What's in a word?

I read your interesting article 'The Blockade Runners' in the July 2021 issue. Was Captain Joannes Wyllie really ‘remarkable’, given that he was supporting the pro-slavery American Confederacy?

Dr Douglas T Hansell, Glasgow

Editor's reply: ‘Remarkable’ is not a word that is intended to imply praise – as per its dictionary definition (‘uncommon or extraordinary’) it simply means very noteworthy. To say that Stonewall Jackson and Ulysses S Grant were remarkable men, which is undeniable, doesn't suggest they were necessarily both good men.

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, SCOTTISH FIELD, FETTES PARK, 496 FERRY ROAD, EDINBURGH EH5 2DL EMAIL EDITOR@SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK WEBSITE WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK