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First Annual Tunnel Hill
Celtic Festival Held 14 Sept
 Tunnel
Hill, GA is a small community just south of Chattanooga, TN. It got its
name from a railroad tunnel cut Charter Clan Members of Tunnel Hill
Festival through a “hill” of granite in 1850. The tunnel is over 1,400
feet long and took two years to complete, the longest “horseshoe” shaped
tunnel in the world. Tunnel Hill was right in the path of the Union Army
as it fought its way towards Atlanta. In 1863 the Great Locomotive Chase
went through the tunnel. Before the Union Army had moved out of
Chattanooga a locomotive called The General was hijacked just north of
Atlanta by Union sympathizers. The General was driven north at full speed
to try and get behind Union lines. The Confederates gave chase at like
speed. The normal safe speed for a locomotive driven through this tunnel
was 10 mph. The General went through it at an estimated 60 mph. Before the
heat, steam and smoke had cleared from the tunnel The Texas, another
engine chasing The General, was driven through at about the same speed in
reverse! Modern trains were too big to pass through the tunnel and it fell
out of use.
County Commissioner Mike
Cowan
 About
ten years ago a group of citizens began plans that saved the tunnel from
ruin. The tunnel is now fully renovated. The next step is building a
visitors’ center to complete the site as an historical tourist stop. Part
of the planning includes hosting a Celtic Festival each year to be held in
the spring. Whitfield County Commissioner and Society member Mike Cowan
hopes a Celtic festival, to coexist with an already established Native
American Festival and Civil War reenactment, will draw even more attention
to the project. Society members Mike and Boyd Whitfield (Calhoun) were the
game organizers. Sept. 14 was a trial day which was successful by all
accounts.
Sir Iain Colquhoun
Listed In Two More Books
Sir Iain (chief of the Colquhouns from 1910 to 1948) has been found
mentioned in two more books. The first is Silent Night: The Story Of The
WWI Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub (The Free Press 2001). Briefly
mentioning him and misspelling his first name, Weintraub states Sir Iain
allowed a thirty minute cease fire to bury the dead on Christmas 1915 near
Ypres, Belgium. After blowing his whistle to signal his men to return to
the trenches, an impromptu cease fire continued on both sides for the rest
of the day. Sir Iain was a Captain in the First Scots Guards at the time.
He was brought up for court martial 18 January 1916 for “disobeying
orders”, specifically from Major General Lord Cavan to keep up a steady
stream of bombardment during daylight hours and raiding trenches by night
through the Christmas season to avoid “slackness” in discipline. Weintraub
states it’s incorrect that Sir Iain was sentenced to death for consorting
with the enemy and pardoned by King George V. This is stated as fact in
the Rossdhu tour book one used to get before the manor house became the
Loch Lomond Golf Course Clubhouse (can be seen at
http://homepages.enterprise.net/emac/RossdhuHouse.html). That story,
according to Weintraub, was started by a folksong written by John
McCutcheon entitled “Christmas In The Trenches.” Instead, Sir Iain was
“reprimanded”, soon pardoned by a General Haig, “…returned to duty and
rose through the war to brigadier general.” We have never heard of Sir
Iain attaining this rank. So which version is true? Perhaps this can be
clarified later.
 The
second book is For Benefit Of The Nation: The National Trust For Scotland:
The First 70 Years by Douglas Bremner (published by The National Trust
2001). This book is for sale at most National Trust or Scottish Heritage
Tents at Highland Games all over the States this year. A remarkable item
in this book is a picture of Sir Iain (a portrait style photo possibly
taken later in his life than what we’ve seen) on page 35. Sir Iain was
founding chairman for the Trust (1931-46) and Vice President (1946-1948).
Bremner states at the very beginning of the book that Sir Iain’s “…vision,
courage and driving force helped to establish…” the organization. The
mission of the Trust has been “…to conserve places of historic interest
and natural beauty as an example for the future.” One of Sir Iain’s
interests was Ben Lomond, across the loch from Rossdhu. Other early
properties coming to the Trust were Berg, on the island of Mull; the field
of Bannockburn, where Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II’s army in 1314;
Crookston castle in Glasgow; and Bruce’s Stone in Galloway (saving it from
being submerged by a proposed hydro-electric plan). The initial fee to
join the Trust was “10 shillings or more” and not increased to a pound
until 1963. Sir Iain broadcast an appeal over the radio for new members in
1934. This resulted in 385 new members, 22 of whom offered the extra dues
to become life members, and more property donated for preservation. So the
next time you pass that National Trust or Scottish Heritage tent at the
games, stop by for a moment to honor the memory of one of your chieftains
who helped start it all.
President’s Corner
Annual General Meeting for The Clan Colquhoun Society Of North America
will be held at the Clan Tent of the Stone Mountain Games Saturday,
October 19, 2002 at 2:00PM. The Board Of Directors will meet at 1:00PM at
the same location.
Agenda:
Election Of Officers
Four Year Terms For Elected Officers
Credit Of Annual Dues if an individual Sponsors a Clan Tent at an Approved
Game
Annual Reports
James H. Kilpatrick, Jr. FSA (Scot) |
