These Flags of War figures are excellent sculpts, and even before starting this project, I was looking forward to painting them. The figures themselves are depicted wearing blue bonnets and short coats. There has been some debate over how the Royal Écossais were equipped in 1745. While accounts exist of officers wearing bonnets, it remains unclear whether this was a unit-wide deviation from standard French uniform policy. Others argue they were equipped like typical French infantry, complete with long-tailed coats and tricornes.
That said, I’ve based much of my painting so far on the work of Stuart Reid and the colour plates in the Osprey titles Cumberland’s Culloden Army 1745–46 and The Scottish Jacobite Army 1745–46 (pictured below), and these miniatures match those illustrations well. Regardless of historical debate, they were great fun to paint and have a striking, unique look that stands out from the rest of the regiments in this project.
The Royal Écossais in the '45
The Royal Écossais were raised in 1744 by Lord John Drummond, with the officer corps composed largely of exiled Jacobites.
Despite the Royal Navy blockade, the regiment was one of the few French units to cross the Channel to support the '45 Rising. They landed at the port of Montrose on 26 November 1745 and went on to fight at the Battle of Falkirk Muir, where they—alongside the Irish Piquets, who were also in French service—helped secure a Jacobite victory.
At Culloden, the regiment was held in reserve to guard against Government dragoons outflanking the Jacobite position. As a result, they—along with the Irish Piquets and several Lowland units—were unable to move forward in time to reinforce the front line. Following the collapse of the main line, the Royal Écossais mounted a courageous rear-guard action, allowing far more Jacobite soldiers and civilians to escape the field than would otherwise have been possible. Roughly half the battalion, along with their commanding officer, Lt-Col. Lewis Drummond, surrendered on the field. The remaining elements, led by Maj. Matthew Hale, withdrew with the regimental colours and surrendered two days later.
Following the battle, the British government was initially undecided on whether to treat the captured men as rebels or prisoners of war. However, after pressure from France, the fact that many of the men were former British subjects was overlooked, and most were eventually released. The exception was a group of British Army deserters discovered within the ranks, who were court-martialed and executed.
The regiment remained in French service and later fought in the Seven Years' War under the command of its new colonel, Lord Elcho, himself a veteran of the '45. The Royal Écossais were eventually disbanded in 1762.
Basing my Figures
