Letters Home - Culloden Battle, written by Stephen Sinclair | Narrated by Naya Nomikou

Описание: This is the final part of the letters written by a British army Officer to his wife before and after the battle of Culloden.
"Letters Home" is the original work of the Scottish writer Stephen Sinclair.
Performed by Naya Nomikou, I hope my delivery can bring out to you all the feelings one feels when reading Stephen's work.
If you missed the previous parts you can listen to them here:
Part 1:    • Letters Home, Aberdeen 25th of February 17...  
Part 2:    • Letters Home, Aberdeen 20th of March 1746 ...  
Was Culloden just Scotland versus England?
"I have long been a soldier. You....know my service. All... ordinance of modern warfare says that cover the ground before...three or four deep and an enemy stops. But those men and boys were piled up six!, seven, eight! Deep before us. And still they came."
More from Stephen Sinclair:    • Stephen Sinclair, Short Stories & Poems  

The Jacobite army drew its Highland recruits from a small number of western clans whose leaders chose to join the rebellion . These included:
Camerons, MacDonalds, MacDonells, MacGregors ...
But many major Highland clans stayed loyal to the government or remained neutral.
Clan Campbell, for example, raised the Argyll Militia for the government, the very men our officer describes shouting "Cruachan!" as they swept onto the field at Culloden.
"Cruachan!" and "Ben More!" were war cries of the Argyll Militia.
Grapeshot: a cannon load of small iron balls that acted like a giant shotgun, it tore through the Jacobite ranks.
The Battle of Prestonpans (21 September 1745) was the first major conflict of the Jacobite Rising, where Charles Edward Stuart's forces decisively defeated a British government army under Sir John Cope in under thirty minutes. A surprise dawn attack through a marsh allowed the Highland charge to overwhelm Cope's inexperienced troops, killing or capturing over 1,000 government soldiers while suffering minimal losses. This stunning victory boosted Jacobite morale and forced Britain to take the rebellion seriously by recalling troops from Europe.
The Battle of Folkirk Muir (17 January 1746). The Jacobite and French forces, led by Charles Stuart and Lord George Murray, defeated a British government army under Henry Hawley near Falkirk, Scotland.
The Battle of Culloden. The final battle of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, fought on 16 April 1746 near Inverness. The Jacobite forces under Charles Edward Stuart were decisively defeated by government troops led by the Duke of Cumberland.

What was in that barn...? Probably wounded Jacobites...
The Duke of Cumberland issued what was effectively a "no quarter" order, and his troops carried it out . Jacobite soldiers lying wounded on the battlefield were systematically killed where they lay. Wounded Jacobites who had sought shelter in nearby buildings were dragged out and executed by firing squad. Many wounded Jacobites were stripped naked and left to die of exposure on the moor.
The day after the battle, Army Orders included what scholar Murray Pittock describes as a "licence to kill". This authorized government troops to hunt down and execute any remaining rebels.
Beyond the immediate violence, the British government enacted laws specifically designed to destroy the Highland way of life.

Don't forget to stay tuned with   ‪@XadrumLtd‬   that will soon publish "Portals". A book containing unpublished work of Stephen Sinclair and Max Rudd.
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Music used in this video: "Hidden Past" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b....
Dark march cinematic by Rigel_Vega.