This is a very small list of Americans who were either born in Scotland or who are of Scots and Scots-Irish descent. Just in these few names listed, each of these individuals has had a tremendous impact on the discovery and development of the United States.

If you know of any other significant Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants who have made contributions to the success of America please send us their profile with documentation.

MILITARY

American Revolution
The American Revolution pitted fellow Scotsmen against one another for numerous reasons. Each jumped sides numerous times during the war depending who was winning at the time. However, in the end the Scottish people made a significant contribution in winning American Independence.

• George Washington was commander-in-chief of the American Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States of America.

• Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and 3^rd President of the United States.

• Two patriots of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, a governor of Virginia, and General Hugh Mercer, a survivor of the battle of Culloden, were of Scottish lineage.

• The first time the "Stars and Stripes" was recognized by a foreign power was by France, when John Paul Jones, a Scot, and who later became known as the father of the United States Navy raised the flag on his ship, the U.S.S. Ranger.

• General William Lee Davidson was an American patriot killed in the Battle of Cowan’s Ford, Huntersville, NC, Feb. 1, 1781. Davidson College was named in his honor.

• Major John Davidson, officer in the American militia and signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

• General Henry Knox, first Secretary of War of the United States

• Anthony “Mad Anthony” Wayne, well known patriot general

• Our Declaration of Independence was modeled after the Declaration of Arbroath which was signed on April 6, 1320.

• More than half the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Scottish or of Scottish descent.

• Major Patrick Ferguson, commander of the British troops at the Battle of Kings Mountain, killed in battle. Invented the breech loading rifle.

• General Lachlan McIntosh, well respected American general, buried in Savannah, GA

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Thousands of immigrants enlisted in both the Confederate and Union armies during America’s most tragic time in her history. In this war Scots and Scots-Irish who had been neighbors in their homeland faced off against one another on such battlefields as Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, and Chickamauga.

• Robert E. Lee, A descendant of Scottish immigrants, he was the most famous of all Confederate officers in the American Civil War. He was the youngest son of Light Horse Harry Lee, a famous general in the American Revolution.

• Ulysses S. Grant, overall commander of the Union army, and later President of the United States

• General Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Army of the Potomac, Union Army

• Colonel Elmer Ellsworth was the first officer to be killed in the Civil War while trying to take down a Confederate flag flying over a building in Alexandria, VA. President Lincoln had his body brought to the White House where it lay in state.

• John Dempster received the Congressional Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. Born in Scotland he served as a Coxswain, on the U.S.S. New Ironsides.

• Sergeant David Dickie, 97^th Illinois, Company A was a recipient of the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Vicksburg, MS. He was born in Scotland.

• General Jonathon “Stonewall” Jackson, was of Scots-Irish descent, and served in the Confederate army. He was married in Lincolnton, NC just 17 miles west of Rural Hill.

• General J.E.B. Stuart, was of Scots-Irish descent, and served in the Confederate army

• Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, and Secretary of War for the United States

• General Joseph Johnston, Commander of the Army of Tennessee, Confederate Army, was of Scots descent

• General John Brown Gordon, famous Confederate general and governor of Georgia, was of Scots descent

WORLD WAR II

• General Douglas McArthur, commander of the American forces in the Pacific theater of operations

• General George S. Patton, five star general, known as “Blood and Guts” commander of the 3^rd Armored Division, United States Army, on his mother’s side he is a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot, General Hugh Mercer

• General George C. Marshall, chief of staff during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and later developed the Marshall plan which aided European nations in their recovery after WWII.

EXPLORERS, DISCOVERERS & INVENTORS

• A Scot, named MacGregor was the navigator on Columbus' voyage to the New World. (Does this mean that a Scot, actually discovered America?)

• Davy Crockett, explorer and adventurer, representative from Tennessee, and killed at the Battle of the Alamo

• Jim Bowie, explorer and adventurer, inventor of the Bowie knife, and killed at the Battle of the Alamo

• Daniel Boone, explorer and adventurer

• William Clark was of Scottish descent.

• James Mackay of St. Charles, a Scotsman, drew the map that was used by Lewis and Clark on their "Voyage of Discovery" 

• Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone was born in Edinburgh, Scotland

• Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph

• Andrew Carnegie, built his fortune in the steel and railroad industry and well known for his contribution to building libraries across the United States and in Scotland. He was born in Dunfirmline, Scotland

• The first time the American flag was raised in outer space was by a Scots-American, Neil Armstrong (who by the way also had the Armstrong Tartan with him).

• Thomas Edison, inventor of the first incandescent lighting system in 1879 and motion pictures in 1894, was of Scottish descent by his mother, Mary Elliot.

• Stanford White along with William Rutherford Mead and Charles McKim formed New York’s McKim, Mead, and White, one of the most influential architectural firms in American history. The firm was responsible for the original Madison Square Garden, Columbia University Library, Pennsylvania Station, the Morgan Library and much more. The Washington Arch on Fifth Avenue in New York City was designed by White. White, perhaps America’s most famous architect, was shot to death in his own Madison Square Garden by Harry K. Thaw, who was jealous over White’s affair with Evelyn Nesbitt.

• James Naismith, inventor of American Basketball, born in Canada, but of Scottish descent

• Donald Douglas, founder of Douglas aircraft

• Elizabeth Wiley Corbet - first American female physician

• John McIntosh, founder and developer of the delicious McIntosh apples

POLITICIANS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, JUDGES

• Wyatt Earp, well known U.S. Marshall of the West was of Scottish descent

• Nine of the Governors of the original thirteen American colonies were of Scottish descent.

• Nearly one half of the Secretaries of Treasury of the United States were of Scottish descent.

• One-Third of all the U.S. Secretaries of State were of Scottish descent

• Nearly ¾ of our U.S. Presidents are of Scottish descent.

• President Woodrow Wilson, who was of Scottish descent, once said, "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood."

• Daniel Webster was a U.S. Secretary of State and helped pave the way for the annexation of Hawaii.

• Sam Houston, helped Texas gain her independence from Mexico, first president of Texas

• John Marshall, famous Supreme Court Justice, son of a Scottish minister

• One in ten of all Nobel Prize winners are of Scottish descent.

• Thirty-five of the Supreme Court Justices of The United States were of Scottish descent.

ENTERTAINERS and ATHLETES

• Arnold Palmer, first professional golfer to win one million dollars, Scots-Irish descent

• Robert Brown “Bobby” Thomson, born in Glasgow, and left for the U.S. to play Major League Baseball. He earned the nickname, “the Staten Island Scot”. He played for 15 seasons playing for the Giants, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles. He retired in 1960. On October 3, 1951, in the third game of a three-game playoff against the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giant outfielder Bobby Thomson blasted the dramatic "shot heard 'round the world" when he homered off right-hander Ralph Branca.  After all these years, Thomson's one-out, three-run homer remains among the most famous home run hits in baseball history.

• James MacDonald, born in Dundee in 1906, he was the voice for Walt Disney’s popular character, Mickey Mouse. He died in 1991.