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[Cablegram from Belfast, Ireland.]
Belfast, May 29, 1890.
To the Scotch Irish Society of America,
Care of Colonel T. T. Weight.
Hearty congratulations from the mayor and
citizens of Belfast.
San Francisco, Cal., May 29, 1890,
Alexander Montgomery,
President Scotch-Irish Society of California,
Care of A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Secretary.
The members of the Scotch-Irish Society of California request you, its
President, to tender their greetings and cordial congratulations to the
Scotch-Irish Congress assembled at Pittsburg, and indulge the hope that
the next Congress will convene in San Francisco.
THOS. WHITE,
Secretary Pro Tern.
Columbia, Tenn., May 28, 1890.
To the Scotch-Irish Society of America, Care of Colonel Wright.
The citizens of Columbia, Tenn., the
birthplace of the Scotch-Irish Congress, send cordial greetings to the
Ulster American Race, and their great monument, the city of Pittsburg.
H. L. HENDLEY,
Mayor.
Charlotte, N. C, May 29, 1890.
A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Society of America, Scotch-Irish Congress,
Pittsburg.
Charlotte, the hornet's nest of the
Revolution, and home of Scotch-Irish settlers, sends warmest greetings,
and invites the Congress to meet here May 20, 1891, and witness the
unveiling of the monument to the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence of May 20, 1775.
F. B. Mcdowell,
Mayor.
Charlotte, N. C., May 29, 1890.
A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Society of America, Scotch-Irish Congress,
Pittsburg.
The Scotch-Irish Society of North Carolina
extends congratulations to the Pittsburg of to-day as the colony of North
Carolina sent aid and sympathy in 1755 and '58.
GEO. W. GRAHAM,
President.
[Message from Wallace Bruce, Consul.]
United States Consulate, York Buildings,
Edinburgh, May 17, 1890.
Hon. Thos. T. Wright.
I sincerely regret that I can not be with you
at the Scotch-Irish Congress, May 29th, in Pittsburg. I feel like sending
you a haggis, a bag-pipe, and a real Highland piper. If there was a
phonograph at hand, I would forward you a musical transcript of "The
Campbells Are Coming," and "Scots Wha Hae wi' Wallace Bled." A few years
ago it was a far cry to Loch Awe, to-day it is only a minute's whisper
from Edinburgh to Pittsburg. Hearty greetings and best wishes. Sincerely,
WALLACE BRUCE.
Municipal Chambers, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., May
24, 1890.
A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Society of America.
DEAR SIR:
We have the honor to invite you, the Scotch-Irish Congress, and the
citizens of Pittsburg, to a national celebration of Davy Crockett's
birthday, August 19th, at his old home, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
We are indebted to Colonel T. T. Wright, the
Christopher Columbus who re-discovered the Scotch-Irish in America, for
creating the sentiment which prompts this tribute to the memory of the
Alamo hero—the illustrious Scotch-Irish American—Davy Crockett.
We extend a cordial welcome to you, sir, the
Scotch-Irish Congress, the citizens of Pittsburg, and patriotic Americans,
to unite with us in doing honor to the memory of this patriotic giant,
Davy Crockett. I am, very respectfully, yours,
W. P. McCLANAHAN,
Mayor.
Senate Chamber, Washington, May 12, 1890.
A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Sec'y Scotch-Irish Society.
DEAR SIR:
I have just received your cordial invitation to attend the Second Congress
of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, to be held in Pittsburg, from the
29th day of May to the 1st day of June, inclusive, the present year, and
regret that my engagements are such that I can not accept.
I should like to be present, and to give my
tribute of respect for the far reaching and beneficial influence which the
representatives of that happy blending of the Scotch and Irish blood have
exercised, not only in the Old World, but in so many of the states of this
Union.
Wherever this blood has been found, there have
also been found energy, integrity and patriotism—and all these go to build
up the Republic.
I can only send my cordial good wishes for the
success of the occasion. Yours, very truly,
EUGENE HALE.
Senate Chamber, Washington, May 5, 1890.
A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Sec'y Scotch-Irish Society.
MY DEAR SIR:
Your invitation to attend the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish Society
of America has been received, but I fear that my official duties will not
permit me to accept, though it would give me great pleasure to do so.
Besides this, I do not, in my own person, represent the Scotch-Irish race,
as I am of English descent; but my wife, who, as usual in such cases, is
the better half, is thoroughly Scotch-Irish, bearing the name of Mary
Stewart. Her ancestors for several generations lived in Pennsylvania, but
always kept up the accent as well as the traits of the genuine Scot.
Hoping that you will have an interesting
Congress, with plenty of fun and good humor, I am,
Very sincerely, yours,
JOHN SHERMAN.
Senate Chamber, Washington, May 6, 1890.
DEAR SIR:
I have your invitation to attend the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish
Society of America, to be held at Pittsburg, on 29th inst. I regret that
the pressure upon my time here is such as to make the acceptance of your
courtesy entirely impracticable.
I trust that your Congress, and all its
members, will have an interesting and valuable meeting, and that it may
continue to inculcate and practice principles of true liberty and order.
Very respectfully yours,
GEO. P. EDMUNDS. John W. Echols, Esq.,
Local Sec'y, etc.
Pittsburg, Pa.
Washington, May 6, 1890.
John W. Echols. Esq.,
Local Secretary,
Pittsburg, Pa.
MY DEAR SIR:
My duties here forbid my complying with your kind invitation to attend the
Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish Society, at Pittsburg, May 29th.
Many of that race were among the settlers of
New England in the last century, and there have been many valuable
additions from it since. There never was a better stock. Our country has
owed much to the intelligence, the energy, and the steadfastness of this
admirable race.
I shall read the proceedings of the Congress,
if they are published, with great interest.
I am, faithfully, yours,
GEO. E. HOAR.
Atlanta, Ga., May 6, 1890.
Mr. John W. Echols,
Local Secretary,
Pittsburg, Pa.
DEAR SIR:
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your very kind circular of
invitation to the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish of America, in
Pittsburg, Pa., May 29th to June 1st, and I sincerely and cordially thank
you and the others represented by you for the invitation. I regret,
however, to be obliged to inform you that, on account of my bad health,
which has lasted for quite a period, I fear I may not have sufficient
strength to attend the meeting at the time designated.
Cordially sympathizing with you and the other
representatives of our Scotch-Irish race, and trusting that the Congress
may be a Very interesting and profitable one, I am,
Very truly, etc.,
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
United States Senate,
Washington, D. C, May 24, 1890.
John W. Echols, Esq.
Local Secretary,
Pittsburg, Pa.
DEAR SIR:
Your kind invitation to attend the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish
Society of America, in the city of Pittsburg, from the 29th of May to the
1st of June, was received.
Nothing would give me more
pleasure than to attend your Congress, being myself of Scotch descent. I
have always taken a great interest in the race. It is a dominant and
progressive race wherever it is found. Its achievements in every
department of life are conspicuous all over the world.
I hope your Congress will
be a great success; but my duties in Washington will prevent my attending
it, I regret very much to say.
Yours, truly,
WM. M. STEWART.
House of Representatives,
Washington, May 5, 1890.
John W. Echols, Esq.,
Local Sec'y, etc.
DEAR. SIR:
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of an invitation to attend the
Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, to be held in the
city of Pittsburg on the 29th of May.
Please accept my thanks for
the courtesy. I regret, exceedingly, that I will be unable to be present.
It would give me great pleasure to listen to the story of these great
people in America as told by their gifted descendants.
No people in Virginia have
contributed more to her progress in times of peace or to her glory in war
than the Scotch-Irish. Yours very respectfully,
EDWARD C. VENABLE.
House of Representatives, U. S.
Washington, D. C, May 5,
1890.
John W. Echols, Esq.,
Local Sec'y,
Pittsburg, Pa.
MY DEAR SIR:
The invitation to the Second Congress of Scotch-Irish Society of America
received. I would be pleased to attend, but press of business here will
doubtless preclude it. I claim this race combination for my ancestry, and
am proud of it, and would be more than pleased to do any thing in my power
to add to the success of a Congress in its interests.
Yours very truly,
WALTER I. HAYES.
[Telegram from Davy
Crockett's Grandson, the Hon. Robert G. Crockett.]
Stuttgart, Ark., May 28,
1890.
To Hon. Thomas T. Wright,
Father of the Scotch-Irish Congress, Pittsburg, Pa.
My inability to be with you
in gathering of the clans at the Scotch-Irish Congress now in session
causes me inexpressible regret. To have met with my Scotch-Irish brethren
now assembled from all sections of our great and, thank God, reunited
country; to have grasped their hands with fraternal affection as of
brothers meeting after long separation; to have looked into their kindly
eyes beaming with the impulsive love characteristic of our splendid blood;
to have exchanged family traditions leading away back to the green sod of
"Old Ireland" and the brown heather of bonnie Scotland, would have formed
a memory picture upon which my mind's eye would have fondly rested while
life lasted, but difficulties unsurmountable render my presence with you
impossible.
Please greet my kinsmen—are
we not of one blood?—with assurances of my cordial sympathy and warmest
affection. The Scotch-Irish Congress was a heaven inspired thought, and
will grow in interest until delegates from all parts of the world will
come together to do honor to the union of the Shamrock and Thistle.
Thanking you for your
considerate kindness and high compliment conveyed in the invitation to
meet with you upon this most interesting occasion, I have the honor to be,
dear sir, Sincerely and fraternally yours,
ROBERT P. CROCKETT,
Chief of the Crocketts.
Richmond, Va., May 28,
1890.
To A. C. Floyd, Esq.,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Congress, Pittsburg, Pa.
DEAR SIR:
In the name of the Virginia Scotch-Irish Society, I congratulate the
Second Scotch-Irish Congress upon its assured success. Regretting my
enforced absence, I am,
Yours, etc.,
WM. WIRT HENRY,
President Va. S. I. Society.
House of Representatives,
Washington, May 12, 1890.
DEAR SIR:
I regret very much a previous business engagement will prevent my
accepting your very kind invitation to attend the Second Congress of the
Scotch-Irish Society of America, to be held at Pittsburg, May 29th to June
1st.
Nothing would afford me
more pleasure to be present and meet the gentlemen of your Society, and
regret my inability to attend. Very respectfully,
RODNEY WALLACE.
John W. Echols, Esq. ,
Sec'y, etc.
Birmingham, Ala., May 26,
1890.
Hon. T. T. Wright.
DEAR SIR:
I regret exceedingly that a little political venture I am engaged in will
prevent me meeting with you all at Pittsburg. I am impressed with the idea
that the people of Alabama need a good red-headed Scotch-Irishman for
governor, but as you know the people very often don't know what they need,
and it may so turn out in this case.
I hope that you will
express to Mr. Bonner and Dr. Mcintosh, and my other good friends, that my
heart is with them if my body is absent, and that nothing shall prevent me
next year from renewing those brotherly ties that are fragrant with so
many pleasant memories to me.
Your friend,
JOS. F. JOHNSTON.
Tulane University of
Louisiana,
New Orleans, April 24, 1890.
Colonel John W. Echols,
Secretary.
DEAR SIR:
Please accept my thanks for your polite invitation to attend the Second
Scotch-Irish Congress. I regret that other engagements at the time of
meeting will prevent me from having the pleasure of being with you, but I
hope hereafter to attend. Very respectfully yours,
WM. PRESTON JOHNSTON.
House of Representatives U.
S.,
Washington, D. C, May 8, 1890.
Mr. John W. Echols,
Secretary, etc,
Pittsburg, Pa.
DEAR SIR:
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your kind invitation to be
present at the meeting of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, at
Pittsburg, on the 29th of May.
It would give me great
pleasure to be present, if it were possible, but engagements already made,
which can not be broken, will make it impossible. No race of people have
contributed more to sturdy industry, good morals, and patriotism than the
Scotch-Irish of America, They contribute to our moral, intellectual, and
financial wealth, and have, as they deserve, a place among the honored
races on this continent. I trust that your meeting may be both profitable
and satisfactory.
Yours, truly,
C. H. GROSVENOR.
House of Representatives,
U. S.,
Washington, D. C, May 5, 1890.
John W. Echols, Esq.,
Secretary, etc.,
Pittsburg, Pa.
MY DEAR SIR:
Your kind invitation to attend the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish
Society of America is received, and in reply . I regret to say that public
duties will prevent my attending the meeting on the 29th of May. I am
quite sure that no one can have a higher regard for the sterling qualities
of the Scotch-Irish race than I have. I feel that America is under great
obligations to them for the prominent part they have taken in its affairs
in the past.
Trusting that the Congress
will be a grand success, and meet the anticipation of its most sanguine
friends, I am,
Yours, very truly,
E. W. MORRILL.
House of Representatives,
Washington, May 5, 1890.
M John W. Echols,
Local Secretary,
Pittsburg, Pa.
MY DEAR SIR:
Your invitation to attend the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish
Association of America, to be held at Pittsburg, from the 29th of May to
the 1st of June, inclusive, has been received, and I beg to express my
thanks therefor. I was not aware before that such a society had been
organized, but I can readily see that it will be of very great historical
value and interest.
I am myself descended from
that stock, my great-grandfather being, so far as I am able to ascertain,
one of those who came over with the so-called Londonderry Colony, about
the year 1719, and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. It is hardly
necessary to say that the original form of my name was "McCutcheon," and
that the "M," which is written as a middle initial, is only the survivor
of the old Scotch form. My grandfather was a soldier of the Revolutionary
war, having enlisted before the battle of Bunker Hill, from the town of
Pembroke, New Hampshire.
The influence of the old
Scotch-Irish stock upon that state has been almost beyond estimate. It has
furnished not only to the state, but to the country, many of its most
illustrious names. It would be a very great pleasure to meet with the
Congress, and to listen to the historical and other papers that would be
there presented, but I fear that my public and other duties at the same
time will render it impossible for me to be with you. I desire, however,
that my name may be added to the list of members, and that I may be
permitted to receive the proceedings of the Congress.
Please to advise me of the
terms of membership, and forward, if convenient, a copy of your
Constitution.
I am, very sincerely, yours,
B M. CUTCHEON.
House of Representatives,
U. S.,
Washington, May 3, 1890.
John W. Echols, Esq.,
Local Secretary,
Pittsburg, Pa.
DEAR SIR:
I have to acknowledge receipt of your very cordial invitation to attend
the Second Congress of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, at Pittsburg,
Pa., May 29th to June 1st, and I am much obliged for the courtesy.
The occasion can not fail
to be one of great historic and patriotic interest, and I regret that my
public duties here will prevent me from enjoying the privilege of
attending. Very truly, yours,
C. A. BOUTELLE.
[From Alabama's beloved and
popular son, Gen. E. W. Rucker.]
Birmingham, Ala., May 25,
1890.
Thos. T. Weight, Esq.,
Nashville, Tenn.
MY DEAR SIR:
I sincerely regret my inability to be with you at the great Pittsburg
Congress. Pressing business duties at the Warrior Coal Fields of Alabama
will detain me until the middle of June. It gratifies me to know that,
even at this late date, historic justice will be done the Scotch-Irish of
America—a race from whom first emanated the principles which created our
God-blessed Union—which the electric spur of their genius and industry has
made rich and powerful. I am, dear Mr. Wright,
Sincerely, yours,
EDMUND W. RUCKER.
Nashville, Tenn., May 26,
1890.
Col. T. T. Weight.
MY DEAR SIR:
Your kind invitation to attend the Second Scotch-Irish Congress, in
Pittsburg, has been received, and I assure you it would give me great
pleasure to accept. For my own ancestors were of the race whose virtues
and heroic deeds your Society seeks to perpetuate, and the place of my
birth and the home of my childhood is hard by the field on which the same
race shed the first blood for American freedom.
Since I can not be with you
at Pittsburg, I give you, herewith, a brief account of the first battle of
the Revolution, in which my own ancestors played a part. For my
great-grandfather, whose dust sleeps in old Alamance church-yard, ten
miles from the battle field, was in the battle with his pastor, Dr.
Caldwell, although but a youth at the time. In my childhood, I often
looked with awe and reverence on the old, rusted grape-shot that lay in my
uncle's study—shot hurled from the royal governor's thundering cannon, and
which, long afterward, the plowman found as he turned the sod of the
famous field where first in the New World freemen bought their liberties
with their blood. With much respect,
Very truly, yours,
D. C. RANKIN.
The First Blood Shed for
American Freedom by the Scotch-Irish in North Carolina.
From 1765 to 1771, William
Tryon, a European soldier of fame, was the Colonial Governor of North
Carolina. He was haughty and tyrannical, meriting the name given him by
the Cherokee Indians, "The Great Wolf of North Carolina," and during his
administration the people groaned under the burden of unjust taxation and
the exactions of his minions.
As early as 1766, the
citizens of the middle counties of the state, embracing the present
counties of Orange, Alamance, Guilford, Davidson, Randolph, and Chatham,
voluntarily formed an alliance (sometimes called Regulators, sometimes
Sons of Liberty), to protect themselves from the evils which had come in
like a flood after the passage by Parliament of the Stamp Act, the Riot
Act, and similar oppressive measures. For five years this body of
law-abiding citizens remonstrated in vain with an unscrupulous ruler. At
length, he determined to suppress them entirely, and to compel them to
submit to the exactions and insolence of his underlings. Accordingly, in
April, 1771, he sallied forth from his "Palace" (as his splendid residence
in New-bern was called), with an army of more than a thousand men. About
one-third of them were British regulars, accompanied by a battery of light
artillery.
On the evening of May 14th,
the Governor and his royal army encamped on the banks of the Alamance, a
stream which rises near Greensboro', in Guilford, and, flowing eastward
through Alamance county, empties into Haw river, near Graham.
The news of the royal
invasion spread rapidly through all the Piedmont region of the then
colony, and men flocked from every quarter to meet the advancing tyrant.
Had his westward inarch been delayed only a few days longer, he must have
been defeated, and driven in disgrace from the land, thus precipitating
the great struggle which came four years later, on the heels of a battle
for freedom not one whit worthier of lasting fame. For large companies of
armed "Regulators," or "Sons of Liberty," sufficient to have nearly
doubled the citizens' forces, were still gathering and pressing on to meet
the foe, when tidings of the battle came and arrested their march. As it
was, two thousand had already assembled, and these Tryon met on the banks
of the Alamance.
On the 15th, they sent him
a respectful message, offering to lay down their arms, if he would but
redress their grievances. He promised them an answer the next day at noon.
All that night a portion of Tryon's forces were kept under arms, and at
break of day, Thursday, May 16th, the whole army was formed in battle
array, with the artillery in the center, and the cavalry protecting the
two wings. When within sight of the patriot ranks, the Governor dispatched
his promised answer, saying that he had no concessions to make, and
demanding immediate submission. When this was refused, the Royalists
approached within one hundred yards of the Regulators. and halted, whilst
Tryon ordered two officers to read aloud a proclamation, or riot act,
commanding the insurgents to disperse. They in turn uttered defiance, and
cried for battle; whereupon, the Governor gave the command to fire. But it
was a momentous issue; instinctively, it must have been felt by all to be
the threshold of a mighty conflict, and well did the troops of the haughty
Governor hesitate. Enraged by their seeming want of obedience, Tryon rose
in his stirrups, and cried, "Fire!—on them, or on me!" and at the same
moment fired the first shot himself, felling his victim. Forthwith the
battle began, and was hotly waged for two hours, when the scant ammunition
of the Regulators failed. The artillery, hitherto held in reserve, was at
this juncture brought forward, and poured deadly canister into the already
wavering patriot ranks. They yielded stubbornly, and not in tumultuous
flight; but, being once driven from the field, they could not be rallied
again. They had no trained leaders, they were entirely without military
discipline, and, of the two thousand in battle, scarcely one thousand (a
number smaller than the Royalist army) possessed fire-arms.
Tryon's loss was sixty,
killed and wounded, and that of the Regulators nearly as large, twenty
being left dead on the field.
For a few weeks Tryon
devastated the adjacent country, then re. turned to Newbern, and in July
sailed for New York, where he had been transferred as Colonial Governor.
Thus was shed the first
blood of the Revolution ; thus, between contending armies, was fought the
first pitched battle for American liberties. And in that memorable contest
the Scotch-Irish acted no insignificant part. The tide of emigration into
all the Piedmont region of the state was largely Scotch-Irish, and it was
in that section the Regulators had their home. After five years of cruel
oppression and fruitless remonstrance, they dared meet the oppressor on
the field of carnage, and there seal their love for liberty with their
blood.
The Rev. David Caldwell,
D.D., of noble memory, was on the field of Alamance with the people of his
congregations, Buffalo and Alamance—all Scotch-Irish; there, also, on that
day, were the parishioners of such noted ministers as Paltillo, McAdden,
Balch, Craighead, and McWhorter—all Scotch-Irish.
Not in idle boast,
therefore, do I claim that the first battle fought for, the first blood
shed in, the cause of American freedom was not at Lexington, but at
Alamance, by the Scotch-Irish.
D. C. RANKIN. |
