Battle of Prestonpans

Battle of Prestonpans
Part of the Jacobite rising of 1745
Cairn in memory of the Battle of Prestonpans
Date 21 September 1745 Location Prestonpans (near Edinburgh), Scotland Result Jacobite victory
Belligerents
Government Forces	Jacobites
Commanders and leaders
Sir John Cope	Charles Edward Stuart George Murray
Strength
2,300	2,500
Casualties and losses
300 killed 400 to 500 wounded 1,400 to 1,500 captured	30 killed 70 wounded

Coordinates: 55°58′N 2°57′W / 55.96°N 2.95°W / 55.96; -2.95 The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian George II led by Sir John Cope. The inexperienced government troops were outflanked and broke in the face of a highland charge. The victory was a huge morale boost for the Jacobites, and a heavily mythologised version of the story entered art and legend.

Initially known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, it was actually fought at Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland on that town's borders with Tranent, Cockenzie and Port Seton.

As part of the War of the Austrian Succession, George II had sent most of the British army to the continent of Europe to do battle with their long-time enemy, the French. In May 1745 at the Battle of Fontenoy, both armies suffered heavy casualties, but the French carried the day and forced the allied British, Hanoverian and Austrian army from the field. Maintaining the offensive, the French invaded and captured a number of Flemish towns through 1745, and kept the opposing forces off-balance throughout.

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