The Edinburgh International Book Festival started with a bang! The group 'Africanised' performed as soon as the gates opened this morning and their sheer vitality and enthusiasm was simply mesmerising. They are appearing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and would be worth seeing from the acrobatic energy that they displayed this morning.
But to turn to Trevor Royle this morning and Culloden; in the chair was Sheena McDonald and it was a full house showing the interest that this subject has created, with a second bite at the cherry available with Murray Pittock's presentation on 'Cullodon: The Battle and the Myths' which will be on Monday, 22nd August.
Culloden was the last major battle to be fought on British soil; it took place on 16th April 1746 on Drumossie Moor near Inverness. It was here that the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart were defeated decisively by the forces of William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland. It was the final act in the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Trevor Royle said that the description of the Battle of Culloden starts the book with the second part dealing with the further establishment of the British Army as we know it today.
Royle read an extract from the preface which described how the book had been written and the research that had gone into the selection of the subject. Since the Act of Union in 1707 the British had enjoyed success and those who had contributed to this through military exploits might be identified as 'Cumberland's Ring'. Success on the battlefield was achieved through sustained and accurate musketry, backed by well planned artillery concentrations. But it was the professionalism of the British Army which was most impressive, according to Royle. They were ready to meet any invasion from France although the majority of the French fleet was wrecked in the English Channel.
Turning again to Charles Edward Stuart. For this uprising to succeed, he needed support in Scotland - which he did not receive - and so when he headed south into England through Carlisle, after an indecisive period when he was trying to decide whether to go east or west - he failed to pick up any substantial English support. So although General Wade's roads were most useful they did lead to indecision on the part of the Jacobites. The Jacobites got as far as Derby, but it appears that no one in London was seriously concerned, according to Royle. Indeed the King himself said that he would lead his troops into battle should this prove necessary.
Finally when the Jacobite army turned north again they were becoming demoralised and demanded support from the citizens of Dumfries as their shoe leather was worn out and they needed help in many ways. When they got as far as North as Inverness, Charles actually chose Drumossie as the battlefield. Part of the plan was to attack the British Army in the middle of the night but this entailed a march to Elgin across rough ground and confusion set in. Royle described the situation as one side being rested and well drilled but the other being tired, cold 'and with empty bellies'. When Lord Berry rode out in front of the British Army the Jacobites thought he was actually Cumberland so they opened fire - this, according to Royle was the truth about the Scots opening fire first.
The British Army were made up of highly professional and experienced soldiers; William Bedford for instance was a well trained soldier. His artillery during the battle suddenly changed to fire grapeshot at the Jacobites and this caused dreadful casualties. At the same time there was dissension in the Jacobite ranks as the McDonald clan who normally fought on the right flank were moved to the left and were unsure if they would be attacked by the Campbells - all was not well! Sheena McDonald did suggest that the British Army was able to 'box in' the Jacobites, however, Royle stressed that discipline was crucial at this stage and here it was that the British Army held the upper hand and had more experience.
Sheena McDonald also asked whether the esteem that the army had been held in had changed. Royle agreed that it had, but it was easier to be popular when one was winning! But he stressed that people were concerned lest France should invade and this should lead to Britain becoming a Catholic country; they did not want a repetition of 1715 and 1745 and this was the main reason for the popularity of the army. Royle did continue to stress that the British Army, with people such as Wolfe and Cornwallis, both of whom came into prominence later, was much better officered than the Jacobites. So, as Royle implied, the British Army had really every advantage.
During questions Trevor Royle was very clear and direct. When questioned about the 'brutality' of the British he was clear that no order had been given to carry out 'ethnic cleansing' as we know it today. Of course some farmers lost their cattle but this was to be expected in a battle zone. He stressed that the allegations of brutality simply were the stuff of myth and fabrication and no evidence could be found to support this claim.
When questioned about the lessons that had been learned about the action, Royle said it was high time we started to take war seriously in this country. We continually 'learn lessons', but we never seem to remember them when a conflict starts or is threatened.
This was a fascinating start to the Book Festival and Trevor Royle certainly kept us all well-entertained.
Royle is author of Culloden: Scotland's Last Battle and the Forging of the British Empire
