Scots-Irish

[fluter]

Ulster Scots have a long and distinguished history in the development of America...
George Washington said: "If defeated everywhere else. I will make my last stand for liberty among the Scotch Irish of my native Virginia."

A delightful account of a bloody period in the Carolina upcountry is Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution by Walter B. Edgar. It's not only about the Scots-Irish, but they certainly play a part.

Does anyone have an opinion on James Webb's Born Fighting? I enjoyed it, but haven't yet followed up the sources mentioned here.

Last weekend some of us were describing the migration patterns, and one listener immediately caught on to one of the ironies: how come the areas settled by all those Lowlanders have so many Highland games? Also of course, that many Lowland Scots-Irish settled the foothills and mountains, and many Highlanders settled in coastal North Carolina.

[macwilkin]

A delightful account of a bloody period in the Carolina upcountry is Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution by Walter B. Edgar. It's not only about the Scots-Irish, but they certainly play a part.

Does anyone have an opinion on James Webb's Born Fighting? I enjoyed it, but haven't yet followed up the sources mentioned here.

Last weekend some of us were describing the migration patterns, and one listener immediately caught on to one of the ironies: how come the areas settled by all those Lowlanders have so many Highland games? Also of course, that many Lowland Scots-Irish settled the foothills and mountains, and many Highlanders settled in coastal North Carolina.

Webb's book has certainly gotten the publicity, but to me it is more of personal opinion and ancedotes rather than scholarly history. If I remember correctly, he doesn't use footnotes, which always makes me nervous.

For examination of why all those Lowlanders and Ulster-Scots are having Highland Games, I recommend Celeste Ray's Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2001) -- it is a very interesting read.

Meyer's The Highland Scots of North Carolina is also worth perusing. Dr. Meyer is a professor emeritus in history at my alma mater.

Regards,

Todd