Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1855-07-20
From the Boston D.. $
Irish Antecedents--No. VI. Fost.1
TESTIMONY and Example of Wn,b;,c,,

support OF natiVelsnl, anu as Implying want of ~
fence in his alien soldiers. Washington,s y. con-
and experience certainly constituted him Cog
thority upon this subject, an we have no t:au
ton to accommodate the Bee with its choice ~ 'Jec
pons in this controversy, we shall give it Wash"
toms testimony and example to It's hearts conten.
1t is well known that several of Wasbinpton,
trusty agents and confidential advisers, durin, y.
revolution, were natives of Ireland, and that b rue
vorite corps, the Pennsylvania Line" was eomnon
principally Give. sxths) of Irshmen This corsl
was raised by order of congress, in 1775, and i,s
commanders Wayne, irving, Thompson, StgW.r
Meylan and Butler, all Irishmen, were among 49,
first officers of the continental army who recsras
their commissions from Washington. They Were T
chief reliance in every enterprise OF difficulty or dn
ger; and during the terrible ordeal at Valley Forn.
when the Connecticut troops, being starved to 6eo'
peraton, threatened to desert their standard hs I
resort was to call upon the Pennsylvania Line to on"
the characterization. 1t was upon this occasNn
while casting about for some alternative to refreva
the sinking fortunes of his country, that Washinot
remarked, in alluson TO district of Virginia setl
almost exclusively by the Irish, Place me in RocE
bridge county, and I'll raise enough to save Tho
revolution" Meylan's celebrated Irish dragon.
which formed portion of the Pennsylvania cons
and who participated in every important engagement
where Washington commanded in peson, he ALWAYS
took with him wherever he went, to superintend t6o
operations of the army in the north or south. Tbp
commander was also d.de.camp to the commander
in chief
His confidence in the Irish leaders of the reyou
ton may be inferred from his placing Gen Knoy
first in command of the ordnance department. and
his selection of Gen Montgomery to head the expe.
diton against Canada. During the p1 esidency of
Washington the former was appointed secretary NJ
war. "
Col. Fitzgerald, Washingtons favorite aid-de.camn
though an alien and an Irishman, has found an ar
thuslastc blographer in Washington's heir, Hon
George Washington Curtis. "He was an Irish og
cer" says Mr. c., " in the old Blue and Bluffs tbo
first volunteer company raised in the south at tho
dawn OF the revolution, and commanded by WASHING
ton" He was appointed to the staff in ITS, and
rescued his chief from impending death or captivity
at the battle Of Princeton, when, in an agony of ey
element at the reluctance of his army 10 charge uuoo
the enemy he rushed to the front, and spurred hi,
charger almost into the ranks of the British wbo
levelled deadly volley at his person. THANK
God ~ exclaimed the noble Fitzgerald, when he saw
the hero saved, Thank God YOUR exceIIencv i
safe; and he adds, wept like child, for low
This brave officer except when engaged IN executing
his confidential missions, was always at the side q
Washington whose friendship for him is illustrated
in many recorded incidents of that memorable period
General Clark, born in Pennsylvania, of Irish pa,
rents, was another conf lential agent and personal
friend of Washington, who stationed him at impor
taEt points, whence he derived information of him.
through the medium of Colonel Fitzgerald, of everv
movement of the enemy. In a letter to General c.
from headquarters, in 1777, he says, {" can put
H!oIe uepehuenCe upon having accounts regularly
and expedltlousy forwarded by you than BY any
other;' and in a letter 10 Congress, in 1878, he &C.
knowledges the "great services" which Clark has
rendered him and the country and warmly recon-
mends him to the regard of the federal authorities
He also auditor of accounts for the continental
army.
General Hand another Pennsylvania Irishman orr
ginaly an officer of the famous Irish Brigade fought
with the Line in most of their Revolutionary bat
ties, with marked distinction at the hands of Wash
ington, who appointed him adjutan, general in 1891
and afterwards nominated him 10 the same Office in
the peace establishment in 1898.
General Sullivan, Stark, and Ried, with NlcCary
who fell at Bunker HILL were the Irish contributions
Of New Hampshire to the list of revolutionary heroes
The three former were held in high estimation by
Washington, who detailed them for many important
aud responsible enterprises, and their services in the
middle states, New Hampshire, Vermont and Canada
are too we'll known TO be recounted.
mad Anthony" Wayne, the idol of the army
who figured so conspcuously in the campaigns on
t.e Delaware in IT, '7S, and fought at Brandywine
Schuylkill, Germantown, Monmouth, Stony Point
and Bergen Neck, was genuine Mile>ian. Next to
Lafayette Washington regarded him as his most val
liable coadjutor and, for his bravery, publicly ten
dered him special thanks in behalf of Congress. He
was the companion in of Col. Butler and his
five sons, of whom Lafayette remarked, that "when
he wanted anything we'll done, he got Butler TO
do it."
''The father of the American navy" was John
Barry, native of Wexford, in Ireland, an early
friend of Washington, at whose solicitation he en-
tered the American naval service. He commanded
the fist man of war (the Lexington) ever fitted out
by the United Colonies. and was the first to launch
their flag upon the Atlantic ocean. He was commits
stoned captain in 1775 and the next year, having
captured many British storeshps and intercepted the
enemy's supplies, he received Washington's public
thanks and the rank of commodore, being the first
naval officer upon whom it was conferred He was
the naval preceptor of Truxton, Porter, McDonough
Murray, Dale, Decatur, and Stewart. al Irshmen by
birth parentage, and all afterwards ornaments and
commodores in the American navy. When Lord
Howe sought to corrupt his integrity with vast
bride, and the offer of British ship of the line
Barry replied that "he he'd devoted himself to the
cause of his adopted country, and not the value or
command of the whole British fleet could seduce him
from it,
In the face of these stubborn facts, the know moth
nSs fippanty assert that Washington had conf
dence in the fidelity of his alien supporters, and that
the influence of adopted citizens has always been ad.
verse to the liberties and interests of this republic
Suppose Gov Gardiner, or some other representative
of modern nativesm, could have approached Wash.
ngton at the head of his Pennsylva MA Line. his
South Carolina, Virginia, and New Hampshire brig
AIDES of lrishmen and surrounded by his alien staff,
and his Irish, Scotch, Welsh, French and German
subordinate generals and suppose this know moth
ing commander. in chief of the NJ. '. NJ had there
demonstrated with him upon the impolcy of tolera-
ting foreigners in the American service, and set be-
fore him the k dogma, that military organizations
composed of individuals of foreign birth, or extrac
ton, dangerous 20 the liberties of the county
What astonishment and Indignation would have been
depicted upon the countenance of the Father Of bis
Country1,at this mensrous assumption and with
what scorn would he have repealed both the vile
calumny and lis author Could his venerable shade
but address the degenerate leaders and ptifll dIPes
of this know nothing delusion, he would tell them
that, had 1T not been for Irish military organizations
this never could have been free country and that