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How a Scottish Piper Stole the Show at the Alamo
To Texans it is a proud symbol of their struggle for independence from Mexico. Ozzy Osbourne was less reverential, using its walls as a public toilet. Now Scots have a reason to remember the Alamo.
A real-life bagpiping Scot who played a musical duel with American as a star of the latest Hollywood epic to celebrate the heroic defeat that helped shape the modern United States.
The Alamo, the 1960 John Wayne classic ridiculed for its inaccuracies by siege experts, has become a cult classic and inspired many with its gung-ho portrayal of the Alamo defenders. It was also noticeably Scot-free.
But all that changes this weekend with the release of The Alamo, a Disney corporation blockbuster that aims to present a more historically accurate picture, including the Mexican perspective.
And, for the first time on the big screen, the movie highlights the Scottish contribution to the battle by featuring bagpiper John McGregor who originally came from Aberfeldy in Perthshire.
While four Scots died during the battle of the Alamo, it is McGregor, a piper and second sergeant of Captain William R Carey’s artillery frontiersman Davy Crockett during the siege of the Alamo has emerged as a star of the latest Hollywood epic to celebrate the heroic defeat that helped shape the modern United States.
In a bid to raise the morale of the besieged defenders, McGregor performed musical ‘duels’ with American folklore legend and second generation Scot, Davy Crockett, who played the fiddle. McGregor was said to have won the duels because he played the longest and loudest...
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