The Heather on Fire: Culloden Moor, 1746: Jacobite Rising's Bloody End

In the gray dawn of April 16, 1746, Donald MacLellan of the Jacobite army stands shivering in the heather, his claymore heavy in his hands. Around him, the clans are drawn up in their ancient formations, facing a government line of redcoats and cannon. Within the hour, the charge will come, the muskets will crack, and the moor will turn to mud and blood. This is the story of that hour -- and of the rising that led to it.From the first landing at Glenfinnan to the desperate march into England and back, this illustrated narrative traces the Jacobite cause through a century of rebellion. It brings you onto the battlefield with detailed maps of troop movements and diagrams of the deadly artillery crossfire, and into the minds of the two commanders: the charismatic but inexperienced Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the ruthless Duke of Cumberland, whose tactics would earn him a dark nickname. The aftermath is no less compelling: the brutal suppression of the Highlands, the erosion of clan culture, and the birth of a romantic myth that still shapes Scottish identity today.With a timeline, orders of battle, and a glossary for quick reference, this is a vivid encounter with the battle that ended an era -- and a visit to the moor as it stands now, a silent witness to the last pitched battle on British soil.