I love 18th Century stuff. My favourite period after the Middle Ages. "A rare medal struck after the Duke of Cumberland's loyalists crushed the Jacobite rebellion in 1746 is tipped to fetch £100,000 at an auction. The Battle of Culloden, in which 1,500 Jacobites were killed while only 50 government troops lost their lives, was the last pitched battle fought on British soil. It was the last of the great Jacobite risings - popular attempts to reinstate a Stuart monarch on the throne of Britain - and was led by Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender. After the crushing victory the Duke of Cumberland - also known as 'Butcher' Cumberland because of his harsh suppression of the rebellion - formed the Cumberland Society to commemorate the triumph. Medals were presented to 26 senior officers and one further member was elected to the society every year until the duke's death in 1766. After the crushing victory the Duke of Cumberland formed the Cumberland Society to commemorate the triumph/ The gold medal bears the bust of the duke on one side and a naked Apollo leaning on his bow and pointing to a dragon wounded by his arrow on the other. Only around 50 medals are believed to have been struck. The society met annually on April 15, which was the duke's birthday, and the eve of the anniversary of Culloden. Members were required to wear their medals both at the reunions and also in battle, with the society pledging to meet the cost of a replacement if it was lost in a battle." Rare gold medal struck up for sale at auction | Daily Mail Online
Have you seen the movie on Culloden? One of my graduate school professors screened it for us back in the early 70s. My MA is in 18th/19th Century English history. The film remains cemented in my mind. Hers is a YouTube link to it.
Yeah, the BBC occasionally wheel it out around the anniversary. Good movie. Never knew you were a buff.
Not really a buff, but I had a prof in the early 70s who wrote a book called "Court and Country" about the period just after William and Mary. It's been a long time, but I have some interest in the period.