John Macrae, Gaelic Poet
Moore County, Moore County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
John Macrae. Gaelic poet. Emigrated from Scotland in 1774. Loyalist during the Revolution. His home stood 2 1/2 miles south.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
John Macrae emigrated from the Scottish Highlands in 1774, part of a large wave of Gaelic-speaking Scots who settled North Carolina's Cape Fear region. A poet in his native tongue, he remained loyal to the Crown during the Revolution; his home stood a few miles south of this spot.
Why it matters
His life captures the Highland Scots' distinctive place in colonial North Carolina — an immigrant culture whose language, poetry, and Loyalist sympathies set it apart in the Revolutionary South.
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