No Great Mischief If They Fall
The Scottish soldier at home and abroad in the 17th to 19th centuries
For a long time prior to the establishment of the British Empire, Scottish soldiery
was earning a fearsome reputation on the international stage, serving in wars
across Europe and fighting in the service of many nations. This wealth of
military expertise was also to make itself felt in the various domestic conflicts of
the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Civil War, the Covenanter conflicts and
the Jacobite Risings. It was his experience in the last of the Jacobite wars, the
‘Forty Five’, that led James Wolfe, later famous as the hero of Quebec, to utter his
back-handed compliment to the Scottish soldier, and most particularly the
Highlander: ‘They are hardy, intrepid, accustomed to a rough country, and make
no great mischief if they fall.’ The context of this famous quote was the Seven
Years War, which in Canada and elsewhere saw the Scottish soldier fully
integrated within the British Army and playing a key role in the conflict which
more than any other was to lay the foundations for Empire.
The Year of Homecoming is an ideal opportunity to explore the Scottish military
tradition and its role on the domestic and international front. This session will
bring together leading writers and scholars in the field of military history,
archaeology and related fields to provide a unique insight into the complex
series of processes which saw the Scottish soldier variously regarded as
mercenary and then loyalist or rebel before serving a key role within the British
Army. The complex and changing nature of allegiance, military organisation and
tradition, shifting social relations and tactical function which characterised this
period will be examined in a series of fascinating talks.