Arcadia Scotland

No doubt many Scottish-Americans were celebrating July 4^th last week and the role played by their ancestors in gaining American independence. Scots furthered the cause of the Revolution both as statesmen and soldiers, while Presbyterian teachings and the Scottish Enlightenment also influenced the course of the Revolution. Two signers of the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon and James Wilson were Scots. Witherspoon, a descendent of the Calvinist Reformer John Knox and ancestor of actress Reese Witherspoon, was born in Paisley, while Wilson hailed from Fife and would later become one of the first justices to the Supreme Court.

Scots could also be found in the ranks of the Continental Army and Navy. John Paul Jones, arguably the father of the United States Navy, led the American fleet to victory at Nassau and Flamborough Head. Hugh Mercer, a former Jacobite who died at the Battle of Princeton, served as a general, as did his compatriot Arthur St. Clair of Thurso. The Scottish ancestry of many of the Founding Fathers, such as Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe, has also been given a great deal of prominence. Yet the reverence awarded to these names today has concealed the fact that many Scots served the British Crown as well.

After the Treaty of Paris most Loyalists left for either Great Britain or her remaining territories in the Americas namely Canada. The narrative of the Revolution then was left to the patriots and their ancestors, with Scottish-Americans placing their forebears firmly on the side of the Republic. Many Scots did however remain loyal during the Revolution. Witherspoon himself complained that the word ‘Scotch’ had become a term of reproach and was synonymous with Loyalism. Scotsmen of course served in large numbers in the British army, but also in colonial regiments such as the North Carolina Highlanders.

Many Scots who remained loyal were recent arrivals, or self-made men who did not want to risk their new-found position through siding with the rebels. One such example of this was Malcolm Love who had come to America as a servant in 1769 but by 1775 was a blacksmith with two servants of his own and a country plantation. When war broke out Love mustered 35 men to the Loyalist cause and served as a lieutenant. After the Loyalists were defeated at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, Love hid in swampland for several months before being captured. Although Love was later released from capitvity he could not return to his old life. Despite having lost his home and business, when he returned to Britain he was given only £196 in compensation, slightly less than what he made in a single year before the war.

Even if not all Scots were sympathetic to the patriots’ cause, the ideals of the Scottish Enlightenment and the Reformation helped shape the ideology of the Revolution. Scotland's philosophers, who at this time ranked amongst the finest minds in Europe, were generally sympathetic with the rebels. David Hume attacked the Government’s aggressive policy towards the colonies, while Adam Smith and Lord Kames both advocated for colonial representation in parliament. Some have gone so far as to dub the American Revolution as the ‘Presbyterian Revolution’, as the belief that the government was planning to impose Episcopacy on the colonies encouraged many to rebel. Indeed the colonies were defended by Church of Scotland ministers such as John Erskine and Charles Nisbet throughout the war. One Scottish-American publication from the late 19^th century went so far as to claim: ‘that it was the sons of Covenanters, who were banished to Virginia or who fled to Pennsylvania, who became the strongest supporters of the American Revolution. These men had inherited as part of their life blood the passion for liberty.’ Regardless of which side Scots fell on during the American Revolution, it is clear that they played a significant part, thus emphasising the close historical ties between the two nations.