So Damned Close
22 April 1746
We were so damn close! Thought Prince William. The Jacobite's, had swarmed across the Scottish-English border in November of 1745 moving rapidly south before the stunned British had time to efficiently react. In a shocking turn of events the Young Pretender’s Jacobite army had not only defeated the army of Field Marshall George Wade, but also had succeeded in encircling and capturing over a third of his army at Newcastle. That stunning victory had not only knocked out the main British force between the Jacobite’s and London but also finally gave them the support they had hoped for from the English Jacobite’s that, for the most part, had been on the fence since the beginning of the Rising.
That was six months ago. Now instead of fighting in Scotland and northern England here he was, north of the city of Birmingham, heading west with what remained of his army protecting him and his family. The Prince of Wales and his family had arrived a month ago after 14,000 French forces had landed in Brighton on March 24,1746 after the stunning and surprising victory by the French Navy over the Royal Navy in the Battle of Cotentin giving France temporary control over the English Channel.
Damn the French! Despite the setbacks, Prince William had stopped the Jacobite Army’s offensive at Nottingham in late February. With France landing on the southern coast however, there was not enough soldiers on the Isles to put up significant enough resistance against two invading armies. That was the nail in the coffin that was Great Britain.
As the Prince was lost in thought his elder brother and heir Prince Frederick came running shouting, “It’s Fallen! It’s fallen! Windsor Castle has fallen! Our father the King has surrendered!” It was now that the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cumberland knew that Britain was lost. If there was any chance of saving what remained of Royal Family from capture or worse and eventually liberate Britain for the House of Hanover they knew that they had to flee and regroup.
But where? The obvious was to Hanover itself. However, with the channel currently in French hands and Prussia threatening to invade the Electorate that left but one place still in British hands. “Colonel Talbutt!” the Prince of Wales called. “Let us move to Liverpool at once. Send word to any vessels still loyal to us to bring transport. We are to go to America!”
When London finally fell on April 27 Prince Charles Stuart knew the war was won and his father, the rightful king, James Stuart would have his country back and the House of Hanover was no more. Within days though the Charles and the Jacobite's learned of Prince of Wales and Duke of Cumberland’s escape and their flight to the Americas. Though French warships, and now most British warships, having pledged loyalty to the Stuart’s after the fall of England, pursued the fleet carrying the Royals, they were unable to capture them and on June 10 the HMS Lion entered Boston harbor with the king.
In the coming months, the British Isles would begin the process of reverting back to its Stuart laws and ways. The Acts of Union were dissolved, and the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland were reborn, under the same monarch of course. Charles’ father would return to London in July 1746 and be crowned King James III of England and Ireland and King James VIII of Scotland. Upon ascending the throne James called for an official end to the war between England and France and their allies. Soon after an official treaty of peace was signed James III and France’s King Louis XV signed the Treaty of Hastings placing an alliance between the two nations with the goal of defeating the last Hanover stronghold in the Thirteen Colonies. The two new allies soon began preparing their armies to sail to the Americas and put a final end to the Rising.
22 April 1746
We were so damn close! Thought Prince William. The Jacobite's, had swarmed across the Scottish-English border in November of 1745 moving rapidly south before the stunned British had time to efficiently react. In a shocking turn of events the Young Pretender’s Jacobite army had not only defeated the army of Field Marshall George Wade, but also had succeeded in encircling and capturing over a third of his army at Newcastle. That stunning victory had not only knocked out the main British force between the Jacobite’s and London but also finally gave them the support they had hoped for from the English Jacobite’s that, for the most part, had been on the fence since the beginning of the Rising.
That was six months ago. Now instead of fighting in Scotland and northern England here he was, north of the city of Birmingham, heading west with what remained of his army protecting him and his family. The Prince of Wales and his family had arrived a month ago after 14,000 French forces had landed in Brighton on March 24,1746 after the stunning and surprising victory by the French Navy over the Royal Navy in the Battle of Cotentin giving France temporary control over the English Channel.
Damn the French! Despite the setbacks, Prince William had stopped the Jacobite Army’s offensive at Nottingham in late February. With France landing on the southern coast however, there was not enough soldiers on the Isles to put up significant enough resistance against two invading armies. That was the nail in the coffin that was Great Britain.
As the Prince was lost in thought his elder brother and heir Prince Frederick came running shouting, “It’s Fallen! It’s fallen! Windsor Castle has fallen! Our father the King has surrendered!” It was now that the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cumberland knew that Britain was lost. If there was any chance of saving what remained of Royal Family from capture or worse and eventually liberate Britain for the House of Hanover they knew that they had to flee and regroup.
But where? The obvious was to Hanover itself. However, with the channel currently in French hands and Prussia threatening to invade the Electorate that left but one place still in British hands. “Colonel Talbutt!” the Prince of Wales called. “Let us move to Liverpool at once. Send word to any vessels still loyal to us to bring transport. We are to go to America!”
When London finally fell on April 27 Prince Charles Stuart knew the war was won and his father, the rightful king, James Stuart would have his country back and the House of Hanover was no more. Within days though the Charles and the Jacobite's learned of Prince of Wales and Duke of Cumberland’s escape and their flight to the Americas. Though French warships, and now most British warships, having pledged loyalty to the Stuart’s after the fall of England, pursued the fleet carrying the Royals, they were unable to capture them and on June 10 the HMS Lion entered Boston harbor with the king.
In the coming months, the British Isles would begin the process of reverting back to its Stuart laws and ways. The Acts of Union were dissolved, and the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland were reborn, under the same monarch of course. Charles’ father would return to London in July 1746 and be crowned King James III of England and Ireland and King James VIII of Scotland. Upon ascending the throne James called for an official end to the war between England and France and their allies. Soon after an official treaty of peace was signed James III and France’s King Louis XV signed the Treaty of Hastings placing an alliance between the two nations with the goal of defeating the last Hanover stronghold in the Thirteen Colonies. The two new allies soon began preparing their armies to sail to the Americas and put a final end to the Rising.