Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Alamo 1836

The anniversary of the fall of the Alamo is coming up on March 6th. Very few people know just how the events in Texas in 1836 were heavily influenced by the Scots. Of those who died at the Alamo there were 13 from England, 9 from Ireland, 4 from Scotland, and 1 from Wales. 80% of the others were of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and mostly from the Southern U.S. states.

The works of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott were favorites that were widely read by the early Americans, including Sam Houston and William Barrett Travis. Houston often quoted Burns in letters he wrote to his son in the years following the Alamo. Music heard in the Alamo during the siege was played by John MacGregor, a bagpiper from Scotland, and Micajah Autry, a fiddle player from North Carolina.

From the Library of Congress I collected English, Irish and Scottish poems, songs and tunes that were found to be in Texas at that time. I recorded the original versions on one CD and then recorded the Texas versions of the songs on a second CD. The double CD also includes fiddle and bagpipe tunes that could have been heard at the Alamo in 1836.

Buy the Scotland Remembers the Alamo CD

Most people didn't make the connection between Scotland and the Alamo so I followed up with a book explaining all. The book is titled "Now's the Day and Now's the Hour", which is a quote from Robert Burn's song "Scot's Wha Hae". Sam Houston used this quote to encourage volunteers to come to Texas to help in the fight. Houston's message start's with "Freemen of Texas, To Arms, To Arms, Now's the Day and Now's the Hour".

The book is currently available on Amazon.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

St David's Day, March 1

St David is the patron saint of Wales. Don't forget!
March 1st is a national day of celebration in Wales since the 18th century.

St David's Flag
Visit our Cafepress Shop for apparel and gifts with the St David's Flag.

Or get Welsh flags, stickers, lanyards, bandanas and more!