If Bonnie Dundee survives...

At the Battle of Killiecrankie the Williamite forces of the British Government under the command of General Hugh McKay were defeated (crushed actually) by the Jacobite army under the command of John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Vicount of Dundee.

But the man known as Bonnie Dundee or Bluidy Clavers, depending on which side you were on, would not live to see the moment of his great triumph as he was killed in the battle.

Without Dundee to lead them Jacobean Highlanders rebellion against King William and Queen Mary in support of the deposed King James fell apart and left King James alone in Ireland fighting for the Jacobite cause.

So what if Bonnie Dundee lived to fight another day? What impact would his survival have on the course of things?
 
At the Battle of Killiecrankie the Williamite forces of the British Government under the command of General Hugh McKay were defeated (crushed actually) by the Jacobite army under the command of John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Vicount of Dundee.

But the man known as Bonnie Dundee or Bluidy Clavers, depending on which side you were on, would not live to see the moment of his great triumph as he was killed in the battle.

Without Dundee to lead them Jacobean Highlanders rebellion against King William and Queen Mary in support of the deposed King James fell apart and left King James alone in Ireland fighting for the Jacobite cause.

So what if Bonnie Dundee lived to fight another day? What impact would his survival have on the course of things?

The Cameronians showed exceptional bravery at Dunkeld in the battle following Killiecrankie, where they fought off the Jacobites despite being outnumbered by nearly five to one. The difference between Dunkeld and Killiecrankie being that the Cameronians were set up in a defensive position behind the walls of the cathedral. This would still be the same had Claverhouse survived. (I was brought up a few miles away from Dunkeld, it was an excellent defensive position.)

I suspect the Cameronians would still have won in Dunkeld and Claverhouse would have been forced into exile. There was no stopping the Presbyterian settlement in Scotland at this point, so even had he defeated the Cameronians at Dunkeld, he would have lost later on. IMO this was a good thing.
 
Is it cirtain that Dundee would have advanced to Dunkeld or even fought the battle as the Jacobites did without him?

Could Dundee's charismatic and somewhat inspired leadership have changed that battle in anyway from the way that Colonel Alexander Cannon fought it?

Is it a cirtainty that if he was beaten that he would just be forced out of the country?

Wasn't he, for whatever faults he had, a great leader of men and a great diplomat?

Couldn't he, surviving a loss at Dunkeld or Cromdale, fall back into the Highlands and raise another army to continue his rebellion?
 
Is it cirtain that Dundee would have advanced to Dunkeld or even fought the battle as the Jacobites did without him?

Could Dundee's charismatic and somewhat inspired leadership have changed that battle in anyway from the way that Colonel Alexander Cannon fought it?

Is it a cirtainty that if he was beaten that he would just be forced out of the country?

Wasn't he, for whatever faults he had, a great leader of men and a great diplomat?

Couldn't he, surviving a loss at Dunkeld or Cromdale, fall back into the Highlands and raise another army to continue his rebellion?

Dunkeld was on their route south so he would have had to fight the Cameronians and given the numbers he would have expected a win.

It would have left his rear open had he ignored them. If you place the Cameronians in the same position, and there is no reason why they wouldnt take up the same positions, then the battle is incredibly difficult.

Should he take up some form of siege, he would have won as sheer numbers would have come into play but by this point any swift advance to the capital would have been lost and the Government would have mustered troops to counter him. In addition to this the defenders of Dunkeld could well have gone down in legend as some form of Scottish Presbyterian Alamo.

Dundees best option would probably have been to try and spend more time in the Highlands attempting to muster the clans and amongst the Jacobite Lords such as the Duke of Perth. If he had taken longer, opposition was strong enough as to challenge the Edinburgh Lords in the north. As it was he did not and he paid the price.
 
Yeah, there's nothing he could have done to defeat the Williamite forces entirely. Although, he might have achieved enough to divert forces from the Irish theatre and allow a Jacobite victory there....
 
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