Into the Fire We Go!

We are moving out of the really rugged Highlands and into a city today. Inverness, Culloden Battlefield via Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 24 miles long, I had no idea it was that large. There are points in it that are 800-900 feet deep, plenty of room to hide any number of things. As you can see, another beautiful day is ahead of us. I think I saw something swimming in the water there, look closely.

Hmm... well maybe not. We made a pit-stop in a little village and off to the side was a field that housed two Highland Cows (pronounced Hee-lan coo) and a Shetland Pony. It took some cajoling from various members of our group to get them to do much of anything... well they are cows, after all... but once they got up they really started to boogie. I didn't get my camera out fast enough to video it though.

Woah! Quick, look! I knew I'd seen something! There you have it folks, a very rare picture of a baby Nessie. You saw it here first! I imagine we'll be tracked down after I post this, probably offered a lot of money for this one of a kind shot. Finally, for once, my camera was out and ready! It slipped back under the water a millisecond after I snapped the picture. Whew! You see, I take care of you.

Culloden Field, the site of the last of the Jacobite uprisings. Bonnie Prince Charlie was the grandson of James II of England/James the VII of Scotland who had been deposed in the Revolution of 1688. He was born in Rome and lived there until his early twenties. At the age of 23, his father named him Prince Regent, giving him full authority to act in his name. Charlie tried to bring his father back to the throne they felt was rightfully theirs.

Charlie gathered some support for his cause from the French monarchy, though their ships were lost at sea before they reached Scotland. He arrived at Eriskay July 23, 1745, and began his campaigning. Many of the Highland clans supported him, believing him to be their true Prince. At first it looked like he was going to be successful. His army grew and was undefeated in taking over the cities and dwellings of Scotland from the British armies stationed there.


Word spread to George II, the Hanover King of England, and he began to get a little nervous. There are even reports of his plans to flee the country and go back to Germany. If only they'd had cell phones and email back then... But alas, Charlie's army made it as far south as Derby, but decided to retreat back North when the English Jacobite support they were expecting did not show.

King George II's son, the Duke of Cumberland, followed their retreat with his own army. So each side was led by a King's son doing his father's bidding. The two, Charlie and the Duke were cousins (not sure how many times removed, but cousins just the same). Their armies were full of people who believed in the cause and those who really didn't know or care what the fight was for as long as they got fed.

They eventually met in the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, "the last battle to be fought on British soil". The terrain wasn't favorable to the Highlanders way of fighting and where Prince Charlie was stationed he couldn't see the battlefield. Orders were given late, misinterpreted, confusion reigned on the side of the Bonnie Prince. The British had superior weapons and training for a battle in such a setting.

The Scots were literally mowed down. The Campbells, fighting on the side of the British, broke through a wall behind the Scots and took out a company from the rear. This fits right in line with what we've learned of the Campbell's backhanded dealings. The Massacre of Glencoe is another example. Anna and I were cursing the Campbells as we walked around. Where's your Scottish Pride, people?

Anyway, the Battle lasted less than an hour. The Duke had trained his men specifically to battle the Highlanders methods. It was devastating for the Jacobites (latin Jacobus=James, ie James II and his son in exile) and they were starting to retreat, but the Duke of Cumberland was having none of that. He issued an order that all of Highlander descent were to be killed. His armies went around killing men, women and children. Not surprisingly, this earned him the name of "Butcher Cumberland".

Of course there is always two sides to every story, and not all of Scotland supported the Bonnie Prince, but such a display of violence made even the English shake their heads. I believe it was after this that there was a ban on wearing kilts, or any manner of Highlander paraphernalia. The ban lasted for 30-40 years... I should really look this up before I post instead of relying on my memory, but I'm not going to :P Forgive me if some of my facts or time lines are a leetle hazy.

After taking our leave of the battlefield, we met up with the rest of our tour group and headed off to Ullapool for the night. To the left is a picture of the street sign, it is written in English and Gaelic (Gah-ligh) and I thought it looked cool. Many things are in both languages up here in the North; I like it.