Editing Battle of Culloden (section)

==Culloden battlefield today==
[[File:Culloden Battlefield Memorial Cairn.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial [[cairn]] erected in 1881<ref name="nts.org.uk-Cairn"/>]]

It was the last [[pitched battle]] fought on British soil.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Humphrys |first1=Julian |title=What was the last battle fought on British soil? |journal=BBC History |date=5 August 2021 |volume=2021 |issue=September |page=41 |url=https://pressreader.com/article/282179359114640 |access-date=8 December 2023 |quote=If we mean an engagement between two armies, then the last battle on British soil was fought on 16 April 1746 at Culloden near Inverness in Scotland...Although it might be argued that it was too small to qualify as a battle, the last military engagement on British soil against members of a foreign armed force took place during the Second World War. On 27 September 1940, a German Ju 88 bomber crash-landed on Graveney Marsh in Kent. When some British troops who were billeted in a nearby pub turned up to investigate, they came under machine-gun fire from the crew. The British returned fire, and – after one German airman was shot in the foot – the crew surrendered.
}}</ref> Today, a [[visitor centre]] is located near the site of the battle. It was first opened in December 2007, with the intention of preserving the battlefield in a condition similar to how it was on 16 April 1746.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/VisitorCentre/ |title=New Visitor Centre |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080818072825/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/VisitorCentre/| archive-date=18 August 2008|url-status = live}}</ref> One difference is that it currently is covered in shrubs and [[Ericaceae|heather]]. During the 18th century, however, the area was used as common [[grazing]] ground, mainly for tenants of the Culloden estate.<ref name="SR2002-9192"/> Those visiting can walk the site by way of footpaths on the ground and can also enjoy a view from above on a raised platform.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/WhatsNew/ |title=What's New? |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081019192557/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/WhatsNew/| archive-date= 19 October 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> Possibly the most recognisable feature of the battlefield today is the {{convert|20|ft|m|0|adj=on}}-tall memorial [[cairn]], erected by Duncan Forbes in 1881.<ref name="nts.org.uk-Cairn">{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Cairn |title=The Memorial Cairn |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090705084638/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Cairn| archive-date=5 July 2009|url-status = live}}</ref> In the same year, Forbes also erected headstones to mark the mass graves of the clans.<ref name="graves">{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Graves |title=Graves of the clans |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100414215757/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Graves| archive-date=14 April 2010|url-status = live}}</ref> The [[thatched roof]]ed farmhouse of Leanach that stands today dates from about 1760; however, it stands on the same location as the [[sod|turf]]-walled cottage that probably served as a [[field hospital]] for government troops following the battle.<ref name="SR2002-9192">Reid (2002), pp. 91–92.</ref> A stone, known as "The English Stone", is situated west of the Old Leanach cottage and is said to mark the burial place of the government dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Field |title=Field of the English |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090705084648/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Field| archive-date=5 July 2009|url-status = live}}</ref> West of this site lies another stone, erected by Forbes to mark the place that the body of Alexander McGillivray of Dunmaglass was found after the battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Well |title=Well of the dead |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080627222421/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Well| archive-date=27 June 2008|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=35149 |title='The Well of the Dead', Culloden Battlefield |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=www.ambaile.org.uk (ambaile.org.uk)}}</ref> A stone lies on the eastern side of the battlefield and is supposed to mark the spot from which Cumberland directed the battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Stone |title=Cumberland stone |access-date=9 November 2008 |work=Culloden Battlefield Memorial Project | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080604032455/http://www.nts.org.uk/Culloden/PPF/CullodenToday/Stone| archive-date=4 June 2008|url-status = live}}</ref> The battlefield has been [[Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland|inventoried]] and protected by [[Historic Scotland]] under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/battlefields/battlefieldsunderconsideration.htm |title=Inventory battlefields |publisher=Historic Scotland |access-date=12 April 2012 |archive-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115040146/http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/battlefields/battlefieldsunderconsideration.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Culloden grave (road and three graves).jpg|thumb|right|In 1881, Duncan Forbes erected the headstones that mark the mass graves of fallen Jacobite soldiers. They lie on either side of an early 19th-century road which runs through the battlefield.<ref name="graves"/>]]
Since 2001, the site of the battle has undergone [[topographic]], [[geophysical]] and [[metal detector]] surveys in addition to [[archaeological excavation]]s. Interesting finds have been made in the areas on which the fiercest fighting occurred on the government left wing, particularly where Barrell's and Dejean's regiments stood. For example, pistol balls and pieces of shattered muskets have been uncovered here which indicate close-quarters fighting, as pistols were used only at close range, and the musket pieces appear to have been smashed by pistol/musket balls or heavy broadswords. Finds of musket balls appear to mirror the lines of men who stood and fought. Some balls appear to have been dropped without being fired, some missed their targets, and others are distorted from hitting human bodies. In some cases, it may be possible to identify whether the Jacobites or government soldiers fired certain rounds because the Jacobite forces are known to have used a large number of French muskets, which fired a slightly smaller calibre shot than that of the British Army's ''[[Brown Bess]]''. Analysis of the finds confirms that the Jacobites used muskets in greater numbers than has traditionally been thought. Not far from where the hand-to-hand fighting took place, fragments of mortar shells have been found.<ref name="gla.ac.uk-culloden">{{cite web |title=Point of Contact: Archaeology at Culloden |url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/battlefieldarchaeology/centreprojects/culloden/ |work=University of Glasgow Centre for Battlefield Archaeology |access-date=6 March 2009}}</ref> Though Forbes's headstones mark the graves of the Jacobites, the location of the graves of about 60 government soldiers is unknown. However, the recent discovery of a 1752 silver ''[[Thaler]]'', from the [[Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]], may lead archaeologists to these graves. A geophysical survey, directly beneath the spot at which the coin was found, seems to indicate the existence of a large rectangular burial pit. It is thought possible that the coin was dropped by a soldier who once served on the Continent while he visited the graves of his fallen comrades.<ref name="gla.ac.uk-culloden"/> The National Trust of Scotland is currently trying to restore Culloden Moor, as closely as possible, to the state it was in during the Battle of Culloden Moor. It is also trying to expand the land under its care to ensure the full battlefield is protected under the NTS. Another goal is to restore Leannach Cottage and allow visitors once again to tour its interior.