From Caledonia to Carolina:
The Highland Scots
I
by Kathryn Beach*
Do you know people with the name of
Campbell, McNeill, or Stewart? Have you
seen a Presbyterian church? These names
and the prevalence of this religious denomination
are two of the legacies of Highland Scots who immi¬
grated to North Carolina. Highlanders are descen¬
dants of Celts who settled in the northern mainland
and islands of Scotland, which is part of Great
Britain. The Highland Scots are unique in the way
they moved in large, organized groups directly from
their homeland to the North Carolina colony.
The Highlands are a beautiful but rugged land of
mountainous, rocky terrain and harsh winters. In
the 1700s it was a poor region where the staple
foods were oatmeal and beef. The landscape pro¬
moted isolation and independence, and as late as
the early 1700s, Highland society was structured
along a tribal clan system. The clan chief — who was
related by blood to clan members — provided land
for members to farm. They, in turn, gave him obedi¬
ence, military service, and land rents.
Scotland experienced changes in the mid- 1700s
that resulted in thousands of Highlanders emigrat¬
ing. Many Highland clans supported Charles
Edward Stuart — whose grandfather had been King
James II of England — in his attempt to take the
English throne from King George II. The Highland
army of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" was defeated at
Culloden Moor in 1746 by Scottish and English
forces. The aftermath of this defeat included the vic¬
tors' taking weapons from the Highlanders; forbid¬
ding clan members to give military service to their
chief; putting clansmen under the jurisdiction of the
law, rather than their
chief; forbidding the
wearing of Highlanders'
native tartans, or plaids;
and requiring all school¬
ing to be conducted in
English, rather than the
Highlanders' native
Gaelic language.
Other forces con¬
tributed to emigration. A
T
Й6Л&- .л
1
__
<Jc wbaowlf?** t he UNITED STATES of AME¬
RICA io be Yrt<. /r&povlatc tad $c*rrtigt> u,d
dftltrr ibit tb« people thereof owe
по
lUrna&ct cr obc-
d.CT4e to George the Thud. King of Oreii-B rit*in , *pm! I
rtoouf**. re/ule »bjmc
лпу »11св1алсе
or obalieeco
«о
h.m j Kiid 1 do
»
__ that I will, toxhc ol-
тоЛ
of mj power, f-ppotr. culouin
мхЗ
defeat the
United Stitea
ЦОМ1
the fk>d kin» Gcagr the Third, bn
hart *nd foccclTori. tad hi. or tbev tbctcor». tiblbuit» and
*dhe rrao. *od will fer»e ibe Said Uniml Sum la the cflur of
' - — which I no*, bold, wub
ndelAp, tccoedi r.g to the bert of ey IViQ tod aedoftiadm*.
Highlanders and other citizens of the North
Carolina colony 's ere asked to take the Oath
of Allegiance during the Revolutionary War.
failure to do so could lead to the confisca¬
tion of property by Patriot officials.
marked increase in
population — due to
the introduction of the
smallpox vaccine and
the building of roads
that allowed easier
availability of
imported food dur¬
ing times of starva¬
tion — put pressure
on a region that already had meager resources.
Improvements in farming methods, such as the
introduction of the metal plow, and a change in the
allocation of land to tenants enabled the production
of food by fewer people. Sheepherding, a profitable
industry that took land away from farming, was
also introduced to the Highlands. The combination
of these changes resulted in the displacement of
many people from the land.
The first organized immigration of Highlanders
to North Carolina came in 1739, when 350 people
from Argyllshire journeyed to Wilmington and up
the Cape Fear River to settle in what became
Cumberland County. Letters written back to
Scotland encouraged further immigration.
Alexander McAllister wrote to relatives urging
them, "Well to take currage [sic] and com [sic] to
this country it will be of benifite [sic] to the rising
generation." Others did follow. By 1775 thousands
of Highlanders had come to the colon}'. British offi¬
cials interviewed departing Highlanders in 1773 as
to their reasons for emigrating. Laborers stated that
they hoped for better employment in North
Carolina. Tradesmen expected better business.
Farmers cited high rents and oppressive service to
their landlords as reasons for moving to the
Americas. The hope for a better future for oneself
and one's children was a major force behind immi¬
gration 230 years ago and remains so today.
Immigrating to North Carolina was a hard jour¬
ney, requiring weeks on a sailing ship that was sub¬
ject to the whims of nature. James Hogg organized a
group of 264 immigrants to travel to North Carolina
in 1773 on the ship Bachelor. Ship's passage for indi-
*
The strong presence of the Presbyterian
denomination in North Carolina is one last¬
ing legacy of the Scottish Highlanders who
settled here. Image courtesy of Highland
Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville.
Tlljll. Spring 2006
'Kathryn Peach is associate curator at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex
in Fayetteville. Visit the museum's IYW> site at iieiiliiseiiiiiqfhiston/ org/os’ii/iiieflihii/.
