15 April 2023, Starts: 13:00, Ends: 14:30

Landscapes, Legacies and Traitors?

Talk by NTS archaeologist Derek Alexander and Historian Darren Layne

Part of Anniversary of the Battle of Culloden events, organised by NTS. Venue: Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre. Cost £10 for in person (limited tickets remaining) and £5 for online.  Note: tickets do not include entrance to the museum.

Darren S. Layne will present, Red Coats in Greener Grass? British Army Deserters in the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6.

Amidst the complexities of dynastic opposition and civil war during the later Jacobite era, the loyalties and material commitment of individuals was often in flux and have not always been so simple for historians to cleanly define.

Allegations of significant Jacobite desertions have long been suspected (and more recently have been examined), but little scholarly enquiry has been made into cases of defection by soldiers within the government forces who were charged with quelling the Jacobite threat in Britain during the ’45.

Resistance to martial service permeated both sides of the conflict, but deserting ranks to avoid combat is one thing, while joining up with the enemy is another entirely. Archival evidence shows us that soldiers in British service – including loyalist Highlanders on campaign in Scotland – deserted their units in smaller numbers than their Jacobite rivals, but incidents of soldiers breaking ranks was still a problematic issue for British army officers and Hanoverian officials.

Digging deeper into the sources further reveals that some of these deserters found both cause and motivation to fight amidst the ranks of Jacobite rebels.

And Derek Alexander will be discussing the most recent Christopher Duffy Maps, their changes and how together with the latest archaeology, their understanding affects the knowledge of troop movements and placements from the battle. This together with the evidence found onsite from the most recent digs will show you the very latest in our understanding of the Battlefield and the Battle itself.