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THE PRISON SHIP MARTYRS' MONUMENT. •**■*••■, IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIO z^ PRISON SHIP s: ^ MARTYRS' = 1 MONUMENT S, = ASSOCIATION s Ullllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Dedication of the Mo nument And O tKe r Proceedings Macgowan &■ Slipper, Printers and Stationers, 30 Beekman St., New York AHBoci&tioti MAK 1314 Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument November 14th, 1908 DEDICATORY CEREMONIES The Ceremonies attending the dedication of the Monument in Fort Greene Park, erected to the memory of the thousands who perished on the foul prison ships anchored in Wallabout Bay during the Revolutionary War, were made the charge of the following Committee; General Horatio C. King, Chairman, Hon. Charles E. Hughes, Governor of New York, Hon. S. V. White, President of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Associa- tion, Hon. Stephen M. Griswold, Society of Old Brooklynites, and John B. Creighton, Secretary. ORDER OF CEREMONIES. 1. Music by 23rd Regiment Band, . .T. F. Shannon, Leader. Closing with the Star Spangled Banner, all standing. 2. Prayer Rev. S. Parkes Cadman, D.D. 3. Poem Thomas Walsh. 4. Oration Hon. William H. Taft. 5. Presentation of Monument on Behalf of the National Government by the Secretary of War, Hon. Luke E. Wright. 6. Acceptance on Behalf of the State by the Governor, Hon. Charles E. Hughes. 7. Acceptance on Behalf of the City by the Chairman of the Board of Aldermen .... Hon. Patrick F. McGowan. 8. Address on Behalf of the Tammany Society or Colum- bian Order. . . . Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan, Grand Sachem 9. Closing Prayer and Benediction, Rev. John L. Belford, D.D. 10. Tribute, Salute and Taps, Union Prisoners of War, New York Association. 3 4 PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT The day was most unpropitious. A threatening storm with a cold easterly wind culminated at the hour for the literary exer- cises in sleet and snow. The parade was most striking, but much marred by the unfriendly elements. A description will be found at the close of this account. About two thousand spectators were congregated in the Grand Stand and it is estimated that forty thousand more braved the elements to witness the interesting ceremonies. The Old Brook- lynites, who have long been interested in the Memorial, seeking through Congress to secure the necessary appropriation, occu- pied a conspicuous place, and nearby were the members of the Martyrs Monument Society, the Daughters of the Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Little Men and Women of '76, and other patriotic organizations. The Tammany Society, which was the first body to make a practical effort in the collection of the exposed bones in Wallabout Bay and place them, in 1808, in a wooden tomb on Hudson Street, was repre- sented by several Grand Sachems, who with over two hundred members paraded. Among the unique features was a banner carried in the procession in 1808 by the Tammany Society, which was presented to the Monument Society by Mrs. Henry Young, of Riverhead, N. J. It bears this inscription: "Mor- tals Avaunt. 1150 Spirits of the Martyred Braves approach the tomb of Honor, of Glory, of Virtuous Patriots." The Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York, in the picturesque uniform of a century ago, did guard duty at the Monument. This organization paraded on April 13, 1808, at the laying of the corner-stone of the tomb on Hudson Street, long since decayed, and removed when the bones were transferred to the tomb at the entrance of Fort Greene Park. After several musical selections, ending with the Star Span- gled Banner, admirably rendered by Shannon's Twenty-third Regiment Band, the Hon. Stephen V. White, President of the Monument Association, called the audience to order, and after briefly describing the movements which led up to the comple- tion of the Monument, presented the Chaplain of the day, who made the invocation. The prayer by the Rev. S. Parkes [Cadman, D.D., Pastor of the Central Congregational Church, was a most eloquent appeal, unfortunately not reported, but of which the Eagle said: " It PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 5 was strangely impressive to liear tiie English born and English bred clergyman pray eloquently and fervently on the subject of the Martyrs who had perished in British ships through British neglect and cruelty." Mr. White : 1 now have the great pleasure of presenting to you Mr. Thomas Walsh, a talented resident of our own Boro, as the Poet of the occasion. POEM. By Thomas Walsh, Esq. THE PRISON SHIPS. Not here the frenzied onslaught — here no roar Of victory — no raucous cry of hate From the red surge of war; Here crowd no Caesar's myrmidons of state Lest for some hasty-fading laurels he be late And night annul his place; But solemn is the tread of feet that come Around this hallowed mount — with drum Concordant — with the clarion Of youthful hearts that throb for deeds sublime — Here where no stain can e'er deface This columned beauty out of Parthenon, — This glory surging pure beyond the clouds of Time. Here our fortress hill Where Freedom's gathering vanguards took their stand, O sacred relics! — how serene ye lay, How patient for this day Whose rites we now fulfill! Thousands of dusks and dawns have trembled on These portals of your tomb; Ye heard the tread of discord shake this land. The trumpetings of doom; — Yea, through your sleep ye knew the orphan's cry, The broken hearts' far clamoring. And the pale heroes plucking deathless wreaths From fields o'ershadowed by the buzzard's wing! Oh, in what direful school Learned ye the iron rigor of the mind Your memory bequeaths? Was it in plague and famine ye did find PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT Such right divine to rule — Such hopes in God and man — that double stay Of commonwealths to-day? For here, the sponsors for all ages, Ye gave as solemn gages Not blood alone But very flesh and bone! Nor pledged ye only for the strong and brave. But for the generations yet unborn By every strand remote that greets the morn. For the pale despot shackled to his throne As for the serf and slave. O stalworth dreamers in the dust, That God who took your young hearts' trust. Your pangs, the issue of your patriots cause. Still sways the stars and souls of men With th' ancient seals and laws; Nor did He turn and mock your anguish when Ye cried His password through eternity And died in fetters so ye might be free. O martyrdom of hope! — to lie In youth and strength — and die 'Mid rotting hulks that once by every sea And star swung carelessly — To die becalmed in war's black hell. Where in the noon's wide blaze your hearts could soar With gull and eagle by each cherished shore Of home — where ye had sworn to dwell The fathers of the free. Doom like to this the Lydian victim bore Who clutched at feasts divine — only to starve the more. Well might the blue skies and the breeze Which once perchance swept Delphi o'er. Well might the star-eyes question: — "What are these Heaped holocausts on Freedom's shrine? Not even the dullard ox unto our altars led Of old, but walked 'mid reverent throng Anoint and garlanded! What rite of hate or scorn of law divine Strikes down its victims here With not a funeral song Nor poor libation of a tear?" To-day give answer — ye, who 'mid the battle's roar Have known the rapture of a patriot's death, — Ye, who have seen the aureole trembling o'er Your brows as anguish clutched at Life's fond breath, — Blessed and radiant now! — look down In consecration of the solemn deed PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT Which here commemorates this iron breed Of martyrs nameless in the clay As the true heroes of our newer day — World heroes — patterned not on king and demi-god Of charioted splendor or of crown Blood-crusted — but on toilers in the sod, On reapers of the sea, on lovers of mankind. Whose bruised shoulders bear The lumbering wain of progress — all who share The crust and sorrows of our mortal lot — Lamps of the soul The Christ hath left behind To light the path whereon He faltered not. Yea, now the boom of guns, The scarlet bugles, faint from off the world! Lo, o'er the loftier brows of man, unfurled The purer banners of the dawning suns! Banners of God in godlike minds — of hope — Of faith, to daunt the crafty hordes of greed, The venomed remnant of the dragon's seed Along the gutters of the world! No more men grope Up life's black chasms — but free they swing along Their spacious levels in the noon's full flow'r And strike to earth the barricades of wrong. They have torn down the tyrants of an hour. — Think not that they shall hear the deeps of shame Foredoom them likewise with the despot's name; Nor doubt this glorious vessel of our state. This visioned bark, whereof in martyr dreams From death's grim hulks they caught the hal.\ard gleams, No feud can seize it, nor the grip of hate Turn back its prow into the slime For scorn to overwhelm With name so cursed on the lips of Time As "prison ship" for men who would be free! High God, Thy hand was on another helm When every tide and breeze Brought the hope-lighted argosies From out the ports of hunger and of wrong! And thou alone hast number kept Of that indomitable throng Who gained this harbor portal, From out their house of bondage crept And sought the north, the south, the west, — Armies of thrift and faith with hearts that blessed These graves immortal! To-day from far their Freedom-lighted brows PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT Turn hither musing on their happ\' prows That met the tides of sacred waters here And touched a lustral shore whose shrines unto the skies uprear. And ye, O sailors faring buoyant forth, Bear ye the tidings of this joy-swept main Where round the coasts of Celt or Dane Ye brave the sleet-mouthed north Or track the moon on some Sicilian wave Or lonely cape of Spain; Take ye the story of these comrades true Whose prison hulks sank here Where now such tides of men are poured As never surged o'er crag or fiord To stay the gulls with fear — Who yet such quest of glory knew As never Argonaut of old Seeking the shores of gold — As never knight from wound and vigil pale Tracing o'er subset worlds his Holy Grail! And lo! — to all the seas a pharos set in sign memorial! Through the gloom of Time 'Twill teach a sacrifice of self, sublime O'er lash of storms as through corroding calms Nor e'er alone shall shine Its love-bright parapet; But every star shall bring a golden alms; — The seething harbor line Glow 'neath its star-fed hives, its swing and flare Of Bridges; — while with pilgrim lamps from sea Shall grope the dreadnought fieets; — while endless prayer Of dawns and sunset floods the faces far Uplifted, tear-stained to this Martyr shrine, — Whose sister torch shall greet what Liberty Holds back to God, — earth's brightest answering star. After music Mr. White, in introducing the President of the United States, referred in felicitous terms to his great popularity and thanked him for honoring this significant event with his presence. The falling snow and sleet suggested the precaution of the Speaker's not removing his hat, a suggestion endorsed by many voices and wisely adopted. PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT \) ORATION. BY HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT, President of the United States. Ladies and Gentlemen: We are met to-day to pay a nation's debt, long since recog- nized, but most tardily provided for. The Monument which we dedicate commemorates the sacrifice for their country of the lives of upward or 10,000 Americans, who were hurried, more than 125 years ago, into what seemed for years to be an in- glorious oblivion. They died because of the cruelty of their immediate custodians, and the neglect of those who higher in authority were responsible for their detention. They were the prisoners of King George the Third, captured in the war of the Revolution. Circumstances combined to make their fate harsh, cruel and sordid. Their identity and personality have not been preserved, and we who assemble in grateful recollection of their self-sacrifice are compelled to refer to them as the "un- known dead." The significance of this circumstance in itself is great, for it showed the lack of system and carelessness that attended the custody of the prisoners, and an indifference to their names and fate harmonizing completely with their physical treatment. We only know of the innumerable burials under insufficient soil, on the shores of Long Island where now is the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and our estimate of 10,000 is a mere estimate. The chief prison ship was the Jersey. There were other old hulks used as prison ships before the Jersey, notably the Whitby and Hope. There were ships called "hospital ships," which were supposed to offer a refuge for the sick of the regular prison ships. In all of them, however, there were the neglect and cruelty that led to a large percentage of deaths among the prisoners; but the details in respect to them can be gathered only from fugitive letters of the victims, and not from official sources. The British commanders generally denied the allegations made on behalf of the American prisoners from time to time, and with the close of the war, and the absence of any comprehensive investigation and report in respect to them, we are left to piece out the evi- dence as best we may and to explain the shocking percentage 10 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT of the dead that were gathered each day and given a hasty and insufficient burial. We have more information in respect to the Jersey hulk than in regard to any other, and enough to confirm in the strongest way the outrageous and indefensible cruelty with which the American prisoners were treated, resulting in the death of a large proportion of them, a death which is the more horrible as it proceeded from lingering disease and from the painful and un- successful struggle against conditions and environment, so frightful and distressing as to make the fate of the prisoners far worse than if, after their capture, they had been shot down regularly in files, or strung up on the yard arm as vicious male- factors. I do not wish to be understood as charging that these con- ditions were due to the premeditation of the English Com- manders-in-chief, or to the set purpose of anyone in authority having to do with the fate of the unfortunate men whose bravery and self sacrifice this Monument records. Such a charge would make the British commanders human monsters. The condi- tions were the result of neglect, not design. Let us review shortly the history of the prisoners on board the hulks of the Jersey and others in order to understand how results so revolting to every instinct of human nature could have come about. The city of New York, partly by reason of its geographical situation and in part because of its importance as a center of political and commercial affairs, became the headquarters of the British military command and administration in America, even before the British troops were withdrawn from the vicinity of Boston, and so continued during the entire period of the Re- volutionary War. Its importance from a military point of view will be better understood, perhaps, when I say that, save for the operations at Boston, Saratoga, and the campaigns in the Carolinas and Virginia, which were terminated in the Siege of Yorktown, the most important campaign and operations of the Revolution took place within one hundred miles of the city of New York. Some of these important and decisive events oc- curred almost within the shadow of the Monument which we to-day dedicate to the memory of the martyred dead. Not only was this metropolitan city the center of British command and administration, but other important military PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 11 activities found here an appropriate field of action. As there were but few places in the States then composing the federation in which a firm military occupation had been established, and where prisoners of war captured on land and sea, from Boston to the Carolinas, were sent to New York, where, under the pro- tection of a powerful fleet, they could be safely and securely held. And to this fact may be directly attributed the concen- tration of such large numbers of prisoners of war at a single point, and, indirectly, the needless suffering they were called upon to undergo. In the treatment of the prisoners taken from the American forces by the British, the British commanders found themselves much embarrassed. Technically and actually, every prisoner taken was guilty of treason, and liable to prosecution for capital offence in the courts of the land. The British government was quite indisposed, as was natural, to recognize the belligerency of the American forces or to treat those who were captured as prisoners of war. They were afraid of committing themselves in some way to a recognition of the existence of a war as between two independent powers, and yet they were loth to treat all prisoners captured as punishable by death. The detention of prisoners without proceedings against them for treason in the regular courts made it possible for friends of the prisoners to apply for writs of habeas corpus, and thus em- barrass the commanding officers. Accordingly, Lord North, George the Third's Prime Minister, secured the passage of an act of Parliament whereby in the suppression of the rebellion of his Majesty's subjects in America, persons in arms might be detained without an examination into the legality of their detention under the process of the writ of habeas corpus, and in this way there was established a quasi status of prisoners of war as between the British forces and the American forces. Indeed, the status had been recognized before the passage of the act by the per- sonal arrangement between the commanding officers of the op- posing forces. There was nothing in the peculiar relations between a govern- ment and the forces of its rebellious subjects therefore which should have differentiated the treatment of the captives in such a way from that which ought to obtain under the rules of inter- national law in the case of war between independent nations. 12 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT The same embarrassing questions arose in our own Civil War, and were solved in much the same way. However loth we were to recognize the confederation internationally as an independent power, the extent of the rebellion, which made it one of the great- est wars of modern times, required for humanity's sake that all the rules applicable to the conduct of war between two indepen- dent nations should be observed in the war of the Rebellion; and it is not too much to say that in the war of the Rebellion there was substantially the same relations as between Great Britain and the forces of the Continental Congress. The lot of a prisoner of war at all times and under all cir- cumstances is one of constant and inevitable hardship. In ancient times the prisoner of war became the slave of his captor. The captured Roman forfeited his citizenship, which was but partly revived by the event of recapture. In the middle ages, and, indeed, down to the advent of Napoleon, death was per- haps the least of the horrors which were associated with the status of prisoners of war. Separated from his family and friends, deprived by the exigency of capture of the companion- ship of tent-mates and comrades, surrounded not only by strang- ers but by enemies, a captive without rights which his captor was bound to respect, it is impossible to conceive of a more hope- less, distressing and heart-breaking situation. In relatively recent times, the lot of the prisoner of war has been made the subject of amelioration, in cartels, treaties and con- ventions which define the rights of the captured and the duties of the captor. The personal safety of the prisoner of war is secured, his personal belongings and possessions are protected from capture and spoliation and offences against him are rigor- ously punished. The measures of restraint to which a captor may resort for the detention of prisoners cannot now take the character of punitive imprisonment. It must be a source of gratification to all of us to learn the provisions of The Hague convention with reference to the rights of prisoners of war as they are now understood by all the signa- tory powers to that convention, and to see that it is the duty of the capturing forces to make as ample provision for the prisoners of war as for their own men. A still more emphatic evidence of the progress that is made, and an earnest of what we may expect hereafter, is to be found in the treatment of prisoners of war in PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 13 the late Russian-Japanese conflict, when both parties exceeded, in the tenderness and the care which they gave to the prisoners of the other, the requirements of The Hague convention. This great Memorial, which we dedicate to-day, the condition of things which it records and their contrast with present conditions, properly called to mind the human advance which has been made even in so cruel a thing as war. It should be said, however, that in the time of the Revolution and in the days of these prison ships the rights of the prisoners of war were by no means clearly defined, and the horrors to which those whose memory we celebrate to-day were subjected, could find a parallel in other wars of the same period. But the English commanders, and still more our own General Washing- ton, were anxious to recognize and carry out as far as possible the principles which 1 have already laid down governing the rights of the prisoners of war while in captivity. The difficulty was not in the theoretic statement of the obligations of the captor, but in their practical recognition and observance. In the arrangements for the exchange of prisoners between General Washington and the British commander, soldiers were exchanged for soldiers, private citizens for private citizens, and sailors for sailors. To the English and American forces the soldier was much more valuable than the sailor. It cost the Englishman far more to bring over soldiers and keep them in America than it did sailors, and it was much more difficult for the American authorities to secure soldiers of the line than it was to secure sailors, and especially those not sailors in the em- ploy of the Continental Congress, but merely in private employ upon vessels engaged as privateersmen under letters of marque and reprisal, who constituted the great majority of American sailors in the war. There was very little of the American Navy except so far as it was constituted by privateersmen, and it was easier among an adventurous people to secure the employ of sailors upon priva- teersmen who generally shared in the proceeds of prizes than it was to obtain enlisted men in the army; hence almost all the exchanges were of British soldiers on the one hand and soldiers of the Continental line or the State Militia on the other. While they were detained as prisoners of war, they were detained on land in prisons, where their fate was by no means a comfortable 14 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT one, they were not subjected to the cruelties of the prison ships. Men who were detained on the prison ships were generally those who had been captured by British vessels of war from the decks of American privateersmen. There were a great many British sailors captured by Ameri- can privateersmen, and had these captives been turned over to the Congressional Government for detention, they would have constituted a source from which exchanges might have been regularly effected and the men detained on the prison ships have been thus set at liberty. But the American privateersmen took no pains in this matter. They were frequently successful in inducing their British prisoners to engage themselves as American sailors in new privateering enterprises, or, if not, they took no care to turn them over to the regular commissary of prisoners and allowed them to go. The American Navy proper was not large or extensive enough to capture prisoners to be exchanged in any number, so the inmates of the prison ships had little opportunity for obtaining liberty through exchange. I pause here to allude to a charge made by the British against Washington and the American authorities in order to relieve themselves from the responsibility for the awful loss of life occurring in their prison hulks. They say, as is true, that the British authorities offered to exchange the prisoners detained in the prison hulks for British soldiers held by the American forces in American prisons and that this offer was declined. It was declined by Washington, first on the ground that he had no authority over naval prisoners. Later on it appears such an exchange might have been made by Washington had he desired to do so, but his position evidently was that he could not afford, in the interests of the cause for which he was fighting, to aid the British by giving back to them seasoned soldiers of the line to reinforce their army in America in exchange for men who had never had experience as soldiers at all, and who were nothing but the sailors of privateersmen. It is true that by so doing he would have been enabled to save the sufferings of his own countrymen who were detained in the prison hulks, and this shows clearly that the rights of those, whose memory we here recall with gratitude, were sacrificed to meet the exigencies of the country in the critical hour of her birth. But it was a balancing of Washington's obligations, and PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 15 he felt it to be the higher^,duty to maintain that course which would weaken the enemy and ultimately drive him to peace, than to relieve the sulYerings of those of his unfortunate country- men, however terribly detained upon prison hulks. We must justify Washington in this conclusion, just exactly as we must justify Grant in refusing the exchange at a time in August, 1864, when the sufferings of Andersonville were held up before him as a reason for making such an exchange. But it was a critical moment in the history of the war, and he knew better than anyone else could how much of strength he was with- holding from the rebel army by refusing to give back to them the men who would fill up their ranks from northern prisons. What should be emphasized, however, is that the refusal of Washington and the American authorities to make the exchange proposed was not the slightest justification for the neglect and cruelty with which the prisoners of war upon the prison hulks were treated, and that Washington's mere failure to act and to accept the proposal of the British made in their own interest and for the betterment of their army was not the slightest excuse for their failure to heed his complaints and warnings against the treatment to which they were subjecting those confined to the prison ships. I may here notice one circumstance referred to by some of the historians, that of a certificate of a committee of American shipmasters under parole from the prison hulk Jersey, that the treatment received by the prisoners on board those hulks was all that could be expected, and that what they needed only was liberation and exchange. The circumstances under which this certificate was exacted by the English commissary of prisoners, David Sproat, were such as to deprive the certificate of any real evidential weight. This brings me to a consideration of the circumstances of the imprisonment. The prisoners were sailors. They were therefore turned over to the naval authorities, and not to the military authorities. The naval authorities used, as was natural, ships rather than dry land for detention. It meant a less number of sailors to be used as guards, and meant more economy in every way in the cost of custody. They took the old vessels which had ceased to be useful for war or transportation purposes. Such vessels were usually leaky, infested with vermin, and when their port- 16 PRISON SIIJP MARTVKS' MONUMENT holes were boarded up to prevent escape, there was very little ventilation. The Jersey was a sixty-four gun ship and capable of carrying a crew of 400 persons. When dismantled and after offices had been assigned to the officers and crew in charge, there was left space under the upper decks into which 1,400 miserable victims of the system were thrust, there to spend the nights in the summer in an intolerable heat and to suffer from cold in the winter. With only one surgeon, who did not appar- ently attend to his duties at all, with one cook, and with guards in charge all of whom resented the employment, it is not won- dered at that the poor prisoners were gradually subjected to greater and greater cruelty at the hands of their captors. Yel- low fever and small-pox were rife among the prisoners. The cleanliness of the vessel depended upon the energy of the prisoners as well as the severity of discipline by the guards, but how could cleanliness be expected when the whole 1,400 were affected with disease, and were dying at the rate of from five to ten a day? The filth and effluvia were horrible. It is hard to understand how men lived on from month to month, from year to year, in such a ftietid atmosphere. It is impossible to determine exactly who was responsible for the lack of food and the insufficient quality and quantity which was fur- nished. There is evidence that the orders were that two-thirds of the daily food furnished to British sailors was to be furnished to these prisoners, but it is certain that the bread and meat and dried vegetables which were furnished to these prisoners were so worm-eaten and rotten as to provide little sustenance. That these abuses arose probably from the fraud of the guards and immediate attendants is probable, but the officers in higher authority cannot escape the responsibility that is necessarily at their door for a failure to order constant inspection and to protect the human beings whose lives, as they must have known, were being sacrificed from day to day by the awful environment in which they were compelled to live. The dangers of infection and contagion from the pestholes which the vessels at once became, doubtless drove away in- spectors and persons of charitable intent who might have assisted the victims of this imprisonment. Indeed, the very cruelty and danger of the surroundings exposed the prisoners more and more to the absolute authority of the immediate attendants PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 17 and guards, who themselves had to undergo the risk of living near and in the pesthouse and who justified their cupidity and dishonesty, doubtless, by the dangers which they themselves had to run. Thousands and thousands of the victims were buried on the shores of Wallabout Bay not more than 500 yards from the ship, and buried in such an insufficient way that the recurring tides disclosed their bodies to the air and washed their bones farther upon the shore. Finally, in 1783, this ship, which seems to have been used as a prison ship only for three years, was abandoned; those who had lived through the awful miseries were released and the ship was allowed to remain in its place until it fell apart and was destroyed by the elements. For years its frame and ribs at low tide could be seen to remind the onlooker of its terrible history. No complete list of those confined, no list of those who died sur- vives to enable us to identify its victims. We know this: The men there confined were Americans who had taken service on privateersmen to destroy British commerce and to hamper British operations upon the sea and who after their confinement were generally offered the opportunity of betraying their alle- giance to the cause of the Revolution, by enlisting in the British Navy and engaging in the suppression of the war against their own people. We know that they, with but very few exceptions, preferred the death which was present to them every day in their lives upon these prison ships, to the dishonor of deserting the cause of their country. Efforts have been made, from time to time, to put into per- manent form an expression of the gratitude of this Government and its people to those who thus offered up their lives rather than to be unfaithful to their country's cause. The Society of Tammany and others and the private association known as " The Ship Prison Martyrs Association," with Stephen V. White at its head, took the matter in hand with an energy and perse- verance worthy of the cause, finally secured governmental aid, and now a suitable testimonial has been reared in memory of these heroes and martyrs. The State of New York contributed $25,000, the city of New York $50,000, the Prison Ship Martyrs' Association $25,000 by private subscription and the Government of the United States $100,000. From the plans made by the architects, McKim, Mead and 18 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument White, the work of construction has gone on under the direction of Colonel Marshall, now Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, and to-day this noble Memorial is dedicated as a reminder to living Americans of the gratitude due to the unknown sufferers in our country's cause and as an inspiration to future unselfish and unheralded sacrifice to maintain our institutions of liberty and civilization. General Luke E. Wright then made a brief address, in which he presented the Monument to the State and city. He said: The story of the experiences of the Martyrs honored by this shaft makes one of the darkest pages in the annals of the Re- volution. They met without complaint starvation and depriva- tion and suffered the most loathsome diseases rather than prove traitors to their country. The thing that makes a nation great is its men rather than its material resources, and such men as these helped to make our nation great. We are now about to pay a long delayed debt. When we consider how long the lapse of time between the incurring and the paying, we might truly say that republics are ungrateful, but it is a fact that the con- temporaries of men rarely do them justice. The remoter genera- tions have a broader perspective and are better able to do honor to the great deeds of those who have gone before. We have erected this Monument in tribute to the Martyrs who suffered for their country, and now. Governor Hughes, 1 present to you as Governor of the State in which they suffered, and to you, Mr. McGowan, as representing the city which witnessed their sufferings, this Monument. Governor Hughes rose and bowed, and President McGowan also. Almost at the same moment a signal was given, the cord was drawn by Miss Esther King Norton, a granddaughter of General Horatio C. King, and the great banner of the Stars and Stripes which enshrouded the Monument began to fall away at the top. The grand urn surmounting the shaft was brought into view as the blue field and white stars that had hidden it dropped away. Slowly the flag came down. The people rose and men began to take off their hats. In a few seconds a great multitude of bare-headed men stood and PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 19 watched the unveiling and paid no heed to the sleet that was beating down upon them. The Monument having been unveiled, Mr. White presented Governor Hughes, who accepted it on behalf of the State. ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR CHARLES E. HUGHES. Fellow Citizens: Fortunate are the people whose soil has been the scene of patriotic service and of heroic devotion to a noble cause. We cannot afford to be indifferent to examples of fortitude, or to lose by forgetfulness the stimulus of the lessons of sacrifice. We commemorate to-day not the deeds of great men or of those possessed of surpassing talent or extraordinary power. This is a Monument to the service and sacrifice of those whose chief distinction is not that of fortune or condition, or of superior position, talent or opportunity, but who revealed in deepest distress and in the agony of body and soul the qualities which dignify our common humanity. It was the plain man, the sim- ple patriot, who in the lowest depths of misery in the prison ship refused his freedom at the cost of his allegiance to the cause of liberty. Humanity has not changed its values. And it still reserves its highest honors for those who in the fire of affliction reveal the pure gold of unselfish loyalty to principle. And because this is, after all, the common sentiment and the sure reserve of our national strength, we face the future with confidence. This long delayed testimonial of our appreciation of the pa- triotic sufferings of the Martyrs of the prison ships is the result of a trinity of effort. It represents the co-operation of Nation, of State, and of private citizens. Thus it typifies the harmony of endeavor essential to the permanency of the benefits this early sacrifice aided to make possible. To-day we erect a Monu- ment not merely to the heroes of war, but to our own aspirations and to our own loftiest sentiments. We would ourselves be en- dowed with the indomitable spirit which flamed in the patriots of long ago; we would point our children to a Memorial of the victories of character; we would have the love of country a burning passion fired by noble memories, intensified by intelligent 20 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT appreciation of opportunity and obligation, and furnishing the motive power for the finer service of peace. And in this spirit and as a trust for this high purpose, on be- half of the State of New York, I accept this Monument. Mr. White: It is a pleasant office to introduce to you Presi- dent McGowan, who will accept this shaft on behalf of the city. Mr. McGowan said: ADDRESS OF HON. P. F. McGOWAN. Friends and fellow citizens: If lessons of stone and bronze are needed to remind the youth of our land of the heroism and fortitude of those who suffered and died to establish this Union and preserve it from disruption, they are not lacking in our city. They ornament our parks and public places, and patriotic societies and individuals have added their zeal and endeavor to governmental effort in perpetuating the achievements of those brave men and women who sacrificed life and property that we might enjoy the independence and liberty which exist in these United States to-day. Within a short distance from here, at the Brooklyn approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, stands a beautiful monument to the immortal Washington, erected through the generosity of one of Brooklyn's public-spirited citizens, Hon. James R. Howe, who devoted the fees of a public office to that patriotic purpose. The citizens of Brooklyn have also erected to the memory of the gallant General Slocum a splendid equestrian statue in honor of that brave military leader. Only a few months ago there was erected on Riverside Drive by our fellow citizens of German birth and extraction a splendid tribute to an adopted citizen-soldier, who fought bravely in the War of the Rebellion, General Franz Sigel. On the banks of the beautiful Hudson repose the mortal re- mains of the great Captain of the Civil War, General Grant, and thousands of people from all over the world annually make pilgrimages to that beautiful tomb to pay their tributes of respect and reverence. Time, however, will not permit me to call your attention to the many evidences of our gratitude and reverence which are PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 21 spread over this city to impress upon the youth the lesson of patriotism and sacrifice which they are meant to convey. We are not met to-day to honor the memory of some great captain of our armies who marshaled his hosts to triumphant victory, nor are we here to honor those gallant privates who shed their blood upon the field of battle in obedience to the word of command. We are to pay tribute to the sad memory of thou- sands of American Revolutionary prisoners who suffered martyr- dom in condemned hulks used as prisons. Bad provisions and bad water, scanty rations and a complete lack of medical attend- ance brought about a condition where disease and misery reigned unassisted and unrelieved, and left behind one of the most ap- palling records in the annals of warfare. Thousands suffered and died whose names are unknown to their countrymen, and no tongue can adequately describe their sublime devotion to their country. One hundred years ago, thirty thousand people thronged the heights near the place of sepulture to pay their homage of rever- ence and respect to the remains of these patriot martyrs, who gasped for existence where life was full about them, and who perished of the fever and the plague when the breeze of health was fresh and strong. The civilized world stood aghast with horror at the terrible suffering of those who perished in the black hole of Calcutta, yet their tortures were brief and mercifully ended in a few hours, while the agonies of the Prison Ship Martyrs were spent in long drawn suffering and torture, over weeks and months of misery. When we recall the sacrifices of the men of that day who en- dured every privation and suffering in the camp, on the field of battle, in the hospital and the prison, to found this government, it is not asking too much of the citizens of to-day to safeguard and transmit, unimpaired, the liberty which it guarantees to those who are to follow us. Several years ago Congressman Fitzgerald, of Brooklyn, in- troduced the bill in Congress authorizing an appropriation for the erection of this tribute of our gratitude, and in his efforts to secure its passage was ably assisted by our present Mayor, who at that time was a member of the House. In that purpose the National Government, the State of New York and this city have blended harmoniously with the Monument Association. 22 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument On behalf of the city of New York, I accept for her citizens this beautiful Monument dedicated to the pathetic and patriotic memory of the Prison Ship Martyrs of the Revolutionary War. Mr. White: To the Tammany Society great credit is due for their early efforts to collect and preserve the bones of the Martyrs. It is therefore with special pleasure and satisfaction that I now present to you Grand Sachem Cohalan of that ancient organiza- tion, whose Sachems and members, in considerable number, are with us to-day. ADDRESS BY HON. DANIEL F. COHALAN It is very proper that the Tammany Society should take part again to-day and pay a tribute to the Martyrs who lost their lives in the Revolutionary War. Organized by soldiers and sail- ors of the Revolution, the Tammany Society is one of the oldest patriotic societies in the world. It has always stood for patriotism, and in 1812 it came to Brooklyn, 1,200 strong, and threw up breastworks to help defend this place from a threatened invasion by the British. We are proud of the Society's record in the Mexican War, and proud of its record in the War of the Rebellion, when it organ- ized the Forty-second Regiment and sent it to the front, where in thirty-seven battles it won for itself renown. We are proud of what we have been able to do for the honoring of the Prison Ship Martyrs. In 1802 the Society memorialized Congress and called attention to the condition of the graves of the Martyrs and asked that a Monument should be erected. That prayer fell on cieaf ears, but in 1808 tried again and was successful. The Monument was built and dedicated by the Grand Sachem of Tammany Society. We hope that this shaft will stand for centuries to teach that patriotism is the highest virtue. Deputy Park Commissioner Michael J. Kennedy was intro- duced, to accept the Monument in behalf of the Park Depart- ment, and said: In behalf of the Park Department, it gives me great pleasure to assume the care of this magnificent Monument. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 23 The ceremonies were closed with a prayer by the Rev. John L. Belford, and a Tribute, Salute and Taps by Union Prisoners of War. The brilliant ceremonies were somewhat marred by the biting cold rain and sleet, but the great work had been dedicated and the people satisfied. The neglect of over a hundred years had been wiped out, and the beautiful shaft will stand as an object lesson to future generations and an assurance that while this Republic is sometimes slow in recognizing its obligations to its heroic defenders, it is not ungrateful. THE PARADE. (Brooklyn Eagle.) The Tammany Society formed part of the Veteran Associa- tions and Patriotic Societies Division. It marched directly behind the Old Guard of New York. The Old Guard also did itself credit in Brooklyn yesterday. It marched about one hundred strong. General Adolph L. Kline, formerly colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment, led the first com- pany of the organization. Other Brooklynites in the organiza- tion who marched yesterday were ex-Lieutenant A. W. Lindgren, formerly of the 14th Regiment, and Brevet Second Lieutenant Smith, formerly of the Thirteenth Regiment. Another veteran organization that showed up well was that of the Twenty-third Regiment under the command of General J. B. Frothingham. About a hundred ex-members of the Twenty-third Regiment paraded in its ranks. The regiment started from the junction of Division and Bed- ford avenues in the Eastern district sharply at 1 o'clock and the head of the column reached Fort Greene Park at seven minutes after 2 o'clock. The line of parade was along Bedford avenue to Lafayette avenue, to South Oxford street to DeKalb avenue to Raymond street, to Willoughby street, to St. Edward's street, and thence diagonally across the Plaza of the park to Myrtle avenue and lateral streets through which the parade disbanded. Major General Charles F. Roe, the grand marshal, and his 24 PRISON SHIP MARTVKS' MONUMENT staff, escorted by squadrons A and C, deployed upon the Plaza and took up a position facing the grand stairway leading up to the Monument. Here General Roe reviewed the paracie, the marchers passing between the foot of the staircase and the caval- cade drawn up upon the grass among the trees of the Plaza. A steady stream of uniformed men flowed past the reviewing officer uninterruptedly for one hour and a half, the last organiza- tion not arriving opposite the reviewing officer until half after 4 o'clock. Already the dedicatory ceremonies, of which Presi- dent-elect William H. Taft was the central figure, had com- menced. The parade was handled in a most efficient manner. It went off without a hitch and those who participated in it were enthusi- astic in tlieir praise of General Roe and his adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Wingate of Brooklyn, who planned it. There was a notable absence of disagreeable waits and accidents. The regulars from Governors Island and the nearby coast defence fortifications had the right of line. They were under the command of Colonel William H. C. Bowen of the Twelfth Infantry and consisted of several companies of the Twelfth In- fantry of the Coast Artillery Corps and jackies and marines from the battleship New Hampshire and the Marine Barracks of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The regulars of both the army and navy elicited applause and cheers all along the line of march for the precision and military bearing they displayed on the march. Many persons who were not aware that sailormen could also be horsemen were agreeably surprised at the equestrianism dis- played by the captain of the New Hampshire and his staff. Preceding the regulars were the two State cavalry squadrons which acted as an escort to the grand marshal. Squadron C had the right of line, although Squadron A should have had it by right of seniority. But Major Bridgeman of the latter, out of courtesy to Major De Bevoise and his troopers, because the parade was held in Brooklyn, yielded the honor to them. A feature of the escort detachment was the mounted band of the Manhattan squadron. Following the regulars came the total strength of the National Guard in Greater New York, under the command of Brigadier General George Moore Smith of the First Brigade. The First Signal Corps acted as the escort and was followed by the Twenty- MARTYRS' TOMB AT FORT GREENE. 1873 TO 1908. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 25 second Regiment of Engineers, under the command of Colonel Walter B. Hotchkin. Brigadier General David E. Austen, the newly-made Chief of Artillery of the State, came next with his staff. The coast artil- lery organizations of the State had the right of line yesterday, followed by the field artillery under the command of Major David Wilson. The Ninth C. A. provisional regiment had the place of honor in this division. Colonel Wlliam Morris was in command. The Eighth provisional regiment under Colonel Elmore F. Austin came second, and the Thirteenth of Brooklyn third. The lat- ter, for many years entitled to the right of line in all military parades held in this borough, is now the junior coast artillery organization in the State, its order of precedence being determined by the rank of its commanding officer. Colonel Charles O. Davis, the Colonel-elect, was in command. All of the coast artillery troops wore the olive-drab uniform, as neither the Eighth nor Ninth has yet received its quota of full dress uniforms from the quartermaster's department of the State. The Eighth and Ninth had to make shift with infantry overcoats as well, so that were it not for the red cap bands and red stripes on the trousers of the officers and the crossed cannon on the caps of the men, one would not distinguish them from infantrymen. The Thirteenth men, while faring better with regard to overcoats themselves, were not quite up to date. Ac- cording to the regular army regulations, the olive-drab overcoat has entirely superseded the old blue overcoat with the red-lined cape. Some day, however, the State will get around to the issu- ance of such garments. The uniformity of the officers' garb was often marred not only in the artillery branch of the service, but also in the infantry, by the presence of blue overcoats. While the Second Brigade staff was uniform in that all of its members from the General down wore the blue overcoat, it was not caparisoned according to the latest army fashion, which prescribed the olive-drab over- coat over the full-dress uniform. All three of the coast artillery provisional regiments, however, despite the defects of their uniforms, marched well. The Thir- teenth turned out about a thousand strong. Friends of Major George Washington Rodgers of the Third Battalion were grati- fied to learn that he had discarded his old white cob that used 26 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument to be his favorite mount in the days when he was not quite so good a horseman as he is at present. The Major undoubtedly hung on to the old superannuated charger as long as he did for reasons of sentiment and out of consideration for old associations. The First Battery of Manhattan, under the command of Cap- tain John O'Ryan, led the field artillery forces of the State. The Second of Brooklyn came second and the Third of the Bronx brought up the rear. Then followed General Eddy and the Second Brigade, com- prising the Second Signal Corps, as an escort, and the three in- fantry regiments of Brooklyn, the Twenty-third, under the com- mand of Colonel W. A. Stokes; the Fourteenth, under the com- mand of Colonel John H. Foote, and the Forty-seventh, under the command of Colonel Henry C. Barthman. All three ac- quitted themselves well. The alignment of the Twenty-third and the Fourteenth was exceptionally well kept. The general effect of the Forty-seventh was marred by the presence of two officers without overcoats. Their full dress uniforms were the most conspicuous things about the column. In the Fourteenth, Lieutenant Colonel Garcia commanded the First Battalion, Major Libby the second, and Major Baldwin the third. Major Stevenson of the Third Battalion was unable to participate in the parade. The First Brigade of Manhattan came next. Colonel Daniel Appleton, accompanied by his staff, commanded. Immediately following the colonel's staff came the carriage of Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich, commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The admiral was accompanied by his personal aide. Lieutenant Bricker, and Almet F. Latson, president of the Union League Club. The Seventh Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel W. C. Fiale, occupied the right of line of the First Brigade. Then came the Sixty-ninth, under the command of Colonel Duffy, the Twelfth under the command of Colonel Dyer and the Seventy-first under the command of Colonel Bates. The Seventh and Seventy-first easily won the plaudits of the onlookers for the verve with which they marched. The First Naval Battalion, under the leadership of Comman- der Andrew Kalbas, and the Second Battalion, under the com- mand of Lieutenant Commander Ford, brought up the rear of PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 27 the military portion of the parade. Then followed the Old Guard of New York the veterans of the Twenty-th.rd Reg" ment, three Grand Army posts, the Tammany Society and a delegation from the United Boys Brigade. ' Laying of the Corner Stone of tlie Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Fort (ireene Park Brooklyn, New York City Saturday, October 26, 1907, 2.30 p.m. L'nder the auspices of the Prison Ship Martyrs" Monument Asso- ciation and the Society of Old Brooklynites. Honorable S. \ . White, President of the Association, Presiding. After a preliminary concert, from 2 to 2:30 P. M., by the 23rd Regiment Band, Thomas F. Shannon, Bandmaster, the Hon. S. V. White opened the meetino; as follows: Neighbors and Friends: The long deferred time has come when the citizens of America have assembled to do honor to the men who died that this country might be born. We will pro- ceed with the services, and I call upon the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis for the divine invocation. PRAYER— REV. NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, D. D. O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Our Fathers trusted in Thee and the\' were not ashamed. In all of our perils Thou wast a refuge: in our darkness a light; in time of perplexity a place of refuge, a succor and help. Yea, in all their journeys through the wilderness. Thy providence was unto them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 28 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 20 We recognize Thy benignant hand upon all Thy people, through all these years and generations. From Thee hath come every good upon this nation. From Thee the scholars have had their wisdom, the soldiers their valor, the judges their love of justice, the merchants the power to feed the State, the physicians the power to save and heal the State, and our educators the power to deliver and instruct the State. We thank Thee that Thou hast raised up good men, famous men of old, men of renown and distinction. And now, in this hour, we praise and bless Thy name, not alone for the prophets and the martyrs of the days of old, and of the early Christian Church, but for our own patriots, our brave soldiers that died giving their blood to feed the roots of the tree of liberty that the blossoms thereof might be crimson and beautiful for us and for our children. May their spirit of devo- tion to the great convictions never fade out from the hearts of our children. Bless Thou this wide land and all its rulers this day. Hold our people back from any form of evil, from the peril of over- ripe luxury and wealth, and from all folly and from all fear. And grant that to the end of time this Republic, with its family life, with its schools, with its homes and with its Churches may educate all the world in Liberty and free institutions. We renew our dedication to Thee of all that we are and of all that we have and of all that we hope to be, and implore Thy blessing upon us and upon our land, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS— HON. S. V. WHITE. Mr. White reviewed at length the sufferings of the Martyrs who had died on the prison ships, and the work which had been done to commemorate their martyrdom with a Monument. In opening his remarks he graphically told of the fate of British soldiers in the Black Hole of Calcutta. He continued: We have no record of any one concrete act of hellishness in the treatment of prisoners which equaled this indescribable tragedy of Calcutta. But to the shame of the Anglo-Saxon race be it said, that for the six years in which the British forces held ?,() PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument New York city, there were enacted continuously scenes of barbarism which in the aggregate, in comparison with that barbarism of India, was as the deluge of Deucalion to a Colorado cloudburst. The only available means of caring for them was to confine them on certain old hulks, for the most part cattle ships used in carrying supplies; which were so nearly worn out that they were no longer available for even that low grade of commerce, and the British anchored the hulks where the prisoners would not dare jump overboard and expose themselves to the double risk of bullets and drowning in the swift and swirling tide. I omit the names of the different ships and only emphasize the old Jersey, of which the prisoners knew enough of General Sherman's definition to stigmatise it as the " Old Hell." The fidelity of these men to their newly forming Country and to our established Nation is without a parallel in the history of the world. They were all the time offered rations and freedom in the open air, if they would enlist in George the Third's army for service in foreign wars, which would not compel them to fight against their own Country but would relieve other soldiers who would. There is a tradition that one man accepted the conditions, and while this is not entirely certain, it is entirely certain that there were not more than one or two at the most. Brave soldiers in what seemed a hopeless cause! Theirs was the bravery of Leonidas and his three hundred Spartan com- patriots at the Pass of Thermopylae. Theirs was the bravery of Arnold Winkelreid, when with bared bosom he monopolized a dozen Austrian spears and held that corner in spears unbroken till his Swiss comrades had swept through the defile and led Switzerland to liberty. To Elijah R. Kennedy, as President of the Monument Society, Mr. White gave the honor of laying the Cornerstone. With a silver trowel in hand he performed the solemn ceremony. In the center of the stone was placed a copper box containing coins of the present day and copies of the Brooklyn papers. As soon as Mr. Kennedy announced that the stone had been truly laid the band struck up " The Star Spangled Banner" and the Third Battery on the Plaza fired a national salute. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 31 Mr. White: It is with unfeigned pleasure that I introduce to you Major General Frederick D. Grant, son and living likeness of his noble father, who is here to speak in behalf of the United States. REMARKS OF GENERAL GRANT. The address of General Grant, who was the next speaker, was a glowing tribute to the men who had sacrificed their lives in the old Prison Ships. He praised the sentiments which in- spired the erection of the beautiful Monument, saying that in the heart of every true American the Monument inculcated a feeling of reverence, respect and admiration for the heroes who died for their country and whose deeds the shaft of granite would always keep alive in the minds of generations to come. He was frequently interrupted with applause. Sullivan's " Lost Chord" was played by the Band. Then Mr. White introduced Governor Hughes in felicitous terms. The reception which the Governor had was a fine tribute to his popularity. THE ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR HUGHES. Mr. Chairman and Fellow-Citizens: Gratefully though tardily the Nation, the State and the City, with the co-operation of private benevolence, have made this preparation for suitable recognition of the heroic sufferings of the Prison Ship Martyrs. We leave to-day our usual activities, and for a moment we strive to forget the anxieties that are incident to our unprecedented endeavors in order that we may fitly commemorate the work and death of those who humbly yet effectively played so import- ant a part in the laying of the foundations of this Republic. It is easy when the young student turns over the pages of Amer- ican history, for him first to learn of those calls of the pioneers of freedom, those eloquent appeals to patriotic sentiment which brought together the struggling colonies in an effective union to defend their rights against tyranny. As Curtis so eloquently said, " The voice of Patrick Henry from the mountain answered that of James Otis by the sea." Again the student reads of the ti2 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT struggles of the Continental Army, the valor in the field, the sufferings in the camp, the indomitable spirit which made victory possible; and out of it all grows before his imagination a majestic figure of the ideal American, who, because of his force and res- olution, the charity and unselfishness of his work, because of the unfailing resources of his masterful strength, because of his dignity and his poise, has realized forever the American States- man, forever the Father of his Country. Little does the student read of those who unaided by the call to arms on the battlefield, uninspired by the cheers of comrades, unsustained by the appeals of Generals, none the less faithfully and devotedly, with that tenacity of character which was the most striking effect, the most striking illustration of American characteristics in the Revolutionary period, in agony of soul laid down their lives rather than forswear their new allegiance to liberty. And so to-day, without disparagement of great leadership, after too long delay we lay our wreath upon the graves of those who perhaps after all reached the highest summits of patriotism when in abject misery, without even the mercy of speedy death, they gave up their lives in the hulk of the old Jersey. This is a memorial to suffering. Were it nothing more it would be worthy of this ceremony. We, as Americans, strive to achieve. We seek every opportunity for individual distinc- tion and power. We measure strength too often by s'jccess and attainment. We must ever be recalled to our duty to humanity; and when the fount of American sympathy with suffering dries up the Republic will totter to its fall. Side by side with the American motto, " Achieve, Achieve, Achieve," must ever be written "Bear ye one anothers' burdens." And so to-day we come, regretful that we have so long for- gotten our partnership, to some extent, with the sufferings of these Martyrs. And let no man think that he fulfills his duty as a man, whatever his talent or whatever use he makes of magni- ficent American opportunity, when he does not learn joyfully to become a partner in the sufferings of the world. But this is more than a memorial of suffering. It is a memo- rial of devotion. Nothing has humanity's worship more than unselfish devotion to a cause, even though the cause itself may not have our entire sympathy. Character is not measured by I H U- O CO m z o CO LU O Z < z o u Q_ >■ Qi U UJ ■X F- u. O O cr ,• UJ Si- PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 33 acquisition, but by sacrifice, and whenever we see a man giving himself unreservedly to a cause which he believes, there is that in our manhood which is so superior to all the temptations of civilization, which has made it possible for humanity again and again to rise up to the summit — there is that in our common manhood which recognizes that the man who gives his life for a cause in which he believes is above all kings and all rulers and all men who acquire wealth and every possible distinction of ambition. But, Fellow-Citizens, this was devotion to our cause, this was not devotion to superstition, this was not self-abnegation which was the result of some blind fault. Who were these blind Martyrs? They were New England lads largely, young men that went from home with the spirit of adventure and filled with zeal for liberty, and frequently in their very first efforts on their first voyage were captured and brought to this prison hell. We see them with hunger unappeased, with thirst unassuaged, in loathsome associations, waging remorseless conflict with disease, bearing their comrades, morning by morning, to graves on the beach and waiting their own turn, but, as 1 have said, with spirit unbroken. Those whom we revere were men who could have had their freedom at any moment had they been willing to take service for the British cause. These poor souls, crushed in a manner that no one injured on a battlefield and left there wounded to die, terrible as may have been his sufferings, could well imagine — those poor souls, even in their agony, held their celebration on the Fourth of July and laughed in the faces of their guards as they vowed that they would rather die than serve the King. Nothing that we can do can relieve their sufferings. The panegyric of epitaph, the adulation of eulogy do nothing to assist the hero to fortitude in his fall. This, Fellow-Citizens, we owe to ourselves. This, Fellow-Citizens, we do in order that we may preserve what they gave us, because we can never hold the liberties, our priceless possessions, unless we preserve inviol- ate that same spirit, that same readiness to sacrifice, that same devotion to ideals which conquers all thought of personal com- fort or of individual achievement, that same intense love of liberty and of our institutions which gave us the heroism of the Prison Martyrs, and which we to-day, newly inspired, should go forth to illustrate in the conduct of our every-day life. 34 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument After the rendition of ITandel's Largo by the Band, a group of old soldiers, Union ex-prisoners of the Civil War, led by Comrade J. C. Kilgore, bearing laurel wreaths, a flag and a floral repre- sentation of the old prison ship Jersey, came forward and placed the floral piece on the corner-stone and as the name of each of the original States was called, a Veteran placed a wreath on the stone. Then these heroes of '61 to '65 loaded their guns with blank cartridges and fired a salute of three volleys. The Band struck up " My Country 'Tis of Thee," the audience standing and joining in the singing. The exercises were concluded with a Prayer and Benediction by the Rev. Father E. W. McCarty: Great God of Nations, we beseech Thee to bless the memories of them whose heroic dust makes sacred this place upon which we stand. We beg Thee to instill their spirit into all of us. Voices come to us from their graves reminding us of the prin- ciples for which they fought and suffered and died; individual liberty, reasonable equality, true fraternity, equal opportunity, fair play to every man, woman and child within the boundaries of our country. And, O God of Nations, we beg Thee to enable us to live true to these principles, and if. during the intervening years, we have swerved from the right line laid down by the heores who founded our Republic, then, O God, gently guide us back again, God save America! O God, help our legislators and our rulers to meet successfully the dangers that threaten our Re- public, not only in the present, but graver dangers that seem to threaten our existence in the future. Let it not be said, O God, that a Republic is impossible; that men cannot govern them- selves. We ask Thee, O God, to send the spirit of amity throughout our land. May the dove of peace build her nest in these United States and abide with us forever. But if, O God, it becomes unfortunately necessary to defend those rights which Thou hast given us, by resort to the cruelties of war, then ma\' there rise from every hill and from e\ery valley throughout the length and breadth of our great and glorious country, spirits that will rally round her standard like unto them whose memory we bless to-day. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 35 May the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, descend upon us all and remain with us forever. Amen. TAPS were sounded and the vast audience dispersed. After more than one hundred years the United States, the State of New York and New York city had begun an imperishable shaft to the memory of the men who suffered and died that the Re- public might be established and perpetuated forever. Secretary's Report OF THE Obsecjuies of the Prison Ship Martyrs At Plymouth Church, Brooklyn JUNE 1(), 11)00 hi January, 1900, in excavating for the foundations of a new building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the workmen uncovered the bones of a number of those who died upon the prison ships during the war of the Revolution and were interred upon the shores of Wallabout Bay. Immediately upon the announce- ment of this discovery by the daily press, the Secretary of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association wrote to Rear Admiral John W. Philip, then Commandant of the Yard, and received the following reply: Navy Yard, New York, January 25, 1900. Mrs. Horatio C. King: My Dear Madam: Replying to your note of yesterday would say that the few human bones found while excavating near the water front are in a box and will be cared for until the Commandant hears again from you. Without giving the subject much serious thought, it was my intention to cause them to be buried in the cemetery at the Naval Hospital. But now, as I said, I will retain them until 1 hear again from you. J. W. PHILIP. The excavations continued for some time and the bones, as they were exhumed, were reverently collected in temporary receptacles and stored in the ComFiiandant's office, awaiting the public obsequies under the auspices of the Monument Associa- 36 PRISON SHIP ArARTVRS' MONUMENT 37" tion, which were fixed for June 16, the day preceding the Anni- versary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which fell on Sunday, in conjunction with Major-General John R. Brooke, commanding the Department of the East, Rear Admiral Philip, on behalf of the Navy, and Brigadier-General James McLeer, commanding the Second Brigade, National Guard of New York, a suitable military escort was provided. Hon. S. V. White, Hon. William B. Davenport and General Horatio C. King were appointed a committee of arrangements, and the last was designated as Grand Marshal. Colonel Edward E. Britton was selected by General King as Chief of Staff. At 2 P. M. on June 16, the special escort, composed of Battery N, Fifth United States Artillery, Captain Thomas Ridgway commanding, and a Battalion of United States Marines, Major Thomas Woods commanding, headed by the band of the Fifth Artillery, assembled in front of the Commandant's office in the Navy Yard. The remains, in seven heavy and handsome oak caskets, provided by the Monument Association, and constructed by Thomas T. Fisher, were placed in the several hearses by a detachment of United States sailors, and covered with American flags, the band playing a dirge. The procession moved at 2:30, followed by General Brooke and staff. Admiral Philip and staff, and other distinguished officers and civilians, in carriages, to Plymouth Church. Here, while the escort presented arms and the band played " Nearer My God to Thee," the caskets were carried into the church and placed in front of the pulpit. The church itself was profusely decorated with flags chiefly provided by Mrs. Horatio C. King. Across the whole front of the great organ was suspended a flag of the Revolution loaned by Mrs. Henry Sanger Snow, and on either side of the pulpit platform stood two handsome standards, one bearing the thirteen stars of the original States and the other the forty-five stars of the expanded Union, which, with numerous escutcheons, were especially ordered and provided by Mrs. S, V. White. Flowers, wreaths and grouped plants also decked the platform. As the remains were brought in, the " Dead March from Saul" was played by Mr. George Waring Stebbins, organist of the church, who with the quartette, Mrs. C. M. Harvey, Mrs. Helen S. Gue, Mr. George Leon Moore and Mr. A. M. Best, gave their services for the occasion. 38' PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument At about 3 P. M. Honorable Elijah R. Kennedy, President of the Monument Association, Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., the pastor of the church. General Brooke, Admiral Philip, Honorable John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, General Stewart L. Woodford, Honorable Amos J. Cummings, M. C., Honorable E. M. Grout, President of the Borough of Brooklyn, Major- General Robert Dalton, Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, and Brigadier-General W. L. Stryker, Adjutant-General of New Jersey, entered and occupied the pulpit seats. In the immediate front pews were Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, U. S. A., Honorable Benjamin F. Tracy, ex-Secretary of the Navy, General McLeer and staff, Honorable Felix Campbell, and many members of the Monument Association, the Daughters of the Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution and Society of Old Brooklynites. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. After the organ prelude, the meeting was called to order by President Elijah R. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy: It is appropriate that a ceremony to com- memorate patriotism and martyrdom in the cause of a free country should be conducted in a place which is associated with the very ideas of civil and religious liberty, where such liberty has had its highest aspirations and its most eloquent and potent advocacy; and it is suitable for the solemnity of the place, as well as of the occasion, that the exercises should partake, in part, at least, of a religious character. We shall therefore first listen to the reading of the Holy Scripture by the pastor of this church, the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis. SCRIPTURE READING. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 39 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said. Cry! And he said. What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the godliness thereof is as the flower of the field; The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth; and he shall blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the ever- lasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of this understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephtha; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets; Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous- ness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, 40 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; Of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. In journeyings often, in perils of water, in'perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they with- out us should not be made perfect. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign forever. May God bless the reading of His word. The quartet then sang the hymn 464 of the Plymouth Hymnal, commencing — Who are these in bright array. This innumerable throng ? At its close, Dr. Hillis offered the following prayer: PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 41 PRAYER. By Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D. O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to ever- lasting Thou art God. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted in Thee and were not afraid. In all their dangers Thou didst deliver them. In all hours of perplexity Thou didst lend them wisdom and guidance. In times of defeat Thou didst make the overthrow better victory. Thy providence was unto them a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. And now we. Thy children, give Thee unfeigned praise and gratitude for the inheritance of the founders and fathers. Our times are in Thy hands. In Thy generous love Thou hast ordained that we should enjoy liberty, intelligence, opportunity. We thank Thee that we dwell in this fruitful land, beneath benignant skies, and that our happiness and freedom have been secured by institutions that represent truth and justice. And we desire to receive these institutions of the fathers as gifts divine. And we ask that Thou wouldst deepen within us the sense of fidelity to conviction, and lend us increased love of home and church and school, and all that makes the republic the teacher of the nations in free institutions. Grant that, to the end of time, our children and our children's children may be faithful to the memory of the fathers who loved justice, did mercy, and walked humbly before God. Eternal God, the author of all life, unchanged from age to age, we give Thee special gratitude this day for the memory of the heroes who once lived, but are not. In the discovery of these bones, as it were, those who were dead have risen up. Their very dust hath broken into voice, speaking of patriotism, courage, and fidelity to conviction. These are they who were honored in their generation, and were the glory of their times. They have left a name behind them that their praises might be reported. To-day we carry their bones to their resting place in peace and honor, and their names live forevermore. Deepen within us our admiration for their bravery, truth, their high sense of jus- tice and their unyielding fidelity. We feel that they have taken vows of us to love and serve our country. Ratify Thou, we beseech Thee, this covenant, the while we consecrate ourselves 42 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument anew to the cause of liberty and to the institutions for which our fathers lived and died. And as the generations come and go, may the multitude that will wear deeply the path unto this tomb, read these inscriptions, and swear fidelity to the con- victions and principles of our founders and fathers, and of our God. Oh, Thou who art the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, send Thy blessings this day upon thy servant, the President of the United States, and upon all members of his cabinet, associated with him in positions of authority. May those who counsel with him be themselves taught of God. Grant Thy special favor upon Thy servant, the Secretary of the Navy, who this day represents our sailors upon the sea. Be gracious unto the soldier who represents our army. Oh, Thou who didst come to bring peace and not a sword, hasten the day when the sword shall be drawn only to smite oppression, cruelty and despotism. Bring in the era of peace, and of universal good will. Hold the people back from over-ripe prosperity, make the weak too strong to be oppressed, make the poor too wise to be led astray. Destroy selfishness, ignorance, fear and superstition; increase intelligence, justice and the sense of rectitude. May the lamp of liberty, lighted by our fathers, be fed by the children until its beacon fires, burning more and more brightly, shall lighten darkened lands beyond the sea. Thou who hast made of one people all nations of men who dwell upon the face of the earth, once more we pray "Thy kingdom come, and Thy will be done." This was our fathers' prayer, and still the era of peace on earth and good will toward men is delayed. How long. Oh Lord, how long? When shall the cry of the oppressed and the sound of wrath and strife die away upon the horizon? Even while we pray there comes to us from that ancient empire the battle cry, sounding the conflict. Grant, oh God, that if it be necessary that the plow-share of war shall pass through the soil, it may bury forever the evil seeds of ignorance, vice, superstition and tyranny. And sow deeply the good seed of wisdom, liberty and love. Hold the turbulent people back from conflict. Restrain hatred and anger and race prejudice. Increase the sense of brotherhood. Oh, for the time when brotherly love shall be universal, and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 43 great deep. Oh, for the era when men shall learn the might of meekness, and the strength of gentleness, and the omnipotence of sympathy and love. Hasten the time when the angel shall stand upon the sea, and lifting his trumpet, proclaim that the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Amen. ANTHEM— "What Are These," Stainer Hallelujah! What are these that are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Mr. Kennedy: It is fortunate that at the moment when the remains of these nameless dead were discovered, where they were first interred by unfriendly hands, the United States govern- ment, on whose territory they were buried, was represented not only by one who had acquired distinction in the service at sea, but who had within him a heart and sentiments of appreciation for the heroism of these unknown martyrs — Rear Admiral John W. Philip, the Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, who will now tell us of the discovery of these remains and of their reverent care and custody in his hands, until this moment. REMARKS OF REAR ADMIRAL PHILIP. As the representative of the Honorable the Secretary of the Navy, at the Navy Yard, but not here on this platform, or in this holy edifice, I was told a few moments ago that I should be asked to tell you how these sacred remains came into the possession of the authorities at the Navy Yard. Some months ago, last winter, in excavating for the foundation of a new •i4 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monumemt building that had been ordered to be erected by the Secretary of the Navy, the hallowed remains were found, as the sand was shoveled out for the excavation of this building. They were apparently buried naturally together; but there was nothing found around them, only the bones remained. They were collected by the naval authorities, and as they were accumulating tliere, the Secretary of this Society asked the Commandant to retain them in his custody until the Society could take charge of them. The sands on the beach of the Wallabout had been their cus- todian for nearly one hundred and twenty years, but being robbed of their charge by the naval authorities, and kept up to the present time in safety, I now turn them over to the custody of the Honorable the Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Kennedy: it is a peculiar honor that the Secretary of the Navy, so well known to the people of the entire country, whose voice has never advocated an unworthy purpose, but has often led in causes that have received the approbation of all patriotic citizens, has been willing to defer the pressing and accumulating duties of his position and to travel from the capital of the country here to Brooklyn, to perform the honorable service of transferring now the care of these remains to this city, where they are to find final interment. I have the honor to introduce to you the Honorable John D. Long, Secretary of the Navv. ADDRESS OF SECRETARY LONG. As the representative liere of the United States Navy I beg to express my appreciation of your courtesy in inviting me to a participation in these sad but inspiring ceremonies. These relics of dead heroes which the distinguished commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard has gathered, I now, so far as I may, transfer to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association for their care. Let me express to them the obligation which the navy, as well as the whole country, are under to them for this patriotic work in which they are engaged. These men whose bones we bury to-day are of the navy of to-day. PRISON SKIP martyrs' MONUMENT 45 III the best sense of the word there is no modern navy. The navy is not its organization, efficient as that is; it is not its Naval Academy, though that has become a modern university for the most complete naval education; it is not its ships, powerful and thoroughly equipped as they are; it is still its officers and men, as in the days of Paul Jones and Hull and Decatur and Farragut. The navy to-day, as it was at the first, and has been ever since, is a power and a glory because its officers and men are inspired by a high sense of duty and a lofty patriotism. As the man is not the body, but is the spirit which is in him, as life itself is not the physical form which you see, but is the divine spark which animates it; so the American Navy is the American heart and intelligence, whether on the mighty Oregon, with its enormous guns, its revolving turrets, and its hundreds of engines, a master piece of mechanical ingenuity, or on the poor old Bon Homme Richard, with its rotten timbers and its bursting carronades and swivels. It is still in either case victory — victory over the waves and over the enemy's batteries because a true hero is behind the guns and at the helm. The fashion of the ship, the enginery, the ordnance, may change, but the man is still the same. The naval heroes of to-day, who are the nation's pride, are one with these naval heroes whose martyred bones you so sacredly and tenderly preserve, and to whom you now do these deserved honors. We in this generation have seen men who died that their country might live. We honor to-day the men who died to give their country birth, and with it the birthright of freedom. Death for country in one position is as patriotic, though it be not so glorious, as death in another. These patriot martyrs who would not purchase even life at the cost of treason, who endured unutterable sufferings rather than betray their country's cause, and who, thousands in number, perished in those horrible prison ships, deserve that you make their memory eternal and that you write their story on a monument that shall tell it to this and succeeding generations. This occasion, therefore, these fitting ceremonies and this monument which you propose to erect, are the very education of patriotism. They are more than that. They are an education which shall train the American citizen for his duties and respon- sibilities. Education is not alone a matter of books and of the 46 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument school room. It is a growth and culture which comes from the inspiration of noble deeds whenever enacted; from contact with great events reproduced; from association with noble ideas enforced by fitting symbols, and from the examples of brave heroic action impressed upon the public mind. It is in the very air we breathe; in the scenes and surroundings and things which we have put about us, and in the atmosphere which we create. You can hardly point to a man who has made his mark in the history of the United States whose education was not of this sort rather than of the school or of the college. What education in the ordinary sense of the word had Washington or Hamilton or Jackson or Lincoln? And yet what education, in the best sense of the word, did they not have in the enlivening inspirations of American life? The wonderful thing to me in this tremendous age of ours is the spirit of the time, the spirit of the republic, the spirit of develop- ment and growth for all, the spirit of patriotism, the spirit of intelligence universally diffused and tempered by the church, the school, the platform, the press and all the educating influences of modern life. While this spirit predominates there may be frictions, there may be convulsions, there will be sporadic instances of crime and fraud and evil; but an underlying, irresistible force is always and surely at work toward the accumulating as- surance of good morals, good citizenship and good government. When you shall have consummated your noble and patriotic work, in which God give you good speed, and for which you have the gratitude of the country, and especially of the Navy whom you so signally honor, you will lay the corner-stone not only of a monument to these patriotic martyrs, but of a university education for all the people now and hereafter of your great and noble c'ty. Julia Ward Howe's immortal "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was then sung, Mrs. Harvey singing the solo and the vast audience impressively joining in the refrain; after which Mr. Kennedy said: As often happens, those who have done the most to bring about a desired end make the least appearance in it, and it is so to-day. This is not the time to award praise to those who have organized this Association and carried it to this point; they are silent to-day. But for a voice to speak for this Society PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 47 and for this city, who other should be chosen than that officer of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Association, that beloved and admired citizen of Brooklyn, General Stewart L. Woodford? ADDRESS OF GENERAL WOODFORD. My Countrymen: The Navy of the United States to-day commits to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association the custody for final interment of these unknown remains. In the prison hulks in Wallabout Bay, from the disastrous 17th of August, when the battle of Long Island was lost, until the close of hostilities, all privateersmen captured by the British fleet, many soldiers of the Continental Army and many citizens, driven from their homes, were imprisoned. To the horrible number of 11,000 they starved to death and their remains were flung into trenches rudely dug on the shore of the bay. It is an indictment against King George and his ministers which time can never efface. Let us reverently thank God that the spirit of Christian civilization has so far advanced, that the horrors of war have been so far mitigated, that when, sir [here General Woodford turned toward Secretary Long] under your administration of our Navy more than 1,300 Spanish sailors fell into your custody, you cared for them as you did for your own men, and humanity thanks you for it. When the hostilities of the Revolution closed, the few survivors of the prison ships were rescued and freed, but such was the condition of the chief among their floating prisons, the old Jersey, that she was left, without guard, to gradually sink as she might, and the waters of Wallabout Bay now cover her. To the care of a single citizen, John Jackson, we owe that the remains were gathered; to Benjamin Romaine, that temporary sepulcher was provided and the first move made for a suitable burial. To the Tammany Society of New York, we owe thanks for the first effort made to place above them a fitting monument. But as the years passed and that effort did not crystallize, new effort was made in 1873, when our city government provided the large tomb now upon Fort Greene in Washington Park. To that tomb to rest until the final judgment, we shall commit these remains to-day. We hope, nay more, we believe, that the 48 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument present effort to secure a suitable monument will be successful. The city of New York has been authorized to contribute ^50,000. The State of New York will make contribution, and further- more we are assured that the nation itself is to act in marking the burial place of its first heroes, men who belonged to the thirteen original States. A liberal sum has already been contributed and is on deposit in a trust company of our city, and we believe, Mr. Secretary, that we shall succeed in suitably marking the spot where these heroes are to rest. Prolonged remarks after the scholarly and inspiring utterances of the Secretary of the Navy would be inappropriate; but this spot is eloquent with memory. Here as nowhere in our beloved Brooklyn, the spirit of liberty has breathed in the days that are gone, and the voice of our dead Prophet of Liberty still echoes within these walls. The ashes of our heroes are here and they speak to us as do the memories of this sacred place; and they are all uttering one lesson — the lesson of patriotism, the lesson of fidelity, the lesson of duty. God help you and me, God help our people to be worthy of what these men died for. They did more than die in battle. In the awful joy of conflict, when bayonets are flashing and the blood is tingling, men spring to struggle; but these men, without a flag above them, with no sounds of bugle or clarion, with no touch of comrade's elbow, these men walked into the most horrible of deaths, patient, calm, unwavering. They were bribed to leave their prison- house, if they would enter the service of the King. They spurned the bribe. They faced starvation. They died and became martyrs of liberty. God help us to keep that liberty. After the singing of "My Country, Tis of Thee," by the congregation. Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction; the caskets were returned to the hearses, and the procession was re-formed in the following order: Fifth Artillery Band, Chief Musician Frederick Frank. Battery N, Fifth Artillery, Captain Thomas Ridgway. Ma- rine Band, Signor G. Savasta, Leader. Battalion Marines, Major Thos. Woods. Twenty-third Regiment Band, Thos. F. Shannon, Leader. Twenty-third Regiment, N. G., Major David K. Case, commanding. Troop C, National Guard, Photographed by E. F. Foley, from an old print in the Long Island Historical Society. THE FIRST MONUMENT. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 49 Captain Charles I. DeBevoise, commanding. St. Paul's Church Cadets, First Lieutenant W. Henry Allers, Jr., commanding; followed by the hearses and by the distinguished officers and civilians already named and members of the Association, Old Brooklynites and others in carriages. The route was along Hicks to Pierrepont, to Clinton, to Schermerhorn, to Lafayette Avenue, to Cumberland, to Myrtle and the Martyrs' Tomb in Fort Greene Park. Here the troops were massed in close column fronting a vast concourse of citizens who crowded the slopes and every available space, but in perfect order — a scene of unsurpassed beauty and long to be remembered. During the transfer of the caskets to the tomb, minute guns were fired by a platoon of the Third Battery, N. G. (Captain H. S. Rasquin) in charge of Lieutenant Chauncey Matlock, Jr. Before the entrance to the tomb a tablet with these words from the Scrip- tures, chosen and printed by Mrs. White, was placed: "Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begot us. The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through His great power from the beginning. Leaders of the people by their counsels and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people wise and eloquent in their instructions. All these were honored in their generations and were the glory of their time. There be of them that have left a name behind them that their praises might be reported. And some there be which have left no memorial, . . , but these were merciful men whose righteousness hath not been forgotten. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth forever. — Ecclesiasticus (Apocrypha), xlvi: 1-10." The flag on the staff in the Park and the flags on all the public edifices were placed at half-mast during the exercises, by direc- tion of Hon. James J. Kirwin, Deputy Commissioner of Public Buildings. The transfer having been completed. President Kennedy introduced Hon. Amos J. Cummings, M. C, who said: ADDRESS OF MR. CUMMINGS. Fellow Citizens: When these bones were ignominiously thrown into the trenches at the Wallabout, this was a nation 50 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT of 3,000,000 people. To-day 3,000,000 people live within sight of this tomb. These ashes represent the hopes and aspirations of a nation struggling for liberty; they perpetuate the prayers and the tears of the noble women of the Revolution. They recall the days of Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga; they bring to mind the blood of Warren sinking into the sod at Bunker Hill; they recall the days of Saratoga, the Brandywine, and the bloody footprints in the snow at Valley Forge; they memorialize the triumphs at Trenton and Princeton, and the death of Hugh Mercer; they bring back the dying words of De Kalb at Camden and the glorious death of Pulaski at Savannah; they recall the days of Light Horse Harry and of Mad Anthony Wayne; they render vivid the battle of King's Mountain, the defeat of Tarleton at Cowpens, and the crowning victory at Yorktown. They recall the fate of Nathan Hale, of Isaac Hayne and of the in- numerable heroes who gave up their lives for American freedom in the long ago. It is to the glory of Brooklyn and its citizens that she took the initiative in erecting a monument to the memory of these martyrs. It was high time that something was done. The very elements themselves had riveted the attention of the nation to their bones. Buried at low-water mark, the tide washed the sand from their skeletons, recalling their cruel sufferings and torture at the hands of the soldiers of King George. When the Tammany Society removed the remains and placed them in the terrace at the Navy Yard, the elements again spurred the nation to its duty. The bones were exposed by heavy rains and storms and were finally deposited here at Fort Greene, and the conscience of the nation has again been awakened. In the march of progress the uncoffined bones of 150 other martyrs have been unearthed. A third time Providence demands the action of Congress in the erection of a monument to the memory of the men who died the most horrible of deaths that the nation might live. Fitting was it that a lineal descendant of that noble Puritan Captain Myles Standish, Mrs. Stephen V. White, took a leading part in this movement. It was an inspiration that speaks volumes for the American character. The city of Brooklyn is striving to do its duty by these dead patriots. The city of New York is in no way backward, and the State authorities PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 51 have voted a substantial sum toward the erection of this monu- ment. The government of the United States alone is laggard. These bones represent the soil of every one of the thirteen colonies. The Georgian sleeps here at the side of the Jersey- man; the bones of the Maryland line and of the Delaware regiment are mingled with the bones of those from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The dust of Virginia and of South Carolina is commingled with the dust of patriots from Pennsylvania and New York. The government of the United States ought to double these contributions. To be sure, these martyrs have a monument in themselves far more enduring than marble — the memory of their sufferings. A monument as high as Liberty Enlightening the World should be raised, for these were the men who lighted the torch with which Liberty has illumined the world. While in Congress I have tried to do my duty toward these fallen patriots. Four times have I reported from the Committee on Library a bill appropriating ^100,000 for the erection of this proposed monument. Twice has the bill been before the House for consideration. It met almost universal favor. Even that persistent objector, William S. Holman, favored the project. It was reserved, however, for a man from Texas to make the first objection to its consideration, despite the protest of the whole House. The bill was laid aside, but came up afterward in what was known as the morning hour. This was in the Fifty-third Congress. This same man from Texas, by filibustering and moving to adjourn and take recesses, wasted the time allotted for its consideration, and the bones were practically again left to the mercy of the elements. Then came a new Speaker of the House of Representatives. He formulated a rule by which no bill involving an appropriation of government money could come before the House in the regular order of business. For the last six years the only way in which this bill could secure consideration in the House of Representatives was through a special order emanating from the Committee on Rules. The Committee on Rules practically was one man, the Speaker of the House. He firmly set his face against its con- sideration. I take great joy, however, in telling this audience that I am convinced the new Speaker of the House will provide a special order at the next session, and that a monument — a true tribute to the patriotism represented by these decaying 52 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument relics — will be raised so high above them that it can be seen from the Highland Lights to Stony Point, and one that will awaken the interest and admiration of every patriot and every visitor who enters the historic Harbor of New York. The caskets when deposited in the vault were profusely strewn with flowers by the ladies present. The tomb was then closed and three magnificent wreaths presented by the Associa- tion, the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution were laid against it. The audience un- covered and Dr. Hillis read the committal service: And 1 heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the lamb. And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. All again united in singing "America," and amid most solemn stillness Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction: And now may that God who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, make us all perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 53 that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The silence was broken by Bugler Dennis Hogan, who sounded "Taps," and the booming of the artillery, which closed the deeply impressive ceremonies with thirteen guns. From the inception to the close of these notable exercises, nothing occurred to mar the perfection of detail. The co-operation of the War and Navy Departments, the National Guard and its local officers, of Hon. George V. Brower, Commissioner of Parks, and Deputy Chief P. H. McLaughlin in the admirable police arrangements, are warmly acknowledged by the Association. Said a local paper: "Not a single feature of yesterday's ceremony failed to take place as planned. At the church, the exercises were conducted with precision; at the fort, they were brief; but at both places they were significant and appropriate. The military portion of the afternoon's arrangements surrounded the burial with a martial atmosphere distinctly in keeping with the nature of the ceremony." Fox's Story of the Jersey (From the Brooklyn Eagle.) And now, after many years of unselfish devotion and hard work, success is about to crown the efforts of the Association. When the shaft is raised in Fort Greene Park it will be an enduring monument to men whose names and memories should never be suffered to be forgotten. It is a matter of history that although most of the men con- fined on the prison ships might have obtained freedom by desert- ing the American cause and enlisting in the British service, the patriotic preferred to remain in their loathsome prisons rather than prove traitors to their country. In a general way Americans of to-day have a notion of the sacrifices these men made for their country, but few have any idea of the horrors of life aboard the old hulk of the Jersey, which swung lazily in the Wallabout, as grim a summons to abandon hope as Dante's "Inferno." In this muck-rake age, when the magazinists would have us believe that rascality is rampant and patriotism a dead and forgotten thing, it is well occasionally to retouch fading and vanishing portraits of the men of yesterday lest we forget what manner of persons they were, what they dared and what they endured. No one is so well fitted to tell of dangers passed or suffering endured as a survivor who writes while his impressions are still vivid, and from the account of Ebenezer Fox, who spent many weary months in the living deathhcuise of the Jersey, the following description is taken: "On Sunday, one pound of biscuit, one pound of pork and half a pint of peas; Monday, one pound of biscuit, one pint of oatmeal and two ounces of butter; Tuesday, one pound of biscuit and two pounds of salt beef; Wednesday, one and a half pounds of PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 55 flour and two ounces of suet. Thursday was a repetition of Sun- day's fare, Friday of Monday's and Saturday of Tuesday's. "If this food had been of good quality and properly cooked it would have kept us comfortable, at least from suffering. But this was not the case. Our food was damaged. The bread was mouldy and filled with worms. It required considerable rapping upon the deck before the worms could be dislodged from their lurking places in the biscuit. "As for the pork, we were cheated out of it more than half the time, and when it was obtained, one would have judged from the motley hues, exhibiting as it did the consistency and appearance of variegated fancy soap, that it was the flesh of the porpoise or seahog and had been an inhabitant of the ocean rather than of the sty. But whatever doubts might arise res- pecting the genera or species of the beast, the flavor of the flesh was so unsavory that it would have been rejected as unfit even for the stuffing of Bologna sausages. "The peas were generally damaged, and from the imperfect manner in which they were cooked were about as indigestible as grape shot. The butter, the reader will not suppose was the real 'Goshen,' and had it not been for its adhesive properties, to retain together the particles of biscuit which had been so riddled by the worms as to lose all their attraction of cohesion, we should have considered it no desirable addition to our viands. "The flour and the oatmeal were often sour, and when the suet was mixed in it we should have considered it a blessing to be destitute of the sense of smelling before we admitted it into our mouths. It might be nosed half the length of the ship. "And last, though not the least, item among our staples in the eating line — our beef. The first view of it would excite an idea of veneration for its antiquity and not a little curiosity to ascertain to what kind of an animal it originally belonged. Its color was of dark mahogany and its solidity would have set the keen edge of a broad axe at defiance to cut across the grain, though, like oakum, it could be pulled into pieces one way in strings. A streak of fat in it would have been a phenomenon that would have brought all the prisoners together to see and admire. "It was so completely saturated with salt that after having been boiled in water taken from the sea it was found to be con- 56 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument siderably freshened by the process. It was no uncommon thing to find it extremely tender, but then this peculiarity was not owing to its being a prime cut from a premium ox, but rather owing to its long keeping — the vicissitudes of heat and cold, of humidity and aridity it had experienced in the course of time; and of this disposition of tenderness we were duly apprised by the extraordinary fragrance it emitted before and after it was cooked. "Such was our food. But the quality of it was not all that we had reason to complain of. The way in which it was cooked was more injurious to our health than the quality, and in many cases laid the foundation of diseases that brought many a sufferer to his grave years after his liberation. The cooking for the prisoners was done in a great copper vessel that contained two or three hogsheads of water, set in brickwork. The form of it was square and it was divided into two compartments. In one of these peas and oatmeal were boiled in fresh water taken up from alongside of the ship. "The Jersey, from her size, and lying near the shore, was embedded in the mud, and I do not recollect having seen her afloat during the whole time I was a prisoner. All the filth that accumulated among upward of a thousand men was daily thrown overboard and would remain there till, carried away by the tide. The impurity of the water may be easily conceived, and in this water our meat was boiled. "It will be recollected, too, that the water was salt, which caused the inside of the copper to become corroded to such a degree that it was lined with a coat of verdigris. Meat thus cooked must be, in some degree, poisoned, and the effects of it were manifest in the cadaverous countenances of the emaciated beings who had remained on board for any length of time. "No vegetables were allowed us. Many times since, when I have seen in the country a large kettle of potatoes and pumpkins steaming over the fire to satisfy the appetites of a farmer's swine, I have thought of our destitute and starved condition and what a luxury we should have considered the contents of that kettle on board the Jersey. "Prisoners were confined in the two main decks below. The lowest dungeon was inhabited by those prisoners who were foreigners. Their treatment was more severe than that of the tize.r Th\!^ tr fl K.;r -sj >i BU>.^,^: Iea.1- ui' Jj Robe--' ^-^^ ■ ■ • VMI- s^m-x > 2tTiaiIi D'aviel Ga"rapbell Builderi.^ CORNER-STONE OF FIRST VAULT, ERECTED BY TAMMANY SOCIETY. In this vault the remains of the prison-ship martyrs were first interred. Tliis corner-stone is placed above the door of the crypt of the present monument. FKISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 57 Americans The inhabitants were the most miserable and disgusting looking objects that can be conceived. Daily washing with salt water, together with their extreme emaciation, caused their skins to appear like dried parchment. "Mariy of them remained unwashed for weeks, their hair was long and matted, their beards were never cut, except occasionally with a pair of shears, which did not improve their comeliness though ,t might have added to their comfort. Their clothes were mere rags secured to their bodies in every way that in- genuity could devise." j y ^l It speaks well for the patriotism of the men of to-day that more than a century after the close of the Revolution, such a monument IS to be reared to the memory of men whose very names are in most cases forgotten. The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association From Its Inauiruration to the Present On January 19th, 1898, at the instance of the Long Island Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, and by their invitation, members of the various patriotic societies met at the house of Mrs. H. S. Snow, then President of the Chapter, to consider the advisability of forming an association, uniting the separate funds already held by the Long Island Society, Daughters of the Revolution, and that of Fort Greene Chapter. Daughters of the American Revolution, and working on broader lines likely to secure public appropriations. Another meeting was held at the same place February 16th, when it was re- solved to form such an association. A temporary chairman. General A. C. Barnes, and a temporary secretary, Mrs. Horatio C. King, were chosen and were asked to call a special meeting the following month. March 23rd many prominent citizens responded and the association was established. The officers elected were: President, Elijah R. Kennedy; Vice-President, Mrs. S. V. White; Treasurer, Felix Campbell; Secretary, Mrs. H. C. King. Articles of association were proposed and accepted. The first regular meeting of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Association was held at 46 Willow Street, the house of the Sec- retary, May 27th, 1898, where nine trustees were elected, viz: Hon. William Berri, Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss, Hon. William B. Davenport, Hon. Henry E. Howland, Hon. Rosweli P. Flower, Mrs. Daniel Manning, Mrs. Henry S. Snow, Hon. S. V. White and Hon. Stewart L. Woodford. By-laws were adopted and the first annual meeting of the Association was held on the fourth Thursday of March (the 23rd), 1899, at the residence of the Secretary. The Spanish War absorbed interest during that year. This being gloriously settled, patriotism was rekindled and the r,8 PRISON SIIIl' martyrs' MONUMENT 59 work for this monument was taken up with renewed zeal. The Secretary reported that the two funds already raised for the object, that of the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, $6,216.29, and that of Fort Greene Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, $3,578.68, had been deposited in the People's Trust Company by the late Hon. Felix Campbell, treasurer. The same officers and trustees were then re-elected. In 1900 fresh impetus was given to the work by the finding of many more bones of the prison ship martyrs at the Navy Yard, while digging the foundation of building No. 33 at the Navy Yard, near Little Street. The Secretary immediately com- municated with Admiral Philip, then commandant of the Yard, and requested him to care for the bones and allow the Association to have them buried with those of their comrades in the tomb at Fort Greene. Admiral Philip most courteously complied with this request. On June 16th, with appropriate ceremonies and military honors, in presence of representatives of other States, with the flag for which they died covering the six handsome caskets constructed by Fisher, containing their remains, they were carried up the aisle on the shoulders of sailors of the United States Navy and placed side by side beneath the pulpit of Plymouth Church. Religious services were conducted by the Pastor, Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., and addresses were made by Admiral Philip, Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Stewart, L. Woodford and Hon. Amos J. Cummings. At the close the remains were conveyed in hearses to Fort Greene Park, preceded by United States Regulars and Sailors, the Twenty-third Regiment and Troop C, New York National Guard, and were led by the Marine Band playing hymns and dirges. The officers and trustees of the society and distinguished guests followed in carriages. The Grand Marshal was General Horatio C. King. As stated by the Eagle of the day, "Not a single feature of yesterday's ceremony failed to take place as planned." At the tomb a most impressive scene was presented. Sur- rounding the enclosure on all sides were thousands of spectators. The sailors bore the caskets on their shoulders to the door of the tomb and Dr. Hillis read the committal service. After singing "Nearer my God to Thee," each casket was reverently placed within. The bugle sounded taps and the guns boomed a parting t>0 PRISON' SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT salute to the soldiers and sailors of a century ago whose noble sacrifices were now honored and commemorated. In 1901 Hon. S. V. White was elected President of the As- sociation, Stephen M. Griswold trustee, and Hon. Augustus Van Wyck and General H. C. King counsel. In 1902 the popular and efficient Treasurer, Felix Campbell, died and Edward Johnson, president of the People's Trust Com- pany, was chosen to fill the vacancy. He served faithfully until his death in 1906, when Charles A. Boody, his successor in the Trust Company, took his place. Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy was elected trustee. Strenuous and successful effort was made this year to raise the amount lacking of the $25,000 necessary to make up the $200,000 when the Fecieral. State and City appropriations might be granted. In 1903 General King was appointed sole counsel. It was re- solved at a special meeting to incorporate the Association, and the incorporation was effected May 4th, 1903, with the following directors: Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss, Hon. William Berri, Mr. Charles T. Barney, Jr., Robert D. Benedict, Hon. William B. Davenport, Hon. S. M. Griswold, General Thomas H. Hub- bard, Hon. Edward Johnson, Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy, General Horatio C. King, Mrs. Horatio C. King, Mr. William G. Low, Hon. Thomas C. Piatt, Mr. Walter S. Logan, Mrs. Anna B. Snow, Hon. Stephen V. White, Mrs. Stephen V. White, and General Stewart L. Woodford. In June, 1903, the following officers were elected: President. Hon. Stephen V. White; First Vice-President. Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy; Second Vice-President, Mrs. E. M. C. White; Sec- retary, Mrs. Esther Howard King; Treasurer, Edward Johnson; and Counsel, General Horatio C. King. Upon the death of Mrs. White, her daughter, Mrs. Jennie White Hopkins, was chosen Second Vice-President in her stead; and upon the death of Edward Johnson, Mr. Charles A. Boody was chosen Treasurer to fill the vacancy. Prior to the dedication of the monument, the following directors died: Mrs. White, C. T. Barney, Edward Johnson and Walter S. Logan. Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., Hon. James R. Howe, Charles A. Boody and Mrs. Jennie White Hopkins were elected directors. With the exception of those named as deceased, the officers and directors in office at the dedication were as above set forth. I'RJSON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 61 Efforts were increased to raise more money. Contributions were made through all of the directors until the sum of ^27,000 was deposited with the Treasurer. No history of this Association would be complete without special mention of the tireless devotion of the late Vice-President Eliza M. C. White, who from the beginning of this movement until her death made it her dearest wish to see the monument completed. She raised personally a great deal of money and in every possible way furthered and helped the object. Her friends rejoice in the accomplishment of the great work to-day, and hope that, although she is absent in the body, she views it all with sublime feelings of satisfaction from above. During all these years Hon. S. V. White had been indefatigable in pushing the bill before Congress, the Legislature and the city. He gave his time and money liberally, and had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts crowned with success. The State bills, which were engineered by General King, were signed by Theodore Roosevelt as Governor and the Federal bill by him as President. Now that the $200,000 were actually available, it was time to consider plans for the monument. Accordingly, Mr. White ap- pointed a committee, consisting of General Stewart L. Wood- ford, Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy, Hon. S. V. White, Mr. Robert D. Benedict and Mrs. Horatio C. King. Mr. Benedict was elected chairman and Mrs. King secretary. They decided to secure the services of three firms of architects, viz: McKim, Mead and White, Lord and Hewlett, Mr. Woodruff Leeming, and Carrere and Hastings, who submitted designs. A jury of three expert artists were selected — Messrs. St. Gaudens, Henry Bacon and Warren Whitney. On February 3d a decision was rendered, and on February 5th the committee met at the house of the secretary, where the jury's award was made known. The committee and directors convened at the house of Elijah R. Kennedy on February 8th, where the designs were exhibited. That recommended by the jury, that of Messrs. McKim, Mead and White, was formally accepted. The successful firm were made the architects in charge of construction of the monument under the direction of the Government and a commission of four, the Secretary of War, William H. Taft; the Governor of New York, Charles E. Hughes; the Mayor of the city, George B. McClellan; and the President of the Association, S. V. White. 62 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument This is, in brief, a summary of a year's work of the Commission; on plans, of many meetings, extensive correspondence and visits to officials. It would seem that now the money was raised and the design selected, all would go smoothly on and the monument soon be built, but there was still much to be done by the Com- mission, working first under the Government's engineer, Col. McKenzie, and afterward under Col. Marshall. The site had to be surveyed and was graded and changed. Numerous dif- ficulties appeared to prevent a speedy conclusion, but finally, on October 26th, 1907, the cornerstone was laid with impressive ceremonies in the presence of a vast assemblage of patriotic men and women. Governor Hughes made a brilliant address after President White had given a sketch of the work of the past nine years. General Fred D. Grant also spoke, patriotic songs were sung and all eyes were gladdened to see the begin- ning of the end of our dreams. The work progressed under the P.J. Carlin Construction Company, and to-day the stately column rears itself to proclaim to the world that republics are not un- grateful, even though sometimes slow to put their deepest sen- timents of patriotism into imperishable form. The marvelous bravery with which these men of long ago suffered and died rather than betray their country is now and forever proclaimed, and so long as time shall last this shaft will be an object lesson to the men and the women and the vouth of America. PhototiraplcPd by K. K. Kolc.x-. from an old print in tin: Long Island Historical Society, SHOWING CONDITION OF MONUMENT CAUSED BY GRADING OF HUDSON AVENUE. Society of Old Brooklynites In the foregoing recital it will be observed that it is the history of the project since the organization of the Long Island Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution, followed by the concentration of the members into the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association, which then made it its incessant work to bring the purpose of commemorating the Martyrs to a successful conclusion. It must not be overlooked, however, that from the organization of the Society of Old Brooklynites, it had directed its efforts toward the same noble object and at considerable expense had secured through one of its members from the archives in London a partial list of the names of the unfortunate prisoners on the prison ships. The list was printed and although incomplete has proved a very valuable assistance in informing the descendants of those who were confined or died on the hulks. At every new Congress a bill has been regularly introduced by a representative from Brooklyn, authorizing the appropriation of $100,000. Every time it had been captiously objected to by a member who regarded the erection of the monument as a purely local affair and the bill defeated. It was not until the Daughters and the Monument Association made it their special duty to collect funds by private subscriptions and had raised $27,000, that the Association was prepared to go before Congress for its assistance. Mr. White took this under his special charge, and having the privilege of the floor, as an ex-member of Congress, he was able to explain everything in detail and thus secured the passage of a bill appropriating $100,000, conditional upon the raising of another $100,000. In this he had the assistance of the Hon. John J. Fitzgerald, then and now the representative of the First District in Brooklyn. Appropriations of $25,000 by the State and $50,000 by the city were secured chiefly through the joint efforts of Mr. White and General King. Of the $25,000 privately subscribed, the Old Brooklynites contributed $1,000 as did also the Tammany Society and there were besides individual contributions from a number of their members. 63 Officers OF THE Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association Of the United States 1913 President. HON. ELIJAH R. KENNEDY. First Vice-President. GEN. HORATIO C. KING. Second Vice-President. MRS. JENNIE WHITE HOPKINS. Treasurer. CHARLES A. BOODY. Secretary. MRS. HORATIo" C. KING. Counsel. HON. WILLIAM B. DAVENPORT. Directors. Hon. William Berri. Mrs. Jennie W. Hopkins. Col. William C. Beecher. Hon. James R. Howe. Charles A. Boody. Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy. Hon. William B. Davenport. Gen. Horatio C. King, LL.D. Morris U. Ely. Mrs. Esther H. King. Hon. Stephen M. Griswold. Hon. John Hill Morgan. Onn-i F. Hibbard. John S. McKeon. Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis. D.D. Charles L. Schenk. Gen. Thomas H. Hubbard. Mrs. Anna Brooks Snow. ft4 Articles of Association OF THE Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association Of the United States ARTICLE I. Name. There is hereby formed a voluntary Association to be known as the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association of the United States. ARTICLE II. Object. The object of the Association is to procure money, and to cause to be erected, and forever cared for, a monument at Fort Greene Park, in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State of New York, which may appropriately commemorate the heroism and the patriotism of those brave men who died from privations and disease on the prison ships in the Wallabout Bay during the war of the Revolution. ARTICLE III. Officers. The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, and a Board of Trustees. ARTICLE IV. Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall consist of nine members who, with the other officers, shall be elected at the first meeting of this Association, or at an adjourned meeting to which said first meeting may be adjourned. 65 06 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT ARTICLE V. Classification. The said Trustees shall classify themselves into three classes of three each by lot, the first class to hold office for one year, the second class for two years, and the third class for three years, and each class shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. ARTICLE VI. Term of Office. All other officers shall hold office for one year and until their successors are elected and qualified. ARTICLE Vn. Election. An annual election shall be held on the fourth Thursday of March in each year after the year eighteen hundred and ninety- eight, at which time shall be chosen three Trustees, to serve for three years; and a President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary, to serve for the ensuing year. ARTICLE VIII. Vacancies. - Should any vacancy occur in the Board of Trustees or other office from death or otherwise, the Board of Trustees may fill such vacancy until the next annual election thereafter, and until a successor has been elected and qualified. ARTICLE IX. Advisory Board. This Association may, by its By-Laws to be hereafter duly enacted, provide for an Advisory Board, and for auxiliary boards through which to extend and enlarge its work, and may provide for and appoint all such committees as may seem useful in the conduct of its affairs. ARTICLE X. Oflace. The principal place of business of this Association shall be PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 07 in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, in the State of New York. ARTICLE XL Membership. Any person of good moral character may become a member of this Society upon the payment of one dollar to the Treasurer, and sending name to the Secretary. ARTICLE XII. Counsel. There may be chosen by the Board of Trustees a Counsel and Assistant Counsel, who shall be men learned in the law and of eminent patriotism, willing to serve the Association, as shall all other officers, without compensation. B y- Laws OF THE Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association Of the United States OFFICERS. The officers of the Association shall be a President, two Vice- Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary. PRESIDENT. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meet- ings of the Association and Executive Committee, to sign all certificates and legal instruments in behalf of the Association, and acknowledge and deliver the same. To call special meetings of the Executive Committee and Advisory Board, and shall do so when thereunto required by five (5) Trustees in writing. 68 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument VICE-PRESIDENTS. It shall be the duty of the A'ice-Presidents to assist the President in his or her duties; and act in his or her place in his or her absence. TREASURER. It shall be the duty of the Treasurers to collect all dues, debts, and subscriptions not otherwise collected; to deposit all moneys in the name of the Association in a bank or other moneyed institution approved by the Executive Committee; to keep a detailed account of receipts and expenditures; to send receipts to the respective collectors and others for all moneys received from them, and to pay all bills after they have been approved by the Executive Committee. He or she shall also keep a record of property belonging to the Association. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. There shall be an Executive Committee, composed of the officers of the Association, the chairmen of the several com- mittees, and three to be elected by the Board. ORDER OF BUSINESS. 1. Reading of Minutes of the previous meeting. 2. Communications. 3. Reports of Officers. 4. Reports of Committees. 5. Motions and Resolutions. 6. Miscellaneous Business. AMENDMENTS. These By-Laws may be altered or amended without notice at any adjourned meeting of this annual meeting of 1899, and thereafter at any regular or called meeting, ten days' notice of the proposed change having been given by mail to the Trustees at their last known places of residence. Members of the Society Alexander, Mrs. Eliza Andrews, Mrs. G. B. Andrews, Miss J. K. Averill, Miss M. J. Allen, Mrs. E. B. Abbott, Mr. Wm. Allen, Van F. Beatrice Barnes, Gen. A. C. Brower, Geo. V. Birdsall, Ernest W. Birdsall, Mrs. E. W. Beam, Henry Beam, Mrs. Henry Burr, Miss Lottie Burr, Miss Edith Bulkley, Mrs. Henry S. Belden, Mrs. Frederick Bliss, Mrs. Amanda Burke, Mrs. Wm. C. Beecher, Mrs. H. B. Beecher, Col. W. C Beecher, Mrs. W. C. Brush, Dr. Geo. W. Brush, Mrs. Geo. W. Baird, Mrs. Wm. S. Barman, Adolph H. Boody, Hon. David A. Boody. Mrs. D. A. Blanchard, Mrs. J. A. Brookfield, Mrs. Wm. Bush Brown, Mrs. H. K. Boorman, Mr. S. H. Boorman, Mrs. Brown, James R. Burrows, W. A. Beadle, Mrs. A. R. Bitter, Mr. Karl Bazing, G. W. Coffm, Mrs. Sturgis Cogswell, Mrs. W. S. Cheeseborough, Miss L. A. Clapp, Mrs. Dwight L. Clark, Rev. L. M. Cowenhoven, Miss Kate Chapman, Col. Henry Chapman, Mrs. Henry Corey, Mrs. Geo. H. Christy, Howard C. Grossman, J. H. Grossman, Mrs. J. H. Cummings, Amos J. Cummings, Mrs. A. J. Clarke, Mrs. Mary S. Curtis, Gen. N. M. Conant, Mrs. Ella M. Colton, Mrs. Ellen M. Clarke, Mrs. W. T. Clement, Mrs. D. N. Conover, Mrs. W. A. Case, Miss M. A. De Wolf, John Day, Mrs. Augustus P. Duryea, Mrs. S. B. Davenport, Hon. Wm. B. Darrow, Mrs. C. L. Davidson, Mrs. R. J. Douglas, J. M. Jr. Dodge, Mrs. H. A. Diefendorf, Mrs. J. J. Dontrick, Mr. J. W. Dontrick, Mrs. J. W. Darwin, Mrs. Charles C Dean, Miss Alice B. Draper, Mrs. J. S. Dring, Carrie C. Earle, Henry Earle, Mrs. Henry Emery, Jos. H. Puree, S. R. Puree, Mrs. S. R. 69 70 PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT Puree, Miss Annie D. Foote, Mrs. Nancy M. Fairbanks, Mrs. C. W. Foye. J. E. Foster, Mrs. Martha W. Fairbanks, Hon. C. W. Frazer, Miss Susan C. Gray, Percy R. Gray, Mrs. Percy R. Giran, Mrs. J. P. Giles, Mr. John C. Gilston, Miss M. A. Griswold, Hon. S. M. Greene, Mr. R. H. Greene, Mrs. R. H. Greene, Mr. Wm. V. Gitchell, Mrs. Frank H. Gambert, Mrs. Alonzo Granger. Mrs. John C. Gardner, Mr. Joe Giles, Mr. S. W. Howard, Mr. E. S. Howard, Mrs. E. S. Howe, Mrs. James R. Hinman, Edward Hoyt, Charles A. Hoyt. C. A. Haley, Mrs. Albert Haley, Miss Luc\- Holbrook, Mrs. Hanwa\-, Mr. and Mrs. John Howard, Frank W. Hillis, Dr. N. D. Hillis, Mrs. N. D. Humming, Mrs. J. A. Hopkins, L. C. Hopkins, Mrs. Franklin Holder, Mr. Wm. D. Holder, Mrs. Wm. D. Hoe, Mrs. Robert Helmuth. Mrs. Wm. S. Higgins, Mr. F. W. Hopkins, Mrs. Luther Hale, Mrs. Joseph C. Howard, Mrs. E. S. W. Howard, Miss Sarah S. Hetzel, Miss Susan R. Hull, Mr, Washington Hull, Mrs. Washington Hull, Carl L. Hull, Washington, Jr. Hull, Miss Irene Hall, E. Hagaman Hoguet, Mrs. Ruth H. Hart, W. O. Hanna, Mrs. Bessie B. Hanna, Mrs. I. H. Ibelhauser, Henry Iddings, Mrs. C. F. Johnson, Edward Joscelyn, Mrs. Alice L. Jaegers, Albert Johnson, Mrs. Emma C. Johnson, Miss F. E. Jacobs. Mrs. Andrew King, Gen. Horatio C. King. Mrs. H. C. Kennedy, Hon. E. R. Kennedy, Mrs. E. R. , Kennedy, Mr. Sidney Kennedy, Miss Susan R. Kennedy, Leonard Kinney, Mrs. Sara L. Kempton, Mrs. Edwin Knowlton. Mrs. A. C. Lupton, Mr. Frank M. Lupton. Mrs. Frank M. Lothrop, Mrs. Daniel Leeming, Mr. Woodruff. Leeming. Mrs. Woodruff Lauterbach. Mrs. Edw^ard Long, Hon. John D. Long, Mrs. John D. Langstaff. Edward Leigh. Mrs. Josephine Lamb. Charles R. Lippitt, Mrs. Charles W. L\ons, Mrs. Thos. B. Logan, Walter S. Litchfield, Mr. E. B. Mills. Mrs. Wm. L. McLane. Mrs. Donald Maynard. Wm. L. Mallory. Mrs. Henry R. Martin. Mrs. A. F. Mungriondo, P. De M. PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 7J Mungriondo, Mrs. P. de M. McKay, Mrs. Nathaniel Meeker, Mrs. M. L. Minner, Mrs. Edwin McBiair, Julia T. E. Murray, W. W. McCafrey, W. J. Mack. W. B. Mead, Mrs. E. M. Martin, Mrs. Myra B. Mill, Mrs. Mary J. C. Maynard, Mr. La I. A. Middleton, Mrs. John Noble, Mrs. S. K. Nicolson, John Jr. Nixon, C. A. Nesmith, Mrs. B. I. Neal, Miss Alice E. Powell, Mr. Henry A. Powell, Mrs. Henry A. Pratt, Mrs. H. L. Piatt, Mary E. Peters, Mr. Malcolm Peters, Mrs. Malcolm Price, Miss Hattie Perry, Mrs. A. J. Piatt, Hon. Orville Piatt, Mrs. Orville Pope. Mrs. J. E. Pierce, Mrs. Faye Pike, Mrs. Elizabeth S. Phelps, Mrs. Elizabeth S. Proctor, Mrs. W. L. Pinney, Mr. Charles H. Pinney, Mrs. Charles H. Pope, John Barston Pealer, Mrs. R. M. G. Pierce, Mrs. T. P. Pinney, R. W., M.D. Quinlan, Mrs. L. G. Ouarles, Mrs. Jos. V. Roe, Gen. and Mrs. Chas. F. Ransom, Mrs. G. R. Raymond, Alfred D. Roebling, Mrs. Washington Remsen, Miss Ruckstuhl, Mr. F. W. Reid, Mrs. Adam Reddington, Thomas Rice, Mrs. Francis D. Richards, Mrs. W. A. Reiffert, Miss L. M. Read, Mrs. Henry Scrimgeour, Mrs. J. C. Swan, Mrs. Alden S. Sherman, Miss Sarah L. Sterling, Miss A. W. Street, Mrs. George W. Snow, Mrs. Anna B. Silver, Mrs. C. A. Suydam, Mrs. John Stebbins, Mrs. George C. Slade, Mrs. Wm. G. Snow, Mr. H. S. Snow, Miss Marion Shipman, Stephen Vaughan Stoughton, C. W. Stoughton, A. A. Steele, Mrs. Hiram R. Selden, Miss Minnie Simpson, Mrs. Harriet P. Sacher, Mme. Siegfried Starr, Mrs. H. B. Skinner, A. Homer Slade, George W. Sprague, Mrs. J. A. Stevens, Mrs. Frank S. Titcomb, Mrs. V. C. Titcomb, John A. Titcomb, C. A. Titcomb, H. A. Terry, Mrs. C. H. Thayer, Mrs. J. V. B. Tenslow, Mrs. Friedrich Tilton, Mr. Ed. Lippencott Underwood, Mrs. J. P. Underhill, Robert Van Anden, Mrs. Wm. Van Winkle, Mrs. Abbie Van Iderstine Van Nostrand, G. E. Vanderpool, Miss Mary Vanderbilt, Mrs. G. L. Verplanck, K. P. W. Van Anden, Miss B. F. White, Hon. S. V. 72 PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT White, Mrs. S. V. * White, Clarence M. Walworth, Mrs. Ellen Waterbury, Mr. J. L. Wood, Mr. Wm. C. Waterbury, Mrs. J. L. Wood, Mrs. Wm. C. Warren, Mrs. Tracy B. Wood, Mr. R. W. C. Weed, Mrs. Walter H. Walton, Miss F. H. Woodford, Hon. S. L. Walton, Mrs. Woodford, Mrs. S. L. Wellman, Mrs. T. B. Woodford, Miss S. Williams, Mrs. J. H. Watkins, Mr. P. L. Williams, Mr. J. H. Western, Ben R. Washington, Miss Eugenia Young, Mrs. Joseph. Walton, Miss Josephine C ON TE N TS DEDICATION, 1908. Poem. Thomas Walsh 5 Oration. Hon. William H. Taft 9 Address. Hon. Luke E. Wright 18 Unveiling. Esther King Norton 18 Address. Hon. Charles E. Hughes 19 Address. Hon. P. F. McGowan 20 Address. Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan 22 Response. Hon. Michael J. Kennedy 22 Parade 23 CORNER-STONE LAYING, 1907. Prayer. Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis 28 Remarks. Hon. S. V. White 29 Remarks. Gen. F. D. Grant 31 Address. Hon. Charles E. Hughes 31 Prayer. Rev. E. W. McCarthy 34 OBSEQUIES, 1900. Prayer. Rev. N. D. Hillis 41 Remarks. Rear-Admiral Philip 43 Address. Hon. John D. Long 44 Address. Gen. S. L. Woodford 47 Address. Hon. Amos J. Cummings.. 49 MISCELLANEOUS. Fox'^ Story of the Jerse>' 54 Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument by the Secretary. Mrs. Horatio C. King 58 Society of Old Brooklynites 63 Officers of the Association 64 Articles of Association 65 By-Laws of the Association 67 Members of the Society 69 W84 "^o^ .^^ > Pv. ^--^^ ^^a.c,'^' ^^^^' •^ ^^o.c,'^' V-?;^V V'-^\'^ "<.-*^??«^V V' ^ '^b v^ ;* ^y '"' <^\... -^- ^^<^ -o^^^- ■"°- V /..i;^v*°o_ >*\.i^..\ /.i^.> , <> *'T7 ij> •^ V ^^^^^. V