The Highlanders who stormed the French lines at Carillon brought a ghost story with them. Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe, of the 42nd, was said to have been haunted for years by the ghost of a murdered kinsman, whose killer he had sworn to shelter before learning whom the man had killed. The ghost, the story goes, warned that they would meet again "at Ticonderoga," a name that meant nothing to Campbell until the army reached the French fort in 1758. On 8 July he was mortally wounded in the assault and died some days later. The tale is folklore, but the losses were real: the 42nd suffered more casualties than any other regiment that day.
Don Troiani paints the moment a handful of Highlanders forced their way into the French works. An officer of the 42nd, broadsword raised, leads kilted Highlanders over the log breastwork into a wall of French bayonets, while more men climb behind him through the smoke. French soldiers in white coats close in around them, beneath a French colour, among tree stumps, ammunition boxes and the fallen. In the artist's own account, the men who broke in were quickly overwhelmed by French grenadiers held in reserve. Pair the print with W. Britain's 42nd Grenadier Standing Firing, No.2 and French General Marquis de Montcalm, 1759, or with Tradition of London's Grenadier Company 42nd Highland Regiment.
Don Troiani, Ticonderoga, 8 July 1758. Available in three print formats:
Canvas giclée, Artist Proof limited edition of 5, each hand-signed and numbered by Don Troiani. 29" x 22". $800.
Canvas giclée, limited edition of 45, each hand-signed and numbered by Don Troiani. 29" x 22". $750.
Open edition giclée on German 100% cotton rag art paper, with a signed certificate of authenticity and embossed with Mr. Troiani's initials. Image 25.5" W x 19.25" H; overall print 30" W x 24" H. $175.
The Art of Don Troiani watermark shown above does not appear on any of the prints.
