Highlanders and Lowlanders
Origin
Perhaps an inaccurate definition of terms. The major population centre of Scotland is and has always been a triangle linking what today are Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. Here is where the civil government would have its offices and such troops as existed would conform to normal "civilised" training. Highlanders would originate in, well, the Highlands, extending into the wilds north of Glasgow and Stirling and the Isles off the Scottish coast. These are the traditional plaid wearing, clayberg and targe wielding warriors of Hollywood tradition. However that leaves a third area of Scotland, the lands south of the population triangle, the borders, the town of Dumfries and the area known as Galloway. This is the area where the Blue Bonnet originated, later adopted by the Highlanders. The people of this latter area were proud having been in almost constant conflict with the English and the Stuart kings for several hundred years.
They tended also to be strongly Protestant, supporting the Hanoverians against the Stuarts. So we have three areas, North, Central and Southern Scotland.
Style of fighting
Traditionally Southern and Central Scotland raised military forces not very different from the standard European model. During the 17th century they had been traditional Pike and Shot and like other nations gradually dropped the use of the pike. Regiments raised by the government conformed to standard European model (Royal Scots, Black Watch, Princes Louise's Regiment etc) but of varied quality.
The North provided ready made soldiers in the form of the Highlander. Quick to attack and often equally quick to turn and run if things were not going their way that is not to say that there was no formal training for Highland regiments. Raised on clan lines the training varied wildly some regiments were eminently capable of delivering decisive volleys when the situation was required (Clan Ranald Regiment at Sherrifmuir stopped a Dragoon charge by volley fire) and successive leaders would attempt to train highland regiments to fight in a European manner.
Falkirk in 1746 is not a massed infantry charge. It's a firefight and the highlanders charge as the government line starts to give way.
That is not to say the highlanders didn't charge, it was their traditional way of fighting and the method they fell back on if they detected weakness in the enemy (Falkirk) or out of desperation at their situation (Culloden). Not only did they charge regularly they regiments also on occasion would throw forward skirmishers to harass the enemy before the charge or stop their charge at about 60 yards in the hope the government troops would waste their first volley.
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