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“The Scots at War”
Convention Theme – HISTORICON 2013
(July TBA)
“Men bred in the rough bounds, the host that
is trustworthy...
Men of elan and mettle with blue blade
in pommel...
Descendants of noble clans, begotten
of north men,
'twas their instinct in every action
to advance...”
– Duncan Ban Macintyre, 1725.
All nations have symbols of their identity, but few have such a
rich collection as Scotland. Tartan, bagpipes, Highland dress, the
thistle, the Saltire – all are instantly recognizable the world
over as standing for Scotland. In fact the world recognizes Scotland
by its soldiers; colorful and distinct in appearance, carried across
the globe by empire and war, the Scottish soldier is an icon of Scotland
past and present. In the meeting between its warrior heritage, and
the history and traditions of the British army, much of the story
of Scotland can be found.
What makes this all the more remarkable is that for the past 400
years Scotland, the state, has lived with reasonable happiness within
the body of something larger – Great Britain and the Empire.
It might have been expected that the Scots, as relative newcomers
making the most of the opportunities brought by this arrangement,
would have been more interested in expressing their commitment to
the idea of Britain and the Empire and less in stressing their differences.
Yet apart from a few unsteady steps in the early decades after the
Union of 1707, a sense of Scotland has prevailed. The key to achieving
this has been to balance a distinct – but adaptable
– national identity with full participation in an enormously
profitable and successful imperial state. The service of Scottish
soldiers has been a central part of this achievement and it is no
accident that many of their symbols have now come to stand for Scotland.
Of course there had been Scottish soldiers long before 1707, serving
across Europe in virtually any army that would have them; in fact
Scots had served as mercenaries abroad since the days of the Romans.
Too many people at home and not enough of anything to go around were
the main causes that Scots became mercenaries, but Scotland’s
interminable instability and division that erupted in various civil
and clan wars also helped, not only to send Scots on their way, but
also to have given them grounding in warfare. The recruitment of
Scots, both Lowland and Highland, into a British army was therefore
just a new verse to an old song.
While centuries of military struggle between Scotland and England
have produced some epic contests that have spanned numerous wars
still seared within the folk memory of the two countries, Scotland’s
fighting men have played a part in shaping the history of our world,
and many of the individual countries in it. Scotland’s contribution
and sacrifices have been out of all proportion to the size of the
country. The British government finally recognized the age-old adage
that “it took a thief to catch a thief”, and it raised
a number of kilted independent companies to keep watch on the Highland
clans in 1725. Clad in a black, green and blue government tartan,
they became known as the Freiceadan Dubh, or Black Watch.
Several years later, as a move to counter the growing tide of Jacobitism
in the Highlands, a suggestion was made that the government should
consider raising several regiments of Highlanders commanded by English
or Scottish officers of “undoubted loyalty” and officered
by chiefs and chieftains of
“disaffected clans”.
For over 300 years Scottish regiments have fought with distinction
and selfless sacrifice alongside their old foes and played a key
role in preserving Britain’s freedom. The clan structure and
the tremendous pride in family that this has produced over the centuries
are the foundations of the regiments of Scotland and their greatest
strength in adversity. By the early 1800s, the success of Scottish
regiments on the battlefields of the Empire provided inspiration
for a nation then enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity, and
the political stability which followed. In the Scottish soldier,
and in the Highlander in particular, Scots not only found a token
of their commitment and contribution to Britain and the Empire, they
also discovered a symbol of their own national unity.
It was no accident that emigrants to Canada, South Africa, Australia
and New Zealand took the idea of the Scottish soldier with them,
not as a skill to be sold as before, but as an identity to unpack
in defense of their new homes and the empire they felt part of. When
the call came in 1914 and again in 1939, they went off to the world
wars as Canadian Scots or New Zealand Scots, the older half of a
split identity contributing to the forging of a new, younger one.
To this day, the Scottish military image continues in these countries
long after the bonds of empire had fallen.
In Scotland the world wars reinforced the military tradition through
mass involvement. Even in peacetime, Scotland continued to provide
a disproportionately high number of soldiers compared to the rest
of the United Kingdom. It was therefore to be expected that the decline
in Britain’s world role and the reduction in her army would
affect Scotland particularly badly. The mass campaigns to save regiments
in the 1960s, and to a lesser extent in the early 1990s, are a clear
indication of a deep-rooted popular attachment to the idea of the
Scottish soldier.
The skirl of the pipes and the cry of “here come the Jocks” have
weakened the resolve of many a foe. The Jocks of every Scottish regiment
and the Scots warriors that came before them conjure up an image
of fierce determination and indomitable courage. To them defeat is
unthinkable. The various reasons for this are why Scottish Military
Heritage makes a perfect and unrivalled theme, and which everyone
with a Scottish connection will understand and be able to relate
to. It spans everything from the Roman to the modern periods; in
whatever battles, campaigns and wars Scots were involved – Lowland
or Highland
– is our military theme for HISTORICON 2011.
“...If Government pre-engage the Highlanders
in the manner I propose,
they will not only serve well against
the enemy abroad,
but will be hostages for the good behaviour
of their relatives at home,
and I am persuaded it will be absolutely
impossible to raise a rebellion in the Highlands.”
– Lord Duncan Forbes of Culloden
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