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The Scotch-Irish in America
Letters and Telegrams


[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.


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