Page 234 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2021 DISCOVERING SANTA FE

clear allegiance to either army.
Interest in what happened at Culloden in 1746 -
- 275 years ago this year -- has been revived re-
cently by the "Outlander" historical novels and TV
series created by American author Diana Gabal-
don and by a renewed wave of Scottish national-
ism.
"It plays a major role (in the ‘Outlander’ series),"
said Karen Takizawa of Tokyo, who was drawn to
Culloden while on an Outlander tour of Scotland.
"Thanks to the Outlander series (particularly the
second book, ‘Dragonfly in Amber’) and supple-
mentary sources I read for background informa-
tion, I learned that the battle resulted from a
complex situation involving other countries,
namely France, religious differences (Catholic vs.
Protestant), cultural differences, vastly different
levels of preparation, bad weather and the sticky
question of who deserved to be on the throne."
Anne-Marie Nicol of Perth, Scotland, has visited
the battlefield, and vividly remembers stone
markers placed with name of clans that took part
in the battle, but not mentioning which of either
side they fought with. Walking amidst the stones,
and several mass burial sites, is a stirring experi-
ence. Guides are on hand at the visitors center to
lead groups through the battlefield and to show
the one place where the Jacobites breached the
British line, only to be met with fire from a second
line of troops.
"Culloden was the highlight of the tour for me,"
said Takizawa.
"Culloden was the event that caused Jamie (of
the ‘Outlander’ series) to send Claire back into the
future. Claire knew how that battle would end and
for 20 long years, she thought Jamie had died or
been killed in the fighting. They are characters in a
work of fiction, I know, but when I saw the Fraser
clan stone on our walk through the battlefield, I
had a real lump in my throat and real tears in my
eyes. After Culloden, we visited Ruthven Barracks,
where our guide told us some of the surviving Ja-
cobite soldiers had met after Culloden to regroup
and plan their next move, only to get word from
Bonnie Prince Charlie that it was all over."

234 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2021