In the Heart of the Vile Race: the British army, the Highlands and the Empire

Writing to his father from Fort Augustus on 26 May 1746, Joseph Yorke, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland, finished his letter with a casual but chilling remark: ‘we are in the Heart of the vile Race now, & I wish were to extirpate.’ Although a somewhat extreme example, Yorke’s attitude towards Highlanders was common amongst British officers and soldiers in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1745-46 (hereafter described as the ’45). Such attitudes were shaped by the experiences of the army during the rising and they influenced how the army and state approached the problem of pacifying the region in its aftermath to ensure long-term peace and stability. The army’s experiences in the Scottish Highlands also influenced the actions, attitudes and encounters of British military officers in other parts of the British Empire, including North America during a period of warfare and militarisation that preceded the American revolution.

The ‘45 and the Pacification of the Highlands

The British army’s initial response to the ‘45 was slow and disjointed. Muddled intelligence about Charles Edward Stuart’s landing and the support he had managed to raise led army officers and government officials to underestimate the strength and threat of the Jacobite force. After the Jacobite victory at Prestonpans left control of Edinburgh in Charles’ hands, reinforcements were summoned back from the war in Europe and John Campbell, fourth earl of Loudoun, was sent to Inverness with his 64th Highland regiment. Loudoun was tasked with recruiting loyal Highlanders into Independent Companies and hampering Jacobite recruitment efforts. The sending of Loudoun to the Highlands highlights that the British viewed the rising as a distinctly Highland affair, even though large numbers from