Swiss-born artist David Morier began working for the Duke of Cumberland in 1747, and continued to receive payments from him until 1767.[1] At an unknown date before 1765 he completed An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745.[Note 1] The painting is thought to be one of a set of four he painted for Cumberland that depict battle scenes.[4][Note 2]
Morier may have been present at the Battle of Culloden.[7] Many sources state he used Jacobite prisoners as models,[7][8] but this is disputed, and claimed to be a legend that arose in the 19th century.[2]
The Jacobite soldiers
A targe and broadsword that date from the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, National Museum of Scotland
The eight Jacobite soldiers wear 20 different tartans between them.[9] This served as a reflection of the diverse amounts of Scottish clans which contributed troops and defense of Scottish nationality, many of whom were conscripted, towards the Jacobite cause.[10] The wearing of tartans would go on to be proscribed in the Dress Act 1746, though this was poorly enforced.[Note 3] They also wear white cockades in their bonnets, which show their allegiance to the Stuart cause.[13] The Jacobite troops depicted are armed with outdated weaponry – none carry firearms, instead being armed with broadswords, dirks, and targes (shields).[7] Some are carrying Lochaber axes, an obsolete type of Scottish polearm.[14] This may reflect Hanoverian anti-Jacobite propaganda, which sought to portray the Jacobite Highlanders as barbaric, backwards and savage.[15][14][16]
The Jacobites had been poorly armed at the start of the rising, due to the Disarming Act 1715. But by the time of Culloden, France and Spain had supplied them with around 5,000 modern muskets and bayonets.[17] Some Jacobite troops carried captured Brown Bess muskets or Scottish-made pistols.[15] It is known that all Jacobite Army soldiers were eventually armed with muskets,[17] but some employed the tactic of firing one shot, then dropping their firearm to engage in hand-to-hand combat with their broadswords and dirks.[18] This tactic was known as the Highland charge; James Ray, who was present during the battle on the government side, wrote in his later book that this happened in the fighting the painting depicts.[19]
The government soldiers
A painting by Morier made c. 1751, illustrating the uniforms of grenadiers from different regiments. A soldier from The King's Own regiment is on the left.
The government troops depicted are grenadiers of King's Own Royal Regiment,[4] then known as Barrell's Regiment.[Note 4] The regiment fought on the left flank of the government army, at the southern end of the battlefield, and took the brunt of the Jacobite charge – it suffered the heaviest casualties on the government side, with 18 dead and 108 wounded out of 373.[20] The regiment's commander, Sir Robert Rich, 5th Baronet, was among the wounded, losing his left hand.[21][22]
The soldiers can be identified as grenadiers by the mitre caps they wear,[23] and would be the regiment's tallest, strongest and most experienced men.[24] The most prominent soldier, nearest the viewer, wears a red sash, indicating he is an officer.[25] He is armed with a fusil – a smaller, lighter version of the muskets carried by his men.[26] This was usual for grenadier officers; other officers carried a short pike or spontoon.[27][25]Lord Robert Kerr was captain of the regiment's grenadier company and was killed during the battle.[22][28][19] This officer, in a prominent and heroic pose, may be intended as a depiction of him.
Behind the unit, drummers, another officer and more soldiers can be seen, as well as part of the King's Colour, one of the regiment's flags.[Note 5]
Background
Two walled farm enclosures were features of the southern end of the battlefield, where The King's Own regiment fought.[30] A small part of a stone structure may be seen in the left of the painting, which may be part of one of the enclosures.
Location
The painting now hangs in the lobby of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.[4] The room contains a number of items associated with the 1745 rising. These include portraits of James Francis Edward Stuart[31] and the Duke of Cumberland.[32] There is a late-19th century, historical painting of Charles Edward Stuart,[33] a knife and fork that belonged to him,[34] and a sword and pistols that were traditionally said to have belonged to him.[35][36]
^Many sources state the painting was completed soon after the battle. But details of the soldiers' uniforms suggest the painting was done in the 1750s. Possibly in 1753 when the regiment depicted was stationed near London.[2] The painting is listed in a 1765 inventory of Cumberland's paintings, described as A Skirmish between some Highlanders and English Infantry[3]
^The other paintings in the group are Hussars Attacking a Baggage Wagon c. 1755–65,[5]A Skirmish between English and French Cavalry c. 1760,[1] and An Engagement between French Troops and a Detachment of the Dutch "Free Company" c. 1760.[6] All are owned by the Royal Collection.
^Tartan clothing was not confined to Jacobites. Some government regiments, such as Loudon's Highlanders, included tartans in their uniforms. Government troops also included units of Independent Highland Companies, who were not given uniforms and wore traditional Highland clothing similar to their Jacobite counterparts.[11] Likewise, some soldiers in the Jacobite Army, such as the Irish picquets, wore red-coated uniforms similar to those worn by government soldiers.[12]
^At the time, regiments were known by the name of their colonel. In this case, Lieutenant-General William Barrell had the honoury position of colonel of the regiment; he was not present at Culloden.
^The Living Age. Littell, Son and Company. 1894. p. 672. The ordinary company officers carried swords or espontoons, which were light halberds with battle-axe heads. Officers of the Grenadier company, in addition to swords, were armed with light muskets called fusils or fusees.
^Home, John (1802). The History of the Rebellion in the Year 1745. A. Strahan. pp. 237–238. OCLC470557538. Lord Robert Ker (second son of the Marquis of Lothian), Captain of grenadiers in Burrel's regiment.... when the Highlanders broke into Burrel's, he received (it is said) the foremost man upon his spontoon, and was killed instantly, with many wounds
^"King's colour". National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
^Geier, Clarence Raymond; Babits, Lawrence E.; Scott, Douglas Dowell; Orr, David G. (2010). The Historical Archaeology of Military Sites: Method and Topic. Texas A&M University Press. p. 107. ISBN978-1603442077.
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