Battle of Prestonpans

Battle of Prestonpans
Part of the Jacobite rising of 1745
Cairn erected in memory of the battle
Date 21 September 1745 Location Prestonpans, Scotland, Great Britain Result Jacobite victory
Belligerents
Jacobites	British Government
Commanders and leaders
Charles Stuart George Murray Donald Cameron John O'Sullivan	John Cope Thomas Fowke Peregrine Lascelles James Gardiner †
Strength
c. 2,400–2,500	c. 2,190 [a][1]
Casualties and losses
105–120 killed and wounded[2]	300–500 killed and wounded 500–600 captured
Registered battlefield
Designated	21 March 2011
Reference no.	BTL16

The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile Charles Edward Stuart and George Murray, defeated a government army under Sir John Cope, whose inexperienced troops broke in the face of a Highland charge. The battle lasted less than thirty minutes, was a huge boost to Jacobite morale, and established the revolt as a serious threat to the British government.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).