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The Scottish-American Military Society (SAMS) was
founded
and chartered in North Carolina, April 12, 1981,
as a
non-profit organization with the following purpose:
To preserve and promote Scottish and American Armed
Forces
customs, traditions, and heritage, by:
Providing a forum for exchange
of military history and
genealogical information.
Conducting Public Education
programs Presenting Military
student Honor Awards
Supporting Scottish activities
at Highland Games
Making contributions to
qualified scholarship funds or
institutions
Making appropriate charitable
contributions
Providing a fraternal atmosphere for members
The Society was founded as a veterans organization. The
membership is composed primarily of veterans of Scottish
ancestry who have served -- or are serving -- in the Armed
Forces of the United States and the Commonwealth. If you
support the purposes shown above, we would welcome your
membership if you qualify. Membership is open to honorably
discharged veterans or active duty or reserve military
persons
who have served or are serving with any branch of the
US Armed Forces.
Honorary life memberships are awarded to
members who have
been awarded the Medal of Honor or the
Victoria Cross.
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The SAMS Emblem
The Scottish belt is a symbol of
allegiance
to the Chief's Crest which it surrounds. On the
SAMS emblem, it signifies allegiance to the principle
that
liberty was won and has been preserved by
armed force.
The centerpiece of the Society
Emblem is the back-country
rifleman, wearing the
hunting shirt, armed with his flintlock
rifle and belt axe.
Kings Mountain, in South Carolina, is
recognized as
one of the decisive battles and a major turning
point
in the Revolutionary War. An
unusually
high percentage of the men who fought on both
sides
at Kings Mountain were of Scottish and
Scots-Irish
bloodlines. Scots-Irish Colonel
William Campbell
was commander of the Patriot forces and the
Loyalists
were led by Lt. Col. Patrick Ferguson, a Highland
Scot.
As was so often the case in Scottish history, the
fight
was between those who opposed the Crown and those
who
supported it.
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