Charles Edward Stuart raised his father’s standard at Glenfinnan on 19 August 1745, formally beginning the Jacobite rising that would take his army through Scotland and into England.

Charles had arrived in the Highlands the previous month after sailing from France. He intended to restore the Stuart monarchy by securing the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the deposed James VII of Scotland and II of England.

His position was uncertain. Charles had arrived with only a handful of companions and without the substantial French military support that some potential Scottish supporters had expected. Several men he approached advised him to abandon the attempt.

Charles continued and called supporters to gather at Glenfinnan at the head of Loch Shiel on 19 August. He arrived at about one o’clock, but the force waiting for him was much smaller than he had hoped.

More men eventually appeared. Donald Cameron of Lochiel arrived with a substantial body of Camerons, and Alexander MacDonald of Keppoch also brought men to Glenfinnan. Their arrival gave Charles the beginnings of an army.

The royal standard was raised. It represented the claim of Charles’s father to the British throne and marked the formal beginning of the rising.

The campaign initially moved quickly. The Jacobites entered Edinburgh in September and defeated a government army at Prestonpans. They later marched into England, reaching Derby in December before retreating.

The army returned to Scotland. On 16 April 1746, government forces defeated the Jacobites at Culloden. The campaign that had begun at Glenfinnan eight months earlier was effectively over.