Scotland and Revolutionary America: Featuring Ellen Hamilton and David O. Smith

The Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, a local historic place with many connections to George Washington, is celebrating its 250th anniversary.

To help mark this momentous occasion, the Washington Library is hosting a special Ford Evening Book Talk featuring two local authors and their books, which are focused on history with Scottish and Calvinist themes.

A Scottish Migration to Alexandria by Ellen Hamilton

At least five years in the making, and intended as a film, this new book tells the story of Scottish migration to America. This book explains why the Scottish Lowlands became so crowded, and the reasons that caused people to leave everything they knew, climb aboard a crowded ship, and sail in unspeakable squalor for many weeks to start a new life, penniless, in an unforgiving land. It is told primarily through the story of William Gregory, who migrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland to Alexandria, Virginia in 1807. Gregory left his family's carpet factory and found work and a home in Alexandria. Letters written home to his family and letters to America tell the story of this migration.

The Armstrong Brothers by David O. Smith

This is the story of James, John, and Hamilton Armstrong, three sons of a yeoman farmer living on the Pennsylvania frontier at the outset of the American Revolution. James and John joined the Continental Army in 1776, rose from the ranks to become officers, and served until the army was disbanded in 1783. Hamilton remained home to work the farm, protect the family, and serve in militia and "ranger" units to defend the frontier from repeated attacks from hostile Indian tribes. Their combined wartime experiences encompassed almost the totality of the American Revolution, from Canada in the north to South Carolina in the south and along the western frontier.

James and John fought in most of the major battles of the revolution, including Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Guilford Courthouse, Eutaw Springs, and Yorktown, where they distinguished themselves in the eyes of generals like the Marquis de Lafayette, Mad Anthony Wayne, Light-Horse Harry Lee, Nathanael Greene, and George Washington.