STUART, CHARLES EDWARD LEWIS CASIMIR, often called the younger pretender, the eldest son of James Francis Edward, prince of Wales, known as the elder pretender, or chevalier St. George (see STE:WART, FAMILY OF), and his wife Clementine Sobieski, zranddaughter of the celebrated Polish monarch, .John Sobieski. He was horn at Home, on Dec. 31, 1720, and bore among the Jacobites the title of prince of Wales. He served under don Carlos in Spain, and in his youth is described as having been handsome, affable, and engaging in manners. In 1743 28 years after his father's unsuccessful attempt to regain the crown, a scheme was contrived in France, with the support of the Jacobites in England, by which Charles Edward was to recover the throne of Great Britain for his family. The first contrived project was to land an army in Kent, where were many adherents of the exiled house; and troops to the number of 15,000 were assembled, and transports provided at Boulogne, Dunkirk, and Calais to carry them to England. But the squadron which was to have convoyed the transports fled before the British fleet under sir John Norris; a storm destroyed the transports, and most of the troops were drowned. Charles, however, only awaited a favorable opportunity to make a fresh attempt. In July, 1743, when George II. was Hanover, and Scotland almost without military, he sailed from Nantes, in company with the marquis of Tullibardine, and a few other devoted followers, and landed in the bay of Lochuanuagh, whence he proceeded to Kinlochmoidart, where the Highland clans attached to his cause were summoned to rise. Ten days later, Charles's standard was set up at Glenlinnan; and he marched southward at the head of a large body of hardy mountaineers. Government offered a reward of £30,000 for the apprehension of the pretender's son, who retaliated by offering a like reward for the apprehension of the elector of Hanover. At Perth, the insurgents were joined by the duke of Perth and lord Strathallan, with a numerous retinue of followers; and on their approach, Edinburgh surrendered without resistance, the castle, which was in possession of the king's troops, still holding out. Charles took up his residence at Holyrood palace, where he proclaimed his father king of Great Britain, and himself regent.
Meanwhile, sir John Cope, the commande•in-chief of the king's troops in Scotland, having collected some re-enforeements in the n., came from Aberdeen to Dunbar by sca, and encamped at Prestonpans. He was there unexpectedly attacked by the High landers, and ignominiously routed, leaving baggage, cannon, and camp equipage on the field. Contrary to the advice of his council, Charles, who could not bear opposition, resolved to advance into England, though his force hardly exceeded 6,500 men. Carlisle surrendered at his approach, and be proceeded unmolested as far as. Derby. In the mean time, three English armies, each larger than his own, were preparing to meet him. Being unable to raise any recruits in England, he found it necessary to retreat into Scotland, where he hoped to meet a re-enforcement under lord John Drummond. oa their way n., the Highlanders were pursued by the duke of Cumberland, whom they defeated near Penrith. Finding that Edinburgh was now in possession of the king's troops, Charles, joined by lord John Drummond and lord Strathallan, made his way to Stirling. That town surrendered to him, and lie laid siege to the castle. Gen. Hawley,
in endeavoring to raise the siege, was utterly routed by lord George Murray, at the head of the Macdonalds of Keppoch. But the advance of the duke of Cumberland obliged the rebels to retreat further n., and for a time they carried on a desultory war with the king's troops in the neighborhood of Inverness. On April 10, 1740, the duke of Cum berland encountered Charles's army on Culloden moor, and opened a heavy cannonade on them. The Highlanders at first rushed boldly forward; but on the advance of the royal infantry, they gay way; the battle soon became a rout, and the fugitives were pursued and slaughtered by the dragoons, who gave no quarter, and spread carnage and desolation over the country. The rebels lost that day at least. 1000 men of the bravest and most devoted to the cause. Charles escaped to the Hebrides, hunted by the kinws troops; disguised in female attire, he was conveyed to Skye in an open boat by Flora Macdonald, daughter of Macdonald of Milton. 'For months he wandered in concealment among the mountains of Skye and the mainland, where, he had many hairbreadth escapes; and though his secret was known to hundreds of the poorest of the people, no one was tempted by the £30,000 reward to betray him. He eventually escaped to France, and no further attempts were made to reinstate the exiled family.
Charles Edward remained in France till the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). It was made a condition of that treaty that France should abandon the cause of the Stuarts; and Charles, refusing to quit France voluntarily, was conducted with a guard out of the kingdom, and retired to Rome.
He married on April 17. 1772, Louisa Maximiliana de Stolberg-Guedern, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, prince of Stolberg Guedern. The union did not prove a happy one, and the princess withdrew herself from him. See ALBANY, COUNTESS OF. In the latter years of his life, the prince was addicted to intoxication. When his claims ceased to be supported by any foreign power, he dropped the title of prince of Wales, and assumed that of count of Albany. He died at Rome, Jan. 31, 1788, and was buried at Frascati. There was no issue of his marriage, but he left a natural daughter, on whom he bestowed the title of duchess of Albany, and to whom he bequeathed considerable property.
Two brothers, generally known as John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart, endeavored, some years ago, to persuade the world that they were legitimate grandsons of Charles Edward. In point of fact, they were sons of captain Thomas Allen, RN., and grandsons of admiral John Carter Allen, who died in 1800. Their story, as set forth, with some slight mystifications, in a work called Tales of the Century, or Sketches of the Romance of History between the Years 1746 and 1846. was to the effect that their father, in place of being admiral Allen's son, was a son of prince Charles and the princess Louisa, whose birth was kept secret, front fear of the Hanoverian family, and who was intrusted to admiral Allen, and passed off by him for his own son. The life of Charles Stuart is detailed in History of the Rebellion, 1745-46, by R. Chambers.