Toy Soldier Collector Magazine

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The Jacobite Rebellion

As depicted by the figures from John Jenkins Designs together with the expert skills of David Marshall diorama builder, and one half of TM Terrain

It is always good to set the scene with any piece of history that our hobby sets out to recreate so before concentrating on John and David’s skills I would like to give a snapshot of the events leading up to the rebellion of 1745 together with an overview of the whole Jacobite episode that arose out of the unification of Scotland with England in 1707.

The Act of Union agreement, although economically favourable to land owners in Scotland, was highly unpopular with the vast majority of the population ‘north of the border’. This was because it had failed to deliver any economic advantages to the majority of the people for well over thirty years. Discontent was widespread and food riots were common place in the east coast regions as the effects of famine were compounded by union taxes. Although the situation encouraged resistance to union-economics, there wasn’t universal support for the Jacobite cause of keeping the Stuarts on the throne in London. Many in Scotland now associated the Stuarts with Catholicism and suppression of the Protestant Kirk. The Union of 1707 was also designed to put an end to Jacobite hopes of a Stuart restoration by ensuring the German Hanoverian dynasty succeeded Queen Anne upon her death. However, the Stuarts did still command a lot of loyalty in Scotland, France and England – so in effect the British Union did inevitably re-ignite the Jacobite cause.

In 1708 the recognized Jacobite claimant to the throne, James VIII, and his French allies had attempted to land in Scotland to incite a rising, but were foiled by adverse weather and were eventually outmaneuvered by the Royal Navy. Six years later a motion in the House of Lords to dismantle the Union failed, but by only four votes. Then, in the same year, Queen Anne died and was succeeded by George I of Hanover. The result of this was for the controversial question of succession to the English throne to intensify, and the following year many nobles and Tories, disaffected with their lot within the union, rose in favour of a Stuart monarchy.

The 1715 rising was led by John Erskine, Earl of Mar - a man who had voted for the Union originally and had been Secretary of State until 1714. He drew most of his support from north of the River Tay, in the north-east and Highlands of Scotland - areas where landowners had not benefited much from the Union and where Episcopalians (which viewed the Stuarts as head of their church) were dominant.

However, the Earl of Mar proved to be no great military leader. He fought a badly commanded battle at Sherriffmuir, where the Jacobites outnumbered the Hanoverian forces under the Duke of Argyll by two to one, but failed to win a decisive victory. Not even the arrival and coronation of James Stuart as King James VIII could reverse Jacobite fortunes. Eventually the uprising fizzled out when 6,000 Dutch troops landed in support of the Hanoverian government and the forces of King James scattered under the pressure of bad leadership and lack of foreign aid.

The 1715 uprising also led to the dismissal of the Duke of Argyll, the Government’s Commander north of the border, after he complained that he had lost control of Scotland north of the River Forth and trusted few south of it. Argyll along with many other Scots viewed the Jacobites as a political problem which could be resolved through political means by persuading the Jacobite nobles of the benefits of a regime in London. However, the Government of the day in London saw things differently, viewing those that favoured a Stuart on the throne as a military problem which required a military solution. Like Cromwell before them, they opted to garrison the Highlands, building barracks like Ruthven to quash further rebellion and constructing a system of roads and bridges, under the command of General Wade, in order to supply the new system of forts and allow the rapid deployment of troops. Wade oversaw the construction of over 250 miles of road and numerous bridges some of which are still in use to this day. It was a hugely expensive operation which was scaled down by the early 1740’s when the Jacobite threat appeared to have receded, but it showed how seriously the House of Hanover took the Jacobite threat.

The final threat to the Union would come in 1745 when Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie as he was known, disappointed at French unwillingness to invade in 1744, decided to finance his own campaign. Initially it was a startling success, once again drawing most of its support from the north-east and the Highland clans. The Jacobite army rapidly broke out of the Highlands, capturing Edinburgh, and courtesy of Wade’s excellent network, advancing as far south as Derby in England. However, with no sign of French support, the army retreated back to their stronghold in the Highlands and was finally defeated at the now famous battle of Culloden Moor near Inverness in 1746.

The events of 1746 have now been captured in miniature by John Jenkins’ excellent figure range. These figures and the events that they help to portray are further enhanced by the skills of David Marshall, one half of the TM Terrain partnership, and the dioramas that he has designed and subsequently built, on which to display John’s figures. In the main John’s figures concentrate on the last great pitch battle fought on British soil at Culloden in April of 1746. The battle fought by the Jacobite forces loyal to Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and the English under the command of the Duke of Cumberland would ultimately end in defeat for those loyal to the House of Stuart’s claim to the English throne and mark the end of the Jacobite cause to overthrow the reigning House of Hanover. Charles Stuart never mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power in Britain.

Charles Stuart's army consisted largely of Scottish Highlanders, as well as a number of Lowland Scots and a small detachment of Englishmen from Manchester. The Jacobites were supported and supplied by France and French and Irish units loyal to France also formed part of the Jacobite army. The Government force was mostly English, but also included both Highland and Lowland Scots, a battalion of Ulstermen and a small number of Hessians and Austrians. Meeting on Culloden Moor, near Inverness in the Highlands, the battle was both quick and bloody, taking place within an hour. Following an unsuccessful Highland charge against the Government lines, the Jacobites were routed and driven from the field. The English Army at Culloden was deployed in two main lines of six battalions each, with a third reserve line of three battalions. Standing on the extreme left of the first English line, was the 4th Regiment of Foot (Barrell's). The Highlanders on the right and centre pressed forward running across the front of the English line directly towards the 4th Regiment of Foot. Such an onslaught had previously sent the redcoats running to the rear in flight. Witnesses to the battle state that initially Barrell's Regiment stood their ground, but almost at once the rebels started to lap around the flanks, which caused them to fall back towards the second line battalions. Out of 325 men, it was recorded that 17 were killed, and 108 wounded. Despite these heavy losses suffered by the 4th, it was nothing in comparison with the terrible casualties which were inflicted upon the charging Highland Clansmen.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 Jacobites were killed or wounded in the brief time it took the English Forces to claim victory, while Government losses were lighter with 50 dead and 259 wounded in total. The aftermath of the battle and subsequent crackdown on the Jacobite movement was brutal, earning Cumberland the nickname of ‘Butcher’.

Following this latest failure to claim the English Throne for the House of Stuart the English Government decided to end the Jacobite military threat once and for all. Determined to bring the Highlands to heel, the army showed little mercy. Jacobites were rounded up, imprisoned or executed. Attempts were made to further integrate Scotland into Great Britain; while Estates were forfeited and civil penalties were introduced to outlaw weaponry, plaid and pipes, so weakening Gaelic culture in an attempt to dismantle the Scottish Clan system once and for all. For Highland culture this would prove to be a disaster of huge proportions.

As mentioned previously the Jacobite Rebellion range produced by John Jenkins concentrates on the events that took place at the battle of Culloden fought on Drumossie Moor to the north east of Inverness on April 16, 1746 which history would show to be the last major battle of this particular conflict and would ultimately forever mark the last stand of those loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie and signal the end of the Stuart’s claim to the English throne.

The current range includes a number of sets and vignettes that feature both Highlanders and men from the 4th Regiment of Foot (Barrell’s) in various poses together with individual figures the inspiration for which has been drawn from both sides of the conflict. All of the figures are 60 mm in scale and limited to either 750 or 500 piece production runs. This is very much a work in progress that John will, I am sure, add to on a regular basis with a whole host of new figures in the pipeline due for release to complement the existing range.

David and John’s collaboration on this and the other ranges in the John Jenkins Design catalogue dates back to the time when TM Terrain was taking their first tentative steps into diorama construction and John was also in the process of launching his figure range. If it hadn’t been for those few sets of figures of John’s that David and Mark took with them to that very first show then it remains to be seen whether the business would have developed and grown to the size that it now is today. They have been ideal foils for each other ever since, with David’s undoubted skills in the production of buildings and diorama boards providing the ideal setting for displaying and bringing John’s figures to life! TM Terrain are the sole UK stockists of the complete John Jenkins Design range of figures.

More images from this series can be viewed in the printed article in issue 38 of Toy Soldier Collector.

Date Published Sun, 01/30

Contact
John Jenkins Designs
Unit 6H, Tower 1
King Ley Industrial Building
33-35 Yip Kan Street
Wong Chuck Hang
Hong Kong

Tel/fax: +852 2553 9313
www.johnjenkinsdesigns.com

TM Terrain
12 York Road
Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE11 3DA
Tel: 01509 828002
www.tmterrain.co.uk

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