Happy 4th of July

Today is of course Independence Day in the US; this short post is for all American readers.

"...Through the American War of Independence, the American Civil War and right up to the present day, the Ulster-Scots/Scotch-Irish influence upon the state of Virginia has been a constant factor. A popular quotation often attributed to General George Washington during the War of Independence is "...if defeated everywhere else, I will make my final stand for liberty among the Scotch-Irish of my native Virginia...", although it is more likely that he didn’t use those specific words, but something very similar. A book published in 1788 quoted Washington as saying, in November 1776, that if defeated everywhere else, he would make a stand in Augusta County, Virginia. Augusta County was a Scotch-Irish heartland...". With this landscape, you can clearly see the appeal of Augusta County for Ulster emigrants.

(Excerpt above is taken from a website I worked on in 2007, UlsterVirginia.com)