page_title: Siege of Carlisle (December 1745)
section_title: The siege
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Carlisle (December 1745) / The siege
caption_attribution_description: A 18 pounder cannon in the fortifications at Berry Head, Devon, UK.
context_page_description: The Siege of Carlisle (December 1745) took place from 21 to 30 December during the Jacobite rising of 1745, when a Jacobite garrison surrendered to government forces led by the Duke of Cumberland.
  The town had been captured by the Jacobite army that invaded England in November 1745 and reached as far south as Derby, before turning back on 6 December. They re-entered Carlisle on 19 December; leaving a garrison of 400 men, the main army continued its retreat into Scotland the next day.
  Advance elements of the government army reached Carlisle on 21 December, but siege operations were delayed until their heavy artillery arrived six days later. They commenced firing on 28 December, and the Jacobites surrendered on 30th; 384 prisoners were taken, some of whom were later executed and many others sentenced to transportation to the West Indies.
context_section_description: Hamilton commanded the castle, with the town held by Colonel Francis Towneley, colonel of the Jacobite Manchester Regiment, the only significant unit recruited in England. He held a commission in the French army from 1728 to 1736, which had been renewed in 1744, and the Jacobite cavalry officer Sir John MacDonald viewed him as having "the greatest intelligence and prudence" of those on Prince Charles' staff. This opinion was not universally shared; he had a reputation for being hot-tempered and one of his subordinates James Bradshaw transferred to another unit, rather than continue serving under him.
  Government records show that of the 396 prisoners taken when the garrison surrendered, 114 were English members of the Manchester Regiment, 274 were Scots, mostly from Lowland units like Glenbuckets' and Lord Ogilvie's regiments, while 8 were French. The Duke of Newcastle later suggested the garrison was made up of 'the worst of their troops;' many of the Manchester recruits were unarmed, while a subsequent inventory showed most of the 46 pieces of artillery available were unused, as the defenders had plenty of powder but very little ammunition.
  On 21 December, advance elements of Cumberland's army arrived outside the town; over the next few days, their numbers increased to over 5,000, including a contingent from Newcastle under George Wade. In their attempts to catch up with the retreating Jacobites, the heavy guns had been left at Lichfield and Cumberland was forced to wait for additional artillery to be brought up; meanwhile, his troops blockaded the town and began constructing gun positions.
  Taking even a rundown fort was not easy, a fact acknowledged by Cumberland, who wanted to prosecute the civic officials who surrendered the town to the Jacobites in November, despite their complete lack of siege equipment. The Duke of Richmond, grandson of Charles II and one of Cumberland's officers, wrote to Newcastle on 24 December predicting the capture of Carlisle would take some time. Towneley reinforced the defences and his men fired 'upon every body who has shown himself;' while this did little damage, it demonstrated an assault would face determined resistance.
  The first battery of siege guns arrived on 25 December; more arrived on 27th from Whitehaven, along with 70-80 naval gunners under William Belford, an experienced artillery specialist who served under Cumberland in Flanders. On 28th, they began firing on the castle and apart from a short pause caused by shortage of ammunition, continued until the morning of 30 December, when Hamilton offered to surrender.
  In contests between regular armies, the garrison would have surrendered on terms, which at the minimum meant being treated as prisoners of war; as rebels, Cumberland only granted their lives, subject to the 'King's pleasure' ie they would not be summarily executed but receive a trial. Towneley opposed surrender and felt they could have held out for better terms; he was over ruled and the garrison capitulated on the afternoon of 30 December.
caption: An 18 pounder cannon, similar to those used by William Belford to fire on the castle
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