Culloden

 Our day began at the Culloden battlefield south of Inverness.

The Jacobites (supporters of King James) staged a series of rebellions in Scotland in the 18th century, attempting to overthrow the ruling House of Hanover and restore the Catholic House of Stuart to the British throne. They were encouraged and assisted by Britain’s enemies, who saw their cause as a way of distracting Britain from its military campaigns overseas. Over the years from 1689 to 1746, the Jacobites (which included Scottish Highlanders, Episcopalians, Catholics, and those angry over the 1707 Act of Union joining Scotland and England) fought the British. 

Culloden was the final battle that ended the hopes of Jacobites forever. Around 1,000 to 1,500 Jacobites were killed during the battle itself, with additional hundreds dying of wounds or summary executions in the days and weeks that followed.  Around 50 British forces were killed and roughly 250 to 300 were wounded. The battle itself only took less than an hour, but it changed the course of Scottish history.

We toured the visitor center that laid out the events that led to the battle, and then walked to the place where the Jacobite mass burial took place.

Small monument to clan members that fell here.

No individual monuments were placed at the time, but small inscribed memorial stones were placed around the graves in 1881 by Duncan Forbes to mark where specific clans fell and rest. As a result of the fall of the Jacobites here, the British government dismantled the traditional clan system, banned tartan and Highland dress, and outlawed bagpipes as instruments of war. 

The Gaelic language was pushed out of schools, hundreds of rebels were executed or exiled, and harsh occupying measures reshaped Scottish society.

This was a critical juncture for Scotland.

Nearby, there are 4000 year old cairns, a bronze age cemetery each of which is surrounded by standing stones (thought to be inspiration for Outlander).

Right down the road from that was the Culloden viaduct.  Opened in 1889 and still used today as the main rail link into the Highlands, it has 29 arches.

Lastly on our day's visits was the Catholic church, St Mary's, right on the Ness River. The stained glass is particularly bright and lovely.