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Tuesday 26 January 2021

Rabbie Burns ... the soldier

Whilst doing my research for my forthcoming talk about Rabbie Burns, I discovered that he had joined the Royal Dumfries Volunteers when it was created in 1795.

He even wrote the words for a song (THE DUMFRIES VOLUNTEERS, sung to the tune PUSH ABOUT THE JORUM) about the regiment:

Does haughty Gaul invasion threat,
Then let the loons beware, Sir,
There's wooden walls upon our seas,
And volunteers on shore, Sir.
The Nith shall run to Corsincon,
And Criffel sink in Solway,
Ere we permit a foreign foe
On British ground to rally!

O let us not, like snarling tykes,
In wrangling be divided;
Till slap come in an unco loon
And wi' a rung decide it.
Be Britan still to Britain true,
Amang oursels united;
For never but by British hands
Maun British wrangs be righted!

The kettle o' the kirk and state,
Perhaps a clout may fail in't;
But deil a foreign tinkler loon
Shall ever ca' a nail in't.
Our fathers' bluid the kettle bought,
And wha wad dare to spoil it;
By heaven! the sacrilegious dog
Shall fuel be to boil it.

The wretch that wad a tyrant own,
And the wretch his true-born brother,
Who would set the mob aboon the throne,
May they be damned together!
Who will not sing, "God save the King,"
Shall hang as high's the steeple;
But while we sing, "God save the King,"
We'll ne'er forget the people.

The regiment is thought to have worn a red jacket with yellow facings or a blue jacket with red facings, and a crested helmet. (The sources are unclear as to the colour of the jacket and facings.)

Because he was a serving volunteer at the time of his death, Burns was given a military funeral. Besides members of the Royal Dumfries Volunteers, the band of the Cinque Ports Cavalry were present, and played the DEAD MARCH by Handel. In addition, members of the Angusshire Fencibles formed a guard-of-honour, and fired three volleys over his grave.

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Steve J.,

      Cheers! There’s going to be a follow up blog piece about the Volunteers and their colonel.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Fascinating! Unfortunately this appeared a day too late for the online event I as part of last night, or I would have presented it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bohemond1099,

      I’m glad that you enjoyed it ... and there’s always next year when you can use it!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Interesting stuff Bob, thanks! The Angusshire Fencibles is a name to conjure with.. Does someone need to do a 'what if' game of a French landing in Scotland c. 1795?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David in Suffolk,

      Cheers! There will be a follow up blog post about the Royal Dumfries Volunteers and their colonel either tomorrow or the day after.

      It’s an interesting ‘what if ,.. ‘ to contemplate, especially as it was only fifty years after the Jacobite Rebellion.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Hi Bob -
    The missing line in the third stanza seems to be
    'Be Britain still be to Britain true...'.
    Have to say, though: them were fightin' words, so they were!
    Cheers,
    Ion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo (Ion),

      Thanks for pointing out my omission. I must have missed it when I transcribed the poem, and I’ve corrected my error.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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