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Chapter
111
They Planted the
Kirk
We use the term "Kirk" advisedly because its im�mediate
connotation is Scottish Presbyterian. The Ulster-Scots were Presbyterians
almost to a man, and they brought their religion with them.
It is sometimes claimed that Presbyterianism in the American colonies
sprang mainly from Scottish Presbyterianism. This is a generalisation
which is certainly not accurate unless the term Scottish is specially
defined. L. J. Trinterud states "The Presbyterians of Scottish origin who
came to America during the colonial period were mostly from North Ireland.
Few came direct from Scotland. Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism, while
trans�planted originally from Scotland. had been modified, in many ways by
its experiences of poverty and persecution in Ireland". ("The forming of
an American Tradition". page 15).
It could be argued that Presbyterians were better fitted to bring Religion
to the frontier and into the wilderness than were Anglicans or Roman
Catholics, had they been there in the same numbers, in that Pres�byterians
are not so tied to the necessity of a fixed building with its altar and
other furnishings associated wish a more elaborate liturgical form of
worship. Pres�byterians could remember well the free and often im�promptu
services held in the hills and glens of Scotland in the covenanting days
and in the barns and hidden quarries of Ulster in the days when they were
being persecuted for their faith. In such circumstances there was a strong
sense of the immediacy of God's presence in those furtive and impromptu
services.
Something of the same spirit was recaptured when in the frontier situation
Presbyterian "Circuit-Riders" arrived in "the desolate
places" to call the scattered settlers together fur a service
whenever they could find a suitable place, either undercover or in the
open air. Esmond Wright describes them thus: "Armed with the Bible,
and with their meager belongings packed in saddle-bags, youthful clergymen
rode from community to community along the frontier. holding services
often in barns, often in the open. In time, however, little churches,
constructed of logs were built in the forest clearings. Before the end of
the eighteenth century there were hundreds of Presbyterian congregations
dotting the great region from the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania to Northern
Georgia. By 1763 all the colonies except Rhode Island had a Presbyterian
Church or Churches.30
The founding of all these congregations was the direct result of the
missionary vision and pastoral concern of the Church. Dr. Schlenther says.
�Pastors were ordered by the Presbyteries and Synods to leave their
congregations and to take extended tours among the Scotch-Irish
settlements. Young men who wanted to enter the ministry of the Church were
not ordained until they first had made a visit to the frontier.
"Of course, the initial move was taken by the settlers themselves,
for the most part. They moved into the wilderness without clergymen, but
they had their Bibles, their catechisms and their Confession of Faith. The
supplying of permanent or visiting ministers to these scattered and
isolated communities was never fully satisfactory and the quality of
clergy willing to brave the wilderness was not always of the highest. One
minister wrote back to Britain. "As to the affairs of Christ in our
part of the world, there are a great many congregations erected and now
erecting, for within the space of five years bygone, near to two hundred
families have come unto our parts from Ireland, and more are following.
They are generally Presbyterians. So, it would appear. that the Glorious
Christ hath great designs for America, tho' I am afraid not to be
effectuated in my days . . .There are not above 30 ministers and pro�bationer
preachers in our Synod (This was during the 1720's) and yet six of the
said number have been grossly scandalous. Suspension for 4 Sabbaths hath
been the greatest censure inflicted as yet... One Mr. Robert Laing who
left Scotland.. . is to be censured at our Presbytery of New-Castle upon
the first Wednesday of August ensuing for washing himself upon the Lord's
Day: he is the first from Scotland grossly scandalous in our parts�.31
No doubt Presbyteries had a lot more "grossly scandalous"
problems to deal with than the one just men�tioned. While many Ministers
and Licentiates emigrated to America with the highest motives there must
nave been also some "rogue elephants" among them who were glad
to find in the New World a way of escape from the Old. Where that was the
case their past usually caught up with them and the American Presbyteries
dealt with them accordingly.
Life on the frontier was both rough and tough and it required ministers
with particular qualities of endurance. The Rev. John McMillan was a
Princeton graduate and of Scotch-Irish descent. He exercised an active and
effective ministry in Western Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee. On one
occasion he and the Rev. Joseph Patterson were on their way to a Pres�bytery
meeting in Pittsburgh. Breaking their journey they went into an inn for
refreshments. Dr. McMillan pro�posed a prayer and a blessing when two
glasses of whisky were set before them. Patterson's blessing was rather
lengthy so McMillan reached for one glass and drained it, then he did the
same with the second. When the prayer finally ended Patterson, opening his
expec�tant eyes, saw only two empty glasses. Then said his friend
McMillan to him, "My brother, on the frontier you must watch as well
as pray�.32
Another well-known figure on the frontier was the Rev. John Elder, a
native of County Antrim and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, he
emigrated to the New World. There he became minister of the Presbyterian
Church at Derry in Pennsylvania from 1736 to 1771. It is said that when
John Elder entered the pulpit he carried his rifle with him and kept n
close beside him while the men of his congregation stacked theirs under
guard at the entrance to the church or hung them on the wooden pins around
the interior of the church building.33
Presbyterianism certainly took deep root wherever the Scotch‑Irish
settled. Pittsburgh was a typical example where the first three ministers
of First Pittsburgh con�gregation were all Scotch‑Irish. As the
Rev. H. D. Lind�sey put it: "Pittsburgh is Presbyterian through and
through � The man you meet on the street is a Presbyterian, and if not a
Presbyterian he is a United Presbyterian, and if he is not a United
Presbyterian he is an Associated Presbyterian, and if not an Associated
Presbyterian he is a Reformed Presbyterian, and if you have missed it all
along the line he hastens to assure you that his father is a
Covenanter".34
Of
the hundreds of Presbyterian ministers who left Ulster for America,
perhaps the most celebrated is Francis Makemie who is referred to as
"the Father of American Presbyterianism". He was born in Ramel�ton,
Co. Donegal, was a graduate of Aberdeen Uni�versity, licensed and
ordained by the Lagan Presbytery and sailed for Barbados in 1683. From
there he pro�ceeded to Maryland. There, and along the Elizabeth River in
Virginia, he spent himself in establishing mis�sion stations among the
Scotch‑Irish families who had settled in those parts. He built up a
number of congregations in that area and settled them with ministers of
their own. He then proceeded to bring together these congregations along
with those of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania by forming the
Presbytery of Phila�delphia, the first Presbytery of the Presbyterian
Church in America.
Mackemie goes down in history, however, not only a, the founder of
organised Presbyterianism in America but also the man who challenged the
ecclesiastical establishment in America.
After the adjournment of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, October 27,
1706, Francis Mackemie set out on a journey on horseback-his normal way of
travelling-to meet with the ministers of Boston. On the way he stopped at
Mew York where he was invited by the Puritans of the city to preach for
them. The Consistory of the Dutch Church offered the use of their
building, but their kindness was frustrated by the refusal of Governor
Cornbury to allow it. Mackemie was then invited to the private house of
William Jackson in Pearl Street where he preached on 20th January, 1707.
Within a few days he was arrested on a warrant by Governor Cornbury on the
ground that he had preached without his permission.
Eventually his case was heard the following June, and he was acquitted
under the Toleration Act of 1688. Nevertheless, Makemie was required to
pay the costs, of the prosecution as well as the defense amounting to what
in those days was the large sum of �83-7-6. This trial says Professor
Briggs `followed by the bitter pursuit of the acquitted man on the part of
the wrath�ful Governor, was the culmination of a series of tyrannical
acts which aroused the entire puritan body of the Colonies and Great
Britain
to action". 35
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Francis
Makemie |
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Francis
Makemie holds a place of honour among those who cherish civil and
religious liberty. Henry Van Dyke expressed it well when he wrote:
Oh who can tell how much we owe Thee
Makemie, and to labours such as thine
For all that makes America the shrine
Of faith untrammeled and of conscience free?
Stand here, gray stone and consecrate the sod
Where sleeps this brave Scots-Irishman of God.
Dr. W. F. Marshall points out that by 1760, "in less than forty years
after the arrival of the Ulster' settlers there were 300 congregations to
add to the handful that had been established before their coming. � A
Pennsylvanian minister writing in 1744 said that `all our congregations
except two or three are chiefly made up of people from Ireland'. Makemie
founded the first Presbytery. The Rev. John Hampton, from Burt, was the
first Moderator of the first Presbyterian Synod. The Rev. John Rodgers,
whose father was an Ulster�man from Derry City, was the first Moderator
of the first General Assembly. The Rev. Robert Smith, born fn Derry City,
was the second Moderator. The Rev. George Duffield, son of an Ulster
emigrant, was the first Clerk of the first General Assembly. Nearly 300
ministers of Ulster extraction, are known to have served in the ministry
of American Presbyterian Churches in the period 1680-1820"'. So it
was that the Kirk was firmly planted in American soil.
Chapter
IV
They Erected the
School
Ever since the days of John Knox, when in his Book of Discipline, he laid
down the ideal of a school in every parish and a high school in every
large town, Presbyterians have set high store by education.
Albert Maisel says that no small part of the credit for the influence of
the Scots and the Scotch‑Irish in the establishment of the U.S.
Republic, and ever since, must be given to their reverent striving for
education. The Presbyterian religion with its emphasis upon his�torical
knowledge for the interpretation of its doctrine, demanded a learned
ministry. Thus they took with them a highly educated body of ministers and
dominies. And they continued to train the brightest of their sons for
leadership.37
So it was that wherever the Scotch-Irish settled they proceeded right
away to plant the Kirk and erect a School. They insured that at least the
basic three 'Rs', the rudiments of reading, writing and
arithmetic were taught. Books were at a minimum, so the Bible was the
usual daily reader. The Shorter Catechism, too, was used for memory work
and was normally recited by the whole school on Saturday mornings. Esmond
Wright gives this description of these frontier schools. �The equipment
of these early schools was very meager - they were rough log‑cabins,
with benches and tables made of split logs. Pens were made from goose
quills, but there were no black boards, slates or pencils. In the
beginning the log churches served also as school houses, but as stability
and prosperity came, better church buildings were erected and new
buildings were then constructed to be used as schoolhouses. However,
primitive the provision, the principle was clear. In the colonies, as at
home, a learned ministry was the cornerstone of Presbyterianism�.38
Pride of place as the pioneer of higher education among Presbyterians in
America must go to the Rev. William Tennent. After Makemie, Tennant is
regarded as Ulster's most important contribution to the Church in Colonial
America. Tennent was an Ulsterman, a cousin of James Logan who had made
such an impact on life in Pennsylvania and who may have been in�fluential
in William Tennant's decision to emigrate. Certainly Logan facilitated him
when he went to Penn�sylvania, by giving him a fifty acre strip of land
at Neshaminy Creek, where he built his school, a plain simple building
twenty feet square. That was in 1726.39
L. J. Trinterud in his book The forming of an Ameri�can Tradition
writes: "As a scholar and teacher William Tennent. Sr., was unique
and without equal in the Synod. He himself educated his four sons, three
of whom were to become men of great force and in�fluence.
Tennant was brought up in Armagh and was a grad�uate of Edinburgh
University in 1695. Returning to Ireland he was received as a probationer
of the General Synod of Ulster in 1701. His wife was Katherine Ken�nedy,
daughter of Rev. Gilbert Kennedy, a well known Presbyterian minister.
Their marriage rites in 1702 and the baptism of their eldest son, Gilbert'
in 1703, were both performed by Presbyterially ordained ministers. Then on
the 1st of July, 1704, he was ordained as a Deacon by the Bishop of Down
and two years later as a Presbyter at Lisburn. For the next ten years,
Tennent ministered within the Church of Ireland. Then in the summer of
1718, he set sail with his wife and family of four sons and one daughter
for Philadelphia. There he petitioned the Presbyterian Synod to be re�ceived
as a minister. The Synod required him to give a written statement of his
reasons for "dissenting from the established Church in Ireland".
In answer he gave seven reasons-six referring to Episcopal polity and one
to Arminianism. According to the ministers of the Synod, the Moderator was
ordered to "give him an exhortation to continue steadfast in his now
holy pro�fession�.40
Certainly there can be no doubt that Tennent re�mained
"steadfast". He became minister of the Pres�byterian
Congregation at Neshaminy Creek in 1726 and built his school there the
same year.
The life of the early settlers was both difficult and rough and so it was
that Tennent became very con�cerned about the low spiritual level of
Church life in many areas. It was mainly with the aim of giving a sound
foundation of training to young men who might later go into the ministry
or take up positions of leader�ship in the community that Terment decided
to start his "Log College". It was not in any official sense a
col�lege, in that it had no charter and gave no degrees. It was really an
academy in which Greek, Latin and the Arts and Sciences were taught, as
well as Theology. William Tennent taught all the classes himself and
preached every Sunday. His preaching was of such a nature that it earned
for him the title "Hell Fire Ten�nent". He and his son Gilbert,
were leaders in the 18th century religious movement known as "the
Great Awakening".41
In November, 1739, George Whitfield, the English preacher visited
Tennent and his Log College. In his journal he described Tennent as
"an old grey-haired disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ". Of the
College he wrote: "The place wherein the young men study is in
contempt called The College! It is a log-house, about twenty feet long and
near as many broad, and to me it seemed to resemble the schools of the
prophets". Whitfield was invited to preach at Neshaminy Creek and his
reference to it in his journal is significant. "About twelve o'clock
came thither and found some 3000 people gathered together in the meeting
yard ... and afterward we went to old Mr. Tennents who entertained us like
one of the ancient patriarchs . .. All that can be said of most of our
universities is that they are all glorious without. But from this despised
place seven or eight worthy ministers of Jesus have lately been sent
forth; more are almost ready to be sent; and the foundation is now laying
for the instruction of others�.42
Undoubtedly it could be claimed that Whitfield was seeing `the Log
College' through rose coloured glasses for the College certainly had its
defects. Nevertheless it is beyond dispute that the Log College had
remark�able and distinguished alumni. Three of Tennents sons as well as
Samuel Blair, John Blair, Samuel Finlay. Charles Beattie and John Rowland
came through its classes. J. B. Woodburn says of the Log College: "It did
a great work and helped to lay the foundations of American intellectual
life. As the demands of the country multiplied. the College was moved to a
better locality and developed into the "College of New Jersey" which
afterwards became Princeton University �.43
John Blair and Samuel Finlay, both former students of the Log College,
became Presidents of Princeton. Finlay, who was born in Co. Armagh, had
founded Nottingham Academy before going to Princeton. Samuel Blair founded
Fagg's Manor Classical School in Chester County in 1739. As well as that
it was Scotch-�Irish men who founded Jefferson College, Hampden Sidney
College, the University of North Carolina, the University of Pennsylvania
and Washington and Uni�versity of Virginia. The founder of Lafayette
College was of Ulster stock; the first President of Bowdoin and the first
President of what became the University of Nashville were of the same
race. No wonder Dr. Hogg of New Jersey, said in 1928, "Ninety per cent. of
the primitive religious, educational and university work done in America
was done by the Scotch-Irish�.44
Another school of a very different kind was that formed in the
Scotch-Irish settlement at New London. This became famous as the New
London Academy and was founded in 1744 by Dr. Francis Alison, who was born
in Co. Donegal. He was a graduate of Glasgow University and emigrated to
Philadelphia about 1735. After two years as a private tutor he became
minister of the Presbyterian Church at New London, where he founded his
school. The Synod became so impressed with the school that the Church
decided to approve it as a place of training for the ministry, Because of
the financial support given by the Synod, it was agreed that free
education should be given "in the languages, Philosophy and Divinity to
all who chose to attend. Dr. Alison later moved in 1755 to become Vice
Provost of the College of Philadelphia. When the University of Glasgow
conferred on him the degree of D.D., he was the first American to be so
honoured by a European university?' Out of Alison's little school
deve�loped Newark College from which grew the University of Delaware.
One of the most important influences in the educa�tional fife of America
during the eighteenth century was the philosophical teaching of Francis
Hutcheson of Glasgow University. He had a host of friends and followers in
America as in Scotland. He was propounding in Glasgow a theory of the
right of resistance to tyranny forty years before 1776. Dr. Francis Alison
was dictating passages from him to his students in 1759 and 1760. His
writings were set books at Yale.
Hutcheson was an Ulster-Scot. He was born in Co. Armagh, the son and
grandson of Presbyterian mini�sters. He was a graduate of Glasgow
University and later became professor there. Wright says: "He believed in
Federalism, even in Britain in 1689: he believed in the right of
resistance. He went even farther-to the idea of colonial independence,
religious liberty, the happiness of the greatest number and the welfare
state. He wrote in a Scottish context, but what he said was highly
relevant to colonists ripe to revolt�.46
With revolution just round the corner, it is easy to see the tremendous
significance of such ideas being promoted in the field of education
throughout the schools and colleges of America.
Chapter
V
They Supported the Revolution
When reference is made today to the American War of Independence people
naturally think first of America as they know it now-it is now, a vast
highly developed country stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Oceans: In fact at the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, it was a
string of largely indepen�dent colonies along the eastern seaboard. There
were thirteen of them stretching from Maine in the north, to Georgia in
the south. They are represented by the thirteen red and white stripes on
the American flag, being the thirteen original States in the Union. While
all thirteen of them were British, and so this gave them a common bond,
nevertheless, each colony was master in its own house and often because of
differences in culture, outlook and way of life, frictions developed
between them.
For this reason the British Government reckoned they had nothing to fear
when they passed certain laws and imposed certain taxes which were
resented by many of the colonists. They made the mistake of assum�ing
that the colonies would never agree among them�selves sufficiently long
to present a united front against Britain. In any case the one loyalty
common to all these colonists was the English crown. As Geoffrey Gorar
points out in his book The Americans-a study in national character-"Until
a bare thirteen years before the Declaration of Independence and the out�break
of war, the allegiance of the colonists to Eng�land seems to have been
unquestioned. In local matters they were mostly self-governing, but they
considered themselves loyal subjects to the King of England, on a par with
his subjects everywhere. Between 1763 and 1776 this allegiance was
destroyed for a significant number of the colonists by a series of
arbitrary and highhanded acts on the part of George III and some of his
ministers, which placed the colonists in an inferior position compared
with other subjects of the King, in that taxes were levied on them, troops
quartered on them, and their commerce interfered with, without their
consent. These departures from English practice were resisted in the name
of English principles: when the recognised legal methods of obtaining
redress were rendered fruitless by the blind obstinacy of the King and his
ministers, the colonists, still acting on English precedent took to arms
to defend the rights of English�men �.47 Taking up those
arms, however, was to mean for many colonists the 'throwing off' of all
allegiance to England and the English crown.
It is easy to see the conflict of loyalties experienced by many colonists
and why it is reckoned that perhaps a third of the colonists remained
loyal to the King after the Declaration of Independence. So it was that
from their numbers, thousands of soldiers were recruited to fight on
England's side against the insurrectionists, as they would have reckoned
Washington's forces to have been. These loyalist supporters were found
mostly in the predominately English colonies of New England and Maryland
and Virginia.48
From
where then did the strong ground of swell of support for the Revolutionary
War come? Professor J. G. Leyburn, of Washington and Lee University. holds
that whereas the sentiment of English settlers was naturally divided
between the ties with the mother country and the colonial cause, the
Scotch‑Irish (mind�ful of their civil and religious disabilities in
Ulster) were firmly on the side of independence. "They provid�ed",
Professor Leyburn says, "some of the best fighters in the American
Army. Indeed, there were those who held the Scotch‑Irish responsible
for the war itself�.49
We have seen already something of the tremendous influx of Ulster Scots
into the American colonies. They had been driven there, says Sir Winston
Churchill in his History of the English Speaking Peoples, as Scotch Irish
refugees whose "industrial and commercial endeavors at home had been
stifled by the legislation of the English Parliament. They formed a strong
English hating element in their new homes".50 This was strong
language from Churchill, some would say too strong. Nevertheless as J. B.
Woodburn puts it, "When the war broke out, these emigrants had
scarcely settled down, and were eager to join the insurgents against the
Government that had forced them to leave the land of their fathers. They
joined forces with their country men who had settled in the New England
states early in the century and enlisted willingly under Washington".51
President McKinley said of the Scotch-Irish in 1893: "They were the
first to Proclaim for freedom in these United States. Even before
Lexington, the Scotch-Irish blood had been shed for American freedom. In
the forefront of every battle was seen their burnished mail and in the
rear of retreat was heard their voice of constancy�.52
Commenting on this statement, W, F. Mar�shall says: "There was very
little "burnished mail" in Washington's ragged army, and the
General's lip would have curled at such flowers of rhetoric in such a
connexion; but he would have been the first to admit the truth below the
rhetoric‑the courage, the steadfast loyalty, the unshakeable
determination and fighting quality of his soldiers of Ulster origin and
descent. The reference by President McKinley to the Ulster blood shed
before Lexington is explained by the fact that the first encounter between
British and Americans was not at Concord and Lexington but on the Alamance
river in North Carolina on May 14th 1771, between the Ulster-Irish of that
region and a British force under Governor Tryon".53
Bancroft the American historian states quite firmly, "The
first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve, all connection with
Great Britain came, not from the Puritans of New England, nor from the
Dutch of New York, nor from the Cavaliers of Virginia, but from the the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians."54
Before the official Declaration of Independence was issued on 41h July.
1776, Scotch-Irish communities were issuing their own local Declarations
of Independence- One of the most important was the Meeklinburg Declaration
of Independence signed at Charlottetown, North Carolina On May 31, 1775.
This is often referred to as a prototype of the official Declaration. The
Mecklinburg Convention was summoned by Thomas Polk, whose forebears came
from Ulster and the Resolutions were drafted and proposed by Dr. Ephraim
Brevard, who was of Huguenot-Ulster descent 55 Those Mecklinburg
Resolutions were of major signi�ficance in the formulations of the
official Declaration, but they were also carrying to a further stage an
earlier and more local Declaration.
On
the 4th June, 1774, the Scotch-Irish of Hanover in Lancaster County, in
Pennsylvania. came together under the chairmanship of one of their number,
Col. Timothy Green. The result of that Assembly was the issuing of
"the Hanover Resolves". These were as follows:
1. That the recent action of the Parliament of Great Britain is
iniquitous and oppressive.
2. That it is the bounden duty of the people to oppose every measure which
tends of deprive them of their just prerogatives.
3. That in closer union with the colonies lies the safe�guard of the
liberties of the people.
4. That in the event of Great Britain attempting to force unjust laws
upon us by the strength of arms, our cause we leave to Heaven and our
rifles.
5. That a committee of nine be appointed who shall act for us and in out
behalf as emergencies may require.
The committee consisted of Col. Timothy Green, Lames Caruthers. Josiah
Espy, Robert Dixon, Thomas Coppenheffer, William Clark, James Stewart,
Joseph Barnett and John Rodgers. 56
The people of Hanover and Paxton areas were solidly behind the
revolutionary movement and the story of their historic past is cherished
and kept alive by those who today are members of Paxton Church, the oldest
Presbyterian Church building in continuous use in Pennsylvania and the
second oldest in the United Slates.
Bancroft tells of yet another Declaration of Independence issued by the
Scotch-Irish of New Hampshire and this also preceded the official
Declaration. So it was that President Theodore Roosevelt referred to these
early Scotch-Irish Declarations by saying: �The West was won by those
who have been rightly called the Roundheads
of the South, the same men who before any other declared for American
independence". Froude, another American historian says: "All
evidence shows that the foremost, the most irreconcilable, the most
determined in pushing the quarrel to the last extremity, were the
Scotch-Irish whom the Bishops and Lord Donegal and company had been
pleased to drive out of Ulster�.57
This explains the statement by Lord O'Neill when, as Prime Minister of
Northern Ireland, he said. "The
American
War of Independence was lost by the English not on the battlefields of
America but in the homes and farmsteads of Ulster. This explains, too, why
the American War was referred to as a `Presbyterian Re�bellion, ".
Dr. W. F. Marshall says, "Prior to the election of the first
Congress, the only assembly that covered the whole country, or was in any
sense representative of it was the General Synod of the Presbyterian
Church. In 1775 it met in Philadelphia, side by side with the new Con�gress
of the States. Congress seemed to hesitate, but a Pastoral letter issued
by the Synod to all its congre�gations is reckoned to have been the chief
cause which led the colonies to resistance at that time. It is re�corded,
moreover, that the Governors of the central and southern colonies informed
the home Government that the Presbyterian clergy were to blame for the on-
come of the Revolution and for inflaming the people towards rebellion. Now
since the great majority of Presbyterian clergy and people were either of
Ulster origin or Ulster descent, we have here the clearest of testimony to
the enthusiasm of Ulster Americans for the War effort".58
Dr. Campbell, who was minister of First Armagh and Moderator of the Synod
of Ulster in 1773, wrote: 'The Presbyterians of Ulster condemned this war
as unjust, cruel and detestable. They beheld it with an�guish and with
horror, as the most wanton, unprovoked despotism. Their friends and
relations abounded in the different provinces of America and they heard
with pride that they composed the flower of Washington's army, being
carried on by a native love of liberty, to encounter every danger for the
safety of their adopted country�.59
The
issuing of the Declaration of Independence is regarded as the most
important and decisive event in the history of the United States of
America. The original document is in the handwriting of an Ulster. man,
Charles Thomson of Maghera. It was first printed by an Ulsterman, John
Dunlap of Strabane. It was first read in public by the son of an
Ulsterman, Colonel John Nixon. And the only signature on it for a month
was the name of a man whose ancestors were Presbyterians from County Down,
John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts.
In the American Continental Congress which issued the Declaration of
Independence, the President was the same John Hancock of Co. Down origin,
whose name is still revered in Massachusetts as its State Governor. The
Secretary of the Congress was Charles Thomson From Maghera, an Elder in
the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia Whom John Adams described as
`the life of the cause of liberty�.
Of the names subsequently added to the Declaration of Independence, Dr.
Marshall draws attention to the following: William Whipple-his parents
came to Maine from Ulster in 1730. Robert Paine-his grandfather came from
Dungannon. Thomas McKean-his father was born near Ballymoney. Thomas
Nelson� his grandfather came from Strabane. Matthew Thorn�ton-his father
sailed in one of the five ships in 1718 and settled in New Derry. George
Taylor-his father was an Ulster minister. Edward Rutledge-like his great
brother John, he was the son of an Ulster emi�grant. This is a remarkable
representation and further investigation would probably make it larger.60
As it stands it is quite sufficient to show Ulster's involve�ment in the
Declaration of Independence.
In the early years of the war the odds seemed heavily loaded against the
Americans. The first action to give real encouragement to their flagging
spirits was the defeat of General Burgoyne at Saratoga in October, 1777.
"There the Ulster-Scots , hardy and skilled marks�men, took a
leading part in the capture of the British army". After the battle
General Burgoyne said to Mor�gan, "Your Scotch-Irish rifles are the
finest in the world".
It was a long drag of a war. Because of the fact that the British army
was much better equipped it was Washington's policy to avoid head-on
confrontations. Rather he sought to horde the British forces with light�ning
attacks, hit-and-run skirmishes which were aimed at wearing down their
resistance. The result was that at times Washington had great difficulty
in keeping his own forces together, especially since many of them were
volunteers and at certain seasons felt the need to return to their farms.
For this reason, too, it is diffi�cult to assess the actual number of men
who served in Washington's army, for many of them re-enlisted several
times. We are obliged to depend largely on the assess�ments of
eyewitnesses.
One American writer of the period asserts that up to the coming of the
French, Ireland had furnished troops in the ration of 100 to 1 of any
other nation.61 This seems to be an exaggerated figure. The
evidence of Joseph Galloway seems more like reality. Galloway had been a
delegate to the first Continental Congress but finally came out strongly
on the side of the British and sailed soon afterwards for England. He was
summoned to appear before a committee of the House of Commons at
Westminster to report on the American situation. Charles Hanna in his book
The Scotch-�Irish gives the full transcript of the questions and
answers. To the question "What were the troops in the service of
Congress chiefly composed?" he replied. "The names and places of
their nativity being taken down, I can answer the question with precision-there
were scarcely one-fourth natives of America-about one half Irish-the other
fourth were English, and Scotch".62
Major-General Robertson was interviewed by the same Committee and
when a similar question was put to him he replied: "I remember
General Lee, the American general, telling me that half the rebel army was
from Ireland".
This explains why Lord Mountjoy said in the House of Commons, "We
have lost America through the Irish". It oho explains Horace
Walpole's famous jibe to the cabinet: "I hear that our American
cousin has run away with a Scotch-Irish parson".
There is no doubt that Washington placed particular reliance on the
loyalty of the Scotch-Irish. At one stage when the war was going heavily
against him he remarked, "If defeated everywhere else, I shall make
my last stand for liberty among the Scotch-Irish of my native
Virginia":
An example of the loyalty of the Scotch-Irish to the Revolutionary cause
is seen in the case of the Rev. Charles Beatty, who had four sons in the
American army and one in the American navy. Charles Beatty himself had
served as chaplain to the Pennsylvanian men sent out under Benjamin
Franklin to defend the North Western frontiers of the colony against
Indian attack. Franklin made this report regarding Beatty: "We had
for our chaplain a zealous Presbyterian minister, Mr. Beatty, who
complained to me that the men did not generally attend his prayers and
exhortations. When they enlisted, they were promised, besides pay and pro�visions,
a gill of rum a day, which was punctually served to them, half in the
morning and half in the evening; and I observed they were punctual in
attend�ing to receive it: upon which I said to Mr. Beatty -"It is
perhaps below the dignity of your profession to act as steward of the rum;
but if you were to distribute it out only just after prayers, you would
have them all about you". He liked the thought, undertook the task,
and with the help of a few hands to measure out the liquor, executed to
satisfaction, and never were prayers more generally and more punctually
attended. So that I think this method preferable to the punishments in�flicted
by some military laws for non-attendance at Divine Service".
One of the greatest episodes of the war was the battle of the Cowpens. The
hero of that battle was a Presby�terian elder, Daniel Morgan, who was
born at Ballinascreen, Co. Derry. With a small force of Scotch-Irish he
inflicted on the British a crushing defeat." Afterwards Congress
recognised the victory by giving General Morgan a gold medal. General
Pickens, another Presbyterian elder, a sword of honour and Colonel Howard
a silver medal.
During the war, British Agents encouraged the Indians to keep up
pressure on the colonists along the frontier. In this way the Indians
aided the British cause by deflecting the frontier colonists from joining
Wash�ington's forces. When Washington needed help how�ever, the Scotch-Irish
on the frontier were not lacking. In 1780, when the British had overrun
Georgia and South Carolina and were proceeding to crush North Carolina in
the same way. They pushed as far as the foothills of the Alleganies, where
the Scotch-Irish had settled the area. Despondency filled the hearts of
the patriots. The situation seemed well nigh hopeless when Washington
wrote. "This is a dark hour, and I don't know what is to become of
us".
Then it was that a group of Scotch-Irish militia, under the leadership of
five colonels all elders of the Church, made a lightning march of four
days from the Shenandoah Valley. Then followed the historic battle of
King�s Mountain, when they defeated a British force of twice its size,
killing the British commander and taking nearly. 1,000 prisoners.
Washington and Jefferson both regarded this battle as the turning point of
the War .65
Roosevelt said of King's Mountain: "'the victory was of far-reaching
importance and ranks among the de�cisive battles of the Revolution. It
was the first great success of the Americans in the south, the turning
point in the southern campaign, and it brought cheer to the patriots
throughout the Union. Its immediate effect was to cause Cornwallis to
retreat from North Carolina�.66 It was also the first step towards the
defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
The success of the battle of Yorktown, it may be argued was due to the
failure of supply ships to arrive in time, but it was also due in no small
way to the charge of General Wayne and his Scotch-Irish troops.
General Anthony Wayne was born of Ulster parents in Pennsylvania. His
grandfather had fought under King William at the Boyne.
Wayen�s greatest moment of glory was the storming and taking of Stony
Point on the Hudson river. The fortress was regarded as impregnable, but
Wayne proposed to take it by storm. Washington was anxious not to risk unnecessary
loss of life so he asked �Wayne can you do it�? Wayne replied,
"I'll storm hell, if you�ll only plan it General�.67
Throughout the whole of the war the commander and organiser of the
American artillery was General Henry Knox. He was a New Derry man whose
father came from Donegal. Knox was regarded as the most illustrious
soldier of the Revolution after Washington, who esteemed him more highly
than any other man in his Army. W. F. Marshall relates how that: "In
that most moving scene at Frances Tavern on 4th Decem�ber, 1783, when
Washington said farewell to his officers, Henry Knox was the first officer
to get the farewell greeting, and both men were in tears. He was the Sec�retary
for War, in Washington's first cabinet".
Marshall provides a list of 25 generals, all of Ulster origin who served
with Washington's forces, and who helped to form the backbone of the
American army, Their courage was proverbial like that for example,
of the famous Pennsylvania line which was Scotch-Irish almost to a man.
It was little wonder Plowden
wrote: "Most of the successes in America were immediately owing to
the vigour and courage of the Irish emigrants�.
When General Lee was asked which race made the best soldiers he replied:
"The Scotch who came to this
Country by way of Ireland. Because they have all the dash of the Irish in
taking a position and all the stubbornness of the Scotch in holding
it".68
Nobody can deny that the Ulster Scots played a worthy part in
supporting the Revolution and carrying it to a successful conclusion. In
his address to the Scotch-Irish Congress Dr. Mackintosh said of them: "At
Derry, at Valley Forge, at King's Mountain and at Brandy-Wine (they were)
the first to start and the to quit".69
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