Bagpipes have been the musical instrument of shepherds and warriors since the beginning of history - first in the Middle East, then throughout the trade routes of the Mediterranean - to the Celtic countries where the Scots and Irish adopted them for their spirited, stirring music. When Highland Regiments of the British Army brought them to India, the "pipes" were soon taken up by the native regiments raised among the hilly Northwest frontier, by the Gurkha regiments for the Himalayas, and by the Chin and Kachin regiments of Burma. These units, now belonging to independent nations, still march and fight to the pipes.
The shrill, skirling notes of the pipes are strange to some, but to still many others they stir the martial spirit and blood, Celtic or not.
The amazing ability of Pipe Bands to build esprit de corps has been legendary - never more so than in WW II when the British Black Watch Regiment confronted the Third Reich in Battle. For their bravery and courage in battle, they were dubbed, "The Ladies from Hell" by their opponents. To the rebellious Scottish clans of the 18th century, the pipes became a powerful unifying symbol and morale booster - so much so that the English, who were finally successful in putting down the rebels in 1745, banned the pipes as "instruments of war" for over 50 years, due to their ability to inspire men to action.
Pipers came to America at least as early as the French and Indian War with the arrival of the famous Black Watch, the 42nd Foot, in 1756. The 42nd was soon followed by two volunteer Scottish units, Frazer's Highlanders, the 72nd Foot, and Montgomery's Highlanders, the 74th Foot.
Pipers also came to the new world with the horde of Scottish immigrants following the 1745 defeat. There were mentions of pipers in descriptions of the Virginia Militia from the Shenandoah Valley, fighting the Indians near what is now Charleston, WVA, in Lord Dunsmore's War of 1774.
In the American Revolution the bagpipe and the kilt were present on both sides. In addition to the five British Army and at least two Loyalist Highland regiments, the Continental Army had its share of Scots with their pipes. General Lachlan MacKintosh's Georgia Brigade of the Line was largely kilted, particularly the 2nd Georgia, and of course marched to the pipes. Most of North Carolina troops at Cowpens and King Mountain were also Scots, and their pipers accompanied them. The blue Kilmarnock bonnet was as popular among the troops as the three-cornered hat - at the Battle of Saratoga, almost the entire Northern Army wore it. The pipes were there as well.
In the 1861 rush to raise volunteer units at the outbreak of the Civil War, the 79th New York regiment was raised from among Scottish immigrants and descendants. Uniformed in kilts and with its Pipe Band, the unit fought at Bull Run. If American pipers were playing in the Spanish-American War or WW II, their stories are lost of history. WW II and Korea gave birth to an American piping renaissance, however.
Rear Admiral Fay Abdellah, former Deputy Surgeon General, US Public Health Service, tells of the Pipe Band which her service raised at Ellis Island. They performed between 1892 and 1915 - to welcome Europeans to America. Even though it was a small band, she states, it was to become an important part of Ellis Island history.
Shorty before the start of WW II the 2nd Marine Reserve Battalion of Boston formed a Pipe Band. Later, in 1943, a number of former members found themselves stationed together in the Marine Detachment of the Naval Base, Londonberry, Northern Ireland, where they quickly organized and trained a 27 - man Pipe Band which became famous for their musical skills. Several Marine pipers played during the bloody Battle of Peleliu, and a Marine lieutenant was observed piping his amphibian tractor ashore on Iwo Jima. In Korea, Sgt. F.H. "Timmy" Killeen piped his company of the 7th Marines though the Inchon-Seoul Battle and often raised spirits - spirits of their fallen comrades, some said, during the numerous night battles.
Also, the Navy has had its pipers - Capt. Charles Carr, for example, who used to pipe his ammunition ship into the dock at the Polaris Sub Base at Holy Loch, Scotland, much to the delight and approval of the local citizenry.
Doubtless there were individual pipers in other campaigns and in the Army, too, but these are largely forgotten. Towards the end of WW II in Europe, however, MGEN Harry J. Collins, commanding the 42nd "Rainbow" Division, came by a set of Scottish pipes and drums. He formed a Pipe Band in the division. When he left the division after the war, he took his pipes and drums with him to his new command, the 2nd Infantry Division in Ft. Lewis, WA. In 1949 the 2nd Inf Div Band cadred, at The Presidio, in San Francisco, the Sixth Army Pipe Band, and then went to Korea in 1950.
Meanwhile, General Collins took the pipes and drums to his next command, the 8th Infantry Division at Ft. Jackson, SC. From there they went with Collins to the 31st Division at Camp Atterbury, IN in 1952. Among other Army Pipe Bands in the 1950's were those of the Second Army at Ft, Meade, MD; the 5th Infantry Division; the 179th Army Band at Camp Carson, CO, and the 7th Cavalry in Japan.
So far as could be ascertained, none of these earlier bands still exist. The US Air Force Band established its piping interest in 1950, which eventually became the US Air Force Pipe Band, wearing the Mitchell tartan in honor of General Billy Mitchell. The Band was a favorite with President Kennedy, performing many times at the White House and throughout Europe. This writer was solo performing piper with the group, and after commissioning, was officer-in-charge. The USAF Pipe Band performed at President's Kennedy's graveside ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and was disbanded, ostensibly for economy, in 1970.
There were pipers playing their fighting man's music for US troops in Vietnam, including this writer, at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1966 and 1967. Col. Richard H. Beal, US Army, told of the piper who played for his troops who "didn't make it back" when he would return to base in Vietnam. He loved the sound of the piper for the honor it showed for his soldiers. Col. Beal died of a heart attack while on duty at the Pentagon. The undersigned had the privilege of performing the piping for his grave-side services at Arlington National Cemetery on 18 August 1989, this time to honor the life and military service of another great soldier.
The loss of the Air Force Pipe Band in 1970 saw the end in the regular US military services of a bit of military tradition well known in America and linking the new world with the old. Today, we see a Reserve Air Force Unit Pipe Band at Warner-Robbins AF Base, GA, and a cadet Pipe Band at West Point, NY as the only remaining active US Military Pipe Bands. The Citadel has had a cadet Pipe Band, established by General Mark Clark, for many years, which is still in existence today.
Hopefully, this valuable military tradition can be maintained.
Richard Scott Blair, PhD
