| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seamus |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 9:08:48 PM
Robert Louis Stevenson penned this, first printed in Scribner's Magazine in 1887. If you have never read it, do it now.....
Ticonderoga
A Legend Of The West Highlands
This is the tale of the man
Who heard a word in the night
In the land of the heathery hills,
In the days of the feud and the fight.
By the sides of the rainy sea,
Where never a stranger came,
On the awful lips of the dead,
He heard the outlandish name.
It sang in his sleeping ears,
It hummed in his waking head:
The name--Ticonderoga,
The utterance of the dead.
I. THE SAYING OF THE NAME
On the loch-sides of Appin,
When the mist blew from the sea,
A Stewart stood with a Cameron:
An angry man was he.
The blood beat in his ears,
The blood ran hot to his head,
The mist blew from the sea,
And there was the Cameron dead.
"O, what have I done to my friend,
O, what have I done to mysel',
That he should be cold and dead,
And I in the danger of all?
Nothing but danger about me,
Danger behind and before,
Death at wait in the heather
In Appin and Mamore,
Hate at all of the ferries
And death at each of the fords,
Camerons priming gunlocks
And Camerons sharpening swords."
But this was a man of counsel,
This was a man of a score,
There dwelt no pawkier Stewart
In Appin or Mamore.
He looked on the blowing mist,
He looked on the awful dead,
And there came a smile on his face
And there slipped a thought in his head.
Out over cairn and moss,
Out over scrog and scaur,
He ran as runs the clansman
That bears the cross of war.
His heart beat in his body,
His hair clove to his face,
When he came at last in the gloaming
To the dead man's brother's place.
The east was white with the moon,
The west with the sun was red,
And there, in the house-doorway,
Stood the brother of the dead.
"I have slain a man to my danger,
I have slain a man to my death.
I put my soul in your hands,"
The panting Stewart saith.
"I lay it bare in your hands,
For I know your hands are leal;
And be you my targe and bulwark
From the bullet and the steel."
Then up and spoke the Cameron,
And gave him his hand again:
"There shall never a man in Scotland
Set faith in me in vain;
And whatever man you have slaughtered,
Of whatever name or line,
By my sword and yonder mountain,
I make your quarrel mine. {3a}
I bid you in to my fireside,
I share with you house and hall;
It stands upon my honour
To see you safe from all."
It fell in the time of midnight,
When the fox barked in the den
And the plaids were over the faces
In all the houses of men,
That as the living Cameron
Lay sleepless on his bed,
Out of the night and the other world,
Came in to him the dead.
"My blood is on the heather,
My bones are on the hill;
There is joy in the home of ravens
That the young shall eat their fill.
My blood is poured in the dust,
My soul is spilled in the air;
And the man that has undone me
Sleeps in my brother's care."
"I'm wae for your death, my brother,
But if all of my house were dead,
I couldnae withdraw the plighted hand,
Nor break the word once said."
"O, what shall I say to our father,
In the place to which I fare?
O, what shall I say to our mother,
Who greets to see me there?
And to all the kindly Camerons
That have lived and died long-syne -
Is this the word you send them,
Fause-hearted brother mine?"
"It's neither fear nor duty,
It's neither quick nor dead
Shall gar me withdraw the plighted hand,
Or break the word once said."
Thrice in the time of midnight,
When the fox barked in the den,
And the plaids were over the faces
In all the houses of men,
Thrice as the living Cameron
Lay sleepless on his bed,
Out of the night and the other world
Came in to him the dead,
And cried to him for vengeance
On the man that laid him low;
And thrice the living Cameron
Told the dead Cameron, no.
"Thrice have you seen me, brother,
But now shall see me no more,
Till you meet your angry fathers
Upon the farther shore.
Thrice have I spoken, and now,
Before the cock be heard,
I take my leave for ever
With the naming of a word.
It shall sing in your sleeping ears,
It shall hum in your waking head,
The name--Ticonderoga,
And the warning of the dead."
Now when the night was over
And the time of people's fears,
The Cameron walked abroad,
And the word was in his ears.
"Many a name I know,
But never a name like this;
O, where shall I find a skilly man
Shall tell me what it is?"
With many a man he counselled
Of high and low degree,
With the herdsmen on the mountains
And the fishers of the sea.
And he came and went unweary,
And read the books of yore,
And the runes that were written of old
On stones upon the moor.
And many a name he was told,
But never the name of his fears -
Never, in east or west,
The name that rang in his ears:
Names of men and of clans;
Names for the grass and the tree,
For the smallest tarn in the mountains,
The smallest reef in the sea:
Names for the high and low,
The names of the craig and the flat;
But in all the land of Scotland,
Never a name like that.
II. THE SEEKING OF THE NAME
And now there was speech in the south,
And a man of the south that was wise,
A periwig'd lord of London, {3b}
Called on the clans to rise.
And the riders rode, and the summons
Came to the western shore,
To the land of the sea and the heather,
To Appin and Mamore.
It called on all to gather
From every scrog and scaur,
That loved their fathers' tartan
And the ancient game of war.
And down the watery valley
And up the windy hill,
Once more, as in the olden,
The pipes were sounding shrill;
Again in highland sunshine
The naked steel was bright;
And the lads, once more in tartan
Went forth again to fight.
"O, why should I dwell here
With a weird upon my life,
When the clansmen shout for battle
And the war-swords clash in strife?
I cannae joy at feast,
I cannae sleep in bed,
For the wonder of the word
And the warning of the dead.
It sings in my sleeping ears,
It hums in my waking head,
The name--Ticonderoga,
The utterance of the dead.
Then up, and with the fighting men
To march away from here,
Till the cry of the great war-pipe
Shall drown it in my ear!"
Where flew King George's ensign
The plaided soldiers went:
They drew the sword in Germany,
In Flanders pitched the tent.
The bells of foreign cities
Rang far across the plain:
They passed the happy Rhine,
They drank the rapid Main.
Through Asiatic jungles
The Tartans filed their way,
And the neighing of the war-pipes
Struck terror in Cathay. {3c}
"Many a name have I heard," he thought,
"In all the tongues of men,
Full many a name both here and there.
Full many both now and then.
When I was at home in my father's house
In the land of the naked knee,
Between the eagles that fly in the lift
And the herrings that swim in the sea,
And now that I am a captain-man
With a braw cockade in my hat -
Many a name have I heard," he thought,
"But never a name like that."
III. THE PLACE OF THE NAME
There fell a war in a woody place,
Lay far across the sea,
A war of the march in the mirk midnight
And the shot from behind the tree,
The shaven head and the painted face,
The silent foot in the wood,
In a land of a strange, outlandish tongue
That was hard to be understood.
It fell about the gloaming
The general stood with his staff,
He stood and he looked east and west
With little mind to laugh.
"Far have I been and much have I seen,
And kent both gain and loss,
But here we have woods on every hand
And a kittle water to cross.
Far have I been and much have I seen,
But never the beat of this;
And there's one must go down to that waterside
To see how deep it is."
It fell in the dusk of the night
When unco things betide,
The skilly captain, the Cameron,
Went down to that waterside.
Canny and soft the captain went;
And a man of the woody land,
With the shaven head and the painted face,
Went down at his right hand.
It fell in the quiet night,
There was never a sound to ken;
But all of the woods to the right and the left
Lay filled with the painted men.
"Far have I been and much have I seen,
Both as a man and boy,
But never have I set forth a foot
On so perilous an employ."
It fell in the dusk of the night
When unco things betide,
That he was aware of a captain-man
Drew near to the waterside.
He was aware of his coming
Down in the gloaming alone;
And he looked in the face of the man
And lo! the face was his own.
"This is my weird," he said,
"And now I ken the worst;
For many shall fall the morn,
But I shall fall with the first.
O, you of the outland tongue,
You of the painted face,
This is the place of my death;
Can you tell me the name of the place?"
"Since the Frenchmen have been here
They have called it Sault-Marie;
(Carillon, the French called it.Stevenson was mistaken. Seamus)
But that is a name for priests,
And not for you and me.
It went by another word,"
Quoth he of the shaven head:
"It was called Ticonderoga
In the days of the great dead."
And it fell on the morrow's morning,
In the fiercest of the fight,
That the Cameron bit the dust
As he foretold at night;
And far from the hills of heather
Far from the isles of the sea,
He sleeps in the place of the name
As it was doomed to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I...was there, commanding the Second Division of the Provincial Battalion...Wilderness Woman served as our Water Molly, Sjt. Munro, Army Sjt. Major Malcolm MacWilliam and several of the characters from 'The MacWilliam Chronicles', and Chauncey Goodrich; Grenouille and Fitz on the French side of things were there, too, to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Carillon.
In a word......awesome! Over 2000 troops on the field Saturday, in the rain and muck, just as it was 250 years ago.
4000 men died that day, July 8, 1758 on both sides. To be on that field this past weekend to honour their memory and to pay homage at a Remembrance at the cross erected by Montcalm on the breastworks where the French so valiantly defended their fort, and at the rock cairn containing stones brought from the homeland areas of every Black Watch soldier who died that day, erected in 1995, I think it was, to the memory of the Black Watch who perished trying to take it from them, was an emotional and deeply meaningful experience. The whole place is Hallowed Ground, no matter where you might be when you are at Ti.
PBS filmed it, and it will be aired nationally in March 2009. Watch for it.
There will be more entries Posted as the days go by. There is so much, too much, to Post at once. |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - November 21 2009 : 7:30:24 PM
With all this talk about the sites in New York State, I just remembered something. The river which connects Lake George with Lake Champlain is call the La Chute. And the falls (which I jumped from last year) are called the Falls of the La Chute. But the word for "falls" in French is La Chute, so that's like saying the falls of the falls. Oh well, I thought it was interesting!  |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - August 16 2009 : 9:25:33 PM
I know exactly what you mean! There is just something about that part of my state....... |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - August 15 2009 : 10:23:35 AM
You know, I live within a few miles of where my ancestors did, and I have visited, and have many pictures of all their graves. I visit them from time to time. My 4-g grandfather fought with Andrew Barry at Walnut Grove, and at Ninety-Six and other local sites. But I have never felt a real affinity with them. I have great respect for them and all they did, and love to read the stories told about them, but I just don't seem to feel that "connection". But when I stand on the shores of Lac Champlain, and see lines of men in white coats, and think about all that happened there, then I feel the affinity, and feel a connection I have never felt about events in the south. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - August 15 2009 : 08:52:02 AM
I know right where that Econo Lodge is! My house sits almost directly across the Chenango River from that motel. Yes, that whole interchange area is quite confusing to someone who is not familiar with it.
Do a Google on Fort Stanwix to find out more about it. Wikipedia is a good place to start for a pretty accurate and detailed description of its history.
The new Marinus Willet Education and Visitor Center is very nicely done. When I sat and watched the short film about the Battle of Oriskany and Seige of Fort Stanwix, I cried. I was watching my Palatine ancestors.
It's a special fort for me, along with Fort Ti. In addition to the Battle of Oriskany ties, my lad Cornelius Drake was a part of Col. Elias Dayton's New Jersey troops who rebuilt the fort in 1776. They also built Fort Dayton at present day Herkimer, NY (no longer exists) before moving north to Fort Ti for the winter occupation of 76-77.
You should definitely make the short side trip to see Fort Stanwix next summer.
I also hope to be at Fort La Presentation, if not with the Augusta, then with Weiser's Battalion. I don't want to miss that one. |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - August 15 2009 : 08:45:05 AM
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If the three amigos were heading from Lake George to winter in Can-tuck-ee, they had one long walk ahead of them! And where were they going to find a Delaware-speaking woman for Uncas? I thought everybody around that area would have spoken Shawnee. Pick her up along the way, I guess. Of course, they never would have make it anyway if they headed west. |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - August 15 2009 : 12:04:17 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
[br
And finally, what on earth did you stop to see in Binghamton??? A bathroom??? 
That and an Econo Lodge. Where I-81 and I-88 come together. It's not really obvious which exit to take.
When I left Fort Johnson I drove south until I picked up I-88 to Binghamton. Don't know the road numbers.
I am not familiar with Fort Stanwix. I guess I will have to go there next summer. I plan on going to Ogdensburg for the 250th of La Presentation (excuse the misspelling), and will use I-81 for most of the trip.
And speaking for Fort Necessity, the Rangers tell the visitors that the earthworks around the fort are original, but a bad reconstruction of the fort was done in 1932, and from the pictures taken at the time it looks like the original earthworks, if there were any, would have been wiped out. Besides, Washington had about 150 men, and Frye's reinforcements would have added another 150 or more, and then McKay's SC Independent Company another 60 or more, for a total of close to 400. There is no possible way to get 400 men inside those earthworks, not to mention any animals and wagons they may have had with them.
|
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - August 14 2009 : 7:12:43 PM
Very nice photos, Fitz! I'm glad you went into my Mohawk Valley (home of my ancestors). You didn't mention Fort Stanwix, so I assume you didn't travel that far west along the Mohawk River. It's a shame, if you didn't. It would have been very worth your time, as it's a gorgeous rebuild. Maybe next trip.
I love both the Johnson homes. The garden behind Fort Johnson is very nicely done with lots of period plants. There is another Johnson home up there, located in Amsterdam, called Guy Park. It was built by Guy Johnson, who was Sir William's nephew... and son-in-law!...in 1773. It is now a museum. If you were on Rte 5, on the north side of the river, you drove right past it. I've never been in that one.
What route did you take south from there?
And finally, what on earth did you stop to see in Binghamton??? A bathroom??? |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - August 14 2009 : 6:45:31 PM
What I did last summer
by Fitz Williams
Click on the pics if you want to make them bigger.
Made the trip to Crown Point last weekend with some stops along the way. The first was Binghamton, but no pictures. Mighty easy to get lost in that place!
The next was Ticonderoga to see the museum again, and to take more pics of the fusils.
This is the new Mars Center we heard so much about. Some turons are drilling in front of it.
This is where the Brits were camped last summer. Seems nice now. Then it was under water.
This is what the French lines look like now.
I guess the logs will just stay there until they rot. At the event in June they did not use them. Seems a shame.
Then I went to Johnson Hall, the second home of Sir William Johnson.
Then to Fort Johnson. This is the better of the two sites. It's where all the history happened during the F&I!
Then I went to Joumonville's Glenn. It was a rainy morning, no one else around anywhere, mist rising from the forest floor, rain dripping off the trees. Perfect time for a ghost.
But this is all I saw.
Then on to Braddock's Grave site. This is the monument on the side of US 40.
And this is the original grave site, where Washington burried him under the road to conceal the location.
And last, and probably least, Fort Necessity.
Well, it's good to be back home.
Not really!!!
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| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - August 05 2009 : 09:39:29 AM
Here are some more videos on Youtube of the 250th Ticonderoga last summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFpwtUBLHPU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hasMreE0hnw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNu6d7BDJUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOJIrG1B_kA&NR=1
|
| Seamus |
Posted - October 16 2008 : 09:17:00 AM
Got THAT right, WW!!
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| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 16 2008 : 08:38:57 AM
Oh, my, my, my..... [WW taps her fan into her hand and smiles knowingly] These French! Such unrealistic dreams they dream. Such arrogance, to think that the whole world must be France. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
I know my Captain very well, and I know he would never betray his King and Pennsylvania. (At least, not during this war!) No, Miss-yer Lay-Fran-say... you will never see that Green Coat turn into a white one. Never.
 |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 16 2008 : 08:20:09 AM
After he thinks about it for a while, Seamus will change his mind. I am certain of that. |
| halfbreed |
Posted - October 15 2008 : 7:21:18 PM
Hey Fitz,
Ill wear it! Been thinking of maybe going to QC as a marine....should have my fusil de grenadier done by then..i know, not a 28/48 or whatever, but thats the parts i was able to get....
h-b |
| Seamus |
Posted - October 15 2008 : 12:25:41 PM
Hahahahaha!! Thanks, Fitz, but.......... no, thanks....... |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 15 2008 : 10:38:06 AM
I shall be in white for that one. And hopefully will be able to work my way into some additional scenarios, maybe. But, come to think of it, I will have two white justaucorps by then, so if you would like to wear one for a while, you would be most welcome to do so.
|
| Seamus |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 4:17:04 PM
Shall I bring an extra Greencoat, weskit and equipment to Quebec, Fitz? |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 4:03:41 PM
You are right about that camera. I noticed that, as well. The person who was operating the camera from the scaffold on the British side seemed to be more experienced or better at it than the person behind the French lines. Perhaps he or she just has a better eye for what to pick to shoot.
I am planning on going to Quebec, and I think several from our regiment plan to, as well. I wasn't able to go to Louisbourg, but I think I can manage this one. Sure don't want to miss it. |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 3:14:52 PM
I can't speak to Sunday, but on Saturday the goings on behind the fortifications were pure nonsense. They didn't show enough of the action on Sunday to be able to say. Notice how you see the left end of the logs over and over? The camera never moved. So the whole center and right of the line never made it to the DVD. Maybe they were better, but I doubt it. I am looking forward to Quebec and hoping for better things there. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 1:21:50 PM
Pardon me a minute while I go outdoors to check the temperature. Although the weather forecast didn't indicate a sudden drop, I have the amazing feeling that Hell has just frozen over!
Fitz, now you see what I mean about the Sunday footage? There really is some great stuff in there. Even though I am not a soldier, like Seamus, I appreciate your kind words. I was so proud of our group and the way they fought that day. And the Highlanders... wow. How can one not admit that they are most impressive? 
My feeling is that those of you French just didn't have a lot to do. You were all "stuck" behind the abatis and couldn't go anywhere, other than to rotate troops up to the wall. Because so much was hidden from view, perhaps they got a bit lax? The show really was all about the British side of things, and in particular, the Highlanders.
Sponsor??? For membership in the Augusta Regiment??? For Miss-yer Lay-Fran-say??? Oh...... all right. I guess I could do that. ~ said very grudgingly ~
|
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 1:12:57 PM
If I lived in PA it might be something to think about!
I personally think that Louisbourg turned out a lot better than Ticonderoga. And this might have been due to more Canadian units participating, or at least a higher ratio. I think that with next summer's events being at Niagara and Quebec, the Canadian units will be there in number and things will improve. The "American" French just don't get it. |
| Seamus |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 12:41:16 PM
Fitz, I know how hard it was for you to write your last Post. I want you to know, dear friend.....I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!
.....and, seriously, thank you for your kind words. We really try hard to be right and perform well.
Would you like an Application for membership? I could probably get WW to sponsor you. Well, maybe. Hmmmmmmm, perhaps not......but I would.
|
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 14 2008 : 10:27:51 AM
Well, I watched DVD #2 last night and it was much better footage than was in DVD #1. And you have no idea how much it pains me to say this, but the Brits looked much, much better than the French. They were dressed well, performed the drill well, marched well, and in short looked really great. The French, on the other hand, looked like tomorrow's fertilizer. The camera seemed to concentrate on two people. The first had everything wrong with his dress, his gun, accoutrements, etc. and spent most of his time trying to get his Brown Bess to fire. The other had a bad haircut and a goatee and a cheap uniform, or at least one that had that dollar store look. I really hope that the producers of the final product don't use these two guys in their work. There were many others who were much better but for some reason didn't seem to make in into the pics. But there seemed to be a certain casualness that pervaded the French, where they were just loading and shooting without any thought to what they were doing. They didn't even properly shoulder their fusils, just sort of lifted them and fired. It was awful. Any of our Southern Rev War militias could outperform them. So I have to say (choke...) congratulations to the Brits. You deserve it! |
| Seamus |
Posted - October 13 2008 : 5:59:19 PM
Easy, now.....we Provincials might feel slighted. I do agree, however,.....way too many Rangers. |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - October 13 2008 : 5:54:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Seamus
Really, Fitz! Interesting.....I actually learned something from your post concerning the flag....knew about the guns, though.
Nothing wrong on our side, however. Hnyuk! Snork!
Hard to tell about Brits. They all look alike to me. No, I take that back. They come in two varieties, Rangers and Highlanders. |
| Seamus |
Posted - October 13 2008 : 4:58:02 PM
Really, Fitz! Interesting.....I actually learned something from your post concerning the flag....knew about the guns, though.
Nothing wrong on our side, however. Hnyuk! Snork! |
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