Clan MacDonald of Clanranald

I've completed the second Jacobite unit of the project, the men of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald. This is one of the smaller regiments that took part in the battle and, as such, is represented by just three bases in my collection.

The figures are from Flags of War, and I must say how impressed I am with them. The sculpts are full of character and were a pleasure to paint. I've enjoyed them so much that I've already ordered another batch to represent one of the other smaller clan regiments present at Culloden, Clan Maclean.

Clan Macdonald of Clanranald at Culloden

Young Ranald Clanranald was among the first to pledge his support to the jacobite cause after Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) landed in the Hebrides in July 1745. However in their initial meeting with the prince young Clanranald and Kinlochmoidart initially refused to join Prince Charles, warning that rising without preparation or wider support would lead to disaster. During the discussion, a younger brother of Kinlochmoidart—who had been listening nearby—became increasingly agitated as he realised who the Prince was and heard the hesitation of the clan leaders.

When Charles turned to him and asked directly whether he would assist, he immediately replied, “I will! Though no other man in the Highlands should draw a sword, I am ready to die for you!” Struck by his response, and moved by the young man’s conviction, both Clanranald and Kinlochmoidart then changed their stance, pledging their support for the Stuart cause and working to rally their countrymen to arms.

Young Ranald Clanranald later went on to lead his clan at the Battle of Culloden. During the battle, his men were positioned on the extreme left of the Jacobite line alongside the other Macdonald regiments. Because of the angle of the Jacobite line, they had the longest stretch of open moorland to cross, and not a single Macdonald man succeeded in reaching the government lines.

Following the defeat at Culloden, Young Ranald Clanranald fled into exile in France, where he remained until 1754.

Gathering the Clans: Part 3 - The government forces muster

My first Government unit is now fully painted up, pending some flags I’ve ordered from Flags of War. The redcoats make a great contrast to the clansmen and feel very different to paint.

For these figures I used my usual method of a black undercoat followed by a light white drybrush over the whole model. I find this helps combat the main downside of a black undercoat, which for me is that it can sometimes obscure details and make it difficult to clearly distinguish different parts of the miniature. The white drybrush catches the raised edges nicely, making the details easier to spot while also providing a subtle highlight beneath the layers painted afterwards.

This is actually the only British regiment in the project with green facings, with most of the others using buff or blue. The regiment I chose to paint first was the 36th Regiment, Fleming’s Regiment. Commanded by Colonel James Fleming, a veteran of the Battle of Blenheim, the regiment notably fought at both the Battle of Falkirk Muir and the Battle of Culloden. Following the victory at Culloden, the regiment was stationed near Fort Augustus to assist in suppressing the Highlands.

This week I’ve also painted my first vignette for the project: “Hey MacLeod, Get Off My Ewe!” from Warlord Games. It’s a really characterful little addition to the battlefield, and I’m quite pleased with how the tartan turned out on this particular old Highlander guarding his sheep.

Gathering the Clans: Part 2 - The Stewarts of Appin

 

The Stewarts of Appin fought throughout the ’45 campaign. The clan were closely linked to the Stewart monarchy due to being the West Highland branch of Clan Stewart, and were long-standing supporters of the Stuart cause following the deposition of King James in 1688.

At Culloden, the clan was commanded by Charles Stewart of Ardsheal. It suffered heavy casualties, with 92 killed and 65 wounded from a starting strength of around 300 men. The exact number present on the field that day is difficult to pinpoint, as is the case with much of the Jacobite army, due to the lack of surviving records and the fact that many men were still returning from overnight bivouacs or foraging when the battle began.

Ardsheal himself survived the battle and later hiding in a cave now known as Ardsheal’s Cave, situated near Loch Linnhe. He eventually escaped to mainland Europe, where he lived out the rest of his life, dying in France in 1757.

These figures are from Warlord Games. They are typically used for the English Civil War, however I am happy to use them for this project. They are very characterful miniatures, and I’m willing to overlook some of the more outdated weapons such as the Lochaber axe and bow. While these weapons certainly appeared during the early stages of the campaign, by Culloden most men would likely have been equipped with muskets.

I intend to use a range of manufacturers across both armies to give the forces a mixture of poses and styles. I really enjoyed painting this unit, particularly as it was my first proper attempt at tartan in many years. At this scale, I think it’s more important to create an overall impression of the pattern rather than trying to paint every line perfectly. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to share my approach to painting tartan in a future post.

Apologies for the standard Saltire being used as the unit’s flag — this is only a temporary stand-in for the photographs and will eventually be replaced with the proper Appin banner once I place another order with Flags of War. I had originally ordered flags for a different clan regiment, but after deciding on a rough scale for my units I realised the Warlord box would work better representing a larger Appin unit instead.

Talking of scale, I’ve created a spreadsheet to help work out the rough size of each unit relative to its historical strength at the battle. I haven’t yet decided on a specific ruleset for the period, as I will likely tailor a set around the collection rather than build the collection around a ruleset.

For the project, I’ve opted for a very rough 1:16 scale — in other words, each figure will represent approximately sixteen men.

As I am multibasing the units at around four figures per base, I needed some sort of spreadsheet to calculate how many bases would be required for each regiment. The sheet below will probably need a few tweaks over time, and I’ll likely adjust some unit sizes before fully committing them to paint.

I also intend to use the spreadsheet as a sort of checklist to track my progress towards completion of the project — if such a thing truly exists in wargaming!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Next time I’ll show off a Government unit ready to take on these rebels…

Gathering the Clans: Part 1 – Why Culloden?

Why Culloden?

It was the last pitched battle on British soil — the final throw of the dice in a failing campaign, and what can no doubt be seen as the battle that most shaped the Scotland we know today. Culloden lives on in popular culture and remains as divisive now as it was nearly 280 years ago.

So what first sparked my interest in the battle?

It started on my eighth birthday. My mum, seeing my growing interest in military history and my ever-expanding collection of toy knights and soldiers, bought me the Battlefield Britain dvd box set by Dan and Peter Snow for the BBC.

Over the next few years I must have rewatched it countless times, but the penultimate episode — The Battle of Culloden — was always my favourite. Whether it was Dan Snow wading across the moor describing the desperate final charge of the clans, or the doomed cause of Prince Charlie and the Stuarts, something about it stayed with me. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what it was — but it left a lasting impression.

Fast forward to my time in college, where I chose to complete something called an Extended Project Qualification. The brief was simple: pick any subject, research it, write an essay, and present it to a group. Unsurprisingly, I chose Culloden. Around this time, the TV series Outlander had also just aired its first season, which reignited my interest in the ’45.

Since completing that project, I’ve had a real fascination with the period and always wanted to visit the battlefield and the Scottish Highlands, but  from Nottinghamshire its quite a drive! However when it came to choosing our honeymoon destination, my wife said she wanted somewhere in the UK, and Scotland came up in conversation. Before long, we had booked seven nights in Inverness.

My chance had finally come!😁

On the way up to the highlands, we realised we were going to be driving past Prestonpans — an earlier battle from the campaign — and decided to stop off to have a look and take a break. It was only then I realised we were visiting on the anniversary of the battle! Not only that, but they were holding their reenactment event, which only takes place every three years. I assure you this was not planned out by me at all and I couldn’t believe my luck!

We spent a day touring the Culloden battlefield and its fantastic visitor centre. My wife is not a big fan of military history, but even she had a great time mostly thanks to the excellent staff in the centre. I’ve visited several battlefields across the UK, but Culloden truly felt different — quieter, heavier, almost as if you could still sense the weight of what happened there.

After returning home, I decided on my next major wargaming project:

Culloden.

And so it begins..

I plan to keep this blog updated frequently. In Part 2 of Gathering the Clans, I’ll be showing my first painted unit and talking a little about their history. I might even share a slightly over-enthusiastic spreadsheet I’ve been working on as well…

Stay tuned!

Dan (Sherwood Painting Studio)