12 April 1606: James VI of Scotland and I of England issued a royal decree for the creation of a union flag to represent the regal union between England and Scotland. It was initially introduced as a flag for Scottish and English ships and was later flown from castles and royal residences. The Union flag predates the Act of Union by 101 years.
12 April 1746: Four days before the battle of Culloden, an unsigned paper was written that proposed that the Jacobite army should march out from Inverness and head south into Badenoch and Atholl, bypassing the Duke of Cumberland’s army in Aberdeenshire, and seize the town of Perth, cutting off Cumberland’s overland communications.
12 April 1746: The Duke of Cumberland’s government army crossed the River Spey at Fochabers. A detachment of the Jacobite army under the Duke of Perth and Lord John Drummond made no attempt to hinder the crossing.