Culloden

Culloden

Peter Watkins film, Culloden, gives an account of the battle of Culloden between the Highlands Clan and Cumberland’s army. This film was set up as though it were a documentary taken on the day of the battle to give an accurate view of that horrific day. The purpose of this film is to inform individuals of exactly what they were fighting for, the conditions of the soldiers, and the outcome of the battle itself.

The battle of Culloden was the last battle to be fought on the British mainland. The battle, like many before it, was fought because of a difference in religion. The Jacobites, most of them Highland Scots, wanted James Francis Edward Stuart to be their king because he was Catholic. The British government army was lead by the Duke of Cumberland and King George II supported his father who was Protestant. The Highland Scots refused to live under a king who did not share the same religion as their ancestors so the only way to resolve this problem was war and their army was referred to as the rebels.

Watkins started the film off by talking to different members of the rebel army about the battle they are about to endure. The battle itself was called Culloden because that was the name of the empty field that they were about to fight on. The only things left in this field were short rock walls for the armies to hide behind. The look in the eyes of the soldiers he spoke to showed that they knew how this day would end. One of the generals of the rebel army Lord George Murray was furious at the decision to fight in this particular field and he let his opinion be known. He believed that it was suicide standing in an open field and proposed that the army should join the rest of their forces in Scotland. Even though he protested his efforts were continually shot down by the main leader of the rebel forces Charles Edward Stuart.

As Watkins talked to each of the soldiers it seemed as though all of them were there for different reasons. On the rebel side, one soldier was there for religion, another for revenge, and some because of blackmail. There was even one man fighting for the Scots and his brother was a part of Cumberland’s army. Watkins made it seem as though a lot of the soldier on the rebel forces did not want to be there but were forced in some way. For example, one soldier said that the lives of his family members were threatened, and another man said they threatened to take away his land if he did not fight.

As Watkins continued to interview these soldiers it was revealed that they had not slept the night before the battle. It turns out that the higher ranking officers had the idea to make a sneak attack at night on the British army. After marching almost all night long, the British caught on to what was about to happen so the rebels were forced to retreat and wasted all that energy for nothing. By that morning the rebels had not slept, were totally exhausted from the failed mission from the night before and had not eaten in at least two days. Watkins made the film out to seem as though the Highland Scots had lost before the battle even started. Throughout the whole film he compared and contrasted the differences between the two armies.

While interviewing the British army it seemed as though they knew that they were going to win before the battle started. They had a good nights rest, had been kept well fed and they had a larger number of soldiers too. When Watkins interviewed the British army it seemed like some of them were just there because they were told to be and because the rebels did not agree with their leader. Watkins made it known several times in the film that the British soldiers were told that the rebels were barbarians and they needed to be killed. Watkins also made clear that there