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After
formation of the band, a meeting was held to decide on the parade dress that the
band would wear during performances. Clearly, the band would select the tartan
of the Gordon's but of what style? The band wanted an appearance that would be
immediately recognizable as Scottish and also confer a feeling of awe and pride.
The decision was made to wear a full military uniform with modifications suited
to our area and climate.
The
tunic was abandoned in favor of a light cotton shirt. The tartan chosen was
Dress Gordon in lieu of the darker military Gordon which is similar to the Black
Watch tartan but with an added yellow stripe. The Dress Gordon tartan contains
white and is lighter and brighter for our American audiences. The kilt is pleated
to the tartan instead of military pleating to emphasize this. The rest is similar to regular
military piping bands including military horsehair sporran, dirk, sgian dubh,
full plaid and brooch, piper's cross belt, feather bonnet and hackle, kilt, kilt pin,
Clan Gordon crest badge, hose, spats and flashes.To
see what a regimental highland officer would look like during the Revolutionary
War, check out our Quartermaster Bob Small.
Feather
Bonnet--worn to intimidate the adversary and lead them to believe
that the pipers and soldiers were much taller than they actually were. It
started as a simple bonnet with a few feathers, which, evolved into and
imposing headwear during the Napoleonic Wars. The
bonnet is made out of ostrich feathers (though many are made with
synthetics) and the brim is red and white checked
(dicing). Believe it or not, it is quiet light but can most definitely get
hot in summertime. The clan crest badge is worn on the left side. Usually, the four
'tassels' blow into your eyes in the middle of parades. The drummers and
others in the color guard wear a Glengarry, a black military-type cap with
red and white dicing and a red toorie (pompom) on the top. Both caps also
have ribbons trailing in the back. Hackle--the
red hackle worn on the bonnets was adopted in 1795, by another regiment
called The Black Watch. In their regiment it represented an honor. -
Brooch--a
small circular pin with amber glass stones used to hold our plaids in place.
Ask Pipe Major McDicken how many times we've drawn blood with these.
Clan
Crest Badge--signifies the clan that the band belongs to, Clan
Gordon. The badge is encircled by a buckle and strap which contains the
clan's motto. For Gordon, it is 'ByDand', translated to 'Remaining'. -
Cross belt--worn
by the pipers and drum majors, it crosses the chest from right to left and
often has a clan crest badge affixed to it or other badge of a
regiment.
Sash--worn
by the drum majors over the left shoulder. They frequently carry a claymore
as well, the Highland broadsword. The sash would normally bear any
regimental honors and badges. The Pipe Major, Andrew McDicken, and Piper
Sergeant, Dave Cairns, also wear a smaller red sash over their left
shoulders. Click here to see a close-up of Ian's sash. Plaid--the
piper's plaid is a long bolt of tartan almost three and a half yards in
length and fringed at both ends. It wraps around the chest in a sash-like
fashion and drapes over the shoulder hanging very close to the ground. The
plaid is held in place about the shoulder with a brooch. -
Mace--also
called a staff, it is used by the drum major to signal over the ranks of the
pipers and drummers. Various movements indicate when to begin to march,
start or end a tune and when to turn or come to a stop.
Dirk--although
very menacing in appearance, the dirk (not seen in the photo) is a small
sword is a weapon but also used for obtaining food/game. Some are very elaborate
and can be highly bejeweled. Some even have small knives and forks attached
to the scabbard. In civilian attire, it is generally worn as evening wear. Sporran--believe
it or not, it's a man's purse. There are no pockets in a kilt, so, one
needed a place to keep his personal belongings. The sporran is a pouch with
a snap in the back to do just this. However, the military sporran made of
white horse hair does not have a pocket and is for dress. Sporrans worn
during the day are commonly made of brown leather and evening sporrans are
commonly made of fur. Kilt--the
brunt of many-a-joke, none of which will be printed here. The kilt goes back
hundreds of years. The kilt itself is a pleated sheet of wool often over 8
yards in length. The kilt can be pleated in two ways: pleating to the tartan
or military pleating (pleating to the sett). Since the kilt is pleated in the back, this is where
the difference is noted. In pleating to the tartan, the whole pattern of the
tartan can be seen. In the military pleat, the same stripe is lined up on
every pleat so that from behind, you see horizontal lines. When the bandsmen
walks, the hidden color shows in flashes. Our kilts are pleated to the
tartan. Te see this demonstrated, click here. Kilt
pin--simple enough, a small decorative pin worn on the front apron of
the kilt. It does not pin the kilt together. It originated with orders from
Queen Victoria when she ruled that all military kilts should have a means of
fastening the outer apron to the inner (out of modesty). The pins have many beautiful designs.
Most of our band members have
the clan crest on theirs. Sgian
dubh--a small knife kept in the hose. The short sgian dubh was
adopted during the proscription when weapons were forbidden to the
Highlanders. Other stories told say that in days of yore, one was
required to surrender your weapons upon entering the residence of another
person. As a matter of self-defense, a small knife was kept hidden in the
hose ( it was too large to fit in the sporran). The tradition has remained to this day only that the 'sgian dubh' is
now exposed for decoration. It can be worn in either 'sock'. -
Hose--basically,
socks without the feet. They also can have numerous designs including plain
colors, emblems and, like ours, an argyle pattern matching the dress Gordon
tartan.
Garters/Flashes--these
are elastic bands that are placed underneath the fold of the hose that help
support the hose itself and also the sgian dubh. On the outside are
suspended two small forked ribbons that are called flashes. Ours are green
and not well seen in the photo above. They also can be of many colors to
match one's uniform or attire. In evening attire, the generally match the
color of the kilt. -
Spats--protective
coverings over the shoes that were supposed to protect against brush, etc.
They are now more for uniform display. Keeping them shiny white is not an
easy job.
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| Ian's
Sash |
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Military
pleating on the left (pleated to the sett) vs. pleating to the tartan on
right |
Tartans
of Clan Gordon
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Modern
Gordon |
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Dress
Gordon |
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Ancient
Gordon |
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Ancient
Dress Gordon |
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Gordon
Old |
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Gordon
Red |
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Gordon
Weathered |
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This is a composite of the Gordon Clan
Crest and the coat of arms. |
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The coat of arms of Clan Gordon is a blue
shield with the heads of three boars on the front, topped by a helmet of
armor. The boars have to do with the origin of the Gordons. |
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ByDand
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The crest of the Clan Gordon is seen most often
on the Glengarries or bonnets of our band members. It consists of a stag's
head sitting on a bejeweled crown
surrounded by a belt with the word 'ByDand', Remaining, across the top. |
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The standard of the Clan Gordon
consists of a pennant
shaped flag
with several 'compartments'. The hoist side
shows the cross of St. Andrew which is the flag
of Scotland
followed by two horizontal bars
of azure and gold. The second compartment
shows the Clan Crest of Gordon and then
two oblique red sashes reading
'AnGordonach' and 'ByDand'.
Interspersed are leaves of rock ivy.
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web site design: Dr Frank Ross
 Rev Dennis Carter (webmaster)
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