Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Maria Stuart (I will call him Todd LeRoy for brevity) was the grandson of the last Stuart King of England and Scotland, James II and VII. His father was the Old Pretender, the would-be James III and VIII, and Todd LeRoy was the Young Pretender. That's pretty straightforward. He wanted to be Charles III. To bring you up-to-date, Jacobite-wise, if you haven't been following this saga, the Stuarts were shut out of the throne because they were Catholic. The Hanovers, German but Protestant, were now in power. Many people in Scotland (and elsewhere) believed the Stuarts should be on the throne, and their supporters rebelled from time to time, especially when the kings of the south changed and reminded them. You should know by now that Jacobus is Latin for James, so I am not going to tell you that again.
There were several Jacobite Risings through the years, but we are about to come to a close on that.
In July of 1745, Charles (Todd LeRoy, if you prefer) and 7 friends sailed to Scotland to retake the throne. He had 2 ships. He had hoped for help from the French Fleet, but there was a storm and they had to turn back. Right. Charles landed at Eriskay on July 23. His father was still alive, but Charles had his agency (the Old Pretender had named Charles regent. Or regent-pretender, if you are a stickler for the truth) to act to recover the throne.
Two old ships and 7 friends. That oughtta do it.
The Hanovers, never completely asleep at any time, smelled the French fleet and the Royal Navy restationed itself in the channel. Not on the Sands, one assumes. So, when the French regrouped after the "terrible storm" (wink wink nudge nudge) they decided to just stay in France. After all, Bonnie Todd had 7 guys with him.
Isn't it one of the amazing coincidences of history that whenever there was an attempt by the Stuarts to come back from France with a French army, they always ran into a storm? Could be July, could be December, didn't matter. I guess only an American would think about things like that. Jesus, it's only about 20 miles or so. C'mon.
But, of course, Charles expected support from the Clans again, and he wasn't disappointed. The Clans did rally (both Catholic and Protestant, btw) and when they marched on Edinburgh, they were let in. That is to say Edinburgh "surrendered."
Charlie and the Clans then defeated the only British army in Scotland at the battle of Prestonpans. The losing commander was John Cope.
I have been astounded at the knowledge of the followers of this blog with regard to old songs of the Risings, and poetry, so I feel REALLY obligated to print some song lyrics here, just to try and keep up with them.
Johnnie Cope
Sayin "Charlie meet me an' ye daur
An' I'll learn ye the airt o' war
If ye'll meet me in the morning."
Chorus
O Hey! Johnnie Cope are ye waukin' yet?
Or are your drums a-beating yet?
If ye were waukin' I wad wait
Tae gang tae the coals in the morning.
When Charlie looked the letter upon
He drew his sword and scabbard from
Come, follow me, my merry men
And we'll meet Johnnie Cope in the morning. (Chorus)
Now Johnnie, be as good as your word
Come, let us try baith fire and sword
And dinna flee like a frichted bird
That's chased frae its nest i' the morning. (Chorus)
When Johnnie Cope he heard o' this
He thocht it wouldna be amiss
Tae hae a horse in readiness
Tae flee awa in the morning. (Chorus)
Fye now, Johnnie, get up an' rin
The Highland bagpipes mak' a din
It's better tae sleep in a hale skin
For it will be a bluidie morning. (Chorus)
When Johnnie Cope tae Dunbar cam
They speired at him, "Where's a' your men?"
"The de'il confound me gin I ken
For I left them a' in the morning." (Chorus)
Now Johnnie, troth ye werena blate
Tae come wi' news o' your ain defeat
And leave your men in sic a strait
Sae early in the morning. (Chorus)
In faith, quo Johnnie, I got sic flegs
Wi' their claymores an' philabegs
Gin I face them again, de'il brak my legs
So I wish you a' good morning. (Chorus)
Some of you are doubtless skeptical or werena blate or whatever and think I probably wrote those words myself, just to fit in with the rest of you, but I did not. I dinna. Had it been me, I would probably have just rapped something like Johnny getcher gun getcher gun gun Johnny getcher gun... but of course it would sound much better than what I just said.
By November, Charles was getting serious. His army by then numbered 6,000. He entered England. He took Carlisle. East of Eden (not really. That's just the name of one of the rivers that confluxate there) and stopped at the famous Swarkestone Bridge there in Derbyshire. It wasn't famous then, but it is now because that's where he stopped and went back to Scotland.
The decision to stop in Derby wasn't Charles' idea. Nosiree. He wanted to go all the way to Londontown(e) and degermanize it, but his chicken councilors forced the retracement upon him. Had Bonnie Prince Charlie had his way, I tell you, Americans would still be speaking English today. And wearing kilts and skirling with the best of them. There wouldna been no George III to go mad or anything else. But some of you already know that didn't happen alas.
Instead, history tells us the Duke of Cumberland, representing his father, King George II, caught up with Charles at Culloden and suddenly it was put up or shut up time for the Young Pretender. When one faces a vastly superior force, what should one do? Charge, of course. Charlie ordered his boys to charge and the Redcoats' muskets cut them to pieces. Followed by grapeshot from what must have seemed like two million leveled-downed cannon for dessert. Clearly, England and the Hanovers had had about enough of the Jacobites.
Cumberland's troops committed a fair number of atrocities, as one does, as they hunted down the Jacobite stragglers, and that, coupled with the aforementioned extra-large portions of grapeshot, earned the Duke the title of "Butcher of Culloden." From the Highlanders, at least. Scots say that is true, English say it is only loser-whine.
When you order a hopeless charge in open swampy territory, it takes almost unbelievable arrogance to believe you were betrayed by your brave troops, but Charlie believed that and used it as an excuse to eventually abandon the Jacobite cause. For a while he ran hither and yon upon the moors of Scotland, never very far ahead of his pursuers. His followers finally helped him escape the country aboard a French ship. With few exceptions, Bonnie Prince Charlie spent most of the rest of his life in exile. The cause of the Stuarts had come to an end.
On a brighter note, the womanizing Charlie DID manage to add another mistress to his harem during the brief "45" conflict - Clementina Walkinshaw. He took her with him to France where such things were not only accepted, but encouraged. Perhaps even scored.
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Okay, I will admit the following is an American simplification. But here's how I see it: You had all these wars and bloodshed and all the fighting and killing and in the end the Hanovers won out anyway. My question: Why in the world didn't one of them, James II or anyone after him, just one day stand up and say, "Hey - I've decided to become a Protestant, by golly! You win. I can live without the Pope. I still believe in Jesus. I'm not going to go to hell if I convert. I'm just going to start attending another church this Sunday." He could even have stayed Catholic in his heart if he wanted.** I guess I am just not as religious as they were back then. More blood in the name of religion.
I know. Too easy.
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Incidentally, the National Anthem of the United Kingdom was written in 1745 during these battles. Composed by Thomas Augustine Arne (his other big hit was the ever-popular "Rule Britannia" - a little short for my taste) and first sung in 1745 during the Jacobite "invasion" of England. It wasn't the official national anthem yet, of course. And some of the grossly anti-Scots lyrics were later deleted, but the tune was the same as now.
Ok, ok, here is what was deleted:
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King
Here is the current authorized version, best as I can find:
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and Glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
Oh, save us all!
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign;
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen!
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over
From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save the Queen!
O'er her thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our mother, prince, and friend,
God save the Queen!
Or THIS, minus the last verse:
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.
Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen.
O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter thine enemies,
And make them fall:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over.
From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save the Queen!
O'er her thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our mother, prince, and friend,
God save the Queen!
Lord grant that Marshall Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the Queen!
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.
Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen.
O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter thine enemies,
And make them fall:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known,
From shore to shore!
Lord make the nations see,
That men should brothers be,
And form one family,
The wide world over.
From every latent foe,
From the assassins blow,
God save the Queen!
O'er her thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our mother, prince, and friend,
God save the Queen!
Lord grant that Marshall Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the Queen!
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I suppose it would be safest just to learn the first verse and sing it over and over. That's what I'm going to do.
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**Oddly, Charles DID offer to do just that - rule as a Protestant. It has been said on some pretty good authority and with some pretty high up witnesses that he returned to London in 1750 incognito (Charles was good at disguises and fake names, but that's another story) and conformed to Protestantism by receiving Anglican communion. Dunno. A little late.
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Below is a picture of "princess" Marie-Victoire, Charles' "secret" granddaughter. How do you have a secret granddaughter? Wouldn't your son or daughter-in-law have to know about her? Well, she looks harmless enough. I keep finding more things to add to this post but must stop now.
Update: I have found out the story of the secret granddaughter now. I was going to post the interesting story here as an update, but none of you commented, so I'm not going to tell you.
I've never yet heard anything other than the first verse sung, even though I know there are other verses. So many of these national anthems seem very, what shall I say, aggressive? They do date from a very long time ago, before the concept of international relations developed into the academic study of political science.
ReplyDeleteThankyouthankyouthankyou. I was afraid no one would comment at this mountainous work of art.
ReplyDeleteOh, all right then...
ReplyDeleteI'll comment. General Wade was a pretty good General, as Generals go. Well, the english thought so anyway. On his way north to beat shit out of the unruly scots, his army camped in Leeds for a while, no doubt recruiting yorkshiremen for a crack at the old foe.
The Scots Army, in the '45 was very fast moving, lacking Wade's weighty artillery and baggage-train.
Interestingly, it was the rebellion of the '45 that spurred a renaissance in the art of road-building. And Wade is remembered as much for his 'military roads' as he is for his battles. Here in Leeds, Wades army camped on Woodhouse Moor, for a prolonged period, there's a pub called The General Wade, on Wade Lane, near Camp Road.
I've mentioned, before, I think, that the Scots were so active in raiding, thieving, cattle-stealing, and so forth, that the law permitting any man to shoot any scotsman found within the city walls of York after nightfall has never been repealed?
Charlie did not have a Scots army, he had a Jacobite Army. One third, at least, of the British army at Culloden came from the lowlands and the east coast.
ReplyDeleteTypical English education
@Soubriquet - I only heard of Wade in connection with your National Anthem, rather than his deeds. Like Adullamite, you tease more than you teach. Of course I want to learn more of the history of conflict between Yorkshire and the Scots. Even your teasing tidbits are devoured eagerly, though. I thank you.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wish the lot of you (not just you and Adullamite) would occasionally do a history post on your blogs, but I suppose that isn't going to happen since you all have personal blogs and not history blogs. I would gladly publish on this blog any historical essays anyone would care to favor me with, on any subject pertaining to the United Kingdom, it's peoples, history, geography. Especially if I am not likely to find it in general history books. I LOVE to learn little known facts. Little known to Americans, at least. I suppose that leaves the field wide open. :) :)
@Adullamite - Your first point is well taken, and results from my lack of knowledge of the era and the people involved. But I honestly want to learn. My posts are the result of my readings on the subject from history books I have bought and from various places on the internet, and what you read in my posts is what I think I have learned. Every single source that I drew from was confusing to me and many terms strange to me were often just thrown out by the authors with no effort to define them for a newcomer to the subject. In all cases on this blog I depend upon readers with firsthand knowledge to not only correct my errors but also to teach me the “inside story” about events and people. Criticism is pretty forthcoming but efforts to edify me are not, sadly. I have asked for input many times over the past three years. In fairness, a lot of times I have gotten that clarification from readers. I hope you will help teach me, because I want to be correct. In the next post (hoping that you WILL agree to teach me) I will make a short list of terms about Scotland that are not clear to me in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI do realize, or think I do, that not everyone who lived in Scotland was supportive of the effort to restore the House of Stuart, and those who WERE supportive, no matter where they lived, were called Jacobites. Many terms run together in my mind and confuse me - words which you and your countrymen have know since you were children - even though I have looked the words up: Pict, Celt, Scot, Highlands, Lowlands. It is painfully slow for me to absorb and sort. These and other words will be on my list in tomorrow’s post, and I hope you will help me define them then.
Your second point is far off the mark. I do not have an English education. About all I knew of Scotland before I started this blog was where to find it on a map. I hope you will help me learn. I have come far already since I started this blog. You are one of the main reasons for that.
If you had an underlying point that the English educate from a politically biased point of view, I’m afraid it was lost on this American. I only seek the truth. I don’t care where that truth comes from. I REALLY hope some will come from you.
First let me say, you raise all manner of interesting subjects in your various blogs. I seem to be better at responding to your blogposts than in originating any of my own. I just stare at the screen and get thinker's block.
ReplyDeleteWhereas, you write stuff, people comment and it becomes a conversation.
Of course, I don't know what your background knowledge of things our side of the atlantic may be, you appear well read, and so my assumptions of what you might know may be nothing like the truth.
As for writing history posts? well, whenever I think of doing so, I'm reminded that it's usually been said before by people more learned and articulate than myself. Maybe I'm just lazy.
Adullamite's quite right to point out my inaccuracy, in describing Wade's enemies as a scots army. He's right, it was a Jacobite army, which in no way reflected the greater populace of Scotland. In fact, Wade probably had more scots in his service than did the pretender.
One of the sad ironies of Scotland's history is that tribal nature, allegiance to clan being far more important than any concept of nation, and clans being ever ready to take up arms against each other, often over feuds hundreds of years in the past.
So, when it came to the battle that crushed the Jacobite hopes forever, five of the british battallions were composed of scots.
Lastly, one must take heed of the fact that Charles Stuart was funded and backed not by scots, for the largest part, but by France, who supplied ships, troops, cannons, muskets, money.
The French had an invasion fleet all ready. Had Charles' army been more aggressive, and looked more likely to win through, the real war would have started, with a french invasion force landing on England's south coast.
Anyway, that's digressing. If you wanted to know more about General Wade, you could do worse than go to:http://www.visitdunkeld.com/general-george-wade.htm
(From a Scottish site).
@Adullamite - My apologies for intruding. My head is big enough that I think every single comment MUST be directed at me! :) But this time it was Soubriquet you were correcting. That's great. :)
ReplyDeleteDamn English education, indeed.
@Soubriquet - Thank you for that. I feel I now know more about the Jacobites than 96% (at least) of Americans. Someday this will pay off in a big way for me. :)
ReplyDeleteBut knowledge is its own reward, right? Wait, that's "virtue". So much for my reward.
Ok, Marshal. Wade was a Field Marshal, not a general. Or else he worked for Wyatt Earp in Tombstone. Shall I tell you how I know that? I was looking up that military rank the other day, because I wanted to know how many Field Marshals you folks have had. We have had none, so it is easy to remember for us. In WWII, the U.S. created a new rank of 5-star general. Just to try for some sort of odd hillbilly parity to your senior officers. That was embarrassing. Perhaps I will make a post on your field marshals and throw in our 5-star generals.
George Wade was surprised (and I mean that in a bad way) by the Jacobite incursion into England, and was replaced by the king's son, the Duke of Cumberland, sent in to protect the family business. Wade died only 2 years later, in 1748, a crazed and broken man. Strike that last. I don't know if he was crazed and broken or well-fed and lazy at his death. I am working on my truthfulness, and vow to get better with each post.
I do know he died in an automobile accident.
He was also a general before he was a field marshal, and he is called general in songs and poems. So I was not saying you were wrong** to call him general Wade.
ReplyDelete**(You were, though.)
Well, he was an old bloke by the time of the '45. Worn out by all that roadbuilding. And bridge-building, so he could cross rivers without wading.
ReplyDeleteAlthough he ended up as field-marshall, his fame was incurred whilst he was a general, so that's how he's mostly remembered.
If you had a texan general he'd have to be a lone-starred five-star general.
We used to have some sweets... (u.s.'candies') called spangles. They contained neither stars nor banners.
JOHN PREBBLE (born in England!!!) wrote 'Culloden' amongst other books which are well worth reading. I read this at 16 and it made me realise life was more than Scots v England. It turns out to be about people!
ReplyDeleteTry his books if possible, they are worth a read.
Thank you Adullamite. It is painfully slow and hard for an American to try and read these difficult books, but I will look for it. It sounds interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteSoubriquet - Actually one of the few U.S. 5-star generals WAS a Texan. Or at least was born there. He wasn't much of a military man, though, according to my friend Adullamite. He mainly was a gpfer for Alan Brook, the real brains of the war in Europe in the mid 1940s. He tried his best to execute Alan Brook's lofty strategies, not having many brains of his own to think independently. He wasn't very successful, though. He finally returned home after the war and became the head of Columbia University after serving 8 years in the White House. Presumably he was on the phone a lot through 1963 to Alan Brook, asking for advice. Regardless of the question, Alan Brook's response was always the same: "Invade Sicily. Normandy can wait."
ReplyDeleteWriting books which trashed real heros like Winston Churchill was Alan Brook's main income after the war. The Texan died poor.
But it's Culloden I want to learn about right now. So thank you for that info, Adullamite.
ReplyDeleteColumbia University BEFORE being U.S. President. Sorry.
ReplyDelete