Re-mediating the Glorious Revolution through the Jacobite Rebellion
The last battle of the Jacobite Rebellion occurred on April 16, 1746 at Culloden moor, ending in a victory for the British and the end of the Bonnie Prince Charlie’s campaign to regain his grandfather’s throne. Within a few months, there were multiple mediations of the battle which sought to both legitimize the Hanoverian dynasty on the throne and to discredit Bonnie Prince Charlie’s claim to the throne. The process of remediating history occurred through both low and high forms of art demonstrating the remediation occurring across class boundaries. The “A New SONG. Calld the Duke of Cumberlands Victory over the Scotch Rebels at Cullodon-Moor, near Inverness. Made by a Soldier who was in the Engagement. To the Tune of the Earl of ESSEX” lauds the Duke of Cumberland’s success against the Jacobites while simultaneously ignoring Bonnie Prince Charlie’s legitimate claim to the throne. David Morier’s painting “The Highland charge on Barrell’s Regiment: Battle of Culloden 16th April 1746 in the Jacobite Rebellion” romanticizes the battle through its clean demarcations of sides and expresses the proficiency of the British in a war against a perceived usurper. While both mediations attempt to de-legitimize James II’s claim to the throne through appealing to different classes, they are simultaneously re-asserting a specific historical narrative which is re-legitimizing the Glorious Revolution and all the changes that came with it.
David Morier’s painting is an oil on canvas that can be found in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It was painted in 1746 as part of a set of four painting depicting military battles (Royal Collection Trust). The painting depicts very clear lines of battled, featuring the Jacobites, depicted only as Highlanders, on the left side and the British army on the right side. Both sides are frozen moments before clashing, although there are dead lying around the feet of both sides indicating potential action beforehand. The background is very dark, with storm clouds dominating the top third of the painting and only becoming gradually lighter as it comes closer to the clashing sides. It creates a type of anticipation for the inevitable meeting of the Jacobites and the British, almost creating a type of equality between the sides in that there is no divine sign that one side is more likely to triumph over the other. It is appropriate because the battle is essentially one being fought by two different monarchs. Bonnie Prince Charlie attempting to regain a throne promised to him from birth and King George II desperately attempting to hold onto a monarchy he had lucked into through the events of the Glorious Revolution and the subsequent lack of children on behalf of the prior monarchs. If the monarch ruled through divine right, both sides have equal claim to the divinity associated with the monarchy.
Although the background creates the impression of equality between different side, the depiction of Jacobite and British soldiers indicates Morier’s allegiance to the British through his romanticization of how they would have looked in the middle of a battle. The British soldiers are all in matching uniforms with matching weapons. Their uniforms are immaculate considering they were fighting in a moor in the middle of April. However, if he had painted them as they would have appeared, there would not be the start contrast between the British red coats and the earthy tones of the Jacobite’s clothing. There is a line of rifle men, equipped with bayonets, and a second line of grenadiers behind wearing mitre caps. The lines are distinctly organized with a drummer boy coming in behind. There is one dead British soldier on the bottom right of the painting, but the British line has already moved past him, demonstrating his body would not be a hinderance to them moving forward. Each British soldier has a look of grim determination on their face, ready for whatever may happen to them in defense of King and country.
In comparison to the British, the Jacobite line is disordered and ineffective. Each Jacobite is depicted in a different type of Highland garb, possibly indicating their allegiance to their clan ahead of their allegiance to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Each man holds a different type of weapon, some more effective than others. A Jacobite on the left is running into battle with a large spear that would have been largely ineffective in the close quarters type of fighting about to occur. The Jacobite line is advancing over fallen comrades immediately in the way of where they are intending to go, possibly suggesting how ineffective the Jacobites were against the British forces. In the left side of the painting, Jacobites appear to be fleeing the battle as the British soldiers advance, indicating cowardice. The faces of the Jacobites running into battle are filled with a time of glee, almost as if they relish the violence about to occur. The Jacobite in the red plaid in the left third of the painting looks particularly excited to engage in battle. The painting makes it look inevitable that the British would win the battle and the Jacobites would loose.
Inevitable victory is also expressed in “A New SONG. Calld the Duke of Cumberlands Victory over the Scotch Rebels at Cullodon-Moor, near Inverness. Made by a Soldier who was in the Engagement.To the Tune of the Earl of ESSEX.” The ballad begins with an expression of nationalism in that “YOU Subjects of Britton now you may Rejoice,” which immediately ignores the complexity of the two sides. Brittons are made out to be people who are not Scottish, and Jacobites are made out to be all Scottish. Yet there were Highlanders and Scotsmen who fought on the side of the British and people from many different nations joined with the Jacobites. Therefore, Scottish people are regarded as not being Britton in this instance and are made out to be the enemies of the King. However, the George II’s claim to the throne is less legitimate than the Stuarts. Instead of acknowledging the legitimate claim Bonnie Prince Charlie has to the throne, he and his father are reduced to “The Popish Pretender has now run away/ Just like his old Daddy no longer could stay” (EBBA). There is a deliberate misunderstanding of history which erases the legitimacy of James II and Bonnie Prince Charlie’s claim to the throne. Yet, because there is no counter narrative, this perspective of history is the one that is validated and considered to be accurate.
The narrator of the ballad misunderstands the reason for the Jacobite rebellion. They view the rebellion as occurring through discontent with the current king and for that “hang all the Rebels you have my Consent,/ Because with a good King they are not Content” (EBBA). Yet, the Jacobite rebellion occurred because James II was forcibly removed from the throne for his faith. The Jacobites were not necessarily fighting against George II, but rather the system that placed him in power. Bonnie Prince Charlie was the legitimate heir to the throne of England, a right he had gained at birth, as his father had gained at his birth, as his father had gained at birth, and had been attained by his father through the lack of heirs on the part of Queen Elizabeth. However, by creating a narrative of a benevolent king attacked by a ill content group of Highlanders, the narrator is able to confer a villainous status to those who attempted to aid Bonnie Prince Charlie, so they become bigger monsters in the eyes of the public, and King George II gains more glory for surprising their uprising. He can then be considered more benevolent because he does not “hang all the Rebels.”
Beyond the depiction of the Stuarts, there is an ongoing narrative of the Jacobites being cowards. Especially since the narrator of the ballad describes the Jacobites as being in such:
hast they their Cannon did leave,
And then the Pretender did weep and did grieve;
They left all their Baggage their hast it was such.
And their Amunition which grieved them much.
EBBA
For an army to leave behind their cannons and ammunition means that they were making a hasty and disorganized retreat. Often, this means men turning and fleeing in a harried attempt to save their own lives at the expense of the cause they were fighting for. There is almost the notion present that the British would not do such a thing and therefore are better men for it. At the same time, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s masculinity is called into question because he does not continue to fight, but “weeps” and “grieves” to see his plan disintegrate in front of his eyes.
The ballad appears to be one that would have been sung in a pub or a tavern, with the express intent to praise the monarchy and the Duke of Cumberland. It would have been accessible to an everyday person. If they resided in England, they would have known about the battle through the newspapers, but the ballad may have made them believe it was a much cleaner and decisive battle than it was. David Morier’s painting probably would not have been accessible to an everyday person, it would have been reserved for upper classes. Especially since the painting was in the Duke of Cumberland’s house in 1819 (Royal Collection Trust). It would have only been accessible to the people who had enough societal standing to be able to visit the Duke of Cumberland. Therefore, the ballad expresses the same romantic inclinations of monarchy and legitimacy as constructed in the painting, just to a different audience.
Both the painting and the ballad create a one-sided depiction of the Jacobite rebellion and the battle of Culloden. The Jacobites are described and represented through their cowardice and lack of organization, while the British are depicted as inevitable victors. Through the British victory, King George II’s divine right to rule is preserved, while the Stuarts are turned into villains for attempting to reclaim the English throne they lost during the Glorious Revolution. Instead of acknowledging the history of the coup William of Orange carried out, the Stuarts are depicted as being false claimants to the throne. It allows the Britain to continue as a Protestant nation. The false history is more palatable as it allows for the status quos of the nation to be maintained, even at the expense of its people’s understanding of their history.
Works Cited
“A New SONG. Calld the Duke of Cumberlands Victory over the Scotch Rebels at Cullodon-Moor, near Inverness. Made by a Soldier who was in the Engagement. To the Tune of the Earl of ESSEX (EBBA ID: 31484.” 1746. English Broadside Ballad Archive (EBBA), 4 December 2017, http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/31484/xml.
“An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745.” Royal Collection Trust, 4 December 2017, https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/401243/an-incident-in-the-rebellion-of-1745.