Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765)

Letter, signed "William", dated 26th December 1747, to John Luke Nicoll, Deputy Paymaster General of His Majesty's Forces in the Low Countries. Cumberland instructs Nicoll to pay 182 pounds and 10 shillings to Philip Burlton, Surgeon, as his previous year's salary.

1747

1 file (1 item)

Purchased from Stevens, London, July 1931 (acc.68206).

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765), was the second son of George Prince of Wales (the future King George II) and his wife Caroline. Their eldest son Frederick was estranged from his father and William was showered with favours in contrast: he became a Companion Knight of the Bath at the age of 4, and Duke of Cumberland the following year. In 1731 he became a Knight of the Garter.

He attended Westminster School from 1731 and was also tutored privately. From the age of 18 he demonstrated a love of hunting and was also associated with an actress, over whom he fought a duel. In 1840 he was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards and, after a brief detour into the navy before he abandoned the idea of switching services, became a Major-General. He accompanied his father to the continent, where the country was engaged in the War of Austrian Succession, and saw action at the Battle of Dettingen: here he was shot in the leg, remaining lame for the rest of his life (his preference from this point onwards was to travel on horseback rather than walk, which may have contributed to the obesity that eventually shortened his life).

In 1745 Cumberland became commander-in-chief of the British forces abroad (a title last held by the Duke of Marlborough), and commanded British forces at the Battle of Fontenoy when they were defeated by the French. Shortly thereafter - with the French overrunning the Austrian Netherlands - Prince Charles Edward, the "Young Pretender", raised his standard in Scotland and Cumberland - after some initial resistance - returned to Britain to deal with the threat. An army under General George Wade had already marched north to Newcastle but the Pretender's forces evaded it and came as far south as Derby before making the fateful decision, in December 1745, to return to Scotland.

Cumberland pursued the Jacobite forces northwards, taking prisoners but also encouraging the local population to put the rebels to death should the chance present itself. In January 1746 he held court in Holyrood Palace, where Charles Edward had done so a few months before. The Scottish winter prevented his closing with the Jacobites for some months, during which time, based at Aberdeen, he trained his troops to cope with the Highlanders' use of shields and broadswords to hack through formations of riflemen (his troops were trained to aim their bayonets to the side rather than centrally, to stab their opponents' unshielded side). Finally, on April 16th 1745 (the day after Cumberland's 25th birthday) the government and Jacobite forces met at Culloden, near Inverness. Artillery, grapeshot and finally the use of the bayonet on retreating men made Culloden a crushing victory for the government and wholesale slaughter for the rebels.

In the aftermath of Culloden, Cumberland - believing that lenient treatment of the Jacobites in the aftermath of the 1715 rebellion was the reason why the cause had not been extinguished - pursued a policy of "military execution", tracking down and killing Jacobites whilst government largely turned a blind eye. By the end of that year he had already acquired the nickname "Butcher" and it was joked in London that he was to be made a Freeman of the Butchers' Company. He returned to London in July, to a hero's welcome: Händel's "The Conquering Hero" was first played at the service of thanksgiving held in St Paul's Cathedral on his return.

Cumberland fought again in the Low Countries before the war there was ended in 1747 by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Following his return to England he became Ranger of Windsor Forest and lived in the Ranger's Lodge, employing demobilised soldiers to plant trees and construct the lake now known as Virginia Water. As Ranger, he enforced forest laws rigorously, preventing local people to enter the forest to gather firewood as had long been the custom; he also gained a name for authoritarian behaviour in the Army, making it a capital offence to disobey orders.

From 1749 he was involved in politics as a member of the House of Lords, playing a role in various factions' jockeying for position in alliance with the Earl of Sandwich and in opposition to the Duke of Newcastle and to Frederick the Prince of Wales. Frederick's death in 1751 cut this rivalry short and left Frederick's son, the twelve-year-old future George III, as heir. Cumberland was favoured by his father to become regent but this was opposed by Frederick's widow Augusta, William Pitt the Elder, the Pelhams and many other political figures of the day, mistrusting his authoritarian nature, ambition and unpopularity.

Cumberland moved abroad once more to command British forces during the early stages of the Seven Years' War, but in 1757 was defeated as he attempted to defend Hannover and alienated his Prussian allies by concluding a separate peace with the French, whose terms were such as to amount to a surrender. He was summoned back to London in disgrace, the King repudiating the terms of his agreement with the French, and from this point forwards his reputation as a commander was ruined.

George II died in 1760 and Cumberland served as advisor to his nephew, the new king. He played a role in selecting the Marquess of Rockingham to form a ministry and might have been active in this had he not died suddenly in 1765, at the age of forty-four.