Culloden Anniversary 2020 – Ceann-bhliadhna Chùl Lodair 2020

This was very much a civil war that pitted families and neighbours against one another. Atrocities were committed by people on both sides, and the impact of the battle is, in some places, still felt today.

The story of Culloden plays a large part in the story of the Gaels and that of the Highlands – the Act of Proscription that came in the aftermath of the battle had a significant impact on the lives of people in Scotland. It hit many communities hard, banning the wearing of ‘Highland clothes’ for men, owning weapons and the playing of the pipes (as a weapon of war), as well as dictating who was an appropriate person to teach children. Shortly after, clan estates were seized and given to the Crown.

In following years, people began to visit the site to see where this significant event took place. By 1867 a guidebook to the site had been written by Peter Anderson, a resident of Culloden. In 1871, Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis, the Gaelic Society of Inverness, was founded – their purpose was to ‘cultivate the language, poetry and music of the Scottish Highlands … furthering the interests of the Gaelic-speaking people’. Not long after, in 1881, Duncan Forbes erected the cairn and grave markers that can be seen on the site today.

While the Gaelic Society initially focused on the promotion of language and music, by 1924 they were active on Culloden Moor. The Society worked to repair and improve the monuments that Duncan Forbes had placed there. According to the annuals of the Society, the buildings and monuments had been in a state of disrepair for 18 years. It was around then that Peter Anderson’s guidebook to the site was reprinted, because of an increased interest in the battle and the site.

The first commemoration ceremony was hosted by the Gaelic Society on 18 April 1925, and they have continued every year since. In 1931 a portion of the land associated with the battle was given to the National Trust for Scotland to care for on behalf of the nation, but the Commemoration has always been delivered in partnership with Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis.

Over the years the event has attracted people from across Scotland and indeed the rest of the world. It has grown as an event – in 2019 it was estimated that more than 3,000 people attended to pay their respects.

This year, of course, will be different.

We’re asking people not to come to Culloden.

Instead of pipes and flags, the bustle of people and the singing of Gaelic psalms, the field will be quiet. The skylarks will swoop across the moor and the cattle will low. The day will still be special but, rather than coming to the site, we’re asking people instead to pause, reflect and remember.

Next year, we can hopefully come together again.