State

Barbecue Church, which probably has the most distinctive name of any church in North Carolina. Tale of 3 Churches LocsiKmI in llio Cape Fear section, they are three of the oldest re¬ ligious edifices in the state, and to each is atlaclieil an interesting story. By К. C. LAURENCE I THOUGHT we had some appro¬ priately named churches here in Robeson, such as Hog Swamp. Bear Swamp and Ashpole. but I now think we must yield the palm, as gracefully as may be, to Barbecue, in Harnett County. There have been Presbyterians on Cape Fear from time imme¬ morial. and although not originally sufficient in numbers to possess churches of their own faith, they nonetheless asserted their dis¬ tinctive views. Among a long list of grievances listed by an early Carolina missionary of the Estab¬ lished Church, in writing to his ec¬ clesiastical superior, the Bishop of London, was that three of his ves¬ trymen were "vehement Scotch Presbyterians." I sincerely trust the Bishop did something to re¬ lieve this most distressing situ¬ ation! From Pennsylvania in 1756 came the Presbyterian missionary, Hugh McAden, who for more than a year preached from the Cape Fear to the Catawba, and left a string of Presbyterian churches in his train. It is of record that in January 1756 he preached at Hector McNeill’s and at the BlufT. "to a number of highlanders, some of whom scarce¬ ly knew one word I said: the poor¬ est singers I ever heard in my life.” Evidently these Highlanders knew only their native Gaelic. The same month he preached at Alexander McKay’s within 300 yards of where Longstreet Church now stands. After McAden’s return to Penn¬ sylvania. he induced Rev. James Campbell to come to Carolina to labor among the Highlanders, and he became the first minister of a regular Presbyterian pastorate in our State. The date of organization was October, 1758, at which time elders from Clark’s. Longstreet and the BlufT met at Fayetteville and called Mr. Campbell to be their pastor. Barbecue Church This church originally was known as "Clark's” from a family of that name residing near by. During the Revolution a detach¬ ment was sent out by Lord Corn¬ wallis to enlist recruits for his army from among the Highlanders who were strong in Tory senti¬ ments — but canny. This recruit¬ ing party served a big barbecue on what is known as Barbecue Creek about 300 yards from the church. Many beeves, pigs and lambs were roasted over the coals in the pits, and served with a lavish hospitali¬ ty to the hundreds of Highlanders who flocked to the feast. This re¬ cruiting party also brought other accessories to the feast along with them, among these being certain barrels of real hard liquor. The Highlanders washed down Lord Cornwallis 'cue with large quanti¬ ties of his Lordship’s whisky, and were rapidly reduced to that con¬ dition so well described by Robert Burns in Tam O’Shanter: "King’s may be blessed, but Tam was glorious O’er all the ills of life victorious." After feasting to satiety, the Highlanders listened to the impas¬ sioned oratory of the British of¬ ficers, heard their fervid pleas to enlist in the army under the royal standard — but went home; for, as I have said, these Scotch be canny folk. Thereafter the name of the church was changed to Barbecue, and it has since so remained, as old a Presbyterian Church as can be found in Carolina. Here Flora Mac¬ donald worshipped while she lived at Cameron Hill before she moved to Killiegrcy. Longstreet Church This church was not named in honor of the famous Confederate General, as it was known as Long¬ street from its very beginning. In the rich agricultural lands of west¬ ern Cumberland, the Highlanders were numerous, and there was lo¬ cated a road, a stretch of which was both long and straight. The Highlanders located their homes along this road so thickly that it became, in fact, a street — there¬ fore Longstreet. Among the old ministers who served here, or at its neighbor churches, were James Campbell, John McLeod, Dougald Crawford, Angus McDiarmid and Colin Lindsay, who was probably the last minister to preach in the native Gaelic, which he did as late as 1850. In the cemetery of this ancient church is a monument to more than thirty Confederate soldiers of Wheeler’s Cavalry, who were killed in a skirmish near the church with a detachment of Sher¬ man’s army. The grave of Captain John McKellar of the Confederate army is here. The Bluff This ancient church was so named because it is situated on a high bluff above Cape Fear, the highest point anywhere in that (Continued on page 18) THE STATE. July 2. 1949 Ю