The Battle of Culloden, fought on 16 April 1746, was the final and decisive confrontation of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The rebellion was the last serious attempt by the Jacobites to restore the Stuart monarchy to the British throne. Led by Charles Edward Stuart ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, the Jacobite forces aimed to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and reinstate the Stuart line.
Bonnie Prince Charlie landed at Glenfinnan, Scotland in July 1745, aiming to reclaim the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. Gathering support from the Highland clans, he advanced towards Edinburgh, capturing the city on 17 September. British General Sir John Cope, who had been gathering government forces in response to the Jacobite threat, marched his army from Aberdeen to intercept the rebels, culminating in the confrontation at Prestonpans, a small town east of Edinburgh. Prestonpans was the first major battle of the ‘45 Jacobite rebellion.