Cumberland, William Augustus, duke of
Cumberland, William Augustus, duke of,
1721–65, British general; third son of George II. Entering the army shortly before the outbreak (1740) of the War of the Austrian SuccessionAustrian Succession, War of the,1740–48, general European war. Causes of the War
The war broke out when, on the strength of the pragmatic sanction of 1713, the Austrian archduchess Maria Theresa succeeded her father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, as ruler
..... Click the link for more information. , he was defeated by the French at Fontenoy (1745). Returning to England to put down the 1745 rising of the JacobitesJacobites
, adherents of the exiled branch of the house of Stuart who sought to restore James II and his descendants to the English and Scottish thrones after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. They take their name from the Latin form (Jacobus) of the name James.
..... Click the link for more information. , he defeated Prince Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden Moor (1746) and earned the nickname "the Butcher" by his ruthless punishment of the rebels. Once more on the Continent, he averted the fall of Maastricht but was again defeated by the French in 1747. In the Seven Years War he signed (1757) a capitulation to the French (the Convention of Kloster-ZevenKloster-Zeven, Convention of
, 1757. Early in the Seven Years War the English army, under the command of the duke of Cumberland, son of George II, was defeated by the French at Hastenbeck.
..... Click the link for more information. ) for which he was dismissed.
Bibliography
See two biographical studies by E. Charteris (1913, 1925).