather that was
collected from the battlefield and then crafted together by local tradesmen,
whilst the walls are a mixture of stone and turf.
Since 1746, people from all around the world have visited the
battlefield. The story of the Jacobite Risings has influenced works of art and
literature across many generations, from ‘The Skye Boat Song’ to Outlander.
Less than a year after the Battle of Culloden, Handel composed his oratorio Judas
Maccabaeus. First performed at the Royal Opera House in London on 1 April
1747, it celebrated the Duke of Cumberland’s victory over the Jacobites.
Children were also taught about the battle. In Culloden
Visitor Centre we have a sampler on display that was made in 1747 by an
11-year-old girl, showing a Jacobite being stabbed by a government soldier. By
the 19th century, Jacobites and Highlanders were being portrayed as heroes,
helped by popular author Sir Walter Scott in his novels Waverley (1814),
Rob Roy (1817) and Redgauntlet (1824). It was during this
period that there was a move to build a memorial on the battlefield.
The first memorial (a tower) was built in the 1820s, to the
west of the battlefield, by Lachlan Mackintosh. Later, a memorial at the graves
site itself was called for. In 1881, Duncan Forbes, the landowner of the moor,
built the cairn and markers you see today.
The Jacobite Risings were international conflicts that had
enormous influence over diplomatic relationships between European powers.
However, the clan markers do not represent all the people who died at Culloden.
Two nations were left out of the Victorian memorials: Ireland and France. The
Irish and French regiments are memorialised by a plaque some distance away, on
the other side of the cairns. If you walk towards the blue flag on the Jacobite
front line, and from there continue straight at the crossroads, you will find
the markers installed in 1994 by the White Cockade Society.
After seeing the Cottage and its history, we walked straight back
to the visitor centre’s rooftop viewing platform from where we got good views
of the battlefield. Then a brief pitstop before leaving this historic site to
reach our next destination. If you visit, make sure you keep atleast half a day
clear to be able to enjoy the whole place.
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
