The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-11-08

AllllllluaW lafatl1.
MONDAY. !. -. NOVEMBER s, 1860.
For the Dispatch.
Was Marshal Ney Frenchman OF "n
American
Some months ago there was copied INTO
fbe D;snotch a contribution Of Mr.. G. H.
Browning to the Round Table giving Gu.
,.ions story of the early career of Marshal
New. and suggesting, rather than affirming,
an identity between him and Captain or Ma
Tor Michael Rudolph, who was stated to
have been an officer In General Wdyae's
army in the war with the Indians, and gained
great distinction fer his daring deeds OIL va
Tor. Among other circumstances cited as
favoring this identity was one that Mr.
Pinckney, American Minister 70 france;
and who had known Captain Rudolph, met
with Marshal Ney at n review OF Buona-
parties troops in the Champ de Mars, and
recognized In him his former acquaintance.
Another circumstance was that Count Ney
fthe MarshaPs sony was for some years
French Charge at Rio Janeiro, and on one
occasion came to New York, and proceeded
to the town of Brunswick, IN Georgia,
where family of Rudotphs lived, ana spent
several weeks with that family. lines, unese t, CIR
cumstances lend an air of probability 10 the
story, but the difficulty is to reconcile their
truth with the current biographies OF Mar
shoI New. which give the date of his birth as
177n. This would make him tacenty-t.ro
wears old in 1892, which is the date OF the
Indian war in which General Wayne com.
manded. Headley, in his Marshals OF
France" gives this as the precise Period
when Ney first rose to distinction In the
French army, and was made captain. NO
doubt there have been many instances OF as
rand and as high promotion at this early
noe. But the strangeness Of the whole story
is increased when we know that Michael
Rudolph was a captain in the famous 60 Lee
zion y commanded by "Lighthorse harry
zee. father Of our own noble soldier
General Robert T.. Leland that this same
question Of identity between Michael Ru-
dolph and Michael Neg has been brought
before the public more than once, ana mas
excited a good deal of interest. Inow have
before me communication addressed to the
NatcheZ Courier in 1853 By my brother,
James S, johnston. of Church Hill, Miss,
which grew out of q revival at that day OF
this old story of the identity between Cap
tain Rudolph and Marshal Ney. That COM
munication is too lengthy to ask you to pub
lish entire, but will give the substance of
it, which may throw some light upon this
mooted question.
In the year 1925 there was meeting az
the house Of the late Charles Johnston, IN
the county of Botetourt, Va. between
Judge Peter Johnston lmy fathers Drotner
md father Of General Joseph +. Johnston),
Major james Garden Of Charleston, ). T.,
and Colonel Henry Bowyer of Botetourt-
all Of whom had been connected with
Lees Legion" and, by 4 singular colncl-
dence. had each entered the service ut about
sixteen years Of age. The meeting OF these
fellow-soldicrs of the Revolution lasted for
several weeks, and was one of great interest
not only to themselves. but to all the mem
bers of my fathers family. lhe r. irequen'
recurrence to stirring events OF that memo
rable period when "there were giants in
the land" made a deep impression upon us
all, and we would hang upon their lips as
thew recounted deeds of Yalor not chronicled
in the histories Of that day. On one occa-
sion Major Garden, who was then engaged
in gathering materials for the volume OF
Revolutionary Anecdotes" afterwards
published by him, called the attention of his
old comrades-in-arms to story then current
of the identity between Captain Rudolph
and Marshal Ncy, which story was attract
ing good deal of interest. As they had all
served with Captain Rudolph, and had
known him well, it was subject OF deep
interest to them, and Major Garden pro-
ceeded to unfold an elaborate mass OF cir
cumstantial evidence, all going to prove, II
true, that Napoleon's great chief OF division
was no other than their former companion
in-arms the intrepid Rudolph, OF the partl-
san service.
One of these circumstances, resting upon
the authority of Mr.. Edward livingston not
Mr. Pinckney, as stated by Mr.. Browning
in the Round Table, was, that when in
France he had met and conversed Familiarity
with Marshal Ney. Mr.. Livingston (who
spoke the French language with great accu-
racy) one day expressed to Marshal Ney his
surprise at the imperfect knowledge he man
Tested of the French, while he spoke the
English language with tluency, when Mar
his mother tongue. Another circumstance |
was his baptislnal -M'chael-which |
was rarely met with in France. Still an
other circumstance was that in the French |
army he was known as I" The TobacconSt,"
lust as Napoleon was Familiarity called |
by his soldiers "I'ho Little Corporal" This |
name Of Tobacconist was stated to have |
reference to tobacco speculation in which
he was engaged, which took him to one OF
the French ports about the time of her
revolution, and where he was induced to
Join the French army. While Major Garden
related these circumstances as showing a
probability that Marshal Ney and Captain
Rudolph were the same persons, he admit
ted that it was all contradicted by the
French biographies, according to which he
could not have been more than SiI gears
old when the American Revolution
begun, and not more than eleuen when
Michael Rudolph was captain in Lees
Legion" 1t will be observed that the
foregoing account differs from that COM
1nuncated to the Round Table by DIR.
Browning in two particulars only-YlZ.,
That Michael Rudolph served with dis.
finction in the Revolutionary war, instead OF
the Indian war of 1892, and that it was Mr..
Livingston instead of Mr.. Pinckney who
met with Marshal Ney-in France. In other
respects they are substantially the same, and
no doubt have common origin. The meet
inc above referred to between Major Gar
den, Colonel Bowyer, and Judge Johnston,
took place, it will be remembered, in 1879,
lust ten years after Marshal Ney came to
his tragical end. 1t seems, therefore, that
from a period running back almost to his
death there has been Il belief on the part OF
many who We're contemporary with both OF
the parties, and had a right to knew the facts
OF the case, that Michael Rudolph and Mi
chael Ney were the same persons. AS 1ur-
ther confirmation, and not an unlmportant
one considering the source from when IL
comes, will add that after seeing the artl-
Gle in the Dispatch copied from the Found
Table, and thinking it probable that Gene
raj r. Z. Lee could find something among
his fathers papers to throw light upon the
career of Captain Rudolph, addressed MN
a letter, enclosing the published article rom
the Dispatch, and asking him if he could tur-
nish me any additional information. In his
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