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Battles of the '45
British Battles
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 5, 2019
Neat tidy summary of the campaign. Very strong on the human conflicts within the Jacobite camp. Battle maps quite good, could have done with a central campaign map for those without a perfect grasp of the geography.
January 25, 2026
I have presumably read this book at some time in the past, as I noted inside the cover that I bought it in 1988. I found it again on my shelf after seeing a TV documentary about Culloden and deciding to re-acquaint myself with the subject. It is a very good concise summary of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion with very detailed descriptions of the three major engagements at Prestonpans, Falkirk and Culloden Moor.
Unusually for battles of this vintage, there seems to be a plethora of contemporary documents, the main issue being biases toward one side or another influencing the view of events. Officers at least on both sides of the argument were highly literate and left memoirs and letters which have been preserved for posterity. It helped that (**spoiler alert**) two of the loyalist commanders were heavily criticised after their respective defeats, one being taken before a Board of Enquiry, whilst on the rebel side there was much jealousy, factionalism and infighting, resulting in many senior figures leaving self-justificatory accounts of their involvement. Rich pickings indeed for the historian, and the authors have made excellent use of them to produce an interesting and informative account. The use of English is much better than in a lot of modern military history. It would seem that in 1962 proofreading and editing were still respected disciplines !
Quotations are liberally used throughout the text, and used very effectively to make the dry facts more vivid and relevant.
A fine description of an infectious military panic before Prestonpans: ".......and despite the assurance of young Alexander Carlyle.......that no Highlanders were on the march, they refused to believe him. 'It was vain to tell them that the rebels had neither wings nor horses, nor were invisible. Away they went as fast as they could'"
And Jacobite commander Lord George Murray on the interference of a royal favourite of dubious military talent: "During his twenty years' service in the French army the Adjutant-General had been chiefly employed on baggage-master's duties, and at Prestonpans and Falkirk had had no opportunity of demonstrating his tactical knowledge. But at Culloden he had 'forty-eight hours to display his skill, and did it accordingly.'" Ouch.
Faults ? In fairness the book does consciously concentrate on the battles rather than a description of the course of the rebellion: but an overall campaign map or two would have been a great help to understanding, particularly of the manoeuvring prior to the Battle of Prestonpans.
But generally a solid bit of military history writing. Recommended.
Unusually for battles of this vintage, there seems to be a plethora of contemporary documents, the main issue being biases toward one side or another influencing the view of events. Officers at least on both sides of the argument were highly literate and left memoirs and letters which have been preserved for posterity. It helped that (**spoiler alert**) two of the loyalist commanders were heavily criticised after their respective defeats, one being taken before a Board of Enquiry, whilst on the rebel side there was much jealousy, factionalism and infighting, resulting in many senior figures leaving self-justificatory accounts of their involvement. Rich pickings indeed for the historian, and the authors have made excellent use of them to produce an interesting and informative account. The use of English is much better than in a lot of modern military history. It would seem that in 1962 proofreading and editing were still respected disciplines !
Quotations are liberally used throughout the text, and used very effectively to make the dry facts more vivid and relevant.
A fine description of an infectious military panic before Prestonpans: ".......and despite the assurance of young Alexander Carlyle.......that no Highlanders were on the march, they refused to believe him. 'It was vain to tell them that the rebels had neither wings nor horses, nor were invisible. Away they went as fast as they could'"
And Jacobite commander Lord George Murray on the interference of a royal favourite of dubious military talent: "During his twenty years' service in the French army the Adjutant-General had been chiefly employed on baggage-master's duties, and at Prestonpans and Falkirk had had no opportunity of demonstrating his tactical knowledge. But at Culloden he had 'forty-eight hours to display his skill, and did it accordingly.'" Ouch.
Faults ? In fairness the book does consciously concentrate on the battles rather than a description of the course of the rebellion: but an overall campaign map or two would have been a great help to understanding, particularly of the manoeuvring prior to the Battle of Prestonpans.
But generally a solid bit of military history writing. Recommended.
August 5, 2013
A lively account of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite revolt written in dry British humor and with a good measure of documents salted in nicely without spoiling the narrative.
January 2, 2023
It's a good book for Outlander fans regarding the real history of the Scottish Jacobites and the battle of Culloden. The book is now 60 years old, but still relevant.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews