The Jacobite View of the Battlefield

At 11:00 AM, with the two armies in position, both commanders rode along their lines encouraging their men. On the Jacobite side, "Bonnie Prince Charlie," astride a gray gelding and clad in a tartan coat, rallied the clansmen, while across the field the Duke of Cumberland prepared his men for the feared Highland charge. Intending to fight a defensive battle, the Prince's artillery opened the fight. This was met by much more effective fire from the Duke's guns, supervised by the experienced artilleryman Brevet Colonel William Belford. Firing with devastating effect, Belford's guns tore giant holes in the Jacobite ranks. The Prince's artillery replied, but their fire was ineffectual. Standing at the rear of his men, the Prince was unable to see the carnage being inflicted upon his men and continued to hold them in position waiting for Cumberland to attack.