Coronavirus situation has echoes of Battle of Culloden aftermath, says chairman of the 1745 Association
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A POEM penned by a wounded Jacobite commander in 1746 is to be used to mark the 274th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden.
Every year on April 16, the 1745 Association joins the Gaelic Society of Inverness on the moor to commemorate the last pitched battle fought on British soil.
With the Covid-19 outbreak forcing cancellation this time, however, the voluntary association decided to look at more remote means of remembrance.
The association’s website now carries the words of John Roy Stuart, Colonel of the Edinburgh Regiment, which was one of only four that managed to break through to engage with the Hanoverian troops at the hour-long battle.
The rendition of The Day of Culloden is read by former association chairman and president Brigadier John MacFarlane, both in his native Gaelic and in English.
It opens: “Great are the depths of my sorrow; As I mourn for the wounds of my land.”
The website also offers a YouTube link to another poem by 19th century poet and author Andrew Lang, read by current chairman Michael Nevin and accompanied by footage of the battlefield.
Mr Nevin felt it was important to offer a poignant focus for those wishing to honour the memory of the fallen.
He also believes the aftermath of the battle and its traumatic effect on Highland life and culture has echoes of the current coronavirus crisis.
Mr Nevin said: “It is a very evocative work. We obviously can’t have the commemoration this year so it is good to find another way to mark it.
“Another thing that struck me was it feels a little like the aftermath of 1746 in the Highlands now. It is not great now, but it is certainly better than it was after Culloden.
“Scotland recovered after Culloden and became the nursery of the enlightenment, with the transformation of Britain into a modern society, so there is a hopeful resonance there to me.
“I hope people who would have wished to have come to Culloden will sit back on April 16, maybe with a wee dram, and listen to those words.”
John Roy’s poem reflects the feelings of an officer wounded at the battle who had seen many of his men fall and the cause to which he dedicated his life destroyed.
The 1745 Association was established in 1946 to study the Jacobite period, record and preserve the memory of those who participated in it, and endeavour to safeguard the Jacobite heritage.
