Are Bagpipes Weapons of War?
Eighteenth-century piper executed for carrying “an instrument of war”
To Scots, bagpipes aren’t just a musical instrument. They also have political symbolism. So political, in fact, they’ve been considered war weapons.
Such treatment stems back to the last and most famous of the Jacobite Risings, which sought to restore the House of Stuart to the throne of England. In 1745, Charles Edward Stuart (known to history as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”) launched a rebellion in the Scottish Highlands to regain the British throne for his father. Despite initial successes, the English crushed Charles’ forces at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, although Charles managed to escape.
Bagpiper James Reid belonged to the Highland forces. Most sources say he was among the Jacobites taken prisoner at Culloden Marsh. Others say he was captured in December 1745, when English troops recaptured Carlisle, England, from the Jacobites. In either event, Reid went on trial for treason. He claimed he wasn’t a combatant because he didn’t have a gun or sword. Instead, he only played bagpipe on the battlefield.
On October 7, 1746, a jury found him guilty but recommended mercy because it appeared Reid never carried arms. However, a commission appointed to hear the treason cases rejected the…
