Highland Warriors exhibition in Ottawa

2024/04/15 22:59

Portrait of Alastair Grant Mòr, the Laird of Grant’s Champion, around 1714.

© CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is presenting a new exhibition documenting the history and military prowess of soldiers from the northwest of Scotland.

Highland Warriors, features more than 200 artifacts from both Scottish and Canadian museums.

“The Highland military tradition has evolved from early clan warfare in Britain’s northern reaches to a highly respected global force with the power to influence and inspire,” said Mark O’Neill, president of the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of History.

Visitors will see a wide array of weapons, including basket-hilted broadswords, dirks (knives), elaborate decorated pistols, muskets, gunpowder horns and shields (known as targe).

Also featured in the exhibition are photographs, illustrated slide shows, paintings and uniforms depicting different eras of Highland military life and activity.

The devastating defeat at the battle of Culloden in 1746 marked the end of fighting for the Highland clans.

Later, however, Highlanders served in the British military in many theatres, including what would become Canada, where many stayed and started their own communities and military units.

The first senior Canadian Scottish regiment of the Canadian Army was the Black Watch, established January 31, 1862.

There are 16 current Canadian Scottish regiments but only 11 have the actual descriptor Highlander in their unit title.

Across all of the Scottish regiments, there are approximately 3,000 Canadian Armed Forces members.

Highland Warriors was developed by Nomad Exhibitions in collaboration with the Canadian War Museum and Glasgow Museums. Research for the initial concept for an exhibition that would trace the connections between the Highland clan warrior of Scotland in the middle ages to the military figure and symbol of today in both Canada and Scotland began several years ago, according to a spokesperson for the Canadian War Museum.

After exploring the rich collections of Highland military culture in Scotland and at the Canadian War Museum, the exhibition development and design phase was about 18 months long. NOMAD was responsible for the curation and design of the exhibition. The Canadian War Museum provided expertise and guidance on elements related to Canadian Highland military culture and on the approximately 80 Canadian War Museum objects in the exhibition.

This exhibition presents a rare chance to view exceptional artifacts from Scottish museums.

The Canadian War museum expects this exhibition will have a wide appeal and will be seen by approximately 100,000 people.

It continues until January 12, 2020. Currently, there are no plans to take the exhibition outside of Ottawa.