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The Gathering at Mount Helicon is an annual gathering of Scottish Highlanders in the colony of North Carolina.

History[]

It is unclear where historical fact meets fiction, regarding 18th century gatherings of Scottish immigrants in North Carolina. Mount Helicon is mentioned by name as the site of such a Gathering in Inglis Fletcher's The Scotswoman, a book that "is primarily a work of fiction, though fact plays a strong part in its background":

In the coolness of that May morning hundreds of other Scotsmen were leading their families along the roads to Mount Helicon. There was not a Highlander anywhere between the Cape Fear and the Pee Dee rivers—anywhere, in fact, in all North and South Carolina—who was willingly staying home from the reunion.[1]

In the context of the Outlander series, the Gathering is an annual event during the 1760s and 1770s.

Outlander series[]

Drums of Autumn[]

In 1767, when Duncan asks Jamie whether the Frasers will attend the Gathering at Mount Helicon, Jamie bids Duncan tell his aunt Jocasta that they will not attend this year, nor probably the next, but perhaps the year after that. In the fullness of time, the Frasers attend their first—and to date, only—Gathering in the autumn of 1770.

The Fiery Cross[]

Jamie, Claire, Brianna, and Roger attend the Gathering with their new son and grandson, Jemmy. Also in attendance are various families from Fraser's Ridge, including Fergus, Marsali, and their children; the brothers Kenny, Murdo, and Evan Lindsay; and Lizzie Wemyss, who is newly reunited with her father, Joseph.

Jamie also welcomes newcomers to the Ridge, who will return with the Frasers after the Gathering: Arch Bug and his wife, Murdina, who will serve as factor and housekeeper; the Chisholms and McGillivrays, who will each bring large families; and Josiah Beardsley, a skilled young hunter.[2]

Trivia[]

  • Mount Helicon is located west of Cross Creek (present-day Fayetteville), in the Sandhills region of North Carolina near the source of Rockfish Creek.[3][4]
  • Diana Gabaldon read about Mount Helicon in The Scotswoman by Inglis Fletcher.[5][1]
  • Mount Helicon is the name of a mountain in Greece. In Greek mythology, it was the location of two sacred springs.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fletcher, Inglis. "Reunion." The Scotswoman. 1954. Accessed 5 September 2021.
  2. Months later, Jamie discovers that Josiah has a deaf twin brother, Keziah, who eventually comes to live on the Ridge with Josiah.
  3. Butler, Bion H. Old Bethesda : at the head of Rockfish. 1933. Accessed 5 September 2021.
  4. North Carolina Newspapers, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. "Mt. Helicon and Bethesda Derive Their Names From Ancient Days." The pilot. [Vass, N.C.]. 28 July 1933. Accessed 5 September 2021.
  5. Gabaldon, Diana. "Where is Mount Helicon?." MSG: #10. Diana Gabaldon. Reading Literature. TheLitForum.com. Published 1 September 2021. Accessed 5 September 2021. 
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