
Was this the most chaotic Jacobite battle of them all?
The Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, led the 1745 Jacobite Rising
The newly uncovered material has been included in an updated book which explores in meticulous detail the bloody and at times farcical clash between Jacobites loyal to Charles Edward Stuart and their foe, the British government troops led by Lieutenant General Henry Hawley.
No mere skirmish, the clash of forces on the barren hill above the town was the largest confrontation between Jacobite supporters and Hanoverian Government troops - entertainment for thousands of 'fight fans' who had come to watch.
Yet despite its scale and importance, there is little to show for it – just one small stone monument marks the area where, on a sleet-driven January day almost 280 years ago, thousands gathered to fight over Bonnie Prince Charlie's claim to the British throne.
The Battle of Falkirk Muir monument (Image: © Copyright Euan Nelson and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence)
Sandwiched between the last battle to be fought on English soil, in December 1745 Clifton Moor, near Preston, when Jacobite forces overwhelmed the Duke of Cumberland's troops, and the brutal bloodbath of Culloden, the Battle of Falkirk Muir played a key role in changing the course of Scottish history.
For although considered to be a narrow victory for the Jacobites – even though they didn't realise it at the time - it also gave government troops the ideal opportunity to better understand their previously effective battle tactics.
Having sussed out at Falkirk how to handle the so-called Highland Charge – the shock tactic of advancing, firing shots and then, in a maelstrom of shouts and cries, violently attacking with swords and dirks – the Government forces now had a vital advantage for their next confrontation, Culloden.
The Jacobites, meanwhile, limped from the battlefield with little to show for their efforts other than 50 dead and 80 wounded. Their poor command and at times shambolic co-ordination of men had magnified fractures within their hierarchy.
Soon there would squabbles, fall outs and Bonnie Prince Charlie would take to his sick bed.
It set the scene, says Geoff, for the collapse that lay ahead.
'Prestonpans was a home victory, Culloden was an away victory for the Hanovarians,' he says.
Henry Hawley led the Government forces at the Battle of Falkirk Muir (Image: Christian Friedrich Zincke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
'Victory and major defeats tend to be what interests people. And Falkirk was more of a no score draw, which is why it tends to be overlooked.
'But,' he adds, 'it was a turning point.
'Two days after the battle, the Jacobites lost around 2000 men to desertion.
'They hadn't followed victory with victory, and people became more and more disillusioned. The saying 'to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory' could easily have been written for Falkirk'.
Having studied the battle in depth for the first edition of his book, published 30 years ago, he was staggered to uncover previously unnoticed letters and accounts of events before and after the fighting tucked amid other material at the National Library of Scotland.
Packed with detail and written by people who were there at the time, they have now been added to his new and updated version of his book, 'Falkirk or Paradise! The Battle of Falkirk Muir'.
Among them is a letter written by a student of medicine, vividly describing efforts to save the lives of the dying and wounded.
It offered insight not only into the heat of battle, but the excitement the prospect of bloody battle ignited among the general population, which saw thousands of thrill seekers make their way to Falkirk just to watch.
After defeat at Culloden Bonnie Prince Charlie went into hiding before escaping to France
'He had come from Edinburgh to watch his friends fighting and writes about using the town's old grammar school as a makeshift hospital, with the teachers' desks used for surgery,' says Geoff.
'What makes it really interesting, is that his letters were written within a week of the battle, whereas most accounts were written by exiles – most of the Jacobite supporters end up in Italy, France and Holland - long after.'
Remarkably, the medic was just one of around 3000 spectators who had travelled from around central Scotland just to watch the bloodshed.
Their descent on the town, along with 8000 military men on either side, would have had a profound impact on Falkirk's local population of around 2,500 people, who found themselves and their food supplies overwhelmed.
'The carnival atmosphere that was developing in Falkirk was not to everyone's liking,' Geoff adds.
'Food prices continued to rocket as demand from the huge numbers of outsiders rose.
'The optimism of the government army and the host of visitors was not shared by the inhabitants who had just endured almost two weeks of occupation.'
Read more:
For locals, the day of battle on 17 January 1746 not only brought the chance to wrestle their town back from thousands of battle 'tourists' and Jacobite followers, but also to cash in.
The aftermath of the fighting ignited scenes of looting from the dead and wounded and, later, remarkable entrepreneurship as locals sought to recoup some of their losses from the bloody events on their doorsteps.
'The local community was devastated, the Jacobites had been living off them for nearly three weeks, the spectators also needed feeding: it was a dreadful time for the local people,' says Geoff.
'But, there was a tourist trade as a result after it, and they were paid for showing people around the battle site.'
Lochaber No More – Prince Charlie leaving Scotland', an 1863 painting by the artist John Blake MacDonald (Image: Public Domain)
Those who chose to visit within hours of the fighting ending were met by a odd sight: from a distance, the battlefield that appeared to be covered with grazing, if a little static, sheep.
'As they got closer, they realised it was actually bodies that had been stripped bare overnight by the local people. All their clothes were stolen and the bodies had turned white because this was January and it was extremely cold.
'Folk took clothes, canons, weapons.
'One person was hauled up by the local church; he had gone to the battle site the day after and prised the horseshoes off the dead horses to reuse the iron.
'The problem for the church was not that he was stealing the iron, but because he did it on the Sabbath.'
The battle itself was relatively brief and evolved almost into a comedy of errors, not helped when the powerful Jacobite-supporting MacDonald clan managed to get lost on the battlefield and miss a chunk of fighting.
'They were fighting along the ridge of a hill, went the wrong way and couldn't see where the battle was, so stood around chatting to each other,' says Geoff.
'To be fair, it was the 4th of January, there was heavy sleet, it was dark and there were hills all over the place.
'They also accidentally charged men on their own side and slaughtered them, including some presbyterian ministers.'
Read more by Sandra Dick:
The Hanoverian army, meanwhile, had camped on soggy ground to the south-west of the town, and rose to fight only to find their gunpowder damp from the sleet and tents sagging and sodden.
But, adds Geoff: 'Everything that went wrong for the Hanoverians at Falkirk would then go wrong for the Jacobites at Culloden.'
The Jacobite army deployed Highlanders at the front line and Lowland infantry in support at the second, intent on using their Highland Charge tactics to slaughter their foe.
Bonnie Prince Charlie depicted leading his troops to battle at Culloden (Image: Archive)
It would see the Government dragoons charge into Jacobite musket fire and then, in the chaos of smoke from their guns and the fearsome cries and yells of the shirtless clans, be met by long daggers and claymores thrust into the bellies of the government horses and their riders.
Hawley's troops suffered large losses – not helped when horses churned up the soft ground, leaving rear guns stuck and unable to respond to the Jacobite pressure.
But, says Geoff, events at Falkirk gave their commanders better understanding of Jacobite battle methods, so by the time Culloden came around, they knew precisely how best to respond.
Back at Falkirk, as the weather worsened, chaos shifted to the town where locals, already fed up at the impact of finding themselves in the centre of a monumental clash, now found their narrow lanes and wynds consumed by street-by-street, hand-to-hand fighting that raged for hours.
Within the town walls came high drama: Lord John Drummond, third in command of the Jacobites, rode his horse up the narrow Cow Wynd only to have it blasted from under him. Then, he took a bullet in the arm, and had to be dragged to safety.
Government troops captured at Battle of Falkirk Muir were held at Castle of Doune near Stirling
Later, a Hanoverian pistol retrieved by one excited Highlander would accidentally go off in his hands, fatally wounding Young Glengarry, commander of the MacDonell clan and leading to yet another rift among the Jacobite forces.
It would be 7.30pm before Bonnie Prince Charlie was able to enter the town.
Elements of the Battle of Falkirk Muir were almost too outlandish, says Geoff. 'There are things that, if you saw in a film, you'd say 'no way did that happen. But it did.'
Such as the tale of Blind Jack, a drummer with the misnamed Yorkshire Blues who was taken prisoner by the Jacobites. Despite his disability, he still managed to foil his captors, break free and make his escape.
Geoff Bailey's new book revisits the 1746 Battle of Falkirk Muir (Image: Geoff Bailey)
One Jacobite was captured after mistaking Hanoverian lines for his own. Irritated that they were not behaving more aggressively towards the enemy, he demanded to know 'why aren't you chasing the bastards?'.
Geoff says the reply was succinct: 'We are the bastards.'
'Falkirk or Paradise! The Battle of Falkirk Muir, 17 January 1746' will be launched at Falkirk Library on July 21.
Proceeds from the book will support The Battle of Falkirk Muir (1746) Trust, which aims to swap its virtual museum and battle library for a custom-built museum in Falkirk telling the full story of the forgotten battle and the Jacobite Risings.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
10 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Ancient English town ranked among ‘worst places to live' unveils £33m revamp as it demolishes ‘dilapidated' station
The development is set to open this summer FIRST GLIMPSE Ancient English town ranked among 'worst places to live' unveils £33m revamp as it demolishes 'dilapidated' station Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A £33 MILLION revamp of an historic town is set to be unveiled next month. The revamp has transformed the town's transport networks. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The £33 million development would improve bus routes on Fleming Way, Swindon Credit: Swindon Borough Council 3 The road is set to re-open in August, with bus routes starting on August 31 Credit: Swindon Borough Council 3 Proposals included planting trees and bushes to increase biodiversity in the area Credit: Swindon Borough Council It comes after the town was previously named among the worst places to live after it was branded a "gang capital". Development reveal The investment has transformed Fleming Way in Swindon as it is turned into a new bus boulevard. After three years of work, the fencing is set to come down from August 15. Once the new transport hub is up and running, the existing bus station is set to be demolished. Local bus companies will begin their services from Fleming Way from August 31. As well as the new transport hub, the revamp brings a number of improvements to the area. This includes new benches, bike racks and waste bins, in addition to more than 185 trees and 23,000 plants and bushes. Planning proposals A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said that there would also be new bus shelters to improve wheelchair accessibility. The new shelters will also include wireless charging, digital screens that display up-to-date departure times, and solar panels. A total of 27 new bus stops were planned in the proposal. Our pretty town has become a ghetto plagued by machete-wielding yobs They said: "The new road will also create a better space for bus services around Swindon and the surrounding areas, as well as allow for national and inner-city routes. "New cycle lanes have also been added, connecting the town's two main cycle routes so cyclists can travel through Swindon or to the town centre." In previous planning proposals for the development, the council said it hoped to "help the town centre transition from a past dominated by retail, to a future destination where people live, work, socialise and study." It would make Fleming Way the "main gateway" for the town centre. The development focused primarily on transport in the area, improving connectivity to the train station and creating a safer route throughout the town centre. Improvements to the wider area In addition to the improvements to transportation, the council estimated that it would increase surrounding land value by £34 million. This in turn would bring more investors into the area, bringing new homes, offices, shops and leisure facilities for locals. Funding for the project came in part from the Government, who supplied £25 million. It was based on a proposal that demonstrated that the improvements would increase Swindon's economic productivity by £28.7 million over the first 20 yearws. The space freed up by the demolition of the bus station from the 1960s will be incorporated into the regeneration of a 20-acre site next to Zurich's office building. Proposals also included the removal of the Fleming Way subway to make the road the same level as the town centre shopping area and the parade. Traffic lights have been installed to increase pedestrian safety.


The Sun
11 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major update as 600,000 households owed up to £12k in PIP cash following errors – could you be owed cash?
HUNDREDS of thousands of benefit claimants could still be owed cash from the Government after a payment error. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has spent years reviewing the cases of hundreds of thousands of people who could have been underpaid. In a new update, it said an estimated 633,338 households receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are thought to have been affected. The Government department says it has reviewed 308,665 records in the time up to March this year. A huge £250million has already been paid out to PIP claimants who were missing cash. But that leaves a whopping 324,673 cases still expected to be reviewed. The review was launched after a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019 that changed the way the DWP defines 'social support' in one of the assessed PIP categories. Dubbed the "MM judgement", the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support. It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount. The DWP began its review in 2021, looking at PIP claims since April 6, 2016 to check whether claimants may be eligible for more support. By March last year it had reviewed 219,080 cases. The latest figures suggest it's managed to get through a further 89,585 cases in the last year. Changes to UC & PIP payments in full as Labour reveals bruising welfare bill concessions in bid to quell rebellion People who are found to have been underpaid have been receiving back payments. The amount each person receives will vary but the average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim. The Sun previously reported on one couple on PIP who had been left "shell-shocked" after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments. What is PIP? HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP). The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £187.45 a week. PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66. Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around - or both- for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you're terminally ill with less than 12 months to live). You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit. PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you. You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £29.20 or £77.05. While on the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £73.90 or £110.40 - and you could get both elements, so up to £184.30 in total. You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment. Make a claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222. Who is affected? There are two elements to PIP - a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part if you need help with getting around. Claimants eligible for each element are then awarded a standard or enhanced allowance. You can get the daily living part of PIP if you struggle to carry out "daily living activities" such as bathing or preparing food. Claimants are scored on how able they are to do each task. This determines whether you're able to receive the PIP payment, and if you have a high score you're more likely to be awarded the enhanced payment. The standard allowance for the daily living part of PIP is currently worth £73.90 a week and the enhanced rate is worth £110.40 a week. The 2019 Supreme Court judgment decided that PIP claimants could receive additional points for one of the activities scored - socialising and being around other people. It means that people may have not been entitled to the daily living element of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have actually received the enhanced rate. The DWP is now reviewing the cases of people who might have been affected by this. However it won't review your claim if: The enhanced rate of the daily living part of PIP has been awarded continuously since April 6, 2016 A Tribunal made a decision on a claim since April 6, 2016 A decision not to award PIP was made before April 6, 2016. New PIP errors The DWP also revealed it had discovered two "new" errors in the last year relating to PIP payments. This includes PIP claimants without a National Insurance number not having their application progressed correctly – despite an NI number not being needed for a claim. Some 455 cases of this were reviewed in the last year with £500,000 paid out. The DWP has also paid out £13million to Scottish PIP claimants who mistakenly saw a "loss of entitlement" when they tried moving over to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP). Almost 4,700 records of this have been reviewed, with another 176 cases still to be looked at. How do I appeal a PIP decision? If you've been contacted by the DWP or think you are affected by the MM judgement, you'll need to appeal your PIP decision. If you think a PIP decision was wrong, you can challenge it. If you've been contacted by the DWP or think your PIP payments may be affected by the MM judgment, you should ask for a "mandatory reconsideration notice". This is where the DWP looks at your claim decision again. If you are still unhappy with this outcome, you can then appeal to an independent tribunal. You must send your appeal form within one month of the date shown on the mandatory reconsideration notice. Be aware that it usually takes up to six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal. Before it gets to the tribunal, the DWP can make a revision to the original claim. If you're unhappy with the decision you get from the tribunal, you may also be able to get the decision cancelled - known as "set aside". You'll be told how to do this at the time. Another option is to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think the tribunal wasn't able to give you proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts, or if it failed to apply the law properly.


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
New 'Living Roof' installed on top of iconic memorial in tribute to WW1 dead
Commonwealth War Graves Commission installs new 'Living Roof' on top of iconic World War One memorial in tribute to fallen soldiers A pioneering new green 'Living Roof' has been installed on the top of one of the most iconic World War One memorials. The Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, has stood in tribute to British soldiers killed during the Great War for almost 100 years. And during recent extensive work bosses at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission decided to completely change the roof as part of the ongoing tribute to those who died. There is now a mini garden, with a range of plants, on the roof - the first one the CWGC have ever built. CWGC Director of Horticulture David Richardson said: 'As part of this restoration, we have introduced a new living – green - roof onto the site. "This living roof is a first for the CWGC and reflects our broader commitment to embedding sustainable practices into the care of our global sites. With structural modifications to the Menin Gate not permitted, we placed sustainability at the heart of our approach. Featuring two types of planting: a mixed sedum species, and a broader range of low-growing herbaceous plants, the plant distribution will naturally evolve over time.'" Princess Anne re-opened the memorial earlier this month. The Deputy Director of CWGC Central and Southern Europe Sarah Camerlynck said: "We didn't just restore the physical structure; we also renewed our promise to keep the names and stories of the fallen alive. This restoration focuses on the monument's long-term sustainable preservation, ensuring that future generations can continue to remember the important events linked to this commemorative site." The CWGC said they were preparing for the next century of honouring the fallen at the Menin Gate, with the introduction of a pioneering Living Roof system on the monument's newly restored roof. CWGC spokesman Lewis Brown said: "By implementing the Living Roof, the CWGC is demonstrating its dedication to finding practical solutions that contribute to the preservation of species and the mitigation of climate change effects. It marks a significant step in sustainable preservation, ensuring that the Menin Gate Memorial continues to stand as a symbol of remembrance for generations to come. "The installation of the Living Roof required various steps, executed by experts in the field. Several factors required careful consideration beforehand, as the Memorial holds UNESCO World Heritage status and is part of the protected Flemish National Heritage. "This required ensuring that the layout and design of the Living Roof would not compromise the historic integrity of the memorial. Additionally, no structural modifications could be made to the existing design, and the introduction of vegetation needed to be fully reversible." The Menin Gate Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders, covering the Ypres Salient. It bears the names of more than 54,000 members of the British and Commonwealth forces who died in the Ypres Salient and have no known grave. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid-Dick, the memorial was unveiled by Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927. A Living Roof is a roofing system partially or entirely covered with vegetation. It includes a waterproof membrane, drainage system, growing medium usually soil and plants. Living Roofs offer numerous environmental benefits, such as reducing heat absorption (aiding in temperature regulation), improving air quality, managing rainwater run-off by absorbing rain and supporting biodiversity in the area. The Living Roof helps reduce the urban heat island effect and extends the lifespan of the underlying roof structure.