The Fiery Q
next week in DC
In Scotland, the fiery cross, known as the Crann Tara, was used as a declaration of war.[1] The sight of it commanded all clan members to rally to the defence of the area. On other occasions, a small burning cross would be carried from town to town. It was used in the War of 1812 between Britain and the USA as a means of mobilising the Scottish Fencibles and militia settled in Glengarry County, Ontario against the invaders,[2] In 1820 over 800 fighting men of Clan Grant were gathered, by the passing of the Fiery Cross, to come to the aid of their Clan Chieftain and his sister in the town of Elgin, Scotland.[3] The last other significant use in Scotland itself was in 1745, during the Jacobite rising,[4] and it was subsequently described in the novels and poetry of Sir Walter Scott.