On piping at the Battle of Waterloo

Two hundred years ago the Napoleonic Wars were fought. On June 18th, 1815, south of Brussels in Belgium with combatants: British, Germans, Belgians, Dutch and Prussians met against the French Grande Army with the leadership of the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Blucher and the Prince of Orange against the Emperor Napoleon. This was to be the decisive battle Napoleon’s comeback and drive to control Europe. Volumes have been written about the battle. At the reenactment of the battle I Belgium this year there was a photo of pipers as part of the Anglo reenactment. It peaked my curiosity as to stories about the pipers and their contributions to the battles.

At the Battle of Quatre Bras, fought between the Duke of Wellington's English-Dutch army and the left wing of the French Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ne It was fought on 16 June 1815, two days before the Battle of Waterloo and was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras. From The Story of the Bagpipe by William Flood, published in 1901:

    “At Quatre Bras the role of piper-hero fell to the lot of Kenneth MacKay,
    the piper of the 79th Cameron Highlanders. At an important crisis he
    stepped out of the ranks and blew up “Cogadh na Sith” (War and Peace),
    an ancient pibroch, with startling effect, in the very teeth of the French
    cavalry.”

At the Battle of Waterloo pipers were attached to the 42nd, 78th, 79th and 93rd regiments, the pipers performed valiantly.

    “When the din of the battle of Waterloo raged most fiercely the bagpipes
    were heard in no certain fashion. The piobroch at the word of command,
    “Prepare to charge,” roused the troops, and it is said that one brave piper,
    when wounded in the leg, threw down his pipes and entered the fighting
    ranks, dealing havoc all round till he was killed. (Flood, 1901)”

During the battle, the 79th (Cameron Highlanders) formed into a defensive square to face the charge of the French cavalry. Piper Kenneth MacKay left the safety of the square to march before his comrades while he played the Pibroch, War or Peace, indifferent to the dangers he faced. Their meritorious actions the 79th earned the rare honor of being praised by Wellington in his Waterloo dispatch. Sometime after the battle, King George III was told about the incident and presented MacKay with a set of silver mounted bagpipes. The story goes on to say that MacKay was also asked later to play the piobaireachd for the Tzar of Russia, Alexander I (reigning 1801 – 1825).

Information about the 200th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo can be found at:
https://www.waterloo2015.org/en

These stories speak of real lives who stood in battle to be counted worthy of the sacrifice in serving their country. Men such as MacKay still inspire those of us who are inspired to play the music they did in hope of inspiring others, not just in entertainment but in life.

On Bagpiping for Honor Flights

Honor Flights mission: “Transport America's veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.” Begun in 2005 when twelve World War II Veterans were flown to visit the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., local chapters such as Honor Flight Bay Area Foundation: http://www.honorflightbayarea.org  have been added across the U.S. The organization that puts the flights together is non-profit based, volunteer run and supported completely by public contributions. The veterans that participate pay for nothing but souvenirs. It is an amazing group of volunteers dedicated to honoring veterans of all armed force services. Our pipes and drums band has been honored to play for several homeward bound flights of which one, flying into SFO last Saturday, was one.

Our band arrived at the United Airlines counter at SFO and met an Honor Flight volunteer from the USO. She coordinated ‘boarding passes’ for us to enter the TSA secured terminal. The seven pipers (no drummers that evening) and my wife acting as camera person were given VIP treatment and given access to a non-passenger screening line. Of course, a group of bagpipers in uniform draws attention in an environment where travelers do not expect to see a bagpipe band. Many mobile phones took pictures of us along the way. Being in uniform and carrying pipes normally draws attention, but this was taken to a whole new level with the public. The TSA security treated us like any passenger and were asked to take off shoes, spats, glens, belts and everything containing metal and all, including bagpipes, were sent through the X-ray machine. Individually we stepped through the security scanner then proceeded to re-dress. One of our female pipers was subjected to a pat down for some inexplicable reason. She was not happy about it, but took it pretty much in stride. We were met on the other side of TSA security by a SFO manager coordinating the airport’s involvement with the Honor Flights. He escorted us to a room where we could warm up and tune. As always warming up is a cacophony of sounds and music. Tuning always takes a good deal of time, but everyone does there part having tuned with the band ‘a hundred’ times. The room we were in had a wall of glass open to the terminal so many travelers stopped, looked and listened. We even had a number of bold airline flight attendants step in to our room as we played tunes to get drones and chanters in tune. More camera phones came out.

The flight was approximately 40 minutes late, but we left our tuning room early to wander to the lower level gate. We met other Honor Flight welcome home volunteers that included a color guard, police, fire fighters, security teams from SFO and some family members who got permission (like us) to greet the flight. There were also Honor Flight volunteer staff handling the 20+ wheel chairs for the veterans returning from their trip. When the flight arrived, the civilian travelers disembarked first, walking cautiously through the gauntlet of flags and well-wishers. The Honor Flight staff then jumped into action bringing the wheel chairs down the retractable ramp to the plane where they helped the veterans disembark and prepare to be greeted. When the first veteran show at the gate door, we struck in with Scotland the Brave – Rowan Tree – Scotland the Brave, then followed with Green Hills of Tyrol and Battles O’er. As the gate was on a lower level the Vets needed to be transported up a level and once there were serenaded by a young woman who sang The Star Spangled Banner. Many of the veterans saluted or covered their hearts with their hands. She then sang, and we all joined in singing, God Bless America.

As soon as her singing had concluded and applause died down, we formed columns of two, struck in and led the color party and vets out of the terminal playing Crags of Tumbledown Mountain. Once exited, we halted and completed playing our set. We dismissed as a band, then greeted and thanked the veterans for their service. I met a veteran from the attack on Pearl Harbor, a tail gunner in the Pacific theatre who had been shot down twice by enemy fire and an Army Ranger who fought on D-Day. I would have loved to have heard some of their stories. What an honor it was to play for the elderly gentlemen. It is times like these that I love playing the pipes, and look forward to playing again, and again, for these American heroes.