The Battle of Inverurie was a confrontation that took place during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745.

The Battle of Inverurie took place on the 23rd of December 1745, near Inverurie, Scotland. It was fought between the 1100 men and 5 cannons of the Jacobite forces, led by Lord Lewis Gordon, and the 500 men of the Hanoverians, led by MacLeod of MacLeod.

The Battle of Inverurie took place as a direct action aimed at stopping the recruitment efforts Lord Lewis Gordon. MacLeod of MacLeod was dispatched with his 500 men from Inverness, but had the support of 700 men who were to join his forces later. Unfortunately for MacLeod, the Laird of Grant later withdrew his troops and George Munro of Culcairn has stopped his at Oldmeldrum, leaving MacLeod with no support other than his immediate forces. He chose to march upon Inverurie regardless.

The Battle of Inverurie set of with Lord Lewis Gordon sending 300 of his troops via the main road to Inverurie and the rest by a side road, this was done as a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the main force. This paln came to a point when the smaller division attacked the Hanover forces, which was immediately followed by the charge of the main Jacobite army from the opposite direction. The battle began at four in the afternoon and ended with the MacLeod retreat by moonlight. There are no records indicating the exact amount of casualties suffered by either side, but it is known that 50 prisoners were taken by the Jacobites.

Interestingly, one those that were captured during the Battle of Inverurie was Duncan Ban MacCrimmon, a famous piper. Apparently, the Jacobite pipers refused to play their instruments until the Hanover piper was released. He subsequently was.

1688-1766

Prince James was the claimant to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland in both Jacobite Uprisings.

Prince James was born on the 10th of June 1688, in St. James’s Palace, London, England. His birth name was James Francis Edward Stuart, although in later days he came to be known as Prince James, the Prince of Wales, the Old Pretender, or the Old Chevalier.

Prince James was born to the reigning monarch of England and Scotland, James II of England (also called James VII of Scotland). Automatically, this made Prince James the heir to the thrones of England and Scotland, along with becoming Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay through his mother. He was raised in France under the protection of King Louis XIV of France, who recognised him as the rightful heir.

While Prince James was in France, and even before he was born, a political movement began which sought to place Princes Mary and William of Orange on the throne. When James II died in 1701, Prince James declared himself the King, he had the support of France, Spain, the Papel State and Modena, who also refused to acknowledge any validity to the claim of Princes Mary. As a result, the British government declared that the actions of Prince James were treasonous and any claim that held to the throne would be stripped from him.
Prince James attempted multiple times to take the throne of Britain by force, but each time was met with failure. The last of these was the 1715 Jacobite Uprising. At a later stage his son Prince Charles attempted to usurp the British crown and place his father on the throne, which was also met with failure.

Effectively, Prince James lived the rest of his life in Rome, where he was granted a pension and enjoyed relative comfort. He died on the 1st of January 1766.

The Clifton Moor Skirmish was the last battle fought on England that involved Prince Charles.

The Clifton Moor Skirmish took place as the Jacobite army was retreating from England. This was due to their progressively worsening situation, such as the army size being reduced to 5,000 due to desertions, no Jacobite support in England, a readying French army, the strong defensive situation of London, two approaching armies and false reports of a third.

The Clifton Moor Skirmish took place on the 18th of December, 1745, near Clifton in Cumbria, England. The Royal forces were commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, while the Jacobites were led by Lord George Murray. Technically Prince Charles was also in command of the Jacobite forces but for all intensive battle purposes he had no real impact on the battlefield.

The Clifton Moor Skirmish was fought shortly after sunset, on a cloudy night, with only short intervals of light from the moon. Through the brilliant strategising of Lord George Murray, this was not an issue for the Jacobite forces. It came to be that the Jacobite forces were able to see the Royal army, but the reverse did not apply as the Hanoverians were positioned next to bushes which inhibited their vision.

The Clifton Moor Skirmish was a relatively short one, at the given command, the Royal forces were rushed by the Jacobites. The Scottish force sustained twelve deaths and an unrecorded number of injuries, while the Royal forces sustained a total of 100 deaths and injuries.

The Siege of Carlisle was a conflict in the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 where the Carlisle Castle was captured.

The Siege of Carlisle was the third significant conflict of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745. In actual fact there were two sieges of Carlisle castle, but this article only deals with the first of these.

The Siege of Carlisle took place on the 13th of November 1745, and lasted until the 15th of the same month. The Jacobite force was led by their leader, Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie, while the Royal forces were led by Colonel Durand.

Siege of Carlisle saw the forces of the Jacobites split in two, one half to siege Carlisle and the other to stay at Brampton. The siege began at noon on the 13th of November. The Jacobite forces surrounded the castle took charge of surrounding villages, so as to stop all communication with Carlisle Castle. The troops were greeted with musket fire later in the day, although this had little effect as by then it was dark and aiming became impossible.

The Siege of Carlisle soon ended, in a rather bloodless manner, when the inhabitants decided to surrender to the Jacobite troops. Very little defence force was raised due to illness and general refusal to fight, this was spurned by the disarray and un-preparedness of the troops for siege.

The Battle of Prestonpans was the second conflict of the Jacobite Uprising 1745, and it was also the first significant conflict.

The Battle of Prestonpans was fought at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, on the 21st of September 1745. The Jacobite forcers were led by Charles Edward Stuart, while the army of the Hanover House was led by John Cope. While the Jacobites had only a small number advantage over the Royal troops, numbering 2500 to 2300, they managed to win a resounding victory. Records show that the Royal army suffered 300 dead, 500 wounded and over 1500 captured, while the Jacobites suffered only 30 deaths and 70 wounded.

The Battle of Prestonpans took place on the 21st of September, four days after the Jacobite army captured Edinburgh. The initial contact between the Jacobite army and that of the Hanover House occurred on the 20th of September, but it was not until the 21st that the battle started in earnest.

The Battle of Prestonpans was initiated when the Jacobite army charged the army of John Cope in the early morning, which came as a surprise, although it was made worse by the fact that the highland army charged the rear of the Jacobites. The army of John Cope was relatively inexperienced and was promised that fighting would be kept at a minimal level as the Jacobites would not dare attack a force of infantry, cavalry and cannons, this assumption proved to be false.

The Battle of Prestonpans saw the defeat of the army of John Cope through an inadvertent brilliance in formation of the Jacobite army. As they were charging, the infantry in the middle of the force were slowed down by a bog, making the flank relatively faster. This created a V attacking formation, trapping the Royal troops and leaving them open to a resounding defeat.