Many books have been written about the Jacobite rebellions - the armed
attempts made by the Stuarts to regain the British throne between 1689
and 1746 - and in particular about the risings of 1689, 1715, 1719 and
1745. The key battles have been described in graphic detail. Yet no
previous book has given a comprehensive military account of the
campaigns in their entirety - and that is the purpose of Jonathan
Oates's new history.
For over fifty years the Jacobites posed a serious threat to the
governments of William and Mary, Queen Anne and George I and II. But
they were unable to follow up their victories at Killiecrankie,
Prestonpans and Falkirk, and the overwhelming defeat suffered by Bonnie
Prince Charlie's army when it confronted the Duke of Cumberland's forces
at Culloden in 1746 was decisive.
The author uses vivid eyewitness testimony and contemporary sources, as
well as the latest archaeological evidence, to trace the course of the
conflict, and offers an absorbing insight into the makeup of the
opposing sides, their leadership, their troops and the strategy and
tactics they employed. His distinctive approach gives the reader a long
perspective on a conflict which is often viewed more narrowly in terms
of famous episodes and the careers of the leading men.
