DUBLIN: JOHN MULL AN 7, 1 PARLIAMENT -STREE 1876 . - E IRISH SETTLERS AMERICA, FROM THE EARLIEST I ! RIOD. • ■* • . THOMAS D’ABCY tf'OEE. s.i “ Westward the .“tar of erripire taVes ft* v r av ; The three first acts already p? d, ♦ The fmirihj-ihaHxHos • it, with tV* closing day; |L Earth's noblest eni nre is [he 1 $t. M 'Wfefc Bishop Bkri ely, a. d. 1730. Intlyte, gens hovnimun, milite, pace, fide. • St. PomAtus of b'ifsoTe. THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY From the collection of James Collins, Drumcondra, Ireland. Purchased, 1918. 3Z5.2-fl5 mnh A HISTOBY Jhe Jrish ^ETTLEI^S IN AMERICA. A A HISTORY OF THE IRISH SETTLERS IN AMERICA, FBOM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. BY THOMAS D’ARCY M‘GEE. li “ Westward the star of empire takes its way; The three first acts already past. The fourth shall close it, with the closing day ; Earth’s nobiest empire is the last.” Bishop Bkrkely, a.d. 1730. Inclyte, gens hominum, milite, pace, fide. St. Donatus of Fietole. DUBLIN JOHN MULLANY, 1 PARLIAMENT-STREET. 1870. 3 a r. * 41 r /*l n k CONTENTS. Introduction ”.. .. .. .. .. 9 Chapter I.—The Legend of “ Great Ireland” and of St. Brandan—Norwegian account—Irish account— Italian and Spanish accounts .. .. ..17 Chapter II.—The first Irish emigrants—In Barba- does—In Pennsylvania—In New York—In Mary¬ land—In Virginia—In the Carolinas—In Ken¬ tucky—Adventure of Simon Butler in Delaware .. 24 Chapter III.—The Irish in Massachusetts—In New Hampshire—In Maine—Bishop Berkely in Rhode Island—His gift to Yale College .. .. 37 ^ Chapter IV.—The emigrants in arms—Adventure of John Stark—The Irish Brigade in Canada— Indian wars—Peace of 1763—Dawn of the Revolu¬ tion .. .. .. .. .. .. 45 Chapter V.—Opening of the Revolutionary era— Irish at Bunker's Hill—Death of Major M‘Cleary— General Knox—The Clintons—The Pennsylvania Line—Moylan's Dragoons Chapter VI.—The Canadian expedition—Death of Montgomery—Burial refused to his remains by the British—Retreat of the invading corps—Thompson, Sullivan, and Gates in command—Advance of Bur- goyne—Stark's victory at Bennington—Surrender of Burgoyne Chapter VII.—Irishmen in the United States Navy— Commodore Barry — Captain M‘Gee — Captain O'Brien—Midshipman M‘Donough—PurserMease— Barry’s Lieutenants—Murray, Dale, Decatur, and Stewart 59 64 4 CONTENTS. Chapter VIII.—-Dissatisfaction at certain Congres¬ sional promotions—Generals Roclie Fermoy and Andrew Lews—The campaigns of 1777 and 1778 in New Jersey—“ Mad Anthony Wayne”—Adjutant- General Hand—“ The Conway Cabal”—Colonel Fitzgerald, Aide-de-Camp to Washington, his gal¬ lantry at Princeton—Contribution of the Irish mer¬ chants of Philadelphia .. .. ..69 Chapter IX.—Irishmen in Civil Service during the Revolutionary Era—Policy of the first Congress to¬ wards Ireland—Charles Thompson, of Maghera, Secretary to Congress—The Declaration of Inde¬ pendence—Eight Irish Signers—The Federal Con¬ stitution adopted—Six Irish authors of that instru¬ ment—Early Irish Governors .. ..78 Chapter X.—Colonial Penal Laws—Rise of Catholic Missions—Washington’s reply to the Catholic Ad¬ dress—St. Mary’s College .. .. ..89 Chapter XI.—Irish services to Education and Science in America—Allison—Charles Thompson—David Ramsay—Fulton—Codes—Adrain—Matthew Carey 99 Chapter XII.—Washington, President—Party or¬ ganisation into Federalists and Republicans—In¬ fluence of Jefferson over the Irish community—The United Irish Organisation in America—Adams, Pre¬ sident—The Alien and Sedition Laws—The Federal Riots—lion. Rufus King .. «. .. 105 Chapter XIII.—Jefferson, President—The Refugees of 1798—Sampson and Macneven—T. A. Emmet— The Brothers Binns—Burr and Blennerhassett— The Right of Search—Madison, President—John Smilie, United States Senator—War .. ..110 Chapter XIV.—The Irish in the American Navy during the war of 1812-15—Origin of the war— Captain Boyle’s cruise—Captain Blakely—Commo¬ dores Shaw, M'Donough, and Stewart .. ..120 CONTENTS. 6 Chapter XV.—The war by land—Battles on the Northern frontier—Mason—0’Neale—Landing of General Ross—Treatment of Naturalized Cit zens taken in arms—Successes of Ross—Andrew Jackson on the Mississippi—His career and character— Battle of New Orleans—Peace .. .. 127 Chapter XVL—Jackson, President—United States Bank—“The Irish vote”—Edward Kavanagh, Minister to Portugal—Senator Porter—Jackson’s partiality to Irish emigrants—His influence on his party—His character .. .. ..140 Chapter XVII.—Spread of Catholicism—Organisa¬ tion into dioceses—Western Missions—Southern Missions—Bishop England —Charleston Convent burned, a.d. 1834—The Great Controversy .. 151 Chapter XVIII.—American sympathy for Ireland— United Irishmen—The Catholic Emancipation move¬ ment—Irish Journals—Agitation for “ a Repealof the Union” with England—Influence of Mr. O’Connell— The Attempted Revolutionary Movement of 1848 — Sympathy with its Principles .. .. 163 Chapter XIX.—The Irish Famines of 1846-7-8— American Sympathy—Meetings in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York—National Meeting in Washington—The Macedonian and Jamestown — Reflections .. .. .. ..168 Chapter XX.—“ Native American” Movement of 1844—The Philadelphia Riots—Their probable Origin —Conduct of the Military and Magistrates— Similar Movements in New York, Boston, and other towns—Reaction -Reflections on the Principles involved in this Controversy .. ..176 Chapter XXI.— South American Revolutions—Co¬ operation ot the United States—Irish Staff of Simon Bolivar—The O’Higginses—Mackenna—O’Connor. O’Carroll — Captain Esmonde — O’R illy — The O’Briens—Issue of the South American Struggle.. 184 0 CONTENTS. Chapter XXII.—The Irish in Mexico—San Patricio County — M‘Gee’s Incursion — Annexation of Texas —War with Mexico—Taylor’s Campaigns— Major-General Butler — Colonel M‘Kee — Major Gorman .. .. .. .. 196 Chapter XXIII.—Scott’s Campaigns—Colonel Riley. Brilliant Charge of Kearney and MacReynolds’— Dragoons—Biigadier-General Shields—His Recep¬ tion on returning to the United States—Senator for Illinois .. .. .. .. 202 Chapter XXIV.—The Census of 1850—Irish Con¬ tingent to the population of the Union —Character of former Irish Emigrations—The Political refugees of 1848—Father Mathew’s visit—Military com-' panies—Position and requirements of the Irish in America, a.d. 1851 .. .. .. 213 INDEX Allison, Dr. .. Adrain, Professor Barry, Commodore .. Byrne, Professor Berkely, Bishop Blakely, Captain Blennerhassett, H. Binns, Brothers Boyle, Captain Brandan, St. Breckenridge, —- Bryan, Governor Butler Family Butler, Major-General Burke, Mr. .. Calhoun, Hon. J. C. .. Carey, Matthew Cargill, Hugh Carroll, Hon.C. (Signer) Carroll, Hon. Daniel .. Carroll, Archbishop .. Carroll, Major-General Clinton, Col. Charles.. Clinton, the Brothers.. Colies, Christopher .. Conway, General Coffee, General Devereux, General .. Dunlap, Captain John Emmet, T. A. England, Rt. Rev. Dr. Esmonde, Captain Fitzsimons, Hon. T. .. | Fitzgerald, — .. 36 Fitzgerald, Colonel .. 73 Fulton, Robert .. 101 Gallagher, Lieutenant 126 Gallagher, Rev. Dr. .. 153 Gallagher, R. .. 180 Gillespie, Captain .. 200 Gorman, Major .. 201 Hand, Adj.-General .. 58 Hogan, — .. .. 30 Hogan, General .. 73 Irvine, General .. 71 Jackson, Major-Gen. .. 130 „ President .. 141 Kavanagh, Hon. E. .. 141 Knox, General H. .. 56 Leavins, Captain .. 121 Lewis, General .. 70 Levins, Rev. Dr. .. 162 Logan, James .. 26 Logan, Colonel B. .. 30 Lynch, Dominick .. 96 Lynch, Hon. Thomas 84 Lynch, Hon.Thomas, jr. (Signer) .. .. 84 Mason,— .. .. 128 M‘Kenna, Colonel .. 187 M'Afee, R.30 M‘Clary, Colonel .. 56 M'Clary, Major .. 54 M‘Clary, Captain .. 64 M'Dowells .. .. 28 M‘Donough, James ,, 68 99 102 64 221 43 122 118 117 121 21 28 87 30 212 108 120 105 39 83 86 93 133 27 57 100 72 134 185 82 112 153 193 87 8 INDEX. M'Donough, Commo¬ dore M‘Duffvs,— .. M‘Gee (Texian Chief) M‘Gee, Captain James M‘Gruders M‘Grath, Purser M*Grady, Major M'Ginnes, Captain .. M‘Kee, Colonel M‘Kean, Hon.T.(Signer) M‘Mahon, Marquis .. Macneven, Dr. MacRevnolds, Major .. Mease, Matthew Montgomery, Major- General Moore, Dr. Moore, Governor Moore, General Moylan, General Nixon, Colonel John .. O’Brien, General O’Brien, Captain O’Brien, Captain O’Carroll, Colonel O’Connors, Messrs. .. O'Connor, Colonel .. O’Donoju, Capt.-Gen. O’Flaherty, Rev. Dr. .. O’Higgins, Capt.-Gen. O’Higgins, General ., O’Leary, Colonel Oliver, Robert .. 99 O’Neale, John .. 128 Orr, Hon. John .. 88 O’Reilly, General .. 195 Patten, Hon. M. .. 88 Pepper, George .. 165 Pike, Sergeant .. 49 Porter, Hon. Alex. .. 142 Ramsay, Dr. .. .. 99 Read, Hon. G. (Signer) 83 Reynolds, Dr. .. 103 Roche Fermoy, Gen. .. 69 Rutledge, Hon. Edward (Signer) .. .. 84 Rutledge, Hon. John .. 85 Sampson, William .. Ill Shaw, Commodore .. 123 Shields, General .. 204 Smith, James (Signer) 83 Smilie, Hon. John .. 119 Stewart, Commodore 125 Stark, John .. .. 47 Sullivan, — .. .. 42 Sullivan, General .. 51 Sullivan, Governor .. 8 S Sullivan, Hon.William 89 Taylor, G. (Signer) .. 83 Thornton, M. (Signer) 83 Thompson, Gen. Wm. 63 Thompson, Hon. C. .. 81 Walsh, W. J. .. 165 Wayne, Major-General 71 Young. Messrs. .. 42 124 28 197 67 28 126 30 47 201 84 172 112 203 56 60 185 29 73 58 82 156 201 67 193 164 193 197 162 186 187 185 INTRODUCTION. EUROPE AND AMERICA. The fifteenth century in Spain (the point from which the discovery of America emanated) was marked by the cessation of the Crusades, by treaties made between the Moors and Christians of Spain and France, the Porte and Venice, of amity and commerce. Asiatic arts and luxury, Asiatic idols, and Asiatic valour, had made deep and sensible impressions upon Christendom. The schools of Cordova, the chivalry of Grenada, the galleys of Fez, the grandeur of the Soldan ex¬ ercised a moral despotism throughout Europe. What Bussian power and Russian pretensions al’e to Europe to-day, the Ottoman empire was to the Christian Europe of Columbus’s youth. The exact sciences were, as yet, in a rude and chaotic state. Astrology, alchemy, and both magics had professors and postulants. Medicine was little better than herbal traditions, or a litany of incantations. Amulets blest by conjurers were worn, and the stars believed in by the highest in¬ tellects. It was then—when star-gazers advised kings to peace or war, when brazen heads were fabricated by Albertus Magnus and Friar Bacon, when Aldrovandus had to dissect his own child, fearing to touch another human body—with fatal¬ ism enthroned in Asia, and credulity in Europe— 10 INTRODUCTION. it was then that Columbus turned his piercing vision towards the West. Domestic slavery existed very generally through Europe. The lords of the soil exacted the services, lives, and the very honour of their serfs. The serf was chained to his district and predestined to his profession. There was no freedom of will or mind among the populace. A few trading towns had, indeed, wrung chartered privileges from their sovereigns, but these privileges were confined to the class of master workmen, who held in servi¬ tude the great body of the citizens and appren¬ tices. Chivalry had lost its charm and was obsolete. The age of commerce, which was felt to be ap¬ proaching, was looked for exclusively in the East; so that, even in the knowledge of its own wants, Europe was in error. *Two great facts of this century precede Colum¬ bus, and only two. The science of government was being studied carefully in Italy, France, and Spain, and the science of reasoning in the great colleges since called Universities. The fall of Constantinople, in 1458, sent the learned of the East for refuge into Italy, and new classic schools began to assume a regular existence at Borne and Florence, Bologna and Ferrara. While these mental possessions were begin¬ ning to accumulate * in Europe, in the wisdom of Providence a New World was about to become a sharer in their diffusion. Let us be just to the European thinkers of those days. With much that seems absurd in the INTRODUCTION. 11 “ schoolmen,” and much that was ephemeral, there is combined the vital principle of all human history—does man, under God, suffice for him¬ self? Can he justify his own intellect ? Can he self-govern his own life? This was their great problem through all their studies. Doubtless, they did not know whither their own theories ultimately led ; doubtless they, too, attempted to set limits to faith and to science. But with all that can be said against them, there they stand— the ferrympn plying between ancient and modern civilization, bringing over to us the most precious products of distant times, and teaching us how to start in our new career. The long and painful preparatory efforts of Columbus to interest the old world in his project would seem almost to be permitted, in order to prove the inefficiency of the age he was to electrify on his return from the first voyage. He besought Genoa and Venice for a ship or two to find his world, and they refused him ; he petitioned the wise kings of Portugal and Eng¬ land, and they refused to risk a single sail in such a quest; he sojourned long about the courts of France and Spain, appealing to the wisdom of the wise, the judgment of the learned, the ambition of the brave, and the avarice of the acquisitive. But he argued, appealed, petitioned in vain ! No one believed in his theory, or hoped in his adven¬ ture. Nay, the wise smiled scornfully, the learned laughed in their academic sleeves, and even the brave had no stomach for battling the tempest, or lor planting their bapners in the wide sea-field. 12 INTRODUCTION. Besides, was he not a common sailor ? He had, indeed, commanded some merchant ships, and had an uncle an admiral. His .name, some said, was noble; but of this there was no proof. The age that believed in the divine right of the blood royal, and the sovereign inheritance of the blood noble, could not conceive of a mere sailor achieving a conquest which princes and grandees could not so much as imagine, after all his argu¬ ments. Where, then, did Columbus and his theory find believers ? Who were his first converts and first assistants ? A woman, a sailor, and a monk are the three by whom the curtain of the Atlantic is raised, and America pointed out afar off. Before the dense curtain of that grandest scene of all human history they stand—the woman, the sailor, and the monk. Columbus converted the prior of La Babida, the prior converted the queen of Castile, and so the armament did sail, after all, in quest of the New World in the West. That is a noble group, and deserves long con¬ templation. The woman personifies gentleness ; the monk, faith; the sailor, courage. Faith, gentleness, and courage are thus confederated to find the New World, and claim it for their own ! Columbus sailed, and, except by a very few, was soon forgotten. The prior may have prayed for him ; the queen may have sometimes asked news of him ; Paulo Toscanelli, the map-maker, in his Florentine study, may have cast his eye over the conjectural track of the two Spanish carvels, to the ideal shore of St. Brendan’s land; INTRODUCTION. IB bat great, gross Europe sleeps, eats, and drinks, just as if no apostle of the Future was labouring through the shoreless ocean. The capture of Grenada, with its half million Moors, no doubt, seemed to all the wise heads of Europe incom¬ parably the greatest act that century could see. The Genoese sailor and his New World are hidden for the time by that cloud of turbans, with its pale disastrous crescent still visible, though eclipsed. What a month that must have been in Europe, when Columbus returned with his plants and minerals, and his men red and naked as the sun ! The telegraph of rumour proclaimed his success from Lisbon to Madrid, and from Madrid to Rome, Venice, Antwerp, Paris, and London. What wild tales are told and swallowed—what a, crying curiosity thrusts out its ears from every corner of Europe—what sudden new light breaks in on the learned—what passion for ocean adven¬ ture seizes on the brave—what visions of moun¬ tains of gold and valleys of diamonds drive away sleep from the couches of the avaricious ! In this age of inferior “ excitements,” we can hardly imagine what Europe felt in that day ; though, if the “ sensation” can be imagined any¬ where, it is here. It must have been something incomparably more intense than the “ California fever.” “ A. New World found !” was the trum¬ pet-blast which rung from end to end of Europe. Europe, that yesterday considered the fall of Grenada the greatest of facts, has already almost forgotten Grenada ! Europe, that began to smile at the crusade, grasps again the banner of the 14 INTRODUCTION. Cross, to plant it, not on St. Sophias or Mount Calvary, but to plant it on the further verge of the ocean, bordered with illimitable lands ! Europe, in the hour of Columbus’s arrival, attained her majority, began to act and think for herself, and, ceasing to be a child, to cast away the things of her childhood. On the authentication and details of the dis¬ covery there is no need to pause. On the names of the new chivalry of the ocean we need not linger. Cabot, Cartier, Americus, Verazzini, Hudson, Ealeigh, Drake, Balboa, Cortez, Pizarro, America knows them all. They developed the idea of the great sailor. They found the western way to India. They demonstrated the rotundity of the earth. They are the true experimental philosophers to whom Bacon, Descart 3S, Linnaeus, and Gassendi were but the amanuensc s. They will be for ever honoured among men—t le graduates of the universe—the alumni of the ocean ! When Columbus, ill-requited by Spain, and weary of life, felt his end approach, Le desired, as his last request, that it might be engraven on his tomb, “ Here lieth Christopher Columbus , who gave to Castile and Arragon a New World.” If this was meant as a reproach to Ferdinand, it was a mag¬ nificent reproach. If it was meant as a lasting definition of his own act, it is miserably deficient. What he actually did is, indeed, insignificant compared to what he was the cause of being done ; but even from his death-bed, that clear-sighted man must have foreseen that not to Ferdinand and Isabella was his New World given— not to INTRODUCTION. 15 Spain, nor even to Europe ; but rather that it was given to all humanity lor the remainder of time to come. Three hundred years and more have passed over the grave of Columbus. In his cathedral tomb at Havaua, he sleeps within the circle of the great¬ est exploit of modem men—the civilisation of America—which he most heroically began. Ail the races of Europe have contributed workmen to the work, who, amid much “ confusion of tongues,” are rearing it heavenward day by day in hope and harmony, and, let us trust, with ail due reverence and humility of spirit. Columbus has been justified. So has Spain. The shares of France, England, Holland, Sweden, and Germany in civilizing America have been all recorded in the works of sympathetic and labo¬ rious historians. And now, also, Ireland advances her claim to respect and remembrance as a contributor to this world’s work. She also has helped to reclaim the land from barrenness, and to liberate it from op¬ pression. Her sons have made many a clearing, found many a ford, worked out many a noble plan, fighting stoutly for their new country, on land and sea, when so required. Ireland—which has furnished actors to every great act of civili¬ sation since Dathi died at Sales, following in the track of Brennus and Alaric—was also, as we shall see, represented here from the beginning by able' and useful men. It is of these Irish settlers in America this book is written, and while looking over its brief chapters I cannot suppross a sigh 16 INTRODUCTION. that much, greater boohs have been written of men who did not deserve the honour one-half so well. The following pages, dear reader, were filled up after many interruptions and under many distrac¬ tions ; therefore, have mercy in your judgment of the work. I venture it into print with the hope that the whole subject may come, ere long, under the hands of a master, who can make of it a story both Europe and America would love to listen to. Bouton, Si. Patrick's Day, 1851. A HISTORY OP THE IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. __ •' CHAPTER I. THE LEGEND OF “ GREAT IRELAND” AND OF ST. BRANDAN-NORWEGIAN ACCOUNT—IRISH AC¬ COUNT—ITALIAN AND SPANISH ACCOUNTS. It is uncertain whether Christopher Columbus was the first European who saw America. A general tradition of its existence was widely re¬ ceived before his birth, and we cannot reject, as entirely incredible, the repeated allusions to this tradition contained in the early chronicles of the northern nations of the old world. To the Genoese belongs the glory of disenchanting the ocean—of bringing two hemispheres into contact separated from the beginning—of leaving a land of refuge accessible to humanity, and of opening the his¬ tory of its population by one of the most glorious examples of patience, fortitude, and courage ever exhibited by man. Who could wish his glory greater or less ? The Scandinavians count three several precur¬ sors of Columbus—Ari Marson, whose voyage took place in 9§3 ; Biorn, a later adventurer; 18 A HISTORY OF THE and Gudlief, son of Gudlang, who towards the middle of the 11th century followed the track of, and conversed with, Biorn, in Huitramannaland, or Irland it Mikla , beyond the Atlantic. The account of Ari in the Landnamabock is short, but perfectly intelligible. It says: “Ulf the Squinter, son of Hogni the White, occupied the whole of Reykianess (south-west pro¬ montory of Iceland), between Thorskafiord and Hafrafell. He had a wife named Biorg, the daughter of Eyvind the East-countryman. They had a son named Atili the Red, who married Thorkotu, daughter of Hergil. They had a son named Ari, who was driven by a tempest to Huit¬ ramannaland (white man’s land), which some call Irland it Mikla (Great Ireland), which lies in the western ocean y near to Vinland the Good , west from Ireland ,” by a number of days’ sail which is uncertain, some error having crept into the original in these figures. “ Ari was not permitted to depart, but was baptized there.” Of the second and third voyages the same Land¬ namabock (compiled in the 18th century) relates : “ So Rafn, the Limerick merchant, first stated, who lived for a long time in Limerick, in Ire¬ land.” Rafn was kinsman to Ari Marson, and lived at the beginning or middle of the eleventh century. “ So also Thorkel, the son of Geller (grandson of Ari Marson), says that certain Ice¬ landers stated, who heard Thorfinn, Jarl of the Orkneys”—also kinsman to Ari Marson, and bom 1008, died 1064—“ relate that Ari had been seen and known in Huitramannaland, and that, although IRISH SETTLERS IN^NOETtf AMERICA. 19 not suffered to depart thence, he was there held in great honour. “ Ari had a wife named Thorgerd, daughter of Alf of Dolum. Their sons were Thorgils, Gudlief, and Illugi; which is the family of Reykianess.” Then follows a passage which shows that Eirck the Red was connected with the family of this Ari Marson, and which it may not be amiss to repeat, as all these historical allusions afford cor¬ roboration of the authencity of different narratives. “ Jorund was the son of Ulf the Squinter. He married Thobiorg Knarrarbring. They had a daughter, Tkjodhild, whom Eirck the Red mar¬ ried. They had a son, Leif the Lucky, of Green¬ land.” It is worthy of remark that the writer of this account was Ari the Learned, born 1067, who flourished at the end of the eleventh century, and who therefore lived within a century after Ari Marson’s departure from Ireland. He was im¬ mediately descended from Ari Marson, and would of course be anxious and careful to obtain the most accurate accounts of his ancestors. It is to be observed the situation of Huitramannaland is here stated, “ in the western ocean near Yinlancl, and west of Ireland.” It points, of necessity, to that portion of the country now known as the midland or southern States of the Union.* The Irland it Mikla , or Great Ireland, is fre¬ quently alluded to in the Northern Sagas. They describe the route towards it from the north of Europe thus : * Smith’s u Northmen in New England.” Boston. Hilliard & Grey, 1831?. 2 20 A HISTORY OF THE <‘ To the south of-habitable Greenland there are uninhabited and wild tracts, and enormous ice¬ bergs. The country of the SkraBlings lies beyond these; Markland beyond this, and Yinland the Good beyond the last. Next to this, and some¬ thing beyond it, lies Albania—that is, Huitraman- naland, whither formerly vessels came from Ire¬ land. There several 1 rishmen and Icelanders saw and recognized Ari, the son of Mar and Kotlu, of Reykianess, concerning whom nothing had been heard for a long time, and who had been made their chief by the inhabitants of the land.” In this vague sketch modern antiquarians have laboured hard, and not unsuccessfully, to identify the country of the Skraelings as the Esquimaux coast, Markland as Labrador, Yinland as New England, and Huitramannaland as the country “further southward, beyond the Chesapeake Bay.”* “The Skrselinger,” says Humboldt, “related to the Northmen settled in Yinland, that further southward, beyond the Chesapeake Bay, there dwelt 4 white men, who clothed themselves in long white garments, carried before them poles to which clothes were attached, and called with a loud voice.’ This account was interpreted by the Christian Northmen to indicate processions in which banners were borne accompanied by singing. In the oldest Sagas, the historical nar¬ rations of Thorfinn Karlsefne, and the Icelandic Landnammabock, these southern coasts, lying between Yirginia and Florida, are designated * Humboldt's “ Cosmos." IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 21 under the name of the Land of the White Men . They are expressly called Great Ireland ( Irland it Mikla ), and it is maintained that they were peopled by the Irish. According to testimonies which ex¬ tend to 1064, before Lief discovered Yinland, and probably about the year 982, Ari Marson, of the powerful Icelandic race of Ulf the Squint-eyed, was driven in a voyage from Iceland to the south by storms, on the coast of the Land of the White Men, and there baptized in the Christian faith ; and not being allowed to depart, was recognized by men from the Orkney Islands and Iceland.”* The volumes in which these corroborative ac¬ counts are recorded were compiled in the north three centuries before the birth of Columbus, and evidently represent the then prevailing belief in a “ Great Ireland” beyond the western sea. The Irish Annals themselves make special men¬ tion of the same fact. They credit the first voyage westward to St. Brandan, patron of Clonfert and Ardfert, on the south-west coast. It is recorded that he flourished from the year a.d. 550 till the beginning of the following century, and that his voyages in search of the promised land were two, after which he returned no more. The pre¬ cise point of departure, “ the foot of Brandan Mountain,” now Tralee Bay, is stated; his sea stork consisted of live swine, his companions of monks, and his first voyage, of course, abounded in adventures. The dates in these legends are well fixed, whatever else may be dubious ; and we do not feel at liberty to reject facts which an * Humboldt’s u Cosmos,” vol. i. 22 A HISTORY OF THE Usher and a Humboldt long pondered over, and at last set down with reverence.* The voyages of St. Brandan were received tra¬ ditions in France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, soon after the Northern Chroniclers had written their memoranda concerning Irtand it Hilda. Old metrical romances in the French and Dutch languages give a world of details about them—some credible, and some absurd enough.f But what is more to our purpose, Jacobus Voraig-. nius, Provincial of the Dominicans and Bishop of Genoa (the native city of Columbus), gave St. Brandan’s land special prominence in the 13th century, in his “ Golden Legend,and the Ita¬ lian geographers set it down on their conjectural charts opposite “ Europe and Africa, from the south of Ireland to the end of Guinea.” In the map made for Columbus, previous to setting out on his first voyage, by Paulo Toscannelli of Florence, the customary space was occupied by ** St. Borondon’s, or St. Brandan’s land.” In the letters of Columbus to his sovereigns, it is notable that the “ singing of the birds,” and “ the greenness of the vegetation,” so much dwelt on in the “ Golden Legend,” are frequently mentioned. The phrase “ Promised Land” also occurs in the mystical sense in which it is employed by Bishop Jacobus. * Usher’s Antiq. of British Churches; Usher’s Epistles of the Irish Saints, f See extracts of these old Poems in Longfellow's “Poets and Poetry of Europe.” % Voraignius died a,d. 1293. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 28 Even after the voyage of Columbus, so strong was the belief in St. Brandan’s land, that various expeditions were sent to explore it, as appears from depositions taken before the Grand Inquisitor of the Canaries, Pedro Ortez de Funez, and from other Portuguese and Spanish accounts. The last of these voyages was undertaken as late as 1721, by “ Don Gaspar Dominguez, a man of probity and talent. As this was an expedition of solemn and mysterious import, he had two holy friars as apostolical chaplains. They made sail from the island of Teneriffe toward the end of October, leaving the populace in an indescribable state of anxious curiosity. The ship, however, returned from its cruise as unsuccessful as all its predecessors.”* Although these reports were not justified by the facts, yet it would be unwise to confound the early belief with the modern illusion, since the latter did not and could not beget the former, though they have obscured and almost hidden it from our sight. There is quite sufficient reason to infer that the ancients believed in the existence of a Great Ire¬ land in the West before Columbus’s discovery ; and assuredly, if they were mistaken, we are in a fair way to see the doubtful vision of their days become a reality. The dates and details we must leave to the antiquarians, while we endeavour to show what modern emigration has done to ac¬ complish the legend of bland it Hilda. * Nunez, Conquist. de la Gran Canaria ; Viera, Hist. Isl Can.; Irving's Life of Columbus, vol. i. 24 A HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER II. THE FIRST IRISH EMIGRANTS IN BARBADOES, IN PENNSYLVANIA, IN NEW YORK, IN MARYLAND, IN VIRGINIA, IN THE CAROLINAS, IN KENTUCKY.- ADVENTURE OF SIMON BUTLER IN DELAWARE. The half century after the voyage of Columbus was spent in exploring the harbours, rivers, and coasts of the “New World.” Colonization fol¬ lowed, the Spanish nation still leading. In 1565 the Spaniards founded St. Augustine, in Florida; in 1562 the French had built a fort in Carolina, and in 1608 they founded Quebec; in 1585 Raleigh settled 180 emigrants at Roanoke; in 1606 Jamestown was begun ; in 1629 Plymouth, and in 1684 Baltimore. These are the first authentic dates of the early North American set¬ tlements. The first Irish people who found permanent homes in America were certain Catholic patriots, banished by Oliver Cromwell to Barbadoes in 1649. -.After the failure of the confederation formed in that year, 45,000 Irishmen were trans¬ ported beyond the seas, some to France and Spain, and several ship-loads to Barbadoes. In this island, as in the neighbouring Montserat., the Celtic language was commonly spoken in the last century, and, perhaps, it is partly attributable to this early Irish colonization that Barbadoes be¬ came “ one of the most populous islands in the world.” At the end of the seventeenth century IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 25 it was reported to contain 20,000 white inhabi¬ tants. During the last quarter of the seventeenth century there does not appear to have been any considerable emigration from Ireland. After the Restoration of Charles II., in 1660, the influence of the Duke of Ormond procured letters patent suspending the Navigation Laws, so as to allow Ireland comparative freedom of trade. From this manufactures flourished, and there was no “ sur¬ plus population” left. The French refugees, who fled from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in the year 1685, contributed their manufac¬ turing skill still further to enrich the country, which certainly enjoyed, in the interval from the Restoration to the Revolution, most unusual pros¬ perity. The revolution of 1688 marks a new and less prosperous era for the mother country. William and Mary, in the first year of their reign, were called by both houses of parliament to discourage the manufactures of Ireland which competed w r ith those of England, which they complacently con¬ sented to do. By this invidious policy, according to Lord Fitzwilliam, “ 100,000 operatives” were driven out of Ireland. “ Many of the Protes¬ tants,” says an historian of Irish trade, “ removed into Germany”—“ several Papists at the same time removed info Spain.” Another contempo¬ raneous writer speaks of multitudes having gone to America from Ireland “ in consequence of the rack rents there.” A contemporary account esti¬ mates that 8,000 males left Ulster yearly for the 26 A HISTORY OF THE colonies.* And we hear at intervals, amid the confusion of this panic flight, the stern accents of Swift, upbraiding the people with their sub¬ mission, and reproaching the aristocracy with their suicidal impolicy in cultivating cattle and banishing men. In the colony of Pennsylvania one of the earliest settlements of Irishmen was made. In 1699 James Logan, of Lurgan, and others, accompanied William Penn to his new plantation, and were most heartily welcomed. Logan became one of the most considerable men in the colony, which he governed for two years after the death of Penn, and whose capital he enriched by bequeathing to it the most considerable library hitherto opened to its inhabitants. He was, for that age, a most tolerant man—even more so than his Quaker friend, Penn, who writes him from London, in 1708 : u There is a complaint against your govern¬ ment that you suffer public Mass in a scandalous manner. Pray send the matter of fact, for ill use is made of it against us here.”j This charge re¬ flects honour now where it shed suspicion then. The name of Logan is honourably identified with the city in which he exercised his beneficent authority. Attracted by this precedent, others followed the emigrants of 1699, chiefly from the North of Ire¬ land. In the interior of the State we find town¬ ships called Derry, Donegal, Tyrone, and Cole¬ raine, so early as 1780. The arrivals at the port * DobVs on “ Irish Trade,” Dublin, 1729. + Matson’s Annals of Philadelphia, p. 290. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 27 of Philadelphia for the year ending December, 1729, are set down as , English and Welsh . 267 Scotch ... ... ... ... 48 Palatines (Germans) ... ... 848 Irish . 5,655* Or a proportion of ten Irish emigrants to one from all other nations in Europe. And this constant influx, though not in so great disproportion to other arrivals, recurred annually at the same port till the close of the century. In 1729, several families from Longford took shipping at Dublin, with a Captain Rymer, for Pennsylvania. He appears to have been one of those brutal mariners still to be met with in the emigrant trade. Although they made the coast of Virginia, and saw land for several days, he would not land them until he had extorted an extra payment; and his officers were in such awe of him, they dare not remonstrate. At length he landed them at Cape Cod, whence some of them moved to the banks of the Hudson. Of these was Charles Clinton, who had then three children of Irish birth, destined to become historical men in the annals of New York.f The colony of Maryland, founded by Roman Catholics, held out special attractions to the first emigrants of that denomination. The Irish rising of 1641, it is thought, “ affected the population of the province4 The Carrols emigrated to the * Holmes , Annals of America, vol. i. t Hoozack's Life of De Witt Clinton. £ Bozman’s Maryland, vol. i. 28 A HISTORY OF THE colony about 1689, and were, in common with the other Catholic settlers, disfranchised by the Pro¬ testant Revolution of 1688. Thus, by a singular reverse, the descendants of those who were the first to proclaim complete freedom of conscience in the New World, were for near 100 years deprived of it by the children of the fugitives to whom they had first afforded the protection elsewhere denied them. The Irish population in Virginia began about the year 1710, and chiefly settled along the Blue Ridge, in what are now the counties of Patrick and Rockbridge. The M‘Dowells, Breckenridges, M‘Duffys, M‘Gruders, and others, were of this colony, and the two rivers Mayo, as well as the localities called M‘Gaheysville, Healys, Kennedys, M‘Farlands, Lynchburg, and Kinsale,are evidently of Irish origin. In 1787 a considerable Irish colony obtained a township on the Santee river, in South Carolina, in the district called, from its Indian proprietors, the Waxhaws. Williamsburg, on the Black river, was entirely peopled by our race in 1784, as was Camden on the Wateree. “ Of all other countries,” says the historian of that State, “ none has fur¬ nished the province with so many inhabitants as Ireland. Scarce a ship sailed from any of its ports for Charleston, that was not crowded with men, women, and children.” One of our settlements in that colony was peculiarly unfortunate. “ The Council having announced,in England and Ireland, that the land of the ejected Yemassees would be given to the actual settlers, 500 persons from Ire- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 29 land transported themselves to South Carolina, to take the benefit of it. But the whole project was frustrated by the proprietors, who claimed those lands as their property, and insisted on the right of disposing of them as they saw fit. Not long after¬ wards, to the utter ruin of the Irish emigrants, and in breach of the provincial faith, these Indian lands were surveyed, by order of the proprietors, for their own use, and laid out in large baronies.” “Many of the unfortunate Irish emigrants,” adds the historian, “ having spent the little money they brought with them, were reduced to misery and famished. The remainder removed to the northern colonies.”* Among the Irish settlers in the Waxhaws we notice the now famous names, Rutledge, Jackson, and Calhoun. After the Williamite war in Ireland, several emi¬ grant Irish families arrived in North Carolina, and settled there. Of these the most active and dis¬ tinguished was Governor James Moore, who headed the rebellion of 1705, which converted the province from a proprietary to a popular government, elec¬ tive from the people. He held out against all the force and power of the proprietors, and was the first people’s Governor of Carolina. He trans¬ mitted his spirit and his influence to a succession of eminent descendants. He claimed relationship to the Drogheda family of the same name, and probably was a native of that vicinity. | In 1746 the settlement of Kentucky was com¬ menced under the intrepid Daniel Boone, by whose side, also, we find Irishmen. The historian of * Ramsay's South Carolina. 80 A HISTORY OF THE Kentucky observes, “ For enterprise and daring courage none transcended Major Hugh M‘Grady.* A Harland, a M'Bride, and a Chaplain deserve also to be mentioned.” The second Kentucky settle¬ ment was formed in 1773 by James and Robert M‘Afee, and the third in 1775 by Benjamin Logan, an Irish Pennsylvanian. Simon Butler, M‘Lellan, and Hogan, all Irishmen, were also pioneers of Kentucky, and among the first to explore the country beyond the Oliio.f The same hardy race of backwoodsmen also sent out the hi st successful pioneers of population on the greater current of the Mississippi, to mark along its banks the sites of future settlements. As a specimen of what the Irish pioneer then endured, we give the following stirring episode in the early history of Kentucky : “ billion Kenton, alias Butler, who has been heretefore noticed, now claims further attention, as connected with the occunences of this year. His active and enterprising spirit had induced him to join Colonel George Rogers Clark, and he was with him at the capture of Kaskaskias. After the fall of that place, Butler, with others, was sent to * In Ireland there was a famous family of this name near Mayo, whose decay an Irish bard of the Jacobite era pathetically laments: “’Tis m.y grief that Patrick Loughlin is not Earl in Erris still; That Brian Duff no longer rules as Lord upon the hill; That Colonel Hugh Af l Grady should Be lying stark and low— And 1 sailing, sailing swiftly From the County of Mayo.” McCarthy's “Book of Irish Ballads f Marshall's Hist, of Kentucky, chap. iii. vol. i. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 31 Kentucky with despatches. On their way they fell in with a camp of Indians with horses. They broke up the camp, took the horses, sent them back to Kaskaskias, and pursued their route by post to St. Vincennes. Entering that place by night, they traversed several streets, and de¬ parted without discovery or alarm, after taking from the inhabitants, who were hostile, two horses for each man. When they came to White river, a raft was made on which to transport the guns and baggage, while the horses were driven in to swim across the river. On the opposite shore there lay a camp of Indians, who caught the horses as they rose the bank. “ Butler and his party, now finding themselves in the utmost danger, permitted the raft to float down the stream, and concealed themselves till night; when they made another raft, at a different place, on which they crossed the river, returned safe to Kentucky, and delivered the letters, as they had been directed. Borne of them were intended for the seat of government. “ This part of his duty being discharged, Butler made a tour to the northern part of the country, and in the same year was made prisoner by the Indians. They soon after painted him black, and informed him that at Chillicothe, where they were going, he should be burned. Nor were they willing to permit him to pass the interim without adding to his mental pains those of the body. Not more to torture him than to amuse themselves, they mounted him on an unbroke and unbridled horse ; tied his hands behind his body, and liis 32 A HISTORY OF THE feet under the animal; and then let him loose tc run through the bushes. “ This he did, capering and prancing through the worst thickets, thereby to discharge his load, but in vain. There is no means of checking the horse, or of guarding the body, or face, or eyes from the brush. This rends the clothes, and almost tears the flesh from the bones—to the very great amusement of the savages, and to the equal danger of the rider’s life. “ The horse at length worries himself, becomes gentle, and rejoins the cavalcade, which now approaches within a mile of Chillicothe. The Indians halt, dismount their prisoner, and prepare the stake. At this they kept him tied and standing for nearly twenty-four hours, with what sensations can better be imagined than expressed. From the stake, however, he was not released by fire, but taken by the Indians to run the gauntlet. At this place there were assembled 500 or 600 Indians, of all ages, sexes, and conditions. These were armed with switches, sticks, and every kind of hand-weapon known to savages, and formed into rows, reaching to the council-house, distant nearly one mile. Butler was now told that he was to run between those files to the drum, which was beaten at the council-house door ; and that if ho could get into the council-house, he should be cleared, but that he was to expect a blow from each Indian as he passed. Next, he was placed between these ranks, and put into motion by an order and a blow. In a little time he broke through one of the files before he received many blows, IRrSH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 83 and continued running for the council-house door, which he had nearly gained, when he was knocked down by a warrior with a club. Here he was severely beaten, and again taken into custody. ‘‘In this distressed and miserable condition, when life had become burthensome, and death would have been relief, was he marched from town to town, often threatened to be burned at the stake, and frequently compelled to run the gauntlet. “ On one of these occasions he broke the rank, determined at the risk of his life to make his escape; and had actually gained a considerable advantage of his foot pursuers, when he was met by some Indians coming to town on horseback, and compelled to surrender, “ At thirteen towns he ran the gauntlet, and was certainly to have been burned at the Lower Sandusky ; but an accident suspends his progress, and seems to change his destiny. “ At the Upper Sandusky resided Simon Girty, who had just returned from an unsuccessful ex¬ pedition against the frontiers of Pennsylvania, and in very bad humour. Hearing that there was a white prisoner in town, he sought him, fell upon him, threw him on the ground, and to colour his violence accused him of stealing the Indians’ horses. Butler, recognizing Girty, made himself known. They had been comrades and friends. Girty is astonished to find him in such a situation ; relents, raises him from the ground, offers him his hand, promises to save him from further in¬ jury, and to obtain his release from captivity. “ The horrors of his mind now yielded to the 84 A HISTORY OF THE cheering prospects of hope and better fortune * and the Mttle life which yet languished in his bruised and emaciated body became an object of his solicitude. “ A council was called, the case stated, and Girty’s influence obtained a decree of liberation in his favour. Girty now took him to his house, bestowed on him the rites of hospitality, washed his wounds, and dressed him in a new suit of clothes. “ For five days he was at liberty, and felt him¬ self recovering both strength and spirits. But such is the instability of a disorganised democracy, and the spirit of ferocity in uncivilized man, that the chiefs of several neighbouring towns, hearing that the white prisoner was set free, now became dissatisfied, and repairing to Sandusky, demanded another council. This was accordingly held, and the former decree in favour of Butler, notwith¬ standing all Girty’s exertions, promptly reversed. He is once more reduced to the condition of a pri¬ soner, and his former sentence of death renewed against him. Girty was now compelled to give him up, and he was marched away to Lower Sandusky, to be burned. At this place he met with Peter Drewyear, Indian agent from Detroit. Drewyear, from motives of humanity, interceded with the council, and obtained permission to take Butler with him on his return home. At Detroit he was given up to the British governor, and paroled, with orders to appear at nine o’clock each day, when the drum beat for parade. “ This partial freedom was solaced with joy by IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 85 meeting with Jesse Coffer, Nathaniel Bullock, and others, from Kentucky, who had been taken pri¬ soners by the Indians, and found safety for their lives at a British garrison. 44 In some short time, Butler and the men just named found means of escape, and, in 1779, re¬ turned to Kentucky, after a march of thirty days through the woods.”* Bomance has nothing equal to this simple story. It wants nothing of the grandeur of 44 Mazeppa” but the Polish foreground, which encloses so well that kindred legend of the wilderness. The State of Delaware, originally disputed between certain Connecticut settlers and Penn¬ sylvania, became, shortly before the Devolution, the home of several Irish families. In the con¬ tests of the two parties of settlers, Colonel Plun¬ kett, an Irishman, commanded what is called 44 the Pennyite” force, and Colonel Zebulon But¬ ler 44 the Yankees.” Among those who fell in this contest, special mention is made of 44 Thomas Neill, an Irishman of middle age, and the most learned man in the valley.” He joined the Yankees because, as he said, 44 they were the weakest side.” His captain, M 4 Karrachan, killed in the Wyoming massacre, was also an Irishman. He emigrated from Belfast in 1764, and was a magistrate of Westmoreland county before the war. It was a strange chance, in that memorable massacre, that the British commander was Colonel John Butler, a remote relative of the American defender, Colonel Zebulon Butler. If the Indian. * Marshall's Kentucky, vol. i. 36 A HISTOEY OP THE slaughter at that siege has aspersed with blood the name of the one, it has covered with glory that of the other.* This family of Butler, destined to give so many distinguished names to America, originated in Kilkenny. The founder of the Pennsylvanian house of that name emigrated, as Agent for Indian Affairs, towards the close of the seventeenth century. Attracted probably by his example or advice, other cadets of the Ormond stock had settled in Caro¬ lina and Kentucky, from whom many generals and senators have been furnished to the Union.f * The historian of Wyoming tells a pleasant anecdote of an Irish settler—“ an old man named Fitzgerald. The Indians and their allies placed him on a flax-brake, and told him he must renounce his rebel principles and declare for the king, or die. ‘ Well/ said the stout-hearted old fellow, ‘I am old, and have little time to live any how; and I had rather die now a friend of my country, than live ever so long, and die a Tory.’ They had magnanimity enough to let him go.”— Miner's History of Wyoming , p. 200. f The present General William 0. Butler, of Kentucky, And Pierce Butler, Senator for South Carolina, are of thi3 family. IKI3H SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 37 CHAPTER III. THE IRISH IN MASSACHUSETTS—IN NEW HAMP¬ SHIRE— IN MAINE—BISHOP BERKELEY IN RHODE ISLAND-HIS GIFT TO YALE COLLEGE. In the colony of Massachusetts Bay, prejudices against natives of Ireland existed from the begin¬ ning. At a meeting held in 1725, at Haverhill, for settling the town of Concord, it was resolved “that no alienation of any lot should be made without the consent of the community.” “ The object of this regulation,” says Mr. Moore, “un¬ doubtedly was to exclude Irish settlers, against whom a strong national prejudice existed, height¬ ened, perhaps, by zeal in differing religious opi¬ nions.”* And these were not individual pre¬ judices, for the General Court of the colony, claiming jurisdiction over the neighbouring terri¬ tory, resolved in 1720 : “ Whereas, it appears that certain families recently arrived from Ireland, and others from this province, have presumed to make a settlement,” &c. &c., “that the said people be warned to move off within the space of seven months ; and if they fail to do so, that they be prosecuted by thp attorney-general by writs of trespass and ejectment.” The Irish settlers would not be moved off, and it does not appear that the attorney-general ever tried his writs upon them. In the capital of New England (as the eastern * Jacob B. Moore’s Sketch of Concord, New Hampshire. Hist. Collections of New Hampshire, p. 155. 88 A HISTORY OF THE colonies began to be called) some Irish settlers had early homes. In 1787, forty gentlemen of the Irish nation,” residing at Boston, adopted the following programme of association : “ Whereas, several gentlemen, merchants, and others, of the Irish nation, residing in Boston, in New England, from an affectionate and compas¬ sionate concern for their countrymen in these parts who may be reduced by sickness, shipwreck, old age, and other infirmities and unforeseen acci¬ dents, have thought fit to form themselves into a charitable society for the relief of such of their poor, indigent countrymen, without any design of not contributing towards the provision of the town poor in general, as usual/’ The names of the twenty-six original members of this Society are as follows : “ Robert Duncan, Andrew Knox, Nathaniel Walsh, Joseph St. Lawrence, Daniel M‘Fall, William Drummond, William Freeland, Daniel Gibbs, John Noble, Adam Boyd, William Stewart, Daniel Neal, James Maynes, Samuel Moore, Philip Mortimer, James Egart, George Glen, Peter Pelham, John Little, Archibald Thomas, Edward Alderchurch, James Clark, John Clark, Thomas Bennett, and Patrick Walker.” In 1787, William Hall was President; in 1740, Robert Achmuty; in 1748, Neil M‘Intire; in 1757, Samuel Elliot; in 1784, Moses Black ; in 1791, Thomas English ; in same year, General Simon Elliot, junr., was elected ; in 1797, Andrew Dunlap ; and in 1810, Captain James M Gee. At the period of the foundation of the Chari- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 39 table Society, the Irish in Boston were chiefly Protestants, and the 8th Article of the Constitu¬ tion declared that none but Protestants were eligible to its offices or committees. The most absurd ideas of Irish inferiority prevailed. In 1752, an Irish servant was openly “ sold for four years.” Catholics, however, were “ tolerated,” and at the period of the Revolution there were several Catholic families in Boston, after which they rapidly increased.* In 1686, the Eacjle Wing, with 140 passengers, sailed from Carrickfergus to found a colony on the Merrimack. This vessel having put back by stress of weather, the project was for many years aban¬ doned. Towards the end of the seventeenth cen- * The following letter from Concord, Mass., furnishes some interesting particulars about a good man, one of the first settlers of that town : “ With some difficulty, I found the last resting-place of our countryman, Hugh Cargill. It is from the grave I write. It is marked by a plain slab, surmounted by an urn in relievo, on which is inscribed the initials of the de¬ ceased. The inscription is nearly defaced, but, after hard r ubbing, I made out the following: ‘ Here lies interred the remains of Hugh Cargill, late of Boston, wilt) died in Concord, January 12th, 1799, in the GOth year of his acre. Mr. Cargill was born in Ballyshannon, in Ireland ; came to tins country in the year 1774, destitute of the comforts of life; but by his industry and good economy, he acquired a good estate ; f demised?) to his wife, Rebecca Cargill; likewise, a large and generous donation to the town of Concord for benevolent pur¬ poses.’ “ Further down on the stone are the following lines : ‘ How strange, 0 God that reigns on high, That 1 should come so far to die ! And leave my friends where I was bred, To lay my bones w.th strangers’ dead ! But I have hopes, when I arise, To dwell with them in yonder skies.’ 40 A HISTORY OF THE tury, it was again revived, and “ the Londonderry settlement” was formed in the spring of 1719. It began with but sixteen families, who gave the name of their native home to their new abode. They were all Presbyterians in religion, mid of that Celtic stock first planted in Scotland from Ireland, then re-naturalized in the parent land previous to its deportation to the sterner, but more independent, soil of New England. Few settlements were more prosperous or productive of great men than this. “ In process of time,” says Barstow, “the descendants of the London¬ derry settlers spread over Windham, Chester, “ I find, in the statistics of the town, the following ad¬ ditional facts : “ ‘ Mr. Hugh Cargill bequeathed to the town the Stratton Farm, so called, which was valued in 1800, at 1,300 dollars, to be improved as a poor-house; and the same to be im¬ proved by and for the benefit of the poor, and to be under the special direction of the town of Concord for the time being, and for the purpose aforesaid, forever. “ ‘ This farm is now the pauper establishment. He also gave several other parcels of real estate, valued at 3,720 dollars, the income of which is solely to be applied for the benefit of the poor /—History of the Town of Concord. “ It is also said he gave the ground to build the Ortho¬ dox meeting-house, but I could not find for certain if this is so. “ He was present on the memorable 19tli of April, 1775, at the first battle for American liberty and rendered good service, together with one Bullock, in saving the town records from the ravages of the brutal soldiery. “ There was another eminent Irishman about the same time in Acton. If I find anything about him, I will send it; alon S- “ Yours, very truly, “John Grahai^.” IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 41 Litchfield, Manchester, Bedford, GofFstown, New Boston, Antrim, Peterborough, and Ackworth, in New Hampshire, and Barnet, in Vermont. The}' were also the first settlers of many towns in Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia. They are now, to the number of 20,000, scattered over all the States of the Union/** Cherry Valley, in New York, was also in part peopled from London¬ derry.! In the year 1728, the Irish settlement of Bel- * Barstow's “ New Hampshire/* p. 130. It may not be out of place to append here what I have been obliged to establish in detail elsewhere—the inaccuracy of certain New Hampshire orators and others, in inventing a mixed race whom they call “ Scotch-Irish.** To each of them we may say, as we have said to one of their best men : “When you assert that the M‘Clellands, Campbells, M‘Donalds, Magills, Fergusons, M‘Neils, M‘Gregors, &c., of Ulster, Scotland, and New Hampshire, are of a race 1 entirely distinct* from the O’Flings, Sullivans, and Murphys, of the same or adjoining settlements, you are, I repeat it, in error. We are the same people. Our original language is the same. Our fathers speaking a common Gaelic tongue, fought, intermarried, and prayed together. The ‘ Mac* is our joint inheritance, as the Norman prefix ‘de/ or the Saxon affix ‘son/ Time and ignorance have obscured the early connexion of the two nobler kingdoms ; and, 1 grant you, it is more flattering to New England pride to claim kin with Bruce and Burns, whom they do know, than with Brian and Carolan, whom they as yet know not. If, indeed, a ‘Wizard of the West* should arise, like him of the North, to throw enchantment round Ireland’s illustrious names, I have no doubt they also would find many anxious to claim kindred with them/* f M‘Kensie*s “ Remarkable Irishmen/* part i., where one of the Cherry Valiev families, named Campbell, is particu¬ larly noticed 42 A HISTOKY OF THE fast was established in Maine by a few families. Among these was a Limerick schoolmaster named Sullivan, who, on the outward voyage, had courted a female fellow-passenger, a native of Cork, to whom he was married some time after his arrival in America. This gentleman had two sons, John and James, whom the father and mother lived to see at the summit of civil and military authority. In 1775, James Sullivan founded in the same State the township called Limerick, from which city several of its first settlers were brought over. At Wellfieet, Cape Cod, and at Saybrook, Conn., we find some Longford emigrants, Hig¬ ginses and Reillys. One of the earliest settlers at Plymouth was the founder of the Higgins family, now so numerous in New England ; and the first deed of record in Hampden county, Mass., is an Indian transfer of land to one of the Reillys. The name of Ireland Parish, under Mount Hol¬ yoke, still shows the place of their settlement. Some Irish families also settled early at Palmer and Worcester, Mass. On a tombstone, in the old burial-place of the latter town, are the names of John Young, a native of Derry, who died in 1730, aged 107 ; and David Young, a native of Donegal, who died in 1776, aged 94 years. In 1761, 200 Irish emigrants settled in Nova Scotia. The town of Londonderry and county of Dublin were probably named by them. After the peace of 1763 a few Irish repaired to Canada, but there was no large emigration there till the begin¬ ning of the present century. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 48 One of the most interesting episodes in the early annals of our predecessors here is the voyage of Berkeley to New England, to found his long-pro¬ jected college of St. Paul’s, for the civilization of the red men. George Berkeley was a native of Kilkenny, born near Thomastown, in 1684. His “ Theory of Vision,” composed in his twentieth year, made his name familiar in Europe. After travelling through France and Italy, he was pro¬ moted to the rich deanery of Derry. In the year 1725 his mind became fully impressed with the project of founding a college for the conversion of the red race, which he broached the same year in a pamphlet entitled “ A Proposal for converting the savage Americans to Christianity, by a college to be erected in the Summer Islands, otherwise called the isles of Bermuda.”' After great exertions, certain lands in the West Indies, and an instal¬ ment of £10,000, were voted to him by the Eng¬ lish Parliament, to be paid over as soon as the project went into operation. He at once resigned his deanery, stipulating for a yearly salary of £100, and “ seduced some of the hopefullest young gentlemen” of Dublin University to accept professorships in the future St. Paul’s, at £40 per year.* In January, 1729, Berkeley and his com¬ panions arrived at Newport, B. I., after a long and stormy voyage. Here, the inconstancy of courts pursued him. He was kept in waiting three years for the money voted him by Parlia¬ ment, and finally assured by Walpole that there was no prospect of its ever being paid. In these * Swift’s Letter to Lord Cartaret—Swift’s Works* 44 A HISTOKY OF THE three years he was not inactive. He had a farm of ninety acres near Newport, where “ Whitehall,*' the house he inhabited, still stands. Tradition points out his favorite retreat for reading, among the rocks that project over the deep waters of Narraganset Bay. Here his son was born, here his “Minute Philosopher” was composed, and here, also, he wrote those grand lines, so poetical in conception— “ Westward the star of empire takes its way, The three first acts already past; * The fourth shall close it with the closing day. Earth’s noblest empire is the last.” When about to return to Ireland, in 1732, ho bequeathed his farm to Yale College, then in its infancy. He also presented it with “ the finest collection of books that ever came at one time into America.” f Thus, though his first design in favour of civilization was defeated, these private benefactions went far to suppl} T its place ; and the historian of American art will yet take pleasure in recording that the first organ which hymned the praise of God in New England, and the first artist that had dwelt amid its woods, were brought hither by the illustrious Bishop of Cloyne. This artist was the architect of Faneuil Hall, as first built, and the teacher of Copley, the first con¬ siderable native painter produced in the American Colonies. J * “ The three first acts”—Asia, Africa, and Europe. f Baldwin’s “ Annals of Yale College,” p. 417. X The artist’s name was Smibert; his picture of the, Berkeley family is in Yale College, Connecticut. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 45 CHAPTER IV. THE EMIGRANTS IN ARMS—ADVENTURE OF JOHN STARK—THE IRISH BRIGADE IN CANADA—INDIAN WARS —PEACE OF 1763 — DAWN OF THE REVOLU¬ TION. Franc© and England had early laid claim to the same American territory. France claimed through Cartier’s discovery; England through Cabot’s. France possessed the Gulf of St. Lawrence (ex¬ cepting Newfoundland), the banks of the Kennebec, the St. Lawrence, St. John, and Ottawa, Lakes Champlain and Ontario, and had its forts on the present sites of Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. French adventurers had sketched a magnificent arch of empire on the basis of the Atlantic, but the English settlements penetrated it as so many arrows, all pointed towards the west. Each power had its “ friendly Indians.” The New Hampshire settlers loosed the Penacooks on the French in Maine, and they, in return, used the Aroostooks against New Hampshire. Small expeditions were continually issuing from the settlements of each race, but no considerable armament was equipped until the expedition against Louisburg, Cape Breton, in 1744. William Vaughan of Portsmouth suggested this expedition ; Massachusetts furnished 3,000 men ; New Hamp¬ shire, 500 ; Rhode Island, 300 ; New York con¬ tributed cannon, and Pennsylvania a quantity of provisions. The place attacked was the Quebec 48 A HISTORY OF THE of that day, but it was forced to surrender to the gallantry and skill of the besiegers. This was in June, 1745. The military history of America dates from that remarkable event—the Trojan war of the future republic. An Indian frontier was continued in Vermont and New Hampshire for four years. In 1749 there was a truce, but in 1758 the barbarous strife was again renewed. In this year a striking story is told of four hunters from Londonderry, who had “ wandered in quest of game” into the territory of the Canadian Aroostooks. Two of them were scalped, and two taken prisoners. They were condemned at St. Francis to run the gauntlet. “ This consists in passing through two files of warriors, each of whom is privileged to give the prisoners a blow. The elder of the prisoners passed through first, and suffered little less than death. The younger and remaining one was a lad of sixteen years. When his turn came, he marched forward with a bold air, snatched a club from the nearest Indian, and attacked the warriors as he advanced on the lines, dealing the blows right and left with a merciless and almost deadly force. Nothing in the conduct of a prisoner so charms the savage mind as a haughty demeanour and contempt of death. The old men were amused and delighted; the young warriors were struck with admiration at the gallant bearing of the youthful captive. They next ordered him to hoe corn. He cut it up by the roots, declaring that such work was fit for squaws, but unworthy of warriors. From that period he became their IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 47 favourite. They adopted him as a son, and gave him the title of ‘ Young Chief.’ They dressed him in the highest style of Indian splendour, and decorated him with wampum and silver. It was not long after this that Captain Stevens was de¬ spatched on an embassy to Canada to redeem the captives. The first one offered him was their favourite } r oung chief. Captain Stevens received him at their hands with delight. But no one of the rude warriors recognized in the young chief of their affection, the future American General, John Stark.”* In 1754 Montcalm became Governor of Canada, and made active preparations for war. The Albany Conference for the union of the colonies was held, and though at that time the union miscarried, a greater harmony of action was established. The campaign of 1755 began with three expedi¬ tions against the French forts. In that against Crown Point, on Lake George, Captain M'Ginnes of New Hampshire “ fell on the French, at the head of 200 men, and completely routed them.” After turning the fortunes of the day, he fell, mortally wounded. The other two expeditions utterly failed. It w^as in covering the retreat of the one against Fort Du Quesne, that George Washington, then very young, first distinguished himself in arms. The war, at this juncture, brought the “ Irish * Barstow’s “ New Hampshire,” p. 139. The original name of Stark was Star-kie, or Stark-ey, as it is spelt on the monument of the father of the General at Stark’s Mills, New Hampshire. 48 A HISTORY OF THE Brigade” in the French armies to the Canadian frontier. They had Veen brought from the West Indies to the shores of the Saint Lawrence, for their country was with the lilies of France -wherever they might grow. In 175G-7 they were at Oswego, under Montcalm, and probably, parti¬ cipated in the capture of that fort, Fort George, and Fort William Henry.* Some of their num¬ ber, leaving the service of the Bourbons, settled in the new world, and one,*)* at least, attained to distinguished honours in after years under the flag of the Bepublic. In the campaigns of ’58 and ’59, fortune again returned to the British side. Louisburg was re¬ taken, and Fort Du Quesne carried. Ticonderoga was at first assailed in vain, with terrible loss to the besiegers, but was taken at the second attack, as Niagara and finally Quebec were also. In 1760 English arms ended the dominion of the French in Canada, as, twenty years later, French aid ended that of England at Yorktown. So one nail drove out the other. The treaty of Paris in 1768 gave America one master less ; the treaty of Paris, 1783, gave her almost complete indepen¬ dence. Among the officers who commanded under Wolf, at the capture of Quebec, was an Irish * O’Callaghan, “ Documentary History of New York.” It is strange that Forman, in his “ Memoir of the Brigade,” and Matthew O’Connor, in his “ Military Memoirs,” make no mention of their having seen the American “ mainland.” t General Hand. In memory of this celebrated legion, a portion of the Pennsylvania line, during the war of the Revolution, styled themselves 11 The Irish Brigade.” IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 49 gentleman, Bichard Montgomery, then in Lis twenty-first year. He held the rank of colonel. John Stark, John Sullivan, and others, served their apprenticeship in the same Canadian war. Other days, and heavier responsibilities, were re¬ served for these brave men. Each colony had its own Indian wars, which were the constant schools of the future soldiers of the Bevolution. The formidable Delawares and Hurons kept the settlers of Pennsylvania and Western New York constantly on the alert, and trained to hardy enterprise the defenders of the new clearings. The power of the Delawares was not thoroughly broken till after the Bevolution, during the pro¬ gress of which they were formidable auxiliaries to the Tories and British. Many terrible stories of their cruelties and punishment yet linger in the valley of the Susquehanna. The escape of Pike, an Irish deserter from the British army, and three others, from ten Indian sentinels near Tioga Point, is one of the best of these anecdotes, and might have furnished a subject to the author of the “ Leather-stocking Tales.” Though less abused than Simon Butler, Pike required equal courage and skill to overcome his guard, and tread back his way to Wyoming. But it was on the southern frontier, adjoining the Spanish settlements, that Indian warfare was most formidable and implacable. The Spanish authorities in Florida constantly urged forward the fierce Yemasses to the re-conquest of the Carolinas. From the commencement of the cen- 50 A HISTORY OF THE tury to the war of independence, the settlers on the Santee and Savannah never knew repose. The names of Governor Moore, Captains Lynch and Kearns, and of Marion frequently appear as defenders of the whites. In this most trying warfare was trained that dauntless guerilla host, afterwards famous as “ Marion’s Men,” among whom the names of Colonels Horry and M‘Donald, of Captains Conyers and M‘Cauley, are so con¬ spicuous. The peace of 1768 had scarcely been promul¬ gated when the question of taxing the colonies, in. London, was raised. In the British Parliament, in 1764, it was first nakedly brought forward. Previous to this they had submitted to many arbitrary prohibitions on their woollen and iron manufactures, and their West Indian imports. In March, 1764, “ the Stamp Act” was enacted at London, and Dr. Franklin wrote to Charles Thompson, one of the Irish settlers of Pennsyl¬ vania : “ The sun of liberty is set; the Americans must light The lamps of industry and economy.” To which Thompson replied : “Be assured we shall light torches of quite another sort.” In the Virginia Assembly, Patrick Henry, a gentleman of Scottish origin, in the beginning of 1765, ex¬ claimed : “ Caesar had his Brutus, Charles had his Cromwell, and George III. (being interrupted with the cry of ‘ Treason!’ he added) may profit by their example. If that be treason, make the most of it!” In the preliminary moral contest, which arose xmiversally, the Irish settlers were not unrepre- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 51 sented. John Rutledge, in South Carolina, was the first man whose eloquence roused that State to the lever of resistance. In the east, Langdon and Sullivan seized the guns at Newcastle which thundered at Bunker Hill. In Virginia Patrick Henry was the first to declare for the choice, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” And Washington, at Valley Forge, is reported to have said : “ Place me in Rockbridge county, and I’ll get men enough to save the Revolution.” In Maryland, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, over the signature of “ First Citizen,” maintained the rights of the people in a long and spirited con¬ troversy with Daniel Dulany, the royalist cham¬ pion, “ who had long stood the leading mind of Maryland.” His services were well appreciated, and public meetings at Baltimore, Frederick, and Annapolis confirmed the title he had assumed, and Maryland proudly owned Charles Carroll for her “First Citizen.” Charles Thompson, of Pennsylvania, afterwards Secretary to Congress, was also one of the earliest and most fearless advocates of the principles on which the Revolu¬ tion proceeded that the country could reckon; and, happily, there was no scarcity of such men of any European race 62 A History of the CHAPTER V. OPENING- OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA—IRISH AT BUNKER’S HILL-DEATH OF MAJOR M* CLARY- GENERAL KNOX-THE CLINTONS—THE PENNSYL¬ VANIAN LINE—MOYLAN’S DRAGROONS. The period of that eventful revolution in which the emigrants, who had chastised the savages and ex¬ pelled the French, were to turn the firelocks and cannon of England against herself, now opens before us. From the period of the Albany Conference of 1754, the idea of confederation had filled the minds of the thoughtful, and from the capture of Louisburgh, the sense of self-protection animated the bold. It needed only in England a meddling minister and a perverse prince to bring forth the great resistant qualities of the colonies—and these appeared in perfection in Lord North and George III. It is not our place to enter into the preliminaries of this glorious contest further than to say, that the whole Irish race threw their weight into the colonial scale. The Irish Commons refused to vote £45,000 for the war. The Irish in England, headed by Burke, Barre, and Sheridan, spoke and wrote openly in defence of America ; and the Irish in France, where several of them then held con¬ siderable employments, were equally zealous. Counts MAIahon, Dillon, and Roche Fermoy, General Conway, and other experienced officers, held themselves ready to volunteer into the IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 58 American service ; and afterwards, at the desire of the American agents in Paris, did so. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, hut the Tea Tax was enacted in 1767. This measure led to the general combination which had its corre¬ sponding committee in every town and village, and which finally ripened into the Continental Army and Continental Congress. The first overt act was the massacre of some citizens of Boston in State-street, by a party of riotous red-coats. One of these earliest victims was a native of Ireland. The next aggression was on the other side, and of far greater significance. News having reached Portsmouth, New Hamp¬ shire, that the export of gunpowder into America was “ proclaimed,” Major John Sullivan and John Langdon, with a company of the townsmen, sur¬ prised the fort at Newcastle, took the captain and five men, carried off one hundred barrels of gun¬ powder, fifteen light cannon, and the entire of the small arms, all of which afterwards did effectual service at Bunker Hill. For this act Sullivan and Langdon were elected to the Con¬ tinental Congress, which met in May, 1775, and the former was, the same year, appointed by that body one of the eight brigadiers-general of the first American army. In April, 1775, open war began at Lexington. "When the British forces were beaten back into Boston, Thomas Cargill, of Ballyshannon, settled at Concord, saved the town records from their ravages, and entered heartily in the war. The American companies formed at Cambridge, their chief outwork being on Bunker Hill, behind Char- 54 A HISTORY OF THE lestown, divided by the Charles river from Boston. They were commanded by General Artemas Ward, who stationed behind the breastwork, on the left of the main body, 800 New Hampshire militia under Stark and Reid, both of Londonderry.* Here the first act of hostilities befell, and nobly did the conscripts of the colonies hold their own. After a great destruction of the enemy, they slowly retired to an adjacent bill, where they were re¬ formed, and placed under the command of Briga¬ dier-General Sullivan. Major Andrew M‘Clary, whose great size and desperate valour made him peculiarly conspicuous, fell while crossing “ the * The contribution of the Irish settlement in New Hamp¬ shire to the revolutionary forces may be judged from the share of the small town of Bedford—Col. Daniel Moor, Major John Goffe, Capt. Thomas M'Laughlin, Lt. Joh. Patten. Joh. Patten, junr., Sam. Patten, Jas. Patten, Robert Patten, John Gault, Isaac Riddle, John Riddle, Amos Martin, Jas. Martin, Stephen Goffe (lost at sea), Hugh Horton (died in service), Burns Chandler (taken at the Cedars, and never after heard of), Samuel Moor, Samuel Barr, John Coilahan (killed), James Moor, Robert Cornell, Ira Greer, Jones Cutting, Wm. Parker, John Hillier, John M‘Allister, Barnet M’Clair, John Griffer, Luke Gardiner, Robert Victorey, Robert Dalrymple (killed), Danl. Larkin, Samuel Patterson, James Patterson, Solomon Hemp (killed), John O’Neil, John Dorr (killed), George Hogg, Wm. Houston, White field Gilmore, Zacliariah Chandler, James Houston, Valentine Sullivan (taken prisoner in the retreat from Canada, and died), John Ross, John Steel, Stephen March, Robert Morril, John Tyrril, Patrick O’Murphv, Patrick O’Fling, Calvin Johnson (died in ser¬ vice, David Riddle, John Gardiner, and eighteen others, of whom three died in service.— Hist. Coll, of N. H., vol i. p. 291. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 55 Neck.” Eighteen others of Stark and Reid’s command were killed, and eightv-nine were wounded in the same eventful field. The army awaited at Cambridge the arrival of General Washington, appointed Commander-in- chief by the Continental Congress, in session at Philadelphia, on the same week the battle of Bun¬ ker Hill was fought. It is necessary to inquire what forces the new Commander-in-chief had at his disposal, and, for our purpose, what part of those forces were derived from Irish settlements. At the first Council of War, held at Cambridge (July 9th, 1775), it was found that “ the Conti¬ nental Army,” then investing Boston, was nomi¬ nally 17,000 strong, but actually but 14,000. It was resolved to prosecute the siege, but that 22,000 were necessary. Of the four majors- general (Ward, Lee, Schuyler, and Putnam), none were Irish ; of the eight brigadiers-general, two, Richard Montgomery, of New York, and John Sullivan, of New Hampshire, were Irish. Of the other officers we cannot now say what precise pro¬ portion our nation contributed ; but we will find, in the course of the war, that a full third of the active chiefs of the army were of Irish birth or descent. Of the rank and file, New Hampshire’s contingent were in great part of Irish origin; and in other colonies, recruiting prospered most in the Irish townships. Tl^e command of the ordnance department was a post of the greatest importance, and the selec¬ tion made by Washington in this case was most fortunate. Henry Knox, born in Boston, in 8 56 A HISTORY OF THE 1750, was the son of Irish parents. Though early left an orphan, with a widowed mother to support, he had risen against circumstances from a book¬ binder’s apprentice to be a prosperous publisher and a persevering student of tactics. He had early joined a local grenadier company, and learned with them the manual exercise. Married into the family of a British official, he never swerved from the cause of his country. He suc¬ ceeded in inspiring his wife with his own patriot¬ ism, and in June both escaped from the city, she concealing on her person the sword with which her husband fought at Bunker Hill. Knox now undertook to bring to Cambridge the cannon taken on Lake Champlain by Ethan Allen ; and, after incredible exertions against the difficulties of tran¬ sit in those days, succeeded. These and Sullivan’s guns formed the first artillery of the United States army, and Knox became its first master of ord¬ nance. The Irish in New York early enlisted in the cause of the Revolution, and James Clinton, in 1775, was elected colonel of the third regiment raised in that colony. His brother-in-law, Col. James M‘Cleary, commanded in the same militia, and is called “ one of the bravest officers America can boast.”* The elder brother, George Clinton, after the death of Montgomery, was appointed brigadier-general for New York ; and in 1776, with his two kinsmen, gallantly defended the un¬ finished forts on the Hudson, and held the High¬ lands against the repeated assaults of Sir H. * Quoted in Hoosick’s Life of De Witt Clinton. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 57 Clinton.* By this check, he prevented the junc¬ tion of that commander with General Burgoyne, which, with General Stark’s victory at Benning¬ ton, cut him off from either base, and compelled his surrender at Saratoga—a victory which com¬ pleted the French alliance, and saved the revolu¬ tionary cause. In Pennsylvania, where the Irish were more densely settled, their martial ardour was equally conspicuous. They inhabited chiefly in Ulster and Chester counties, and in Philadelphia. In the summer of 1775, Congress ordered the rais¬ ing of several regiments in Pennsylvania, and, among the rest, gave commissions as colonel to Anthony Wayne, William Irving, William Thomp- * On one occasion the brothers narrowly escaped cap¬ ture. The anecdote is related by Dr. Joseph Young, a con¬ temporary, who says, at the taking of the forts, “ they both remained until it grew dark, and got mixed up with the enemy. The governor escaped in a boat to the east side of the river, and James slid down the very steep bank of a creek which ran near the redoubt, and fell into the top of a hemlock tree, and made his escape by going up the bed of the brook, in which there was but little water at the time. When the enemy rushed into the redoubt, Colonel M'Cleary and a Mr. Humphrey, the cock of whose musket had been shot off, turned back to back, and defended them¬ selves desperately. They were assailed on all sides, and would undoubtedly have been killed; but a British sena¬ tor, who witnessed their spirit and bravery, cried out that it would be a pity to kill such brave men. They then rushed on and seized them; and when the colonel was brought to the British General Clinton, he asked where his friend George was ? The colonel replied, “ Thank God, he is safe beyond the reach of your friendship.”— Washington and his Generals,v ol. ii. p. 206. 58 A HISTORY OF THE son, Walter Stewart, Stephen Moylan, and Richard Butler, all Irishmen. The regiments of Wayne, Irving, Butler, and Stewart, formed part of the famous “ Pennsylvania Line.” Thompson’s was a rifle regiment. Moylan, a native of Cork, after being aide-de-camp to Washington and commis- sary-g^neral, was finally transferred to the com¬ mand of the dragoons; and in almost every severe action of the war where cavalry could ope¬ rate, we meet with the fearless “ Moylan’s Dra¬ goons.” Dr. Edmund Hand, who came to Canada with the Irish Brigade as surgeon, was appointed lieutenant-colonel in Thompson’s regiment, and on the first of March, 1776, raised to the full rank of colonel, from which, on the first of April, 1777, he was promoted to be “brigadier-gene¬ ral.” Colonel Butler, a sound shoot of the Ormond tree, and his five sons, displayed equal zeal, and merited from Lafayette the compliment, that when¬ ever he “ wanted anything well done, he got a Butler to do it.” So actively did these gentle¬ men exert themselves, that on the 14th of August, 1776, a great part of the Pennsylvania Line ar¬ rived in the camp at Cambridge, which enabled Washington, by the beginning of September, to put his p ans for the siege of Boston into execution. While in camp at Cambridge, the Commander- in-chief planned the expedition against Canada. This was to be undertaken in two divisions ; that of Arnold to penetrate by the Kennebec and the forests of Maine ; that of Montgomery to ad¬ vance by the Sorel and St. Lawrence. Both were to unite at Quebec. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 59 CHAPTEB VI. THE CANADIAN EXPEDITION-DEATH OF MONT¬ GOMERY-BURIAL REFUSED TO HIS REMAINS BY THE BRITISH—RETREAT OF THE INVADING CORPS- THOMPSON, SULLIVAN, AND GATES IN COMMAND- ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE-STARIi’s VICTORY AT BENNINGTON—SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. It was not without deep reflection that General Washington, at Cambridge, ordered the advance of two invading divisions into Canada. The one was placed under Arnold, a brave soldier assuredly, but one who cast away the jewel of fidelity, and left a figure in the annals of that glorious war over which his country would long since have drawn a veil, were it not useful to perpetuate the infamy of treason for the terror of the venal and the warning of the weak. The head of the other corps was not a braver, but a much better man—a soldier without re¬ proach as well as without fear. Bichard Mont¬ gomery was then in his thirty-ninth year, having been born in Ireland in 1736. He had distin¬ guished himself, at the age of twenty-three, in the second siege of Louisburg, and served as colonel under Wolfe at the capture of Quebec. After spending nine years in Europe, he emigrated to New York, and made his home at Bhinebeck, Duchess county. He had married a lady every way worthy of him, the daughter of Chancellor Livingston, and looked forward to a life of peace spent in the pursuits of agriculture. In accepting 60 A HISTORY OF THE the appointment in Jane, 1775, he wrote, “ The Congress having done me the honour of electing me brigadier-general in their service, is an event which must put an end for a while, perhaps for ever, to the quiet scheme of life I had prescribed for myself; for though entirely unexpected and undesired by me, the will of an oppressed people, compelled to choose between liberty and slavery, must be obeyed.” Major-General Schuyler, hav¬ ing fallen ill at Ticonderoga, the sole command devolved on Montgomery, who certainly conducted it with rare judgment. Fort Chambly and St, John were successively taken. Montreal was cap¬ tured, and, in the midst of a Canadian winter, he pressed on his men towards Quebec, where Arnold’s party were already arrived. On the 1st of De¬ cember Montgomery took the chief command. An eye-witness has graphically sketched his first review of his troops. “ It was lowering and cold, but the appearance of the general here gave us warmth and animation. He was well-limbed, tall, and handsome, though his face was much pock¬ marked. His air and manner designated the real soldier. He made us a short but energetic and ele- . gant speech, the burthen of which was in applause of our spirit in crossing the wilderness, a hope our perseverance in that spirit would continue, and a promise of warm clothing ; the latter was a most comfortable assurance. A few huzzas from our freezing bodies were returned to this address of the gallant hero. New life was infused into the whole corps.”* It was the last day of that me- * Mass. Hist Coll. vol. i. TTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 61 morable year, 1775, before the arrangements for assaulting Quebec were complete. In two bodies, Arnold's towards the suburb of St. Roque, and Montgomery’s by the river bank, they advanced to the attack. It was the night of the 81st of December. The St. Lawrence was floored with ice ; the shore, the pine woods, the distant fort¬ ress, all wore the white livery of winter in the north. The divisions were to communicate by rockets, and Arnold was already at the Palace Gate, when a severe wound obliged him to yield his command to Morgan. Montgomery had reached Point Diamond by a road guarded by an out¬ work of two guns. At daybreak, perceiving the Americans so near, the Canadian militia, in whose charge the work was, deserted their post; but a New England sea-captain, who had slept in the work, before leaving, applied a match to one of the loaded guns, and by this chance shot Mont¬ gomery was killed.* The artillery from the main fortress now played in the same direction, and when the winter’s day had fairly come, a party of British soldiers found, lying dead on the frozen ground, with three wounds in his breast, and his sword arm stretched towards Quebec, the remains of the gallant general, surrounded by several of his staff, all lifeless. Both corps, deprived of their chief officers, fell back from the fatal walls, and retreated along the bank of the river. As to the dead, Sir G. Carleton at first refused the chief the poor courtesy of a coffin,f * Hawkins’ History of Quebec. f Mass. Hist. Collection, vol. i. p. 3—year 1702.; 62 A HISTORY OF THE and the prayer of a woman at length obtained Christian burial for the remains of those brave gentlemen, who left their homes, and friends, and wives, to perish in that pitiless climate for the cause of their unstipendiary devotion. As yet America had no flag, no Declaration of Indepen¬ dence, and no Articles of Confederation. Mont¬ gomery knew that he risked the fate of a rebel; but even that could not deter him from his duty. Three generals have fallen at Quebec under three different flags. All were-brave, all merciful, all young. Montcalm, with blood ardent as the wine of his own France; Wolfe, with a courage as indomitable as the enterprise of his island, which can wring a prize from every rock ; Mont¬ gomery, the last and best of all, with soul as noble as his cause, and honour bright as his own sword. Three deaths, Quebec, do consecrate thy rock ; three glories crown it like a tiara ! Of the three, his death was the saddest, and even so ha3 his glory become brightest of them all. Tributes of respectful condolence poured in from all distinguished Americans to Montgomery’s widow ; the nation mourned him as its eldest child, its proto-martyr ; and, forty years after his fall, New York gathered together his ashes, and entombed them in the most conspicuous church of its great city. The widow of the hero, deso¬ late to death, assisted at these last sad honours to the memory of “ her soldier,” for whom she still retained all the ardent affection of her girlhood. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 68 The retreat from Quebec was at first committed to Generals Wooster and Arnold, and afterwards to Brigadier-General William Thompson. Under the latter, the remnant of the American army fought, in the spring of 1776, the unsuccessful battle of Three Bivers. General Sullivan was then despatched to take the command, and hoped to regain much of what had been lost, when the forces were placed under General Gates, who slowly retreated before Burgoyne into New York. Burgoyne advanced steadily towards the Hud¬ son, sending out a large party, under Colonel Baum, to forage in Vermont, or, as it was then called, “the New Hampshire Grants.” John Stark was ; at the time in New Hampshire, having retired from the service in consequence of the injus¬ tice done him by Congress in raising junior officers over him. But his native State now called him to lead a new militia of its own, irrespective of the continental army, and with these he fell on Baum, at Bennington, on the 14th of August, cut up his division, captured his guns, stores, and colours. The Clintons, somewhat earlier in the month, had prevented relief reaching Burgoyne through the valley of the Hudson ; and so, in September, that clever play-wright, but ill-starred soldier, was compelled to lay down his arms, and surrender to the Americans under General Gates. Thus, the remnant of the Canadian army, rein¬ forced and rested, became in turn the conquerors ; and John Stark, recently censured for insubordi¬ nation, was forthwith raised to the rank of major- 64 A HISTORY OF THE general.* Among the American loss at Benning¬ ton was Captain M‘Clary, whose relative fell at Bunker’s Hill. CHAPTER VII. IRISHMEN IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY— COMMODORE BARRY-CAPTAIN M‘GEE-CAPTAIN O’BRIEN- MIDSHIPMAN M‘DONOUGH—PURSER MEASE — barry’s lieutenants, Murray, dale, decatur, AND STEWART. The organisation of the infant navy of the United States was one of the heaviest anxieties of the first Congress. Among a people bred to the use of arms, and annually involved in Indian warfare, it was a much easier matter to raise an army than, out of the limited shipping of the young seaports, to find vessels and officers to whom the national flag could be entrusted on the other element. Fortune had thrown in the way of Washington a man most useful for this department of the public service. This was John Barry, a native of the parish of Tacumshane, Wexford county, Ireland. Barry was born in the year 1745, the son of “ a snug farmer,” and had but to step out * The British guns taken by Stark were captured with Hull at Detroit, in the war of 1812. The old hero was dreadfully annoyed at the intelligence. “ My guns ! my guns !” he would exclaim, and even thought of returning to active service, in order to wipe out that disgraceful event. IKISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 65 of his own door to stand beside the sea. He conceived so strong a love for a sailor’s life that, at fourteen or fifteen years of age, he crossed the Atlantic, and began to sail to and from Phila¬ delphia. He rose from one trust to another, teaching himself as he rose, till, at twenty-five years of age, he was captain of the Black Prince, one of the finest London and Philadelphia packets, afterwards a vessel of war. Mr. Kese Meredith was the owner of this ship, and Washington’s host when in Philadelphia. It was in his house the illustrious Virginian met and marked the future commodore. In the latter part of 1775 Congress had pur¬ chased a few merchant ships, and hastily fitted them up as vessels of war. Captain Barry was given the command of the principal, the Lexington; and in another, the Alfred , Paul Jones entered as first lieutenant. These vessels both lay in the Delaware, and when the flag of the Union was agreed on, they were the first to hoist it afloat. Uiom the Lexington, in 1776, Barry was trans¬ ferred to the frigate Effingham, and while the Delaware was frozen that winter, served on land, acting as aide-de-camp to General Cadwallader at the battle of Trenton. In 1777, the British fleet destroyed the two or three ships of Congress in the Delaware, but Barry conceived and executed many most successful manoeuvres, such as cap¬ turing store-ships and intercepting supplies, in the small craft and in armed boats. Washington publicly thanked him and his men for these effec¬ tive services. In 1778-9, he commanded the 66 A HISTORY OF THE Belief , and received the rank of Commodore, being the first on whom it was conferred. In 1781, he brought the American agent to France in his new ship, the Alliance , and on his way home captured the British ship Atalanta , and British brig Tres- pasa , both in the same battle. Captain Barry w r as badly wounded in the action, but continued to give orders till the enemy struck.. In 1781, he brought Lafayette and Count Noailles to France; and in 1782 engaged three British frigates in the West Indian waters, who retired badly damaged. This was the last year of the war. From 1788 till his death, Barry was constantly engaged in superintending the progress of the navy. He induced the government to adopt the model for ships of war which has been found so well suited to its uses. He was particularly fond of aiding the younger officers in the service, and we shall see what his “ boys” came to be. He was an exceedingly affable and hospitable man, and, what is unfortunately not usual in his profession, practically religious. He died in September, 1808, and his chief legacy was to the Catholic Orphan Asylum. He has been called by naval writers “The Father of the American Navy.” He is buried in St. Joseph’s, Philadelphia. The personal character of Commodore Barry was made of noble stuff. When Lord Howe tempted him with a vast bribe, and the offer of a British ship of the line, he replied, “ he had devoted himself to the cause of his country, and not the value or command of the whole British IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 67 fleet could seduce him from it.” He never was ashamed of his native land, and after the peace of Paris paid a visit to the place of his birth, which fact is still remembered with gratitude in his native parish. When hailed by the British frigates in the West Indies, and asked the usual questions as to the ship and captain, he answered, “The United States ship Alliance , saucy Jack Barry—half Irishman, half Yankee. Who are you ?” In 1778, Captain James M*Gee, while com¬ manding “in the service of the Commonwealth,” was shipwrecked in Massachusetts Bay, and seventy-two of his men lost. The survivor/were very kindly treated by the inhabitants of Ply¬ mouth, who also “ decently buried such bodies as were recovered.”* In 1791, Captain James M‘Gee was admitted a member of the Irish Charitable Society of Boston, and, in 1810, was its president. Captain Bernard lVPGee was ad¬ mitted the same time. I regret that I have been able to find no further data about either of these officers. One of the earliest prizes carried into the United States was a British ship, captured by Captain O’Brien, and brought into Marblehead. We have searched in vain for further mention of O’Brien during the war. On board the other ships of the new navy there were several Irish officers of minor grades, some of whom afterwards rose to independent commands. * Holmes’ “ American Annals,” vol. ii. p. 293. 68 A HISTORY OF THE In the quarrel between America and France, or rather the Directory, one of the severest actions fought was that of the Constellation , commanded by Commodore Truxton, with the French frigate Ulnsurgente. In this action, Midshipmen Porter and James M‘Donough distinguished themselves. The former was of Irish descent, the latter of Irish birth. Mr. M‘Donough had his foot shot off, and was obliged to retire from the navy ; but his younger brother, Thomas, who entered the same year, more than justified the expectations of the friends of that family. Their father, Major M‘Donough, had settled at Newcastle," Delaware, shortly before the birth of Thomas, who used to say of himself that “ his keel was laid in Ireland, but he was launched in America.” Major M‘Donough died in 1796. Mr. Matthew Mease, Purser in the Bon Homm* Richard, with Paul Jones, was a very brave man. In the conflict with the Serapis frigate, he begged to be allowed to direct the quarter deck guns, which he did very gallantly, till, says Paul Jones, “ being dangerously wounded in the head, I was obliged to fill his place.” He was most respec¬ tably connected in Philadelphia, where he died in 1787. Under Commodore Barry some of the most brilliant ornaments of the American Navy were trained, such as Murray, Dale, Decatur, and Stewart, all of whom became conquerors and commodores. Dale, especially, was a favourite of “ the Father of the Navy,” and his noble conduct through life fully justified the . confidence placed IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 69 in liis character by Barry from the first day of his entering under his charge. In the war of 1812, Barry’s pupils all rose to eminent distinction, as we shall find when we arrive at that period. CHAPTER VIII. DISSATISFACTION AT CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL PRO¬ MOTIONS—GENERALS ROCHE FERMOY AND AN¬ DREW LEWIS - THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1777 AND 1778 IN NEW JERSEY-“ MAD ANTHONY WAYNE.” ADJUTANT - GENERAL HAND - ‘* THE CONWAY CABAL”-COLONEL FITZGERALD, AIDE-DE-CAMP TO WASHINGTON—HIS GALLANTRY AT PRINCETON- CONTRIBUTION OF THE IRISH MERCHANTS OF PHI¬ LADELPHIA. The dissatisfactions which invariably arise when military promotions are arbitrarily made by the civil power, we have seen driving the gallant Stark from the service of the Revolution. He was not the only officer so dissatisfied by the congressional mode of promotion. Schuyler, Sullivan, and others, were several times on the eve of resigna¬ tion, from being inconsiderately treated. Briga¬ dier Roche Fermoy and Brigadier Armstrong had actually retired for similar reasons. Roche Fer¬ moy was originally an Irish officer in the service of France. In the New Jersey campaign of 1778 he was at the head of the corps of observation “ appointed to receive and communicate” reports of the enemy’s movements to Washington. After 70 A HISTORY OF THE resigning his commission to Congress, he re¬ turned to France, where an essay on “ The Mili¬ tary Resources of Ireland” was published in his name. It is a pamphlet of extraordinary merit, both for style and science. The retirement that Washington most regretted was that of General Andrew Lewis, the son of Irish parents, born in Augusta county, Virginia. They had served to¬ gether in the India wars and at Fort Necessity, and the commander-in-chief was strongly pre¬ possessed in his favour. He died in 1778 on his return from the Ohio,where he reduced the Indian tribes to submission—for the time being at least. After Lafayette, the most constant and con¬ spicuous figure in the campaigns of 1777 and 1778 (chiefly fought upon the Delaware) was Anthony Wayne. In February, 1777, he had been promoted to a brigade, and at the Brandy¬ wine in September, and on the Schuylkill in Oc¬ tober, he was the most conspicuous chief. At “ the drawn battle” of Germantown he held the first place, and during the dismal winter in Valley Forge he kept the field, foraging right and left. In the battle of Monmouth (June, 1778) he turned the fortune of the day, and won the special thanks of Washington and Congress. But his two most brilliant actions followed—the capture of Stony Point and the battle of Bergen Neck. Stony Point, on the Hudson, commanded the King’s Ferry, the usual route from the eastern to the midland states. It also formed the key of the Highlands. On two sides it was washed by the river, on the third guarded by a deep and IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 71 wide morass. Art had fortified what nature had made strong, and 600 infantry garrisoned the for¬ midable fortress. Major Stewart, his countryman and brother-in-law, with Colonels Fleury, Febiger, and Meigs, commanded under the general. The force arrived before the fort at eight o’clock of a July night, and carried it by one of the most dashing assaults in military history. Universal applause hailed this brilliant exploit. The action of Bergen Neck was fought the week following. General Irvine was with Wayne, and Moylan’s Dragoons acted a conspicuous part. The enemy were compelled to cross the Hudson, and seek for safety under the walls of New York. For his daring valour in this expedition, Wayne obtained in the army the soubriquet of “ Mad Anthony.” Another Pennsylvania Irishman figured in these same campaigns almost as conspicuously as Wayne. General Hand’s corps, “ up to the battle of Tren¬ ton,” “ was distinguished in every action of the war.” In October, 1778, he succeeded General Stark in the command at Albany, and conducted a successful expedition against the five Indian nations whose conquest was completed by Sulli¬ van the following year. In 1780, on the forma¬ tion of the light' infantry corps, he and General Poor were appointed to the two brigades. In this campaign, after chastising the perfidious Delawares, Sullivan and his officers were entertained at a banquet by the citizens of Wyoming. Colonel Butler presided, and one of the regular toasts was, “ May the kingdom of Ireland merit a stripe in the American standard.” In 1781, General 72 A HISTORY OF THE Hand was appointed adjutant-general, an office he continued to hold till the army was disbanded. In 1798, when Washington consented to act again as Commander-in-chief, he recommended General Hand's re-appointment as adjutant-general. He was frequently honoured with civil appointments, and, in 1790, was one of the authors of the con¬ stitution of Pennsylvania. In the army he was remarkable for his “ noble horsemanship," and his favourite horses have been often mentioned by his comrades as 44 an active grey," and “ a sorrel roan remarkable for lofty action." General Hand died at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1803. His life ought to be written in detail. We have here to record a less grateful fact connected with a distinguished Irish officer. It was during the New Jersey campaigns that “ the Conway Cabal," as it is called, exploded. This was an attempt, on the part of several officers, traceable mainly to the ambition of General Gates, to deprive Washington of the command-in-chief, and to substitute that general in his stead. Gates, Schuyler, Lee, and others were parties to this movement, which was finally revealed by Lafayette, and broken up. General Conway, who had come from France at the first outbreak, and ranked as brigadier-general, after a quarrel and duel with General Cadwallader, returned home, first writing Washington a manly and regretful letter. The cabal has been called by his name mainly, we believe, for the sake of the alliteration.* * General Sullivan, in his letter to Washington, says Conway was u imprudently led into the cabal.” IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 73 In North Carolina there had been constant operations throughout the war, and the cause of the Revolution had sustained a severe loss at the outset by the death of Brigadier-General Moore (grandson of Governor Moore), in 1775. His most active successor in the state seems to have been James Hogan, also of Irish origin, who en¬ tered the service as paymaster of the third regi¬ ment in 1776, and the same month was made major of the Edenton and Halifax regiment. Hogan’s services were more onerous than bril¬ liant; in 1799 he was appointed brigadier-gene¬ ral in the line, with a view to the required opera¬ tions in his neighbourhood. It would be impossible, did we descend from the officers of the first rank, to record all the heroic actions performed by those of lower stand¬ ing through these two critical campaigns. The name of Colonel Fitzgerald, Washington’s fa¬ vourite aide-de-camp, deserves specal mention. The most striking event, in his long and honour¬ able career, befel him at Princeton. We shall let the heir of his general record it, as he had it from the lips of the actors themselves. “ Col. Fitzgerald,” says Mr. G. Washington Custis, “ was an Irish officer in the old Blue and Bluffs, the first volunteer company raised in the South, in the dawn of the Revolution, and com¬ manded by Washington. In the campaign of 1778, and retreat through the Jerseys, Fitzgerald was appointed aide-de-camp to Washington. At the battle of Princeton occurred that touching scene, consecrated by history to everlasting re- 74 A HISTORY OF THE membrance. The American troops, worn down by hardships, exhausting marches, and want of food, on the fall of their leader, that brave old Scotchman, General Mercer, recoiled before the bayonets of the veteran foe. Washington spurred his horse into the interval between the hostile lines, reigning up with the charger’s head to the foe, and calling to his soldiers, ‘ Will you give up your general to the enemy ?’ The appeal was not made in vain. The Americans faced about, and the arms were levelled on both sides—Washing¬ ton between them—even as though he had been placed there as a target for both. It was at this moment that Fitzgerald returned from carrying an order to the rear ; and here let us use the gallant veteran’s own words. He said : 4 On my return, I perceived the general immediately between our line and that of the enemy, both lines levelling for the decisive fire that was to decide the fortune of the day. Instantly there was a roar of mus¬ ketry, followed fry a shout. It was the shout of victory. On raising my eyes, I discovered the enemy broken and flying, while dimly, amid the glimpses of the smoke, was seen Washington alive and unharmed, waving his hat and cheering his comrades to the pursuit. I dashed my rowels into my charger’s flanks, and flew to his side, ex¬ claiming, “ Thank God ! your excellency is safe.” I wept like a child for joy.’ ” In the eulogy which he bestowed on Fitzgerald, Mr. Custis has not forgotten Moylan, Stewart, Proctor, and other Pennsylvania Irishmen. Of them, we may repeat what Teeling says so well IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 75 in his Narrative of 1798 : “ They may sleep in the silent tomb, but the remembrance of their virtues will be cherished while liberty is dear to the American heart.” We have to leave, for a time, the officers of the army, to look after the condition of its commis¬ sariat. In 1777, dreadful distress was suffered at Valley Forge, and the following year did not alleviate the condition of the army. In 1779, the Connecticut militia mutinied, and were only quelled by calling out “ the Pennsylvania Line,” and arraying it against them. In 1780, even these latter began to murmur, half fed, unpaid, and ill-clothed that they were. Wayne himself, their idol when in action, was unable to control them ; and had it not been for an extraordinary effort of patriotism on the part of the merchants of Philadelphia, the army would have utterly fallen to pieces. On the 17th June, 1780, ninety-three Philadelphia merchants signed the following paper : “ Whereas, in the present situation of public affairs in the United States, the greatest and most vigorous exertions are required for the suc¬ cessful management of the just and necessary war in which they are engaged with Great Britain, we, the subscribers, deeply impressed with the sentiments that on such an occasion should govern us in the prosecution of a war on the event of which our own freedom and that of our pos¬ terity, and the freedom and independence of the United States, are all involved, hereby severally pledge our property and credit for the several 76 A HISTORY OF THE sums specified and mentioned after our names, in order to support the credit of a bank to be estab¬ lished for furnishing a supply of provisions for the armies of the United States; and do hereby severally promise and engage to execute to the directors of the said bank, bonds of the form hereunto annexed. “ Witness our hands this 17th day of June, in ihe year of our Lord 1780.”* Twenty of these, of Irish origin, subscribed nearly half-a-million of dollars, in the following proportion: Blair M’CIenachan, £10,000 J. M. Nesbitt & Co., ... 5,000 Richard Peters,. 5,000 Samuel Meredith, ... 5,000 James Mease, . 5,000 Thomas Barclay, ... 5,000 Hugh Shiell. 5,000 John Dunlap, . 4,000 John Nixon, . 5,000 George Campbell, ... 2,000 John Mease, . 4,000 Banner, Murray f death. They continued, however, to advance with the greatest firmness, closing up their lines as they were opened by the fire of the Americans, till they approached within reach of the musketry and rifles; these, in addition to the artillery, produced the most terrible havoc in their ranks, and threw them into the greatest confu¬ sion. Twice were they driven back with immense slaughter, and twice they formed again and re¬ newed the assault. But the fire of the Americans was tremendous ; it was unparalleled in the annals of deadly doing; it was one continued blaze of destruction, before which men could not stand and live. Every discharge swept away the British columns like an inundation—they could not with¬ stand it, but fled in consternation and dismay. Vigorous were the attempts of their officers to rally them ; General Pakenham, in the attempt, re¬ ceived a shot, and fell upon the field. Generals Gibbs and Kean succeeded, and attempted again to push on their columns to the attack, but a still more dreadful fatality met them from the thunders of the American batteries. A third unavailing attempt was made to rally their troops by their officers, but the same destruction met them. The gallantry of the British officers on this desperate day was deserving of a worthier cause and better 188 A HISTORY OF THE fate. General Gibbs fell mortally, and General Kean desperately wounded, and were borne from the field of action. The discomfiture of the enemy was now complete; a few only of the platoons reached the ditch, there to meet more certain death. The remainder fled from the field with the greatest precipitancy, and no further efforts were made to rally them. The intervening plain between the American and British fortifications was covered with the dead ; taking into view the length of time and the numbers engaged, the annals of bloody strife, it is believed, furnish no parallel to the dreadful carnage of this battle. Two thousand, - at the lowest estimate, fell, besides a considerable number wounded. The loss of the Americans did not exceed seven killed and six wounded. General Lambert was the only superior officer left on the field; being unable to check the flight of the British columns, he retreated to his encamp¬ ment. “The entire destruction of the enemy’s army v r ould have been now inevitable, had it not been for an unfortunate occurrence which at this moment took place on the other side of the river. General Pakenham had thrown over in his boats, upon that side of the stream, a considerable force, under the command of Colonel Thornton, simultaneously with his advance upon the main body of the American works. They succeeded in landing at the point of their destination, and advanced to assault the entrenchment defended by General Morgan. Their reception was not such as might have been expected from the known courage and IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 1B9 firmness of the troops under his command ; at a moment when the same fate that met their fellows on the opposite side of the river was looked for with a confidence approaching to a certainty, the American right, believing itself to he outflanked, or for some other reason never satisfactorily ex¬ plained, relinquished its position; while the left, with the batteries of Commodore Patterson, main¬ tained their ground for some time with much gallantry and spirit; till at length, finding them¬ selves deserted by their friends on the right, and greatly outnumbered by the enemy, they were com¬ pelled to spike their guns and retreat. “ This unfortunate result totally changed the aspect of affairs. The enemy were now in occu¬ pation of a position from which they might annoy the Americans with little hazard to themselves, and by means of which they might have been en¬ abled to defeat, in a very considerable degree, the effects of the success of our arms on the other side of the river. It therefore became an object of the first consequence with General Jackson to dislodge him as soon as possible. For this ob¬ ject, all the means in his power, which he could use with safety, were put into immediate requisi¬ tion.” But, under cover of the night, the enemy, totally disheartened, retreated silently to his ships, and sailed sorrowfully from the place of his punish¬ ment, the much-coveted Mississippi. The British loss, in officers and men, was about 5,000, in¬ cluding their general-in-chief; the American loss less than 300. 140 A HISTORY OF THE Well might William Cobbett read a lesson to the British oligarchy from the battle of New Orleans ! Well might he exult over the punish¬ ment which had fallen upon them, from this “ son of poor Irish emigrant parents.”* While at New Orleans, Jackson received news of the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, and the new-made peace consequent thereon. CHAPTER XYI. JACKSON, PRESIDENT-UNITED STATES BANK— 4 4 THE IRISH VOTE”—EDWARD KAVANAGH, MINISTER TO PORTUGAL—SENATOR PORTER JACKSON’S PAR¬ TIALITY TO IRISH EMIGRANTS-HIS INFLUENCE ON HIS PARTY-HIS CHARACTER. By the victory of New Orleans Jackson had saved the valley of the Mississippi; by the Seminole war of 1817 and 1818 he added the Floridas to “ the area of liberty.” His native State, as a proof of its confidence, sent him to the Senate, and in 1824 a great portion of the Democratic party voted for him as President. Two hundred and seventy-one electoral votes were divided be¬ tween four candidates, thus—Jackson had 99, John Quincy Adams, 84 ; W. H. Crawford, 41 ; and Henry Clay, 87. The decision, therefore, * Cobbett’s “Life of Andrew Jackson.” This biting pamphlet was intended to be a vehicle of Cobbett’s radi¬ calism on the questions of the day in Great Britain. It is conceived in a very angry spirit, but executed with great ability. See the Dedication to “ the People of Ireland.” IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 141 went to the House of Bepresentatives, who, through some motive, passed over the popular candidate, and elected Mr. Adams President. In 1825, the Legislature of Tennessee, on motion of Mr. Kennedy, nominated Jackson again for the Presidency, and in 1828 he was chosen by a large majority. With the eight years’ administration of this eminent President we have in this work little to do. The great action of his civil life was the abolition of the United States Bank—an institu¬ tion which threatened to become to our govern¬ ment the imperium in imperio which the Bank of England is in the government of England. All men at this day seem to bear testimony to the wisdom of Jackson in that perilous encounter with the incorporated capital of the Union—an en¬ counter in which he was assailed with defamation, treachery, faction, and even by the assassin’s hand. But Providence preserved him through all; and those who hated him unsparingly in life, have of late been offering repentant prayers upon his grave. In both presidential contests the General was enthusiastically sustained by “ the Irish vote.” Apart from his kindred origin, his military charac¬ teristics and thorough democracy secured their suffrages. His surviving friends often repeat that he considered that vote an essential element of American democracy. Of the various men of Irish origin who found important employments under Jackson’s adminis¬ tration, Edward Kavanagh, of Maine, was the 142 A HISTORY OF THE most noted. He was of that Leinster house which has given so many distinguished public men to continental Europe.* He had been a state senator and acting-governor of Maine—a man of strong Irish and Catholic tendencies, and, at the same time, an ardent Jacksonian. Him the Presi¬ dent sent minister to Portugal, where he gave un¬ broken satisfaction to his own and the native government. He was a man of refined tastes, and on his return from Lisbon, brought over an excellent collection of Spanish and Portuguese literature, with which he enriched various institu¬ tions and libraries.! He died at his residence at Damariscotta in 1842, at an advanced age. During the greater part of Jackson’s presidency, Mr. Clay was the leader of the Whig opposition. The unrivalled parliamentary powers of that famous leader would have shaken almost any other man; hut Jackson was incorporated into the very being of the American people, and could not be sepa¬ rated from them. Still a numerous and formid¬ able party obeyed the banner of Clay, and among these Senator Porter, of Louisiana, was one of the most devoted and most able, during Jackson’s second presidency. This gentleman was the son * Within a century it could count in Europe an Aulic Councillor, a Governor of Prague, and a Field-Marshal Kavanagh, at Vienna; a Field-Marshal in Poland ; a Grand Chamberlain in Saxony; a Count of the Holy Roman Empire; a French Conventionistof 1793, Godefroi Cavaig- nac, co-editor with Armand Carrell, and Eugene Cavaignac, some time Dictator in France. t A portion of his collection emiches the library of the Jesuit College at Worcester, Mass. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 143 of the Bev. Wm. Porter, pastor of Grey Abbey, Newtownards, county Down, wbo was executed at tbe door of bis own church, for treason, in 1798. His orphan son came with an uncle to the United States ; but we shall let the friends who mourned his death record his life. On the 2nd February, 1841, his death was an¬ nounced by Messrs. Barrow and Benton in the United States Senate. They furnished this ac¬ count of his useful and interesting career. Mr. Benton, of Missouri, spoke as follows:— “ I am the oldest personal friend whom the illustrious deceased can have upon this floor, and amongst the oldest whom he can have in the United States. It is now, sir, more than the period of a generation—more than the third of a century—since the then emigrant Irish boy, Alex¬ ander Porter, and myself met on the banks of the Cumberland river, at Nashville in the State of Tennessse, when commenced a friendship which death only dissolved on his part. We belonged to a circle of young lawyers and students at law who had the world before them, and nothing but their exertions to depend upon. First a clerk in his uncle’s store, then a student at law, and always a lover of books, the young Porter was one of that circle ; and it was the custom of all that belonged to it to spend their leisure hours in the delightful occupation of reading. History, poetry, elocution, biography, the ennobling speeches of the living and the dead, were our social recreation ; and the youngest member of our circle was one of our favourite readers. He read well, because he com- 144 A HISTORY OF THE prehended clearly, felt strongly, remarked beauti¬ fully upon striking passages, and gave a new charm to the whole with his rich, mellifluous Irish accent. It was then that I became acquainted with Ireland and her children, read the ample story of her wrongs, learnt the long list of her martyred patriots’ names, sympathised in their fate, and imbibed the feelings for a noble and oppressed people, which the extinction of my own life can alone extinguish. “ Time and events dispersed that circle. The young Porter, his law licence signed, went to the Lower Mississippi—I to the Upper. x\nd, years afterwards, we met on this floor, senators from different parts of that vast Louisiana which was not even a part of the American Union at the time that he and I were born. We met here in the session of 1883-84—high party times, and on opposite sides of the great party line ; but we met as we had parted years before. We met as friends, and though often our part to reply to each othe^ in the ardent debate, yet never did we do it with other feelings than those with which we were wont to discuss our subjects of recreation on the banks of the Cumberland. “ Alexander Porter—a lad of tender age—an orphan, with a widowed mother and young chil¬ dren—the father martyred in the cause of free¬ dom—an exile before he was ten years old—an ocean to be crossed, and a strange land to be seen, and a wilderness of a thousand miles to be penetrated before he could find a resting-place for the sole of his foot. Then, education to be ac- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 145 quired, support to be earned, and even citizenship to be gained before he could make his own talents available to his support; conquering all these difficulties by his own exertions and the aid of an affectionate uncle—Mr. Alexander Porter, sen., merchant of Nashville—he soon attained every earthly object, either brilliant or substantial, for which we live and struggle in this life. Honours, fortune, friends ; the highest professional and political distinction ; long a supreme judge in his adopted State ; twice a senator in the Congress of the United States; wearing all his honours fresh and growing to the last moment of his life— and the announcement of his death followed by the adjournment of the two Houses of the Ameri¬ can Congress ! What a noble and crowning con¬ clusion to a beginning so humble, and so appa¬ rently hopeless ! “ Our deceased brother was not an American citizen by the accident of birth ; he became so by the choice of his own will and by the operation of our laws. The events of his life, and the business of this day, show this title to citizenship to be as valid in our America as it was in the great re¬ public of antiquity. I borrow the thought of Cicero, in his pleading for the poet Archias, when I place the citizen who becomes so by law and choice on an equal footing with the citizen who becomes so by chance. And, in the instance now before us, we may say that our adopted citizen has repaid us for the liberality of our laws—that he has added to the stock of our national charac¬ ter by the contributions which he has brought to 146 A HISTORY OF THE it, in the purity of his private life, the eminence of his public services, the ardour of his patriotism, and the elegant productions of his mind. “ A few years ago, and after he had obtained great honour and fortune in this country, he re¬ turned on a visit to his native land, and to the continent of Europe. It was an occasion of honest exultation for the orphan immigrant boy to return to the land of his fathers, rich in the goods of this life, and clothed with the honours of the American Senate. But the visit was a melancholy one to him. His soul sickened at the state of his fellowmen in the old world (I had it from his own lips), and he returned from that visit with stronger feelings than ever in favour of his adopted coun- try.” Senator Barrow thus describes his deceased col¬ league: “ Judge Porter was born in the land of Curran,and his father was a contemporary and friend of that brilliant orator and incorruptible patriot. The father of Judge Porter was a man of piety and classical education, and was by profession a minis¬ ter of the gospel; but the fire of patriotism and the love of liberty glowed so warmly in his bosom, that he threw aside the sacerdotal robe and put on the burnished armour of a soldier, and resolved to conquer or die in defence of his country’s free¬ dom. History informs us what was the result of the patriotic attempt made in 1798, by some of the purest and most gifted sons of Ireland, to emancipate her from the thraldom of England ; and, from the pages of the same history, we learn that the father of Judge Porter fell a martyr in IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 147 the eause of freedom, and was executed as a rebel. Judge Porter thus became in early life fatherless and without a home, and he was forced to abandon his own, his native land, and seek refuge in a land of strangers. To this country, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, Judge Porter, in company with his widowed mother and a younger brother, emigrated and settled in Nashville, Ten¬ nessee, amongst whose generous citizens he found many ready to comfort the widow and protect the fatherless. “In a few years, while thus labouring for his own and a widowed mother’s support, he not only extended the sphere of his general knowledge, but he laid the broad and deep foundation of that legal learning which was the pride and ornament of his matured age, and which will transmit his name to the latest posterity as one of the brightest judicial lights of this age. At this period of his life we find Judge Porter once more seeking a new home ; and about the year 1809 he removed from Nashville to the territory of Orleans, and settled in the parish of Attakapas, where he lived and died, loved and admired for his many private vir¬ tues, and honoured for his talents and public services. “ The first high station of trust in which we find him placed by the confidence of the people among whom he had settled, is in the convention of 1812 to form a constitution for the territory of Orleans, In that body, which numbered the ablest men of the territory, Judge Porter soon ac¬ quired a reputation for integrity, learning, and 148 A HISTORY OF THE statesmanship, which placed him at once most conspicuously before the people ; and he was, not long after that period, elevated to the Supreme Court Bench of the State of Louisiana, which station he occupied for about fifteen years. “ It was in that office that Judge Porter ren¬ dered services to the people of Louisiana above all appreciation, and acquired for himself a repu¬ tation as imperishable as the civil law itself. The opinions which he delivered display a depth of learning, a power of analysis, a force of reasoning, and a comprehensiveness and accuracy of judg¬ ment, which justly entitled him to a niche in the temple of Fame in juxtaposition with even the great, the pure, the immortal Marshall.” This is the language of eulogy, but it contains the evidence of being founded in truth. Jackson had a natural, but not a blind partiality for his race. His personal attendants were nearly all natives of Ireland, and he would condescend to reason, advise, and exhort them, as if they were his own family. Many instances of his thought¬ fulness in this regard have been related to us by living witnesses of the facts.* In 1836, Andrew Jackson retired to his “ Her- * We have perused a most kind and characteristic letter from the General to Mr. Maher, the public gardener at Washington, on the death of his children. It is conceived in the most fraternal and cordial spirit of sympathy. Jackson’s man-servant, Jemmy O’Neil—alas! no more— was once in the circle of our acquaintance. Before the days of Father Mathew, poor Jemmy was given to sacri¬ fice too freely to Bacchus, and on those occasions assumed rather a troublesome control over all visitors and dwellers IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 149 mitage,” where nine years of peaceful repose, broken only by tbe pains incident to age, were granted bim. He bad bequeathed bis party in¬ fluence to Yan Buren ; and though for a time tbe Democratic succession was disturbed, be saw it restored before bis death in tbe elevation of Mr. Polk to tbe presidency in 1844. He bad tbe gra¬ tification to see a vote of Congress censuring bis military conduct in Florida, and tbe fine imposed in New Orleans for declaring martial law in 1815 rescinded and refunded. His principles and policy were everywhere spread, and successful * and it would have been no illusion of self-love for bim to believe that, next to Thomas Jefferson, be bad done most to form a national policy for tbe Union acceptable, in tbe main, to every American. Tbe character of Jackson will be an historical study for a thousand years. His is one of those angular outlines which almost defy time to make them commonplace. Like Sixtus Quintus, Colum¬ bus, and Cromwell, much reflection on bim does not beget tbe sense of dimness, but of substan¬ tiality. We have blood and bone in every inci¬ dent of bis life and every word be has uttered. in the “White House.” After many complaints, Jackson decided to dismiss him, and sent for him accordingly. • Jackson —Jemmy, you and I must part. Jemmy —Why so, General ? Jackson —Every one complains of you. Jemmy —And do you believe them, General ? Jackson —Of course—what every one says must be true. Jemmy —Well, now, General, Fve heard twice as much said against you, and I never would believe a word of it! (Exit Jackson.) 150 A HISTORY OF THE Truly has it been said, “ he was one of the sin- cerest of men.” Philosophers might be puzzled at the rigid sequence of his life and language, did they not know that there are some natures which, founded upon certain radical principles, can only live a life of unity or of madness. Jackson could never have been inconsistent unless he had gone insane. American national character has, since his day, partaken equally of Jackson and of Franklin. The Quaker thrift, the proverbial calculation re¬ mains, but with it is mingled a strange and potent elemental ardour, a desire of territory, a sense of power, and a Spartan audacity, unknown to the revolutionary generation. The Virginian Presi¬ dents had the manners of courts and the discipline of English Benchers. The man of the west, tough as the hickory trees through which he so often marched, was as natural in his style, habits, and wants as any hunter of the prairies. When the “ White House” was threatened with a mob, he dismissed the naval and military officers who volunteered their guard, loaded his own and his nephew’s rifle, and, so prepared, the President of the United States awaited his foes in the executive mansion. He would not use a sheet of the public paper; he allowed no lackeys to attend on his person. In small things and in great he was singular among great men; but all his singularities when compiled will be found to constitute a grand, original, and compact soldier-statesman. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 151 CHAPTER XVII. ♦ SPUE AD OF CATHOLICISM—ORGANISATION INTO DIO¬ CESES - WESTERN, MISSIONS - SOUTHERN MIS¬ SIONS-BISHOP ENGLAND-CHARLESTON CONVENT BURNED, A. D. 1834- THE GREAT CONTROVERSY. The United States constitution had swept away all disabilities on conscience, and though prejudice remained, open persecution was seen in the land no more. New missions were formed, seminaries were opened, and many additional churches were begun. From the year 1790 onwards, the chief supply of the American mission was from France and Ireland. In 1796, Catholicism in the east gained a treasure in the person of Dr. Cheverus, afterwards Cardinal in France. The first Catholic congregation in Boston had been collected by the Abb^ la Poitre, a French chaplain during the Revolutionary war, who procured a temporary church in School-street. Dr. Cheverus, not con¬ fining himself to the city, traversed New England, from the Housatonic to the Penobscot. He learned English, and even the Indian dialects, to make his mission understood. He travelled from house to house in Boston, personally visiting his flock. Prejudice had no fortress against him, labour no terrors ; the plague itself saw him harm¬ less from its worst haunts. He is justly revered as one of the fathers of the American Church; and, truly, those who knew him, even those deaf 5* 152 A HISTORY OF THE to his doctrine, admit that he led the life of an apostle worthy of the Cross. In April, 1808, Pope Pius VII. issued his Bull, erecting Baltimore into an Archbishopric,* and fixing four Sees at Bardstown, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The Bev. Messrs. Flaget, Concanen, Egan, and Cheverus were consecrated to the several Sees. Thus, of the original five who made the hierarchy of the Union, France contributed two and Ireland three. About the year 1800, the Catholic missions began to be formed beyond the Ohio, and in a few years became both numerous and important. The accession of Louisiana to the Union, in Jef¬ ferson’s presidency, extended the field of Catholic missions, and still further strengthened the Church in the south-west. The diocese of Arkansas and archdiocese of St. Louis are recent creations. In 1791, the mission of Charleston was founded. u In that year, a number of individuals of that communion, chiefly natives of Ireland, associated together for public worship, chose a vestry, and put themselves under the care of Bishop Carroll, of Baltimore. The Bev. Dr. Keating officiated as their minister. The troubles in France and the * On the 31st of May, 1821, the Cathedral of Baltimore, the building of which had been begun in 1806, suspended during the war, and recommenced in 1817, was consecrated. The form is that of a cross; its length, 166 feet; breadth, 77 feet; and across the transept, 115 feet. It yet wants the portico on the western front; but through the exer¬ tions of an association formed for the purpose, it has been surrounded by a handsome iron railing, and a sexton’s lodge has been erected. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 153 West Indies soon brought a large accession to their number. Under the auspices of the learned and eloquent Dr. Gallagher, they have built, organised, and obtained incorporation for a re¬ spectable church in Charleston.”* To the government of that southern mission was ordained, in the year 1820, the most powerful intellect which had yet ministered at the altar in America. The generation of apostles had passed, the confessors had now come ; p-nd Dr. England stands, unquestionably, the foremost of the band, whether we look for natural parts, solid learning, rigid self-denial, or unmitigated labour. Bishop John England was born in Cork city on the 23rd of September, 1786. Educated and ordained at Carlow College, he returned to his native city in 1808. For twelve years he laboured there without ceasing. He originated a circula¬ ting library, started and edited the Religious Repository, a monthly magazine, contributed to the Cork Chronicle , the patriotic organ, lectured three or four times a week at the Cathedral, and yet attended to all the daily personal duties of the mission. One need not wonder if, after twelve years of such labours, his departure from Cork was lamented by all denominations as a calamity to the city. On the last day of 1820, he arrived at Charleston, having been consecrated at Cork, the previous September, by the Bight Rev. Dr. * Ramsay’s South Carolina, vol.' ii. p. 37. This passage was probably written about the year 1796 or 1797, and con¬ sequently shows that Dr. Gallagher was the precursor of Dr. England. 154 A HISTORY OF THE Murphy, assisted by the Bishops of Ossory and Richmond. The states of North and South Carolina and Georgia, as subsequently the Vicariate of Hayti, were placed under his episcopal jurisdiction. Surveying the ground he was to govern, the in¬ domitable spirit of the great bishop found difficul¬ ties enough for the most heroic to face. The variety and extent of his first labours are indi¬ cated by a congenial biographer in the following passages : “But the herald of the Cross had been * anointed’ to the holy mission ‘ with the oil of glad¬ ness above his fellows !’ The enlightened and accomplished citizens of the south were seen crowding around his pulpit, delighted by his eloquence, abashed by his learning, astonished by his logic, ready to exclaim with him of old, ‘ Almost thou persuadest!’ Churches, tem¬ porary in material and slight in structure, it is true, but suitable for the exigency, rose around him like exhalations. A constitution was formed, and the diocese incorporated by legal charter, which, while it reserved to the bishop all powers essential to discipline and repressive to schism, guaranteed ecclesiastic property to its legiti¬ mate destination against the possible lapse of himself or his successors ; and, by introducing the principle of public and strict accountability into the management of ecclesiastical revenues, assured to him the confidence of a people prover¬ bially jealous on all subjects connected with the purse. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 155 44 His first and greatest want was that of a popular clergy. His diocese, like most poor and thinly-peopled ones, had been a city of refuge to outcasts from others. Men of talent and merit were of -eager request, where not only greater temporal advantages, but ampler opportunities to do good, invited them. His sad experience, too, with some valuable co-labourers whom zeal of martyrdom or attachment to his person attracted to that insidious climate, convinced him of the necessity of educating a native clergy, or at least one composed of such as long and early acclima¬ tion might seem to ensure against being cut off in the midst of their usefulness. He .attached also the utmost importance to what might be called the 4 naturalisation’ of Catholicity. He desired that it should no longer be regarded as the religion of the stranger; but that its ministers should be American in principle, feeling, and habit, familiarised by long experience with all the practical workings of our political system. 44 With these views he founded a seminary. But how, in the destitution of pecuniary means, was it to be supported ? His rapid observation detected the languishing state of rudimentary education. He incorporated a classical and scientific academy with his diocesan seminary, united in his own person the schoolmaster and doctor of divinity, and his embryo theologians were subsisted by the very means that consigned his father to a jail. He was emphatically the restorer of classical learning in Charles'on.^ His * Southern Review , No. 1. 156 A HISTORY OF THE appeals excited direct interest in the subject among the most influential citizens. Sectarian jealousy was awakened, rival institutions were built up to preserve ingenuous youth from 4 the snares of Poperyand thus, whether 4 out of envy| and contention* or 4 for good will,’ a great public want was supplied. It remains to be felt by the wealthy planters who subscribed their thousands with unsparing hand to subvert the seminary that would long ere now have supplied their country with priests, whether they did wisely in retarding the progress of a religion which some of them are now beginning to appreciate as the only one to which they can entrust the fidelity and happiness of their slaves. 44 But the bishop’s comprehensive forecast was not limited to projects connected exclusively with his own immediate objects. He infused new life, by his energy, into the Philosophical and Literary Association, of which he continued till death an honoured and useful member, applying his un¬ rivalled powers to instruct and please as happily to the subjects of scientific or critical contem¬ plation, as to the more accustomed topics of his sacred calling ; but ever aiming to hallow his intellectual offering, and direct the attention of his delighted auditory, from the wonders of nature or the beautiful creations of mind, to the 4 Author of every good and perfect gift.’ 4 4 He witnessed with grief and horror the Moloch ravages of that misnamed spirit of honour that so often carries desolation to the bosom of southern society, quenching in the blood of its IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 157 victim the hopes of an admiring country or of domestic affection. He rallied about him the chi¬ valry of Carolina in an Anti-Duelling Society, of which General Thomas Pickney, of revolutionary fame, was the venerated president; and, through his own personal activity, backed by the moral influence of that association, many hostile meet¬ ings were prevented, and valuable lives most probably preserved. I have listened to him, as with merry triumph and unsparing but playful ridicule, he has talked over, with a gallant officer, their counter manoeuvres, on one most interesting occasion, and rejoiced over his opponent’s baffled love of mischief. “ He found the Catholic body in America de¬ fenceless. The secular press was in the hands of persons so utterly enslaved by the delusion of that great conspiracy against truth, the history and literature of England for the last three centuries, that writers were often unconscious of giving offence while promulgating the most injurious misstatements or senseless absurdities. Of the journals professedly religious it is unnecessary to speak. He established the United States Catholic Miscellany , and found time, amidst his im¬ mense and various occupations, to supply its columns with a vast amount of original matter, not always, perhaps, as perfect in literary polish as if he had read over the blotted manuscript before it was hurried to the printer ; but always resistless in reasoning, charming by its fervid eloquence, overwhelming with its accumulated erudition. Many of those essays, which the importance of the 158 A HISTORY OF THE subjects discussed induced him to extend through a series of numbers, have been collected in such guise as poverty compelled them to wear—like the hero of the Odyssey in rags at the palace-gate, but a wider circulation will yet be given them, and future generations look with gratitude and delight on the fulfilment of the modest pledge that an¬ nounced them to the world.” The Miscellany was announced to contain— “ 4 The simple explanation and temperate main¬ tenance of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church ; in exhibiting which its conductors are led to hope that many sensible persons will be astonished at finding they have imputed to Ca¬ tholics doctrines which the Catholic Church has formally condemned, and imagining they were contradicting Catholics, when they held Catholic doctrine themselves.’ ”* For two-and-twenty years, Dr. England was spared to the Church in the South. In all these years he was the prime legislator of his order. He was the author of “ the Provincial Councils” which assemble annually at Baltimore.! He was almost the first to give to Catholicity a literature and a status in the United States. His various writings on the doctrines of the Church, on the institution of slavery, on historical and philoso¬ phical subjects, fill five large volumes, which must ever remain among the most precious legacies of the American Church. On the 11th of April, 1842, the bishop expired * Re'd’s Memoir in Dr. England’s Works, vol. i. pp. 12,13* f Ibid., p. 17* IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 159 at Charleston. The chief journals and statesmen of the South rendered spontaneous homage to his memory. All admitted that “ the mighty man who had served the people” was fallen. Far and wide as the Church has extended since his death— distinguished as are many of its prelates at the time we write—there has not arisen his equal. Such men are not often given to earth and the earth should therefore be doubly careful of them while she has them. During the life-time of Bishop England, the most painful circumstance occurred of the burning of the Convent, founded in 1820, by Bishop Fen¬ wick, at Charleston, Massachusetts. New Eng¬ land, an uncongenial land for convents, had been shocked by the founding of a house of Ursulines in the near neighbourhood of Bunker’s Hill. On Sunday, 10th August, 1884, Rev. Dr. Beecher delivered three philippics, in three different churches, against the institution—a course in which he had many imitators. Rumours were also artfully circulated of a young lady being im¬ mured in a dungeon of the convent. On Monday night, 11th August, tar barrels were lighted near the house by a group of incendiaries, who were soon joined by a tumultuous crowd from Charles¬ ton and Boston. The details of this burglary and sacrilege are set forth by a sub-committee of citizens of Boston (who gave several weeks to the investigation) in the following report : “ At the time of this attack upon the convent, there were within its walls about sixty female children and ten adults, one of whom was in the 160 A HISTORY OF THE last stages of pulmonary consumption, another suffering under convulsion fits, and the unhappy female who had been the immediate cause of the excitement was, by the agitation of the night, in raving delirium. “ No warning was given of the intended as¬ sault, nor could the miscreants by whom it was made have known whether their missiles might not kill or wound the helpless inmates of this devoted dwelling. Fortunately for them, cowardice prompted what mercy and manhood denied. After the first attack, the assailants paused awhile, from the fear that some secret force was concealed in the convent, or in ambush to surprise them ; and in this interval the governess was enabled to secure the retreat of her little flock and terrified sisters into the garden. But before this was fully effected, the rioters, finding they had nothing but women and children to contend against, regained their courage, and, ere all the inmates could escape, entered the building. “ It appears that, during these proceedings, the magistrate above referred to, with another of the selectmen, had arrived, and entered the con¬ vent with the rioters, for the purpose, as they state, of assisting its inmates. The mob had now full possession of the house, and loud cries were heard for torches or lights. One of the magistrates in question availed himself of this cry to deter the rioters from firing the building, by stating that if lights were brought they might be detected. “ Three or four torches, which were, or pre- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 161 cisely resembled, engine torches, were then brought up from the road ; and immediately upon their arrival the rioters proceeded into every room in the building, rifling every drawer, desk, and trunk which they found, and breaking up and destroying all the furniture, and casting much of it from the windows; sacrificing, in their brutal fury, .costly pianofortes and harps, and other valuable instruments, the little treasures of the children, abandoned in their hasty flight, and even the vessels and symbols of Christian wor- siiip. “ After having thus ransacked every room in the building, they proceeded, with great delibera¬ tion, about one o’clock, to make preparations for setting fire to it. For this purpose, broken furniture, books, curtains, and other combustible materials, were placed in the centre of several of the rooms ; and, as if in mockery of God as well as of man, the Bible was cast, with shouts of ex¬ ultation, upon the pile first kindled ; and as upon this, were subsequently thrown the vestments used in religious service, and the ornaments of the altar, these shouts and yells were repeated. Nor did they cease until the cross was wrenched froin its place and cast into the flames, as the final triumph of this fiendlike enterprise. “ But the work of destruction did not end here. Soon after the convent was in flames, the rioters passed on to the library, or bishop’s lodge, which stood near, and, after throwing the books and pictures from the windows, a prey to those with¬ out, fired that also. 162 A HISTORY OF THE “ Some time afterwards, they proceeded to the farmhouse, formerly occupied as the convent, and first making a similar assault with stones and clubs upon the doors and windows, in order to ascertain whether they had anything to fear from persons within, the torches were deliberately ap¬ plied to that building ; and, unwilling to have one object connected with the establishment to escape their fury, although the day had broken, and three buildings were then in flames, or reduced to ashes, the extensive barn, with its contents, was in like manner devoted to destruction. And, not content with all this, they burst open the tomb of the establishment, rifled it of the sacred vessels there deposited, wrested the plates from the coffins, and exposed to view the mouldering remains of their tenants.” This report is signed by Charles G. Loring, chairman, and by a committee of thirty-seven persons, including several eminent legal and poli¬ tical characters. But it was not alone with the torch and the fagot that Bishop England’s contemporaries were assailed. The pulpit and the press, for several successive years, were chiefly occupied with what for brevity we may call the great Catholic Con¬ troversy. Drs. O’Flaherty and Beecher at Boston ; Drs. Levins and Powers against Messrs. Brownlow and others at New York; Messrs. Hughes and Breckenridge in Philadelphia; Messrs. Purcell and Campbell in Cincinnati, debated very fully the great points in dispute between the Church and Protestantism. Much thelogical and histori- ( IEISH SETTLERS IN NOETH AMERICA. 168 cal learning was manifested on each side, but the defenders of Catholicity could afford to publish the arguments of their opponents and their own, a declaration of confidence in their own success which was not assumed on the other side. In Philadelphia the controversy was perpetuated longest, and with least result of good. Some minor controvertists, indulging in sarcasm and calumny on the one side, called down retorts and philippics on the other. The imprudence, also, of certain naturalized citizens, and the proneness to faction in great cities, produced the scandalous riots of the year 1844 in that city, a subject which requires a separate chapter. CHAPTER XVIII. AMERICAN SYMPATHY FOE IRELAND—UNITED IRISH- MEN—THE CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION MOVEMENT- IEISH JOUENALS-AGITATION FOE A “REPEAL OF THE UNION” WITH ENGLAND-INFLUENCE OF MR. O’CONNELL-THE ATTEMPTED REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT OF 1848— SYMPATHY WITH ITS PRIN¬ CIPLES. A natural consequence of the large emigration from Ireland to America was, that a deep interest continued to be felt in Irish affairs by the emi¬ grants themselves, and all whom they could in¬ fluence in this Republic. We have seen Benjamin Franklin, the father of American diplomacy, sanction such an intimacy so early as 1771, main¬ taining even then that America and Ireland had 6 164 A HISTORY OF THE a common interest in resisting the centralization of such vast political power in London. “ The United Irishmen” were the first organ¬ ised American sympathisers in Irish political movements. They were strong enough to excite the attention of the then British minister, Sir Robert Liston, and their system was pleaded as a justification (after the fact) for the enactment of the Alien Law. No doubt, the discourtesy shown by Rufus King to the imprisoned United Irishmen in England and Scotland, when they applied for passports, was inspired, in the first place, by the recollection that their American colleagues had. been rather troublesome to the Adams adminis¬ tration. When the Catholic Emancipation movement began to assume national proportions—between the years 1820 and 1880—various societies were formed in our large cities under the title of Friends of Ireland.” In New York, Emmet, Macneven, Sampson, and the O’Connors, lent great importance to such an organisation; in Philadelphia, the Binns and others ; in Boston, John W. James ; in Charleston, Bishop England ; in Savannah and Mobile it hafi active promoters ; in New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Detroit, associations existed auxiliary to the Dublin association. This sympathetic movement, as well as the peculiar wants of an increasing class, brought a number of Irish-American journals into existence. In 1822, Dr. England issued his Catholic Miscel¬ lany at Charleston; in the same year Mr. Denman IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 1G5 issued his Truth-Teller at New York; soon after, George Pepper, a native of Ardee, county Louth, started his Irish Shield at Philadelphia, which gkve place to his Literary and Catholic Sentinel , published at Boston. In Boston Mr. Pepper died. He was the first, I believe, to attempt any literary project exclu¬ sively for his emigrant countrymen. His “ History of Ireland,” though a poor performance, was useful in its day ; his papers were always stored with anecdote and biography. He was often scurrilous and sometimes fulsome; but it was the time of the tomahawk, in literature as in war. He died poor, and sleeps in the side of Bunker’s Hill. The gratitude of an after time placed a slab above his ashes, and the only shamrock in the churchyard, some years ago, was found growing on his grave. In 1828, 1829, and 1880, when the Catholic spirit everywhere rose with the tidings of O’Con¬ nell’s victory, the Catholic Telegraph in Cincinnati, the Catholic Diary in New York, and the Jesuit in Boston, were added to the journals intended for the Irish in America. The Jesuit became the Pilot , and the Diary the Freeman's Journal, under other proprietors. The chief writers for this class of newspapers, besides occasional pieces by the clergy, were, in New York, Patrick Sarsfield Casserly, Rev. Dr. Leavins, and John Augustus Shea ; in Boston, Rev. Dr. O’Flaherty, Walter James Walsh, and others. In the other cities the journals were chiefly in clerical hands. The standing topic of these journals being the 166 A HISTORY OF THE state and hopes of Ireland, it was a consequence that any cheering organisation in Ireland should produce a corresponding one here. Thus, in 1884, and still more in 1840, when Mr. O’Connell attempted the Repeal of the Legislative Union with England, auxiliary societies sprung up in every considerable city of the United States. In 1842, Mr. Robert Tyler, son of the President, joined the movement in Philadelphia, and in Sep¬ tember, 1848, he presided over a Repeal Conven¬ tion in New York. Delegates from thirteen states and one territory sat in that convention, which deliberated for three days on its own relations to the cause of Irish liberty. It adjourned, resolving to organise each State of the Union, and intending to come together again whenever the exigencies of the cause requiredHt. Large contributions of money were in this and the successive years forwarded to Ireland. Boston alone, in the first six months of 1844, remitted 10,000 dollars to the funds of the Irish society. Undivided confidence in the wisdom and power of Mr. O’Connell everywhere existed, and all the emigrant children of Ireland fondly believed they were soon to see their native island possessed of a senate, flag, and militia of her own. The total disappointment of their hopes, in this instance, would have driven any other people, for a genera¬ tion at least, into despair. In 1847 they ceased their contributions to the Repeal movement, but gave most generously to the support of the famishing. In 1848 the French and European revolutions seemed to offer a pros- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 167 pect of a speedy cure for Ireland’s woes. Up to this time “the Young Ireland party” (so called) had not attracted American sympathy, but no sooner did they move with the revolutionary mo¬ mentum, than they found new and powerful friends in America. This they had themselves expected. In the spring of that year they had arranged to send Thomas Francis Meagher as their agent to Ameria, but his premature arrest unfortunately defeated that purpose. Mr. William Mitchell was made their “ bearer of despatches,” and an¬ other gentleman, a substitute for Mr. Meagher, was soon after sent over. The interest in America was intensely excited. Skilful officers and engineers volunteered their services ; the rich and the poor, the stranger and the Celt, all contributed. Thousands of dollars were placed in the hands of the several local “ Directories,” and in many cases the donors did not wait to have their names recorded. Every European mail was watched for with intense anxiety, and the very streets were too small to contain the crowds that flocked from all quarters in quest of news. Grave dignitaries in church and state were infected with the prevailing enthu¬ siasm, and contributed freely to the patriotic pro¬ ject. The New York Directory received, in a few weeks, over 40,000 dols. in cash, and the other states and cities of the Union would no doubt have done equally well. It was evident enough if Ireland had taken and kept revolutionary ground for three months, 168 A HISTORY OF THE American officers and American gold would not be wanting. It ended otherwise; and dense snow-clouds of despair covered all the horizon of the Irish in America ! CHAPTER XIX. THE IRISH FAMINES OF 1846-7-8 -AMERICAN SYMPATHY'-MEETINGS IN PHILADELPHIA, BOSTON, AND NEW YORK:—NATIONAL MEETING IN WASHING; ton—the “ Macedonian” and “ jamestown”— REFLECTIONS. The most affecting event in the connexion of Ire¬ land with America, is the conduct of the latter towards the victims of the Irish famine, which began in the winter of 1846 and 1847, and en¬ dured, in its worst forms, till the close of 1848. The famine is to be thus accounted for :—The act of Union, in 1800, deprived Ireland of a native legislature. Her aristocracy emigrated to London. Her tariff expired in 1826, and, of course, was not renewed. Her merchants and manufacturers withdrew their capital from trade and invested it in land.* The land ! the land ! was the object of universal, illimitable competition. In the first twenty years of the century, the farmers, if rack- rented, had still the war prices. After the peace they had the monopoly of the English provision * Between 1820 and 1830, two-thirds of all the manu¬ factories in Ireland were closed and abandoned as ruinous investments. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 169 and produce markets. But in 1846 Sir Bobert Peel successfully struck at the old laws imposing- duties on foreign corn, and let in Baltic wheat and American provisions of every kind to com¬ pete with and undersell the Irish rack-rented farmers. High rents- had produced hardness of heart in “ the middleman,” extravagance in the land-ow T ner, and extreme poverty in the peasant. The Poor Law Commission of 1889 reported that 2,800,000 of the agricultural labourers of Ireland were “ paupersthat those immediately above the low T est rank were “ the worst clad,-worst- fed, and worst lodged” peasantry in Europe, True, in¬ deed ! They were lodged in styes, clothed in rags, and fed on the poorest quality of potato. Partial failures of this crop had taken place for a succession of seasons. So regularly did these failures occur, that William Cobbett and other skilful agriculturalists had foretold their final destruction years before. Still the crops of the summer of 1846 looked fair and sound to the eye. The dark green crispy leaves and yellow and purple blossoms of the potato fields were a cheerful feature in every landscape. By July, however, the terrible fact became but too certain. From every townland within the four seas tidings' came to the capital that the people’s food was blasted—- utterly, hopelessly blasted. Incredulity gave way to panic, panic to demands on the imperial govern¬ ment to stop the export of grain, to establish public granaries, and to give the peasantry such reproductive employment as would enable them 170 A HISTORY OF THE to purchase food enough to keep soul and body together. By a report of the ordnance captain, Larcom, it appeared there were grain crops more than sufficient to support the whole population— a cereal harvest estimated at four hundred millions of dollars as prices were. But to all remon¬ strances, petitions, and proposals, the imperial economists had but one answer, “ they could not interfere with the ordinary currents of trade.” O’Connell’s proposal, Lord George Bentinck’s, O’Brien’s, the proposals of the society called “ The Irish Council,” all received the same an¬ swer. Fortunes were made and lost in gambling over this sudden trade in human subsistence, and ships laden to the gunwales sailed out of Irish ports while the charities of the world were coming in. In August authentic cases of death by famine, with the verdict “ starvation,” were reported. The first authentic case thrilled the country like an ill wind. From twos and threes they rose to tens, and in September such inquests were held, and the same sad verdict repeated twenty times in the day. Then Ireland, the hospitable among the nations, smitten with famine, deserted by her imperial masters, lifted up her voice and uttered that cry of awful anguish which shook the ends of the earth. The Czar, the Sultan, and the Pope sent their roubles and their pauls. The Pasha of Egypt, the Shah of Persia, the Emperor of China, the Rajahs of India conspired to do for Ireland what her so-styled rulers refused to do—to keep her young and old people living in the land. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 171 America did more in this work of mercy than all the rest of the world. On the 9th of Novem¬ ber, 1846, a number of gentlemen assembled at the Globe Hotel, South Sixth-street, Philadelphia, convened by the following circular issued by the venerable Alderman Binnsl “ In Ireland the men, women, and children at this time are everywhere, from the north to the south, and from the east to the west, falling vic¬ tims to hunger and the diseases consequent upon hunger. The heart sickens in the knowledge that thousands of people, among the most hospitable on the earth, are perishing from famine ! . We are in a land abounding with food of all sorts, good and wholesome, for man and every creature that lives. “ It is thought to be the duty of this city, which has so often been among the foremost in works of mercy and charity, to do something for the famish¬ ing people of Ireland. What that something shall be, we do not undertake to say. To consider what is best to be done, and the best way of doing it, a meeting will be held in South Sixth-street, between Chestnut and Walnut-streets, at the Globe Hotel, on Thursday evening, at seven o’clock ; at that time and place you are requested to attend. As this meeting is intended to be select, and that business shall be entered upon at the hour proposed, you are requested to be punc¬ tual in your attendance.” “This is believed to have been the first meet¬ ing of a public character held in America on the subject of Irish relief.”* An important public * Report of the Gen, Ex. Committee of Philadelphia, p. 5. 172 A HISTORY OF THE meeting followed, which was addressed by the most distinguished citizens, including Mayor Swift and Hon. Horace Binney, in favour of a general contribution throughout Pennsylvania. Alderman Binns concluded a few apposite re¬ marks with the following preamble and resolution, which were adopted unanimously : “In 1775, before these United States had ex¬ istence—before her stars had lighted her to glory, or her stripes had been felt by her foes—before the voice of independence had been heard on her mountains, or the shouts of victory had echoed through her valleys—her statesmen and patriots assembled at their seat of government, in their future Hall of Independence, and, by a public address, made known to the world her grateful and affectionate sympathy and respect for the parliament and people of Ireland, kindly inviting her people to come and inhabit 4 the fertile regions of America.’ Many thousands accepted the invi¬ tation, and by their toil and their sufferings, their sweat and .their blood, assisted to make 4 great, glorious, and free’ the country which had adopted them. 44 Since that invitation three-score-and-ten years have passed, and the United States have become a great nation; her stars and stripes float freely over every sea ; she is a sure refuge—yea, a tower of strength for the oppressed of every clime, and her voice is respected among the mightiest powers of the earth ; but dark, deep, and general distress, with the gloom of night, overshadows unhappy Ireland*; her people perish under the pangs of IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 178 hunger, and are swept by pestilence; they exist in shelterless cabins, with scant garments to cover them, and fall by thousands into unwept, too often uncovered graves. A knowledge of their miseries has crossed the Atlantic, and touched the hearts of the statesmen and patriots of the United States, and again they have assembled at their seat of government, and invited their fellow-citizens to meet in their cities, towns, and villages to con¬ sider, compassionate, and relieve the heart-broken, the famishing, the dying men, women, and chil¬ dren of Ireland. Therefore be it, and it hereby is, “ Resolved —That the statesmen and patriots of ‘ the low and humble and of the high and mighty’ States of America have, in the conduct stated, given illustrious examples to those of all nations of the earth, deserved the thanks of the people whom they have faithfully represented, and re¬ insured to them and to their country the heart- warm gratitude and renewed attachment of the people of Ireland.” An influential city committee was organised. By May, 1847, they had received about 48,000 dollars in cash, and 20,000 dollars in articles suited for shipping. They loaded three barks and four brigs for various Irish ports, all which safely arrived. Munster and Connaught receive^ the greater part. In their closing report, at the end of 1847, the committee, among other resolutions, passed the following: “ While we gratefully acknowledge the services cordially rendered to us and to the cause of humanity by individuals in various parts of Penn- 174 A HISTORY OF THE sylvania and Ohio in particular, we feel ourselves called upon in an especial manner to make known our high sense of the very important assistance given to us by our esteemed friend and fellow- citizen, Allen Cuthbert. Not only have we had the free use of his warehouses for the deposit of bread-stuffs, but the benefit of his constant and anxious services and experience in receiving them from every quarter, and in shipping them to Ire¬ land. Conduct such as this confers honour not only on himself but on the community of which he is a worthy member.” New York and Boston were not behind Phila¬ delphia, nor the Everetts, Grinnells, and Law¬ rences behind the Cuthberts and Binneys.* In the spring of 1847 a national meeting was held at Washington, at which Mr. Dallas, Vice-President of the United States, took the chair. Mr. Webster, Mr. Cass, and other eminent senators spoke. The government placed two vessels of * In his address on the subject, in Boston, Mr. Everett recalled a reminiscence of colonial times, which must have told powerfully on his audience. In the prosecution of the Narraganset war with King Philip, the Cape towns, in which were already some Irish families, contracted a heavy debt. The city of Dublin, being made aware of the con¬ dition of the settlers, remitted £124 10s^ “ for the relief of such as were impoverished, distressed, and in necessity from the war.” (Pratt’s Hist, of Eastliam, Wellfleet, and Orleans. Yarmouth, 1844). Another writer adds : “The donation from Ireland is a gratifying proof of the generous influence of Christian sympathies, and is supposed to have been procured through the exertions of the Rev. Nathaniel Mather, at that time a minister of the Congregational de¬ nomination in Dublin.”— Ibid. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 175 war, the Macedonian and the Jamestown , at the disposal of the committee sitting in Boston and New York. Boston and New England, it is cal¬ culated, contributed nearly a quarter of a million of dollars, and New York city and state an equal amount. The Protestant as well as the Catholic pulpit resounded with appeals for “ aid to Ire¬ land.” Sect and party were forgotten, and all- embracing Charity ruled the New World unop¬ posed. America was even more blessed in the giving than Ireland was in receiving such assis¬ tance. It was the noblest sight of the century, those ships of war, laden with life and manned by mercy, entering the Irish waters. England’s flag drooped above the- spoil she was stealing away from the famishing, as the American frigates passed hers, inward bound, deep with the charitable freights. Here were the ships of a state but seventy years old—a state without a consolidated treasury—a state but the other day a group of unconnected struggling colonies. And here, in the fulness of her heart and her harvest, she had come to feed the enslaved and enervated vassals of Victoria in the very presence of her throne. If public shame or sensibility could localise itself on any individual of so vile and vast a despotism, what must not that individual have felt! Those who know what it requires to feed an army, may imagine that, abundant as was America’s gift, it was not effectual to banish famine. Oh, no! tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, perished miserably. But it preserved many 176 A HISTORY OF THE thousands of precious lives, and gave an undying feeling of redemption to come to all who lived at that day in Ireland. The Central Belief Com¬ mittees of Dublin and Cork accounted for the trusts committed to them. The “ Irish Confede¬ ration” made national acknowledgment of Ireland’s indebtedness to Mr. Dallas and to Captain Forbes of the Jamestown .* Many an Irish soldier on the battle-fields of Mexico did the like in deeds instead of words. CHAPTER XX. “ NATIVE AMERICAN” MOVEMENT OF 1844 -THE PHILADELPHIA RIOTS—THEIR PROBABLE ORI¬ GIN—CONDUCT OF THE MILITARY AND MAGIS¬ TRATES—SIMILAR MOVEMENTS IN NEW YORK, BOSTON, AND OTHER TOWNS—RE-ACTION— REFLECTIONS ON THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THIS CONTROVERSY. An epoch in this history, which it would be culpable to pass over in parenthesis, is formed by “ the Native American” organisation of the year 1844. In all our great seaports there has existed more or less, from the beginning of the Federal government, a feeling opposed to foreign emi¬ gration,—opposed, especially, to Irish Catholic emigration. This feeling has been manifested from * It is a source of sincere satisfaction to the present writer that both addresses were prepared by him, and adopted by a committee of which Duffy, O'Brien, Meagher, and Mitchel were members. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 177 time to time by fanatics of extreme Protestant opinions, by merchants and professional men of a pro-British bias, and by native workmen who have been brought into competition with, and frequently underbid by emigrant workmen. But the two latter sections, though much the more reasonable in their prejudice, have never been able to affect public sentiment with anything like the influence created by the ultra Protestant agita¬ tors. Philadelphia city and its Liberties had long been the home of a religious controversy which reached its acme at the beginning of the year 1844. The Boston riots of 1884, the New York “ school question” (as to whether the Protestant Scriptures should be used as a public school-book), the increase ef emigration, had all been artfully seized upon by the local speculators in excitement, who hoped to fish up civic honours from the troubled waters of discord. During the first three months of the year the most inflammatory appeals were made to the passions of the Protestants of Phila¬ delphia. A paper called the Sun became the daily organ of disturbance, and “ an English Jew” named Levins, and others, the heads of the new association. The firemen and many of the mili¬ tary were ardent disciples of this school, whose avowed principles were—1. That no foreigner should be naturalized under a residence of twenty- one years. 2. That the Catholic religion was dan¬ gerous to the country. 8. That the Protestant Scriptures should be the foundation of all common school education. 178 A HISTORY OF THE On the 6th and 7th of May, Kensington and Southwark were the scenes of the first demonstra¬ tions against the Catholic churches and convents. Upon the former day a party of nativists had fired from an engine-house upon some Irish residents of Kensington, killing one and wounding others; whereupon the friends of the attacked, in large numbers, issued out to capture the assailants.* These being reinforced, the riot became general, and amid the din the cry was raised, “ To the Nunnery!” That building was soon dismantled, the nuns and orphans expelled with blows and curses, its sacred vessels shamefully defiled, and' its many graves violated. St. Augustine’s church was next attacked, and burned to the ground. In its tower the old clock of Independence Hall, which had struck the hour of independence, was consumed ; and all its sacred furniture was de¬ stroyed. One fragment of the walTalone remained, where, above the marks of the smoke and flame, might be seen for months the picture of an eye, with the words, “ The Lord seeth.” This was all that had been left of St. Augustine’s. St. Michael’s church shared the same fate, and for nearly a week the city was in the hands of the mob. The military companies, the municipal officers, and the press (with one honourable exception^) * Testimony of Clarke, Hague, Wood, Mathews, Fouge- ray, &c., native citizens of Philadelphia, before the City Grand Jury, 1844. f J. S. Du Solle, editor of the Philadelphia Spirit of the Times , displayed, throughout the entire riot, a courage and IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 179 connived at outrage after outrage, until tire indig¬ nant expressions of opinion from other cities seem to have roused the guardians of the law to a con¬ sciousness of their neglected duties. Sheriffs and generals apologised to the rioters for interfering with their projects, and induced them to postpone their riot and arson for a short interval. The scene of the July riot was Southwark, on the other side of the city; but men were now in command of the military, who resolved not to temporize. A contemporaneous account runs thus : “ On Friday, the 5th inst., information was communicated by letter to the pastor of the church of St. Philip Neri, Southwark, that it would be attacked on that evening. Having already taken some measures of precaution, with the approba¬ tion of Major-General Patterson, and authority having been received from his Excellency the Governor to form a company for the protection of the church, some firearms were procured, and introduced into the basement in the afternoon. This was an occasion of a gathering of persons in front of the church, who industriously reported that a design on the lives of citizens was enter¬ tained. The sheriff was soon on the ground, and to remove all apprehension, took from the church the arms. A committee from the mob was allowed to search it thoroughly, and clear it of all fire¬ arms. The church, however, continued to be be- sie'ged by the mob, but no attack was made. On ability as admirable as they are rare in times of trial like these. 180 A HISTORY OF THE Saturday evening General Cadwallader attempted to disperse the mob, and, on their refusal, ordered the military to aim ; but Charles Naylor, the late Whig member of Congress from the third dis¬ trict, cried'out, “ Don't fire /” and the military did not fire. Mr. Naylor was put under arrest, and detained in the basement of the church until Sun¬ day at eleven o’clock, a.m., when the mob, having obtained from a vessel lying at the wharf two pieces of ordnance, brought one piece to the front of the church, and with a battering ram beat down one of its doors, and carried away Mr. Naylor in triumph. The captain of the Montgomery Hiber¬ nia Greens, with a very small force, had been left in charge of the church and of the prisoners, about thirteen having been put under arrest, who were, however, discharged by the magistrates. A small body of the Marble and Mechanic Rifle companies were sent to his aid. The mob clamoured for the dismissal of the Montgomery Hibernia Greens, and promised to let them pass unmolested, threat¬ ening destruction if they continued to defend the church. Seeing themselves entirely unsupported, they consented to leave it, and came forth, not with reversed arms, as some papers have mis¬ stated. They had not proceeded far when the mob assailed them, and they defended themselves by firing as they retreated; btit, overpowered by numbers, they at length broke, each one seeking to save his own life. Robert Gallagher, a private, sought refuge in a house in Small-street, and was pursued and inhumanly beaten almost to death. The mob, with a battering-ram, broke down the IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 181 wall lately erected near the church, and forced an entrance into the church itself, which they dese-* crated, and attempted several times to fire. “ In the evening, about eight o’clock, General Cadwallader, with a part of the first division, ar¬ rived on the ground and got possession of the church. The mob soon got into collision with the military, some of them attempting to wrest the arms from them. By command of their officer they fired, and six or seven persons were killed. The mob rallied with desperate resolution, and used effectually their firearms, the military main¬ taining their position bravely. Cannon were em¬ ployed on both sides, and a number killed and wounded—how many it is not known. Colonel Pleasenton was slightly wounded, and Captain R. K. Scott, commander of the Cadwallader Greys, dangerously, but, it is now hoped, not mortally. Sergeant Guier, of the Germantown Blues, was killed. Corporal Henry G. Troutman received a wound of which he has since died. The military took one of two pieces of ordnance from the rioters, and made a few arrests. On Monday the mob increased in number, and force, and violence, threatening to exterminate the military. The civil authorities of Southwark, fearing a desperate and bloody collision, requested the troops to be withdrawn, and expressed their confidence that peace would be restored. Some acts of violence were, however, committed on some Irishmen after the withdrawal of the troops. The governor ar¬ rived in the city, and issued a proclamation re¬ quiring all to be disarmed, unless those who re- 182 A HISTOKY OF THE port themselves, and are authorised to preserve the peace.” The decided conduct of the authorities at South¬ wark put an end to the Philadelphia riots, and every attempt to “ get up” similar demonstrations in New York and Boston signally failed. In the former city, the life of the Catholic bishop was threatened, and in the latter the office of the Pilot (then edited by the present writer) was placed under the formal protection of the city authorities. This was a very necessary step, since that journal was then the only one in the State which contains Mount Benedict which dared to defend the Church, or to stigmatize as they deserved the church- burglars and women-assaulters of Philadelphia.* A political party, animated by the principles but rejecting the tactics of Kensington and South¬ wark, enjoyed a short success. In New York they elected Mr. James Harper mayor; in Bos¬ ton, Mr. Davis ; and in Philadelphia, Mr. Levins to Congress. Several public men, hitherto much respected, deceived by this hectic flush of victory, permitted them to use their names, among whom the adopted citizens saw, with deep pain, the names of Major-General Scott and Daniel Webster. In 1845, they again succeeded in electing some * The familar phrase, “ cowards and sons of cowards,” was applied, at the time of the second series of Philadelphia riots to the nativist faction by the present writer. It occurs in a lengthy article in which he laboured to show that, instead of representing the Washingtons and Jeffer- sons of the past, as they claimed, that party represented the Arnolds, Deanes, and Hulls, if they had any American parentage—which was disputed. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 188 civic officers in the same cities ; but in 1846 they utterly failed in their political design, and since then the party has dwindled down into a secret trades’ combination. A national party never could have been organ¬ ised on that “ platform.” The West, that counts its growth by the shipful of emigrants crossing the Atlantic; the labour-market, which would otherwise have no regulating medium; the youth of the Continent, the justice of the Constitution, all protest against excluding emigration. To admit emigration, but prohibit naturalisation, is to admit the danger and cast away the protection. Whosoever wants to disarm foreign emigration of its anti-American tendencies, let him naturalise the emigrant. That is the only way in which he can effect his object. The truth of this argument soon began to be felt, and for several years past no public man has been elected on “ nativist” ground. The former candidates of that faction have paid for their fatal success by utter extinction, and even Mr. Levins no longer enjoys a seat in Congress or any other public position. 184 A HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XXL SOUTH AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS—CO-OPERATION OF THE UNITED STATES—IRISH STAFF OF SIMON BOLIVAR THE O’HIGGINSES MACKENNA — OCONNOR O’CARROLL CAPTAIN ESMONDE -O’REILLY THE O’BRIENS-ISSUE OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN STRUGGLE. During the generation of whose good and evil actions we have been discoursing, a series of events transpired in South America which exercised a material influence over the Irish settlers at the north, and deserves to be mentioned in detail in this place : The independence of South America dates from the year 1808, and its establishment from the year 1823, when the last of the Spanish forces evacu¬ ated Caraccas. That struggle of fifteen years was marked by events worthy of the pen of the greatest of historians. The contest might be said to have three divi¬ sions—Bolivar’s in Columbia, O’Higgins’ in Chili, and that of the Argentine Republic on the Rio de* la Plata. Of the life and actions of Simon Bolivar, this is not the place to speak. We introduce his name here, as bringing with it that of many distinguished Irish soldiers, who were constantly by his side. Ireland felt a deep interest in his cause, and, in 1817, sent out her Irish brigade, under the com- IRISH SETTLERS I NT NORTH AMERICA. 185 mand of General Devereux, a native of Wexford.* Bolivar seems to have reciprocated the partiality of that nation, his- staff being in great part com¬ posed of Irish officers. 44 The doctor who constantly attended him,” says the English General Miller, u was Dr. Moore, an Irishman, who had followed the Liberator from Venezuela to Peru. He is a man of great skill in his profession, and devotedly attached to the person of the Liberator. Bolivar’s first aide-de- camp, Colonel O’Leary, is a nephew of the cele¬ brated Father O’Leary. In 1818, he embarked, at the age of seventeen, in the cause of South American independence, in which he has served with high distinction, having been present at almost every general action fought in Columbia, and has received several wounds. He has been often employed on diplomatic missions, and in charges of great responsibility, in which he has always acquitted himself with great ability. “Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson, already men-, tioned as a distinguished officer of rifles, was also an aide-de-camp. He too was an Irishman by birth. When a mere youth, he quitted a counting- house at Demerara, and joined the patriot standard. During the war of extermination, he was taken by the Spaniards. He was led, with several others, from a dungeon at La Guayra, for the puipose of being shot on the sea-shore. Having * See Charles Phillips’ Speech at the Farewell Dinner given to Devereux—Phillips’ Speeches, passim. General Devereux, we believe, recently died, old and blind, near Nashville Tenessee. 186 A HISTOKY OF THE only a pair of trowsers on, his fair skin was con¬ spicuous amongst his unfortunate swarthy com¬ panions, and attracted the attention of the boat’s crew of an English man-of-war, casually on the strand. One of the sailors ran up to him, aijd asked if he was an Englishman. Ferguson was too much absorbed by the horror of his situation to give an answer; but on the question being re¬ peated, he replied, 4 I am an Irishman.’ 4 1 too am an Irishman,’ said the sailor, 4 and, by- no Spanish rascals shall murder a countryman of mine in daylight if I can help it!’ Upon which he ran off to his officer, who interceded with the Spanish governor, and the life of Ferguson was saved. He related this incident to Miller, who has forgotten the name of the English man-of-war, and also that of the generous preserver of the gallant Ferguson. This unfortunate officer fell a sacrifice in the defence of Bolivar, on the night of the conspiracy at Bogota, in September, 1828. It is a matter of regret that we do not possess sufficient data to give that full biographical account of the above-named officers to which their merits and services so fully entitle them.”* In Chili, the Irish had been still more distin¬ guished. Don Ambrosio O’Higgins, the last captain-general, had planted new trades and towns, opened canals, deepened rivers and harbours, and in a thousand other ways, promoted the interest of that province. His son, Don Bernardo, a native of Chili, inherited all his enterprise, and more than his patriotism, and, under him as * Memoirs of Gen. Miller, vol. ii. pp. 233-4. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 187 supreme director, Chili successfully struggled for its independence of Spain. The first four years of his command, assailed by force without and faction within, were the years of his trial and his glory. A fellow-soldier has recorded them in the vivid language of a witness : “ Colonel Don Bernardo O’Higgins, who, on the 24th of November, 1818, succeeded Carrera in the command of the army, had distinguished himself for personal courage and rectitude of conduct ; whilst the prudence and talents of Mackenna made up in some measure for the de¬ ficiency of discipline and want of organisation in the patriot forces. “ The independents were formed into two brigades ; one under O’Higgins in Concepcion, the other under Mackenna, at Membrillar, near Chilian. “ About this time the royalist cause was streng¬ thened by a reinforcement from Lima, under the command of General Gainza, whose personal and professional qualities rendered him a formidable enemy; but, in spite of these changes, almost a year passed without producing any important occurrence. “ On the 19th of March, 1814, Mackenna re¬ pulsed, at Membrillar, a sharp attack of General Gainza, who, on the following day, w r as again worsted by the corps of O’Higgins, hastening from Concepcion to the support of Mackenna.* Dis¬ couraged by these rencontres, Gainza left the * This officer, a native of Ireland, was killed by one of the Carreras, in a duel fought at Buenos Avres in 1814. c* 188 A HISTORY OF THE patriot brigades behind him, and marched towards the capital, an open city without a garrison. The movement was made under the supposition that O’Higgins would be unable to follow for want of horses. Gainza crossed the river Maule eighty leagues south of Santiago, and took the city of Talca, but not without an heroic, though unavailing opposition from a party of the inhabitants, who, unprovided with means of defence, perished in the vain attempt to preserve the town. “ The people of Santiago ascribed the loss of Talca to the negligence of the executive. It was therefore considered opportune to dissolve the- governing junta of three persons, and to nominate a supreme director. Don Francisco Lastra was the first invested with that dignity. He hastily collected a small division, and sent it, under Don Manuel- Blanco Ciceron, against the enemy ; but that officer was totally defeated at Cancharayada by the vanguard of the royalists. “ In the mean while, O’Higgins prepared to follow Gainza, and by forced marches, made under great difficulties, arrived on the left bank of the river. He immediately bivouacked, as if it had been his intention to remain there for the purpose of watching the enemy’s motions ; but as v soon as it became dark, he crossed the rapid Maule at several points a few miles above the Spanish posts, and, when morning broke, the astonished enemy beheld the patriot army in a strong position, which commanded the road to Santiago as well as that to Chilian, the centre of the royalist resources. The masterly passage of the Maule IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 189 may be considered as equivalent to a victory. General Gainza, cut off from retreating either way, was compelled to shut himself up in Talca. “ Don Jose Miguel and Don Luis Carrera had been set at liberty by the royalists in virtue of the treaty of Talca. Don Juan Jose had been banished across the Andes, but had returned. In May, 1814, a court martial was ordered to assemble, for the purpose of exhibiting (as was stated to the public) the bad conduct of the three brothers. Don Luis was arrested, but Don Jose Miguel and Don Juan Jose succeeded in concealing themselves. The present juncture was considered by them to be favourable to a new usurpation of the reins of government. They secretly organised in the capital a party with which they had never ceased to correspond, and which now assisted in carrying into execution their criminal designs. A part of the garrison having been gained over, the Carreras showed themselves on the 23rd August, 1814, and deposed the supreme director, Lastra. “ A junta was formed, and the elder Carrera placed himself at the head of it, as in the first usurpation. The indignant citizens, although much dissatisfied with Lastra, immediately assem¬ bled, and signified their extreme displeasure to the Carreras; but finding the latter deaf to remon¬ strances unsupported by the bayonet., they appealed for protection to O’Higgins, who lost no time in obeying the call. He marched from Talca, and a partial rencontre took place in the vicinity of Santiago. The rival parties were on the eve of a general action, when a messenger appeared Lorn 190 A HISTORY OP THE the royalist general, and a suspension of arms was agreed upon to receive his despatches. “ The messenger was the bearer of an official letter, intimating that the viceroy had refused to ratify the treaty of Talca ; that the only measure left for the insurgent authorities to secure the royal clemency was by surrendering at discretion. The despatch concluded by the assurance that the sword was unsheathed in order not to leave one stone upon another in case of resistance. “ It also appeared that Gainza had been re¬ called to Peru, although he had some claims upon the consideration of a viceroy remarkable for his disregard of public faith towards the patriots, but who in other respects bore an honourable character. Gainza had violated the treaty by remaining, under various pretexts, in Concepcion, until General Osorio arrived with fresh troops and a supply of military stores of every kind ; and events ultimately proved that he had signed the treaty for no other purpose than that time might be gained for these reinforcements to arrive. The plan of the Spaniards was so well formed, that 4,000 troops were already within fifty leagues of the capital when the summons for unconditional submission was received. “ Agitated by conflicting feelings, O’Higgins magnanimously sacrificed his just resentments to save his country. He acceded to the demands of his rival, and nobly turned his arms against the common enemy. Carrera followed O’Higgins with a strong division ; but discipline no longer gave efficiency to soldiers who had often fought IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 191 gloriously; desertion to an alarming extent pre¬ vailed. To consolidate fyis ill-acquired power, Carrera had weakened the army by removing some deserving officers, and had banished from the capital many distinguished citizens for no other reason than their discountenance of his arbitrary proceedings. “ O’Higgins encountered the royalist force on the bank of the river Cachapoal; but, having only 900 men, was defeated, and he took shelter in the town of Rancagua, twenty-three leagues from Santiago. He caused the entrances of the streets to be blocked up, and made the place as difficult of access as his very slender means permitted. “ On the 1st of October, 1814, the royalists commenced an attack, which lasted for thirty-six hours, during which time the fire on both sides was kept up with unremitting vigour. Each party hoisted the black flag, and no quarter was given. In the hottest of the action, the magazine of the patriots exploded, and produced the most destruc¬ tive effects ; but, undismayed by the heavy mis¬ fortune, their efforts seemed to redouble, and the Spanish general determined to abandon the enter¬ prise. He had actually given orders to retreat, under the impression that Carrera, who had re¬ mained an unmoved spectator, would cut off his retreat, and that his exhausted royalists would be attacked in a disadvantageous position by that chief with fresh troops. But General Ordonez, the second in command, perceiving the inaction of Carrera, who evidently exhibited no intention to effect a diversion, or to send to O’Higgins the 192 A HISTORY OF THE smallest succour, determined upon making another grand effort. By means of the hatchet and the flames, the royalists penetrated through the walls of the houses, and at length fought their way, inch by inch, to the square in the centre of the town. Here O’Higgins made his last stand with 200 survivors, worn out with fatigue, tormented with raging thirst, and surrounded by heaps of slain ; till observing all was lost, he, although wounded in the leg, headed the brave relics of his party, and gallantly cut his way through the royalists. Such was the impression produced by this desperate act of valour, that none ventured to pursue the patriots, who continued their retreat without further molestation to the capital. The royalists remained in Rancagua to despatch the wounded, to butcher the few remaining inhabi¬ tants, and to destroy what had escaped the flames. ‘ ‘ The Carreras had still under their command 1,500 men ; but they abandoned the capital with¬ out a struggle. The depredations committed by the troops of the Carreras irritated the citizens to such a degree, that a deputation was sent to Osorio, to request him to enter Santiago and re¬ establish order. Six hundred troops crossed the Andes with Carrera. General O’Higgins emigrated with about 1,400 persons, many of whom were ladies of rank, wdio passed the snowy ridges of the Andes on foot. All were received at Mendoza with generous hospitality by General San Martin, and few returned home until after the battle of Chacabuco, in 1817.”* * Memoirs of Gen. Miller, vol. i. pp. 117, 119-20, 124. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 193 Colonel O’Connor, son of Roger, and nephew of Arthur O’Connor, chief of the staff to San Martin, had raised a fine regiment at Panama, and embarked in the first attempt at Peruvian independence. He fought throughout the war, until the final battle of Ayachuco ended the struggle, by establishing the liberties of the colony. In that engagement he acted as adjutant-general, and contributed materially to the “ crowning vic¬ tory.” Colonel O’Carroll, another officer in the same service, after a distinguished career, perished at the hands of the guerilla, Benavides, who cut out the tongue of his captive before putting him to death. Captain Esmonde, a native of Wexford, and an early adherent of the South American cause, cap¬ tured and imprisoned in 1811 by the royalists, underwent various singular adventures. “ One of the authorities at Pisco, to whose charge the patriot prisoners had been consigned, was Don Francisco Algorte, who, in addition to the brutal tyranny which he exercised over the unfortunate prisoners, descended frequently to the cowardly violence of striking Esmonde upon the head with a cane. From this situation, more horrible than death to the mind of a gentlemanly and high-spirited officer, Esmonde was removed to the casemates of Callao, whence he was liberated by the kind interposition of Captain Shirreff, with whom, in compliance with the terms of his re¬ lease, he returned to England. “ On the capture of Pisco, in 1821, by the 194 A HISTORY OF THE patriots, under the command of Miller, an estate of Algorte was, as belonging to a violent and un¬ compromising Spaniard, taken possession of, and subsequently confiscated. “ Algorte repaired to Lima, and, in the course of a few months, *by well-directed presents, ‘secured the support of some powerful friends, whose influence had nearly obtained from the pro¬ tector the restoration of his estate. Nothing was wanting to complete his success but the report of Miller, upon a reference made to him, and which was necessary to legalise the restoration. To ensure his acquiescence, Algorte had recourse to a mutual friend, a rich Spanish merchant of the highest character. This gentleman, without ven¬ turing do enter into particulars, intimated that he was authorized to subscribe to any terms. An intimate friend of Miller’s, an English merchant, was also employed, and who, in a jocose manner, hinted that, in the event of a favourable report, five or six thousand dollars might be acciden¬ tally found at the door of the colonel’s apart¬ ments. “ Esmonde, who had fulfilled the conditions of his release, and returned to Peru, happened at this moment to be in Lima. To him, therefore, Miller, who had heard some reports of Algorte’s treatment of the prisoners, referred for their cor¬ rectness, without mentioning, either then or after¬ wards, the motive for his enquiries. Esmonde simply recounted the conduct of Algorte towards himself and his fellow-prisoners. The result may be anticipated. Miller’s report was imme- IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 195 diately forwarded, and Algorte’s estate irrecover¬ ably lost. “ Captain Esmonde was afterwards employed by the Peruvian government to examine and re¬ port upon the possibility of making canals near Tarapaca. The vessel on board of which he em¬ barked having never been heard of, is supposed to have foundered at sea.”* On the royalist side, the only Irishman of note was General O’Reilly, taken prisoner by Saurey on his march from Canta to Pisco, in 1820. He was allowed to return to Spain, but so afflicted by his defeat, that he is “ supposed to have thrown himself overboard, as he was drowned at sea.” In the service of Buenos Ayres, besi'de Colonel M‘Kenna, already mentioned, Captain O’Brien, of the first Argentine ship-of-war, and Colonel, now General O’Brien, of the army, were early distin¬ guished. The former lost his life early in the contest, but the latter survived to prove himself worthy of almost every civil and military trust in the gift of his adopted country. After rising from rank to rank daring the war, he was suc¬ cessively minister of Venezuela at London, and chief of the Venezuelan Republic. He still sur¬ vives. Such were some of the services to liberty which made the Irish name illustrious in South America, and revived the passion for military glory in the hearts of the Irish settlers of the northern confederation. * Memoirs of General Miller, vol. i. pji 2 4-5. 196 A HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XXII. THE IRISH IN MEXICO-SAN PATRICIO COUNTY- M* GEE’S INCURSION-ANNEXATION OF TEXAS- WAR WITH MEXICO—TAYLOR’S CAMPAIGNS—MAJOR- GENERAL BUTLER—COLONEL O’BRIEN-COLONEL M‘KEE-MAJOR GORMAN. ' While Irish soldiers were so actively engaged in the South American revolutions, men of the same origin were about to introduce the mixed northern race into the possessions of Mexico, and to take the first steps in that onward aggressive march which has placed the flag of “ the Union” on the headlands of the Pacific. Under its first presidents the Republic of Mexico, anxious to encourage emigration, had given a large tract of country between the rivers Neuces and Rio Grande to an Irish colony. In 1820 a con¬ siderable Irish population had settled there, and their grant was known as ‘‘ the County of San Patricio.” This county became afterwards a party in asserting and maintaining Texian inde¬ pendence of Mexico.* In 1812, when the early attempts at revolu¬ tionising the Spanish colonies bordering the Gulf were made—when Fray Hidalgo, the last Mexican * It was represented in the 11 Texian Consultation” of 1835 by Messrs. M‘Mullen and Powell. It oontinued a Texian county until it was depopulated in the late Amorico- Mexican war, being the theatre of some of its severest battles* That pa^ of the original tract now included in the state of Texas is called “ Neuces County .”—Debate on the Texian Boundary in Congress, 8th August, 1850. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 197 chief of his generation, had been publicly executed, “ a young man named M‘Gee, who Md been a lieutenant in the United States service, after re¬ signing for the purpose,” raised the standard of independence on the Sabine and Trinity rivers. With about 400 United States recruits, chiefly riflemen, and an equal force of Spanish under one Bernard!), he crossed the Sabine. He “ took Na- codoches, then marched to and took La Bahia, where, with his 400, he withstood a siege of three months, the American riflemen making such havoc among the Spanish soldiers, in their occasional sorties, that their commander was compelled to raise the siege and retire to San Antonio. M‘Gee, in the meantime, died, not more than twenty-two years of age.”* For his time ho had something to show! The American and friendly Texian force con¬ tinued in arms for over twelve months in the heart of the country ; they took San Antonio, defeated General Elisondo at the head of 1,600 men, and were in turn defeated by the recreancy ✓of Manchaco, one of their native allies, and an overwhelming force under Arredondo. The proximity of Texas to the United States of course attracted to it the adventurous spirits of the Mississippi valley. This attraction did not cease with Mexican independence, established in 1821, through the patriotism of Iturbide, and the moderating influence of O’Donoju, the l ist cap¬ tain-general of Mexico. - * “Mexican Letters,” bv Judge Brenckenridge (written in 1846-7). 198 A HISTORY OF THE While Mexico was forming her new boundaries, the United States had frequently proposed, through her ministers, to obtain the Bio Bravo del Norte as the boundary between the two republics. Mr. Poinsett, in 1825, and Mr. Butler in 1827, pro¬ posed to purchase up to this definitive frontier in vain. Under the presidency of Santa Anna in 1882, Texas declared against the then administration, and for the Federal constitution of 1824. An armed force was sent to seize the local authorities and disarm the inhabitants. The settlers, a majority of whom were from the valley of the Mississippi, re¬ sisted ; conflicts ensued ; and finally Texas raised its separate flag, and in 1886, by the victory of San Jacinto, established its separate sovereignty.* In 1887 its independence was acknowledged by the United States, France, and England ; and, even in that year, General Jackson in his message suggested the probability of its future admission into the Union. The Mexican and American ministers respectively demanded their passports, and left the capitals to which they were accredited ; and so the seeds of quarrel were deposited in two willing soils. In 1840 a commission to settle the disputes of the two republics was agreed on ; but in 1842 it terminated, leaving untouched the Mexican claim of sovereignty over Texas. In 1848, Mr. Tyler * General Houston, the hero of the Texian revolution, has personally mentioned to me his Irish descent, pater¬ nally, and Scotch, maternally. His life will be the most American of books whenever it is worthily written. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 199 being President, the annexation of Texas was much discussed, and finally looked on as an administra¬ tion measure. Mr. Webster and Mr. Upshur, successively Secretaries of State, prepared the wav for it; and notwithstanding the protest of Mexico, Mr. Calhoun, their successor, in April, 1844, signed the treaty of annexation with the Texian commissioners at Washington. Mexico, never having acknowledged the separate sovereignty of Texas, could not see her pass bodily over to the Republic of the North without resistance. She had repeatedly protested in the most impressive accents of diplomacy; and when the act of annexation was known to be under con¬ sideration at Washington, she avowed that she would look on its completion “as a declaration of war.”* Both countries, pending the treaty, were increasing their military forces, and it was evi¬ dent a collision or a total retrogression in policy would take place. On the 3rd of March, 1845, Congress confirmed Mr. Calhoun’s negotiation, and Texas became a State of the Union ; on the 10th the Mexican minister obtained his pass¬ ports ; in July Texas formally accepted her admis¬ sion with the conditions; on the 25th of July eight companies of United States troops moved towards the Texian (now become the United States) boundary, while soon after General Taylor made his head-quarters at Corpus Christi. In March of 1846, after wasting the winter in Slidell’s negotiation, Taylor was ordered to take up his * Executive doc., No. 2. House of Representatives— twenty-ninth Congress. 7 200 A HISTORY OF THE march to the Rio Grande, with about 3,000 men of all arms ; and Arista, by his government, to cross the Rio Bravo, with thrice the number, and drive the Americans back. In April the first blood was shed, Colonel Cross being assassinated, and Lieutenant Porter’s party, in quest of him, cut to pieces. And now the war in reality begins. In this, “ the third great war” of the Union, Texas, as being immediately involved, and the Southern States, were likely to play the earliest part; but the quarrel was a national one, and we shall soon find that nearly every State in the Union supplied its contingent to the roll of the dead, and the list of the successful. We shall find, too, many striking instances of the useful¬ ness of the Irish race in an era of action such as this was. Scott, Taylor, Worth, Wool, and Perry, are purely American reputations ; but though they are the most brilliant of the war, there are others, also, worthy of honourable remembrance. In the early battles (Taylor’s), we find the Rangers under Gillespie, Hays, Conner, and M‘Culloch, playing an ubiquitous part. As scout¬ ing and foraging parties, as covering movements of artillery and infantry, in regular engagements and in street fighting, mounted or dismounted, there is no battle without them. The names of the several officers indicate their paternity. When General Taylor’s force was sufficiently augmented, by arrivals of volunteers and some additional regulars, to take the offensive (after the victories of the 8th and 9th of May, 1846), IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 201 we begin to find the officers of other corps dis¬ tinguishing themselves. The capture of Mata- moras and Monterey, and the battle of Buena Vista, have associated the names of Butler and O’Brien of the regular army, and Gorman* (In¬ diana) and M‘Kee (Kentucky), with some of the most memorable passages at arms in the annals of America. William 0. Butler, of Kentucky, the grandson of an Irish emigrant, was trained in the Florida war in the camp of Jackson. As major-general he served with Taylor, superseded Scott, and, on the conclusion of peace, conducted the American forces back to their country. In 1848, he was the candidate of the Democratic party for Vice- President, with Lewis Cass for President. O’Brien, whom death has removed in the midst of peace, is mentioned by Taylor for his efficient direction of his battery at Buena Vista. He was brevetted major for his conduct upon that field. He was born in Philadelphia of Irish parents, and educated at West Point. Besides his military services he is entitled to remembrance for his com¬ pilation, “ O’Brien’s Military Law of Ihe United States,” the standard work of its class, and one likely to remain so. He was a practically pious man, and none the worse soldier for that. He died of cholera in Texas, on the 80th of March, 1850, being but little beyond thirty years of age. Colonel M‘Kee, of the Kentucky Volunteers, did not survive the deadly conflict of Buena Vista. * At present (1851), we believe, a member of Congress from Indiana. 202 a history’of the Descended of one of the early pioneers of that State, he gallantly upheld its character for daring courage. With his fellow-statesman, Clay, he fell before the hour of victory, but not until he had done his share to secure it to his own side. We must now trace quickly over the campaigns of Scott, and see what men of marked distinction were there of Irish origin or birth. CHAPTER XXIII. SCOTT’S CAMPAIGNS-COLONEL RILEY—BRILLIANT CHARGE OF KEARNEY AND MACREYNOLDs’ DRA¬ GOONS—BRIGADIER-GENERAL SHIELDS—HIS RE¬ CEPTION ON RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES- SENATOR FOR ILLINOIS. In November, 1846, Major-General Scott, Com¬ mander-in-chief of the United States army, was despatched to Mexico, with orders to besiege Yera Cruz, and endeavour to penetrate from that city, by a direct route, to the Mexican capital. In this brilliant expedition, of which the suc¬ cessive steps were Yera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Puebla, Contreras, Churubusco, Chepultepee, and Mexico, many noble deeds of arms and fine combinations of skill were exhibited. One of Scott’s most efficient officers was Colonel, since General Riley, a native of Baltimore of Irish parentage, and an old volunteer in the war of 1812. In every action of the war he was distin¬ guished, and no promotion was considered by the soldiers of the war more justly deserved. Under \ IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 203 General Riley, the territory of California was organised and prepared for admission into the Union in 1850. Among the other officers of Scott’s army were many of Irish origin, as Brigadier Patterson of Pennsylvania, Capt dns Lee of the engineers, Casey of the regular infantry, and Magruder of the artillery, Lieutenant Neal, and many others. Major MacReynolds of the dragoons, a lawyer long settled in Michigan, was distinguished wherever cavalry had ground to operate on. A contemporary biographer writes of him : “ Mr. MacReynolds, a native of Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, came to this country when a youth of eighteen, and has, we believe, since then, resided in Detroit, Michigan. To the Legislature of that State he has been several times elected, and in it he has occupied a highly honourable position. He was a member of the Michigan Senate when the war with Mexico broke out, and immediately tendered his services to the government. The President promptly gave him a captain’s commission in the dragoons, and the gallant discharge of his duties in that position has won for him enduring honours. The assault of Kearney’s and MacReynolds’ dra¬ goons on the bloody held of Churubuseo, was one of the most daring and brilliant deeds of heroism among the many proud instances of valour which have shed such undying lustre on the American arms in the history oi the Mexican war.” The commanding-general of the division thus speaks of this charge in his official report:— “ Captain MacReynolds’, 3rd Dragoons, nobly sus- 204 A HISTORY OP THE tained the daring movements of his squadron commander, and was wounded in his left arm. Both of these fine companies sustained severe losses in their rank and file also. We are in¬ formed that the enemy numbered, by their own report, 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, while our dragoons did not exceed 100. This small force drove the Mexicans upwards of two miles, and ceased not until they were within the battery that covered the gate of the city. In this charge, the dragoons cut down more than their entire number of the enemy. When we consider the extraordinary disparity -in point of numbers, and the raking position of the enemy’s battery, into the very mouth of which our brave dragoons fearlessly threw themselves, we think we may safely say it has no parallel in modern warfare.” The same village in which Major MacReynolds was born also gave birth to James Shields. Both families are Milesian Irish, old as the hills, in Ulster. Under the Celtic Pentarchy, the O’Shield’s were the standard-bearers of the north—an office of special honour and trust in those military ages. While a mere boy, James Shields emigrated to this country, and, while still in his teens, served as second lieutenant of volunteers in the Florida war. In the long years of peace which succeeded he did not abandon military studies, and, though he held an important civil employment in the de¬ partment for Indian Affairs, he at once volunteered into the war with Mexico. On the 1st of July, IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 205 1846, he was appointed brigadier-general, and joined the division under General Wool. With that officer he shared the famous march through Chihuahua and New Mexico to Monterey, from whence he was detached to the army under Scott, then before Yera Cruz. “ But the military talents of General Shields were first fully developed at Cerro Gordo. In the general orders of April 17th, he was entrusted with the care of the Jalapa road, in order to keep the enemy in that quarter engaged during the main attack, and to cut off retreat. In both these objects he was successful. By his activity he con¬ tributed largely to the victory of that memorable day, and elicited the admiration of both General Scott and his brother officers. In the pursuit, he received a musket ball through the lungs, by which he was immediately prostrated, the command devolving on Colonel Baker. His life was for a while despaired of, but eventually, to the astonish¬ ment of all, he recovered. “ During the long stay of the army at Puebla we hear little of General Shields ; but he again appears amid the toils and dangers of the march towards the capital. Late on the 19th of August, while the storming of Contreras was in progress, he was sent to a village near that fort, in order to afford assistance to General Smith. A deep, rugged ravine, along whose bed rolled a rapid stream, was passed with great difficulty in con¬ sequence of the increasing darkness ; after which, the general ordered his weary troops to lie upon their arms until midnight, in order to prepare for 206 A HISTORY OF THE further duty. In the mean while, he threw out two strong pickets, who, perceiving a body of Mexican infantry moving through the fields toward the city, opened a sharp fire, and succeeded in driving them back. At midnight, Shields* troops resumed their march, and soon joined Smith’s brigade at the place appointed. “ At this time, General Shields performed an action so delicate and magnanimous as to deserve record with the more dazzling ones which were soon to follow. Previous to his arrival, Smith had completed those judicious arrangements for turning and surprising the Mexican position which were afterwards so brilliantly successful. As Shields was the senior officer, he could have assumed the command as well as the execution ot General Smith’s plans, thus debarring that officer from the fruit of his labour. But this he nobly refused to do, and withdrew his men to the position formerly occupied by his brother veteran. About daybreak, the Mexicans opened a brisk fire of grape and round shot upon the church and village where the general was stationed, as also upon a part of the troops displayed to divert him on his right and front. This continued until Colonel Biley’s brigade opened its fire from the rear, which was delivered with such terrible effect, that the whole Mexican force was thrown into consternation. “ At this juncture, Shields ordered the two regiments of his command to throw themselves on the main road by which the enemy must retire, so as to intercept and cut off their retreat. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 207 Although officers and men had suffered severely during the night’s march, as well as from exposure, without shelter or cover, to the incessant rain until daybreak, this movement was executed in good order and with rapidity. Crossing a deep ravine, the Palmetto regiment deployed on both sides of the road, and opened a most destructive fire upon the mingled masses of infantry and cavalry ; and the New York regiment, brought into line lower down, and on the road-side, delivered its fire with a like effect. At this point many of the enemy were killed and wounded, some 365 captured, including twenty-five officers. u Meanwhile the enemy’s cavalry, about 3,000 strong, which had been threatening the village during the morning, moved down towards it in good order, as if to attack. General Shields im¬ mediately recalled the infantry, so as to place them in a position for meeting the threatened move¬ ment ; but the cavalry soon changed its position, and retreated toward the capital. Orders now arrived from General Twiggs for the troops to advance by the main road toward Mexico ; and accordingly, having posted Captain Marshall’s company of South Carolina volunteers and Captain Taylor’s New York volunteers in charge of the wounded and prisoners, Shields moved off with the remainder of his force, and reached the position of those divisions already moving on the main road. “ Alter turning the village of Coyoacan, Shields moved with his command toward the right, through a heavy cornfield, and gained an open and swampy 208 A HISTOBY OF THE plain, in which is situated the hacienda de los Partales. On arriving there, he established his right upon a point recommended by Captain Lee, an engineer officer of great skill and judgment, at the same time commencing a movement to the .left, so as to flank the enemy’s right, and throw his troops between them and the city. Finding, however, their right supported by a body of cavalry 3,000 strong, and perceiving that the enemy answered to his own movements by a corresponding one toward the American right flank, and, owing to the advantages of the ground, gaining rapidly upon him, he withdrew his men to the hacienda for the purpose of attacking the enemy in front. The conflict was close and stubborn, until General Shields, taking advantage of a slight wavering in the Mexican ranks, ordered a charge. This was obeyed with alacrity and success, the enemy breaking and flying on all sides. Shields con¬ tinued to press upon the fugitives, until passed by Colonel Harney with his cavalry, who followed the routed foe into the very gates of the city. “ On the 10th of September, General Shields, with the New York and South Carolina regiments, was ordered first to Piedad, and subsequently to Tacubaya, preparatory to the assault upon Cha- pultepec. Here he continued a heavy cannonade upon the enemy’s lines until early on the morning of the 13th, when his command moved to the as¬ sault. While directing the advance, Shields was severely wounded in the arm, yet no persuasion could induce him to leave his command or quit the field. In company with the remainder of IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 209 Quitman’s division, he pushed rapidly forward along the Belen road, exposed to the most tremen¬ dous fires, overthrowing one after another of the Mefican strongholds, until finally his victorious banners were planted over the principal gateway. When night fell, he was carried from the field sick, exhausted, and writhing with pain. His wound, although severe, was, happily, not mortal; and rest, together with careful attention, united with a strong constitution, speedily restored him to health.” On his return to the United States, the general was everywhere welcomed with enthusiasm. Ala¬ bama came out with all her dignitaries to meet him; South Carolina presented him with a mag¬ nificent sword ; and Illinois, proud of her adopted son, elected him to the Senate of the United States. In the short session of 1850-1, General Shields, from the committee on military affairs, reported in favour of conferring the rank of lieutenant- general on Scott, which was adopted. Strange chance of fortune ! that he whom Scott mourned dead on the field of battle, should live to present him the title hitherto worn in war only by Washington.* * A recent visitor at Washington thus describes him: “ I found the general seated among his papers—a spare man of middle size, and apparently about forty years of age, with the amber tinge of health on his cheeks, an eye like a live coal, large brows, and a fine head. I felt an electrical thrill pass through me, as I took the hand of the first soldier of our race, not excepting Cavaignac or Guyon. I. believe I stared at him rather rudely, for I was anxious 210 A HISTORY OR THE Of the conduct of the non-commissioned officers and men of Irish birth during the war, both Taylor and Scott have spoken in the highest terms of praise. Their eulogiums are too recent to need repeating. m “ Although the attempts to conclude a treaty of peace immediately after the battle of Churubusco had not been successful, yet, in concert with the commander-in-chief, Mr. Polk lost no opportunity to repeat his overtures for so desirable an object. It was not, however, until the beginning of the following year that the Mexicans would listen to such proposals. Their army was then reduced to a few insignificant parties scattered here and there, more for safety than any hope of opposi¬ tion to the invaders. Even the guerillas mani¬ fested symptoms of weariness. Accordingly, when, in January, 1848, General Scott laid before the Mexican Congress articles of a treaty based upon those formerly rejected, that body immediately to detect whether his constitution had recovered from the terrible results of his Mexican wounds. I was satisfied by the scrutiny, and it will give joy to many an Irish heart to know that in all probability the general has as many years as any man of his age yet to come. I shall not here commit the indecency of printing private conversations, but I may say that the more I heard of General Shields’ opinions, the more he rose in my esti¬ mation. He is a very thoroughly read man, with a very reflective turn of mind. He has thought much on all subjects and countries. He speaks French as fluently as English, and during my first call held a long Spanish con- versat on with a Mexican general, Heirera, who, he ob¬ served, had been ‘ in the same war with him, but not on the same side.’ 99 IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 211 appointed Luis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Conto, and Miguel Atristain as commissioners. These gen¬ tlemen, with Mr. Trist, acting on behalf of the United States, assembled at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and concluded a treaty of * peace, friendship, limits, and settlement’ between the two republics. “ The only thing still necessary to the conclu¬ sion of the war was the ratification of the new treaty by the legislature of each country. In February the attested copy was received at Washington by President Polk, and transmitted to the United States Senate. After being slightly amended, it was passed in that body on the 10th of March by a large majority. Mr. Sevier was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to present it for ratification to the Mexican Con¬ gress. In company with Mr. Clifford, he soon arrived at Queretaro, where the national legisla¬ ture was sitting, and laid before that body the corrected copy for their final action. It passed through both houses by a large majority, and was received with marked satisfaction by the Mexican people. “ By this instrument, the boundary line between the two republics was made to begin at the mouth of the Rio Grande, ascending the middle of that river to the southern boundary of New Mexico ; thence westerly, along the whole southern boun¬ dary of New Mexico to its western termination ; thence northward, along the western line of New Mexico, to the first branch of the river Gila; thence down the middle of this branch and river to its junction with the Colorado; thence between Upper 212 A HISTORY OF THE and Lower California to the Pacific. It secured to the United States the vast territories of New Mexico, California, Western Texas, and the Pacific coast, together with the fine harbour of San Fran¬ cisco, and the internal navigation of the Colorado, Gila, and other rivers. Fifteen millions of dollars were to be paid to Mexico by the United States as compensation for part of this grant. “ By an article of the treaty, arrangements had been made for withdrawing all the United States troops from the Mexican territory within three months after the final ratifications, provided it could be effected before the commencement of the sickly season. In furtherance of this provision, the most active preparations immediately commenced for marching different portions of the army from the capital and interior towns to Vera Cruz, whither they were to embark for New Orleans. Previous to this, General Scott had left Mexico to attend a court of inquiry appointed by govern¬ ment to investigate reciprocal charges between himself and Generals Worth and Pillow. The duty of superintending the evacuation of the capi¬ tal, and subsequent embarkation from Vera Cruz, devolved upon the temporary general-in-chief, Major-General Butler. In the early part of June, the greater part of the soldiers in the city of Mexico marched for Vera Cruz, under the su¬ pervision of Mr. Sevier. They left the latter city by detachments, reached New Orleans about the middle of June, and thence proceeded, by steam¬ boat or railway, towards their respective homes. Nothing can exceed the enthusiasm with which IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 218 these toil-worn veterans were hailed, as they en¬ tered, regiment by regiment, into the cities from which, two years before, they had marched to the scene of strife. Business was suspended, the population rushed to meet them, military and civic processions attended their march, banquets were spread, addresses delivered, and presents be¬ stowed on them throughout their route. Thus closed, after a duration of two years, the Mexican War.” CHAPTER XXIY. THE CENSUS OF 1850— IRISH CONTINGENT TO THE POPULATION OF THE UNION-CHARACTER OF FORMER IRISH EMIGRATIONS-THE POLITICAL RE¬ FUGEES OF 1848 — FATHER MATHEW’S VISIT- MILITARY COMPANIES—POSITION AND REQUIRE¬ MENTS OF THE IRISH IN AMERICA, A.D. 1851. The decennial census just taken seems likely, when digested, to show a total population of nearly 25,000,000 in the Union, including an Irish contingent of some 4,000,000 at the close of the year 1850. If we are to estimate the influence of this element in the composition of American character, we must not only take its past success on this continent, but the achievements of its emigrants in Europe and South America into consideration. Especially should we consider their agency of an¬ tagonism in the British system. Edmund Spenser, whose work on Ireland dis- 214 A HISTORY OF THE plays many reflections of wonderful originality, gives expression to this very thought. He says he has often thought that Ireland was reserved to be a judgment on England, and that by her baud England would be humbled. For 700 years the Almighty, for his own ends, has kept those two islands in a state of warfare and hostility—England influencing Ireland, and Ireland controlling England. Richard the Second’s Irish wars produced the wars of “ the Roses,” which occupied England a century. Bruce, beaten and banished from his own country, finds a shelter in Ireland, and returns from Rathlin to conquer, at Bannockburn. Henry VIII. becomes a re¬ former and king of Ireland, and it costs his daughter £20,000,000, and, it is said, a broken heart, to subdue the northern chiefs. Ireland fights for the Stuarts who robbed her, and goes into exile, as if for the express purpose of meeting and routing the armies of Britain at Fontenoy and Dettingen. The Irish emigrate to America, and help to take this continent from England in 1775, as they now help to keep it anti-British in temper and policy. Is it too much to expect this result from such an element in the great Republic ? Before you say “ Yes,” remember the work of our exiles, per¬ formed in one generation, when they turned their steps not to the New World beyond the ocean, but to the shores of the Mediterranean. They were either students in search of schools or soldiers in search of fighting. The former reckoned on the bourses founded by professors IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 215 and D.D.’s from home ; and the soldiers, poor fellows, counted on the countenance of those who were gone before them to get them something to do ! Both classes worked hard, and both won fame and rank. It is easier to follow the soldier class, who left their mark wherever they went. Of these, two became Marshals of France* (Sars- field and O’Brien) ; two Marshals of Austria (Kavanagh and Prince Nugent) ; five Grandees of Spain (O’Sullivan, Lawless, Gardiner, O’Beilly, and O’Donnell); two Marshals in Bussia (Lacy and Browne). Of general officers it would be hard to muster the lists. The Irish governors of important posts are more easily enumerated. One Browne was Governor of Deva, for Austria ; another Governor- General of Livonia for Russia ; Count Thomond was Commander at Languedoc; Lally was Go¬ vernor of Pondicherry ; one Kavanagh was Go¬ vernor of Prague; another of Buda; O’Dwyer was Commander of Belgrade ; Lacy of Riga ; and Lawless, Governor of Majorca. Of the civil offices attained by these emigrants, we find that Kavanagh, Baron Linditz, and Count Nugent, were Aulic Councillors ; Marshal Maurice * Since the publication of the present work in America, at least two soldiers of Irish name and descent have be¬ come Marshals, and risen to the very pinnacle of military fame in France—namely, Marshal Patrick MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, Governor-General of Algeria; and Marshal Niel, Minister of War to the Emperor, whose re¬ cent premature death, occurring as it did at a particular crisis, was regarded in France as a national calamity.— Ed, Irish Edition . 216 A HISTORY OF THE Kavanagh was Chamberlain of Poland; Colonel Harold, Chamberlain of Bavaria ; Sutton, Count of Clonard, Governor of the Dauphin in France ; the Marquis M'Mahon was one of the first French agents to these States, for which service he re¬ ceived the badge of the Kevolutionary Order of Cincinnatus from Washington, and the French Order of St. Louis from Louis XYI.; Patrick Lawless, Ambassador from Spain to France ; Dominick O’Daly, Ambassador from Portugal to France; and Nugent, Minister of Austria at Berlin; and Clarke, Duke de Feltre, Minister of War in France. In Spanish America, the Captains-General O’Higgins of Chili, O’Donoju of Mexico, and O’Donnell of Cuba ; the Supreme Director O’Hig¬ gins ; the Generals O’Biley, O’Brien, and De- vereux; the Colonels M‘Kenna, O’Leary, O’Con¬ nor, and O’Carroll, were all men of one genera¬ tion—all Irishmen by birth or parentage. To North America, within seventy years, we have contributed 10 majors-general, 5 commo¬ dores, a president, 2 vice-presidents, 6 authors of the Constitution, 9 signers of the Declaration, upwards of 20 generals of brigade, and an im¬ mense amount of minor officers, and rank and file to the army.* Considering that till yesterday all education was limited to a caste in Ireland; * This computation is exclusive, of course, of the very large number of Irish officers of all ranks, who subsequently left an imperishable record of fame in connexion with some of the most brilliant exploits of the late disastrous Civil War.— Ed. Irish Edition . IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 217 considering bow the individual is oppressed in the defeat of his nation ; considering the more fortu¬ nate lot of the self-governing countries, with whose native sons our emigrants have had to compete in the old world and the new, the achievements of her exiles are a glory and a promise precious to Ireland. It seems wonderful that so many|mere Irish¬ men, in the same century, should force them¬ selves by dint of service into so many important posts in such old countries, and over the heads of so many native rivals. They all emigrated poor— their land, if they inherited any, being confiscated. They had, as it were, to beg their education— literary and military—and to serve long and hazardous probations before they attracted the attention of kings. Still, that they did rise, and that they kept the vantage-ground they gained, is apparent as the day. The Irish emigrants of to-day are the kith and kin of these men of history ; and we think there are causes working for them which will produce results not unworthy of the past. The arrival of a number of educated men of their own nation to settle among them is one such cause. Chiefly barristers an^d journalists, if they remain true to the cause of their race (as there is no reason, in any instance, to doubt), they may exercise an immense influence for good over the general fortunes.* * Of the political refugees of 1848, the great bulk are settled in New York city. There are some, however, in several other states and cities. 218 A HISTORY OF THE The visit of Father Mathew to this country is another source of hope for us. That unwearied preacher of temperance has visited all the districts where the Irish emigrants abound, and in less than two years has pledged over 300,000 persons to live sober and peaceful lives. What a life his has been ! Unlike too many modern reformers, who insist on their theories with all the heat of proselytism, and utterly neglect the details of good, his lips have not grown white in theorizing, but in exhorting and blessing multitudes, individual by individual. Those of whom society and the laws despair, who are often considered as hopelessly beyond the Christian pale, for these he has, hoping and toiling, worn his life away. Truly may it be said of him, as Grattan said of Kirwan, “ in feeding the lamp of charity, he exhausted the lamp of life.” Next to intemperance, ignorance is the emi¬ grant’s worst foe. From ignorance, faction, quarrels, partisanship, losses innumerable flow. To found adult schools, circulating libraries, and debating rooms ; to make good use of our news¬ paper press ; to prepare cheap and suitable books for a neglected people ; these are the solemn obligations resting upon the educated and wealthy of our Irish-American citizens. Every Celt has an inherent taste for rhetoric and the arts. Witness the long array of poets, artists, and orators, produced even in these latter days of our provincialism. To elevate, purify, and direct wisely these natural tastes, should be the main purpose of all the educational institutions we may create. IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 219 The profession of arms has also a natural attraction for this race. In old Ireland, every man was a soldier, but in modern Ireland, England punishes the study of arms as she does felony. We must revive the taste for tactics wherever, on this continent, there are a hundred of us together. There are men enough ambitions of command in every city. Bat, to command, it is necessary to learn ; to learn slowly, patiently, practically ; to learn through years of service, as the young draper Ney, and the drummer boy Bernadotte, learned how to be marshals, and to stand next to Napoleon ; to learn to command themselves first, and others after ; to learn self-control, quick thinking, and ready action ; to learn to discrimi¬ nate wheat men from chaff men—to discover an officer among the privates, and to lift him up to his rank without exciting ill-will in others. In a word, the policy of military life is as essential as the policy of civil life ; and men in field and camp, city and congress, are, after all, made of the same identical stuff, and subject to the same kindred defects and passions. It is said, Irishmen will not serve under Irish officers, though they will under English, French, or American. What is the inference ? That the fault is in the Irish officers, not in the men. If it is not to the service, or to officers as officers, they object, it must be to the particular character of this particular class. If we look long at it, we find that where an Irish captain or colonel is just, firm, and friendly with his men, they obey 220 A HISTORY OF THE him as any other officer. In the Mexican war, no Irish soldier but was proud to follow General Shields. Wherever the officer is not obeyed or respected, the explanation will be found to be, that he, not the men, are to blame. We have now throughout the United States some twenty-five or thirty Irish companies. We have drilled men enough scattered through the militia to make as many more. There are, perhaps, in the several States, 50,000 natives of Ireland who have some smattering of military discipline. In New York city we have an Irish regiment, whose captains refute the imputation that Irish officers are not suited to command Irish soldiers. To such officers, especially, some degree of military science is essential. No army, no regi¬ ment, can be manoeuvred without science. Eng¬ land has her Woolwich and other academies ; France, her Polytechnique and other military schools ; Russia has 200,000 students of military science in her schools of war. Even republican and anti-standing-army America has its West Point. Various works on tactics are easily had in this country, and ought to be had; for it is not marching men through open streets, or defiling by a newspaper office, or presiding over a target ex¬ cursion, that can alone make good officers. In these things, the merest popinjay might excel General Scott. But it is the reading military books, the study of the lives of generals and guerillas, of Washington and Marion, Wellington and Zumalacaregui, that will make an officer in IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 221 the highest sense of the term. The officers of every Irish company will, we hope, have a small library of such books, well thumbed over. We desire to see the military spirit of our ancestors revive and flourish among the Irish in America, because it will swallow faction—because we now want, and will more and more want, all the practical science, military, mechanical, and political, we can attain.* Against the encroachments of landlordism it is necessary also to warn those who live in crowded communities. As no people have suffered from that terrible social despotism so much as ours, so none should resist its spread so resolutely. Every Irish emigrant should consider it the test* of his manhood to have a house—altogether his own. The frequent reading of the Declaration of In¬ dependence and the Constitution under which we live, is also a duty. We cannot be good citizens, or wise electors, unless we refresh our principles at these fountains of American law and liberty. It is unnecessary to urge on our emigrants the importance of going through the forms of naturali¬ sation. It might be improper to refer, in this place, to the most important of all topics—religion. Our emigrants have the benefit of the teachings of an increasing and improving priesthood, who will not suffer them to forget their spiritual obligations. * Oliver Byrne of New York, the distinguished engineer and mathematician, has done more than any other man in this country to infuse into his emigrant countrymen a military spirit. 222 A HISTORY OF THE These wants of character being supplied, our emigrants, as a class, have but one thing more to overcome on this continent—British influence. For, disguise it as men may, that influence, whether exercised through laws, commerce, or books, is fundamentally hostile to all who bear the Irish name, apostates excepted. The successive British governments never would study the Irish nature, and hence never could govern it. They despised our history, and in¬ sisted on it that the caricatures of cockney ima¬ gination were true portraits of Irish character. They shipped us laws ready made, and punished us because we were not patient with the mis-fit. The key to all Ireland’s modern wars, sorrows, and agitations is, that those who had the power to shape her destiny never had the conscience to study her capabilities. We must resist every semblaice of such con¬ duct on the part of the public men and thinkers on this continent. Every attempt to caricature or proscribe, every effort to exalt the Anglo-Saxon over the other races here undergoing solution, we must resist with reason, argument, and, if need be, with well-used suffrages. All the more generous natures will be easily convinced that it is not a worthy course to judge the vanquished out of the victor’s mouth—that, if Ireland has done her part on this soil, she de¬ serves her history to be read here, her genius to be studied, and her national character to be re¬ spected. With such men, who compose, perhaps, a majority of this whole people, arguments such as these would generally be found availing : IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 223 “ There is no observation more true than that men are the creatures of circumstance. Individual men are, perhaps, less so than nations. Nations are the creatures of their own geography, their history, and their imaginations. In this Union the idea of sovereignty is the extent of the state. When the individual measures himself against the continent, he feels its sovereign supremacy. In England the seat of sovereignty is in the sea. In France the Unity of the provinces is the monarchy of all. “ The Irish, also, who settle in America, are creatures of their own antecedents. The Atlantic works no miracle on them. They come to these shol'&s the production of British power. Dis¬ franchised in their native land, the suffrage is a novelty to them ; disarmed, the use of arms is a possession not understood ; ruled by a class, they abhor the very semblance of class legislation ; un¬ trained to freedom, they make but a poor figure at first as freemen. “ The tendency of all class legislation is to ob¬ literate in men the double sense of their rights and their duties.- Deny their rights, and you destroy their duties ; for rights and duties are two sides of the same medal, and the people that are jealous of their rights must necessarily be true to their duties. “ The naturalised citizen will ~not only have to cast off his British allegiance, but also to get rid of his British education. The effects of laws are known to remain after the laws have been long abolished; and it is of these enervating, humbling, rj* 224 a history 6f the debasing effects the emigrant from Ireland has to rid himself. “ In this good work of transition from subjec¬ tion to citizenship, the natives of free America should be the sponsors and catechists. Being themselves free, nothing is left for them so glorious to do as to impart their freedom to others. “ It is not worthy of this great nation to take its political philosophy at second-hand from any nation. England has endeavoured to misrepre¬ sent America to Europe, and Europe to America. She tries to be the international intelligencer. She holds up contrary mirrors to opposite states, in which each shows to disadvantage in the eyes of the other. She ‘ speaks with a double-tongue contradictory languages.’ It will not do to trust her as the interpreter of nations, still less as the limner of her own vanquished provinces. “ Whether we may wish it or not, one-half of Ireland is here. We grieve that these laborious and obedient men were not possessed of a land of their own ; you may regret that they possess already too much of yours. But whether we would alter it or not, they are here. Here, by the immediate action of British misrule, here by the primal authority of man’s first charter—* Go forth, and fill the earth and subdue it.’ We live in a world of facts, and this is one of its greatest. How, then, shall we deal with this great human force so placed at our disposal ? Shall we, who do not suffer the obscurest stream to escape unused to the ocean, disregard what is of infinitely more value—the right use and direction of this moral IRISH SETTLERS IN NORTH AMERICA. 225 Niagara, emigration ? Physically, our emigrar is are well-worked ; nor do we underrate their value in that view. But are they not also of use as moral agenls ? Have they not memory, will, and reason ? Have they not imagination, wit, and the desire to please and excel? Are we, demo¬ crats of the model republic, to regard men as machines, and to count them by the head, like cattle, rather than joy souls, like Christians ? “ Oh, believe me, American reader, ours are a people very teachable by those they love. Deal tenderly with their failings, they are a fallen race. Do not pander to their party prejudices, but ap¬ peal to their common sense and love of fair play. Do not make the weak, weaker, and the depend¬ ent, more dependent; but endeavour to fit them for equality as well as liberty, so that the land may rejoice and be secure in the multitude of its well-instructed children.’’ / r “ What constitutes a State ? 1 Not high-raised battlements, or laboured mound, Thick walls, or moated gate; Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned, Not bays, and broad-armed ports, W 7 here, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; Nor stam d and spangled courts, W 7 here low-browed baseness wafts perfumes to pride. No. Men, high-minded men. * * # * * * Men who their duties know, But know their rights ; and knowing dare maintain ; Prevent the long-aimed blow, ^And crush the tyrant, while they rend the chain .” Such a presentation of the case of the recent emigrant, addressed to individuals or societies in 26 HISTORY OF IRISH SETTLERS IN AMERICA. America, could not long be made in vain. British prejudices would fade before it, a.id while the Irish would become more American on the dis¬ appearance of that hostile influence, America in temperament and policy would become insensibly more Irish. No people—not even the natives of New Eng¬ land—have a greater interest in the preservation of the Union than the Celts in America. What we never got from England we have here—equal laws and equal justice. And now if, as seems the fact, our ancient and implacable enemy, through the agencies of corruption and flattery, seeks to undermine this Union—our refuge, liberation, and relief—the Irish in America, as a mass, as one man, must choose their place under the Constitu¬ tion. The Union gives us hoiftes, suffrages, and wages; the Union gives us peace, plenty, and equality ; the Union protects our altars, confers our lands, accepts our services in peace and war, and educates our children. The Union abolished the local persecutions of the Puritans and the Huguenot in Maryland and Massachusetts. The Union burns no convents, sacks no graves, out¬ rages no rite of religion, nor does it insult any of its sacred teachers. By the Union, therefore, we, too, “ stand or fall, survive or perish,” and, with Andrew Jackson, our motto as American settlers is, “ The Union—it must be preserved.” the end. >> Extracts from John Mullany’s Catalogue, Liguori’s (St.) Salvation of Man • the Admirable Economy of Divine Providence \ Man through Jesus Christ. From the Italian, cloth limp, bd. -cloth boards, Is. Lily of Israel ; or, Life of the B1 Virgin Mary, Mother of God. From the French cnte Abbe Gerebt, to which is added, the Veneration of the B.V.M. IBmo, cloth limp, 8d. cloth boards, Is. Above their Fortunes ; or, the Just i Punishment of Extravagance and Vanity. A Tale fo ' fff. every Homestead, 18mo, cloth boards, gilt, Is. Benjamin or, the Pupil of the Christ tian Brothers. From the French. ISino, cloth 1F| 1 —— cloth boards, gilt, Is. Christ Chureft Vaults ; or, a ] am Angst the Dead. By Caotain William . author of “ Mick M QaaicPs Conversion,” &c. I cover, 3d. Christmas Eve. By Canon Schmidt. 18mo, cloth limp, GJ. -cloth boards, gilt, Is. Bar Life' of O’Connell, with Memoirs of Distinguished Contemporaries. Containing a full and authentic Account of all the leading coses in which O’Conneij bore so distinguished a part. By J. It. O’Flanagan, M.R.LA. Boards, Is. 6d. Life arid Times of Daniel O’ConnelL^ Sketches of his Contemporaries. Compile* the works of Fogan, John O’Connell, and O’Neill L and embracing the fullest account of the Life actions of the Illustrious Liberate? yet given t< public. 2 vols. 1300 pages, beautifully bound, 1 Of