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Duke of Cumberland

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (26 April 1721 – 31 October 1765) was a British Army commander during the War of the Austrian Succession, Jacobite rising of 1745, and the Seven Years' War.

Biography[]

The Duke of Cumberland was the younger son of King George II. His first active service was under his father at Dettingen in 1743 where he was wounded in the leg. His reputation survived defeat by Maurice de Saxe at Fontenoy in 1745. The next year he crushed the Scottish Jacobite uprising with the ruthless use of his superior artillery at Culloden. His promising military career came to an abrupt end when he was dismissed after signing an ill-judged treaty with France in the wake of defeat at Hastenbeck.

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