Scottish Enlightenment Interests?

[Bugbear]

Who is your favorite personality from the Scottish Enlightenment?
What event is most interesting, to you, during that time period?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

hmm... hard to say. This week it's probably Patrick Ferguson because he didn't kill Washington when he had the chance.

[MacBean]

Is that Ferguson of rifle fame who died at Kings Mountain? Why is he appealing today especially? I have to admit, what I've heard of him is rather interesting though.

[macwilkin]

Is that Ferguson of rifle fame who died at Kings Mountain? Why is he appealing today especially? I have to admit, what I've heard of him is rather interesting though.

Would you have replied this way if Rathdown had written John Paul Jones, James Wilson or Hugh Mercer? ;-)

Loyal men deserve their day in the sun as much as the rebels do.

T.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Is that Ferguson of rifle fame who died at Kings Mountain? Why is he appealing today especially? I have to admit, what I've heard of him is rather interesting though.

Two reasons, I suppose. First, he was a Scottish gentleman. Second, I was thinking about him on Sunday when I was driving past the Kings Mountain battlefield. The entire period of the Scottish Enlightenment (sort of 1729-1832) produced a plethora of titans in the arts, philosophy, and sciences, and in my opinion Captain Ferguson was one of them. With true Scots inventiveness he devised an eminently practical breech loading rifle that had, for its time, two great virtues: it could be loaded faster than a conventional muzzle loading musket, and it's accuracy was superior to any other military arm then in service. To this inventiveness he brought a system of values-- call it a moral compass if you will-- that prevented his killing Washington with a shot fired in stealth. Seems to me that that encapsulates the ethos of the Enlightenment.

[blackbeard]

Being an arteeest, I have to give my nod to Sir Henry Raeburn. His use of color, lighting, and broad brush strokes were a precursor to VanGough, Degas, and other impressionist . I also like the fact that he was self-taught. Also that he bucked the trend to relocate to London. He spent most of his life in Scotland.

[BoldHighlander]

Is that Ferguson of rifle fame who died at Kings Mountain? Why is he appealing today especially? I have to admit, what I've heard of him is rather interesting though.

Would you have replied this way if Rathdown had written John Paul Jones, James Wilson or Hugh Mercer? ;-)

Loyal men deserve their day in the sun as much as the rebels do.

I've always had an interest in Ferguson & the Battle of King's Mountain has always been my favorite battle, since my 5th great-grandfather, Teter "Detrich" Nave (a son of Swiss immigrants) fought against Ferguson in Shelby's command.

Interestingly, a large portion of the Over-the-mountain Men were of Scots-Irish stock.

[BoldHighlander]

hmm... hard to say. This week it's probably Patrick Ferguson because he didn't kill Washington when he had the chance.

from Major Patrick Ferguson 1744-80:
Ferguson's Corps performed well in the battle, fighting alongside the Queen's Rangers, under James Wemyss. Pattie had the chance to pick off a important-looking Rebel officer, but declined to do so for reasons of honour. He was later told in hospital that the officer may have been Washington, but this cannot be proven with certainty. (Knowing the sense of humour some medics have, it may have been a wind-up...) Pattie, at any rate, believed it was, and wrote, "I am not Sorry that I did not know all the time who it was".

And this from Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site:
In their only major engagement at Brandywine on 11 September 1777, Ferguson had the chance to shoot a senior-looking Rebel officer, who was riding out with a French hussar as escort, but, as he later wrote, the idea of shooting in the back someone who was going about his duties so coolly, and did not pose a threat, "disgusted" him. Even when told next day that the officer in question was Washington, he did not regret his chivalry. 54 years later, Fenimore Cooper claimed his father-in-law, De Lancey, then serving with Ferguson, had said the officer involved was Pulaski, not Washington, and that the incident happened after Ferguson was maimed, not before — but this is contradicted, nearer the time, by Ferguson himself, and by the extent of his injuries. It is possible that Pulaski may have been the French hussar.

I guess we'll never know for certain, but I applaud your choice MoR.

[Bugbear]

That's interesting, thanks.

Not sure there's anything I can add to the discussion.

[Bugbear]

Although, it does seem that quite a few of the books I have been reading over the last year or so bring up either Adam Smith or David Hume, and probably other important people from the Scottish Enlightenment. These aren't history books, for the most part, they are science books.

One of these days I might look into any parallels and connections Harry Home and George Washington may have had in relation to agriculture.