Although significant elements were absent elsewhere, the main Jacobite army of about 5,400 left Inverness on 15 April, and assembled in battle order at the Culloden estate, 5 miles (8 km) to the east. The leadership was divided on whether to give battle or abandon Inverness, but with most of their dwindling supplies stored in the town, they feared retreat meant the army might disintegrate. Sir John O'Sullivan, the Jacobite adjutant-general, identified a suitable site for a defensive action at Drummossie Moor, a stretch of open moorland between the walled enclosures of Culloden Park to the north, and those of Culwhiniac to the south..
Although significant elements were absent elsewhere, the main Jacobite army of about 5,400 left Inverness on 15 April, and assembled in battle order at the Culloden estate, 5 miles (8 km) to the east. The leadership was divided on whether to give battle or abandon Inverness, but with most of their dwindling supplies stored in the town, they feared retreat meant the army might disintegrate. Sir John O'Sullivan, the Jacobite adjutant-general, identified a suitable site for a defensive action at Drummossie Moor, a stretch of open moorland between the walled enclosures of Culloden Park to the north, and those of Culwhiniac to the south..