Activity | William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721 - 1765) was the youngest son of King George II (1683 - 1760) and at the time of the Jacobite Rebellion was commanding troops in the Austrian Netherlands. He was ordered to return in late 1745 to take command of the army which was sent against the rebels led by Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720 - 1788) and headed the troops at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, where the rebels were comprehensively defeated. He was renowned for the ferocity with which he persecuted the rebels and the Highland communities from which they came. |