, 1872-12-30
IRISH SOLDIERS IN FRANCE.

!
ter III Fraser's Magazine relative to the Irish
Brigade in the service of France, the reviewer
remarks that tho existonco OF that gallant corps
WAS To striking fact, although not generally
known" The admission is somewhat unfortu-
nate, because the military achievements Of TINT
distinguished legion forms, perhaps, the most
romantic page in the history OF modern Europe;
and, certainly, the brightest episode in the
c}oudod fortunes of the Irish nation under the
blight of British rule. Tho glory Of tho Irish
Brigade was continental, not insular; aud the
most superficial student Of history should not be
ignorant Of its heroic devotion and death1ess
renown.
Tho records of the French War-Ofico show,
according to tho statements Of several distin-
guished writer's, that, from the fall Of Limerick,
in 1861, to the dissolution OF tho Irish Brigade,
died in the service OF Franco.
During that memorable period, while the Irish
at homo were being systematically helotized by
the Infamous penal laws Of William III. and his
successors, the Irish abroad wero achieving i'm
mortal fa,no Oh the battle-helds OF Europe.
England, with unparalleled malignity, slandered
irish courage III Ireland, despite the splendid
Limerick; hut the soldiers who, undor
Mountcashel, Sarsfield, and Lord Clare, left
their country rather than remain the bondmen
of bisot victor. vinticatcd the honor OF their
i'll tile annals of war. England could not malign
those men, for the armies Of Europe. were the
judges Of their pzowess, Marshal Catinat
sounded their praises. from the valleys Of
Italy, when they scaled the Alpine. cliffs
William remembered Limerick when their
war-cry rent the clouds as sarsfic1d led
tho charge on Neerwindcn, and died i'll tho arms
Of victory. Prince George cursed them at Gre
mona, when tho resnents Of Dillon and
from b;y;ouac, hurled the Austrian cavalry
through, tho gate Of the po, after they had sur
priHcd tho French and captured Duke Villeroy-
Marlborough felt their steel at Blenlc:n, Dude
bat1lcd Freach were forced to yield" the horse
men Of the Brigade burst through the English
army md captured stand Of colors,-so}o
trophy Of that furious contcst-which hung for
generations afterwards IN tho Cathedral at
Yrrcs, attestin5 the iaith and fame of Ireland.
What need to dwell Oh the fresher glories
won by tho boll Brigade ut Fontenoy !?
England. by the mouth Of George L.. exclaimed
in chagrin, -" Curecl lie tic laws that deprive
me of such soldiers I" That anatlcma avenged
the Treaty of Limerick.
Il may be Of intc-cst to relate that, after the
rescue Of Cre1nona, Louis XIV. raised the pay
Of the Irish Brigade to tho footing Of the
Guards,-aa honor never bestowed Oh any other
CUll)S III LllC I4cICu ECiS1ECf aAu l4l5 IEtullA1
privilege they retained until disbanded By the
Revolution. Proudcr than all is their cpitaph,
written By the French nation, and omblazoncd
on their riddled colors, which hang in tho
Church of the 1nvaldcs: - Scmper CT ubique
.fde1es!" Could Loroisn1 layo had moro chiv-
alrous recognition?
It may NJ. be generally knoTn that the French
expedition which aided Washington in tho re-
ductiou Of Yorktown was composed, in no email
measure, of men 9csccuGcd from tho VIC
tor 1f F{1.,fns In 1uff y-freer
| with the exception Of the war against Frederick
the Great, Franco had comparatively little fight
ing on hand until the fall Of Louis XVI, and,
rs q consequence, recruiting from INLAND almost
e-4ti4ols ec"ood: 1Eherefore the pale spectre OF
the Brigade, which, under Colonel OConnell.
garrisoncd some islands Of tho British West In
dies, after the Revolution had di6banded tho old
organization, was made up OF semi, lrlshmen,
cans, and as ychomontly attached to the House
| Of Bourbon. They may DO set down as having
served tho latter, not England. In any case,
| they bore not the co1ors of tho Irish
! Brigade, and have no share in its glory. They
! were not "erring subjects" of England. but
| Trench subjects, born and bred, and rank among
| the emigrants. The true successors OF the Brig
| ade Of Sarsfeld we're the "1rsh Legion" formed
by tho Directory, and continued until the fall OF
| Napoleon, when, by the Treaty Of Vienna, France
agreed to strike tlcm from tho army-rolls. Thus
! Louis NVlII. repaid his debt to England. Mar
| shal Junot, Due dAbrautcs bore high testimony
to tho services Of the Irish Legion in tho earlier
| campaigns OF the peninsular War. The corps
| nftcrward, served with high distinction, under
General Lawless, during the campaign Of WaG'
| ram.
Your reviewer must Lnye quoted Fraser
when he termed the Irish soldiers, driven from
their country by the blacacBt system Of OPP
pression over instituted by mEn, "erring sub
! jects Of England"
Were tho story of Ireland fully md truthfully
known, tho prophecy Of her greatest poet woulc
surely 10 fulfilled:
| -perclancc in after days
| They'll lea.n to love your name,
| And many adced may wake in praise
| That long has slept in b}atn=;
| And when they tread the ruined Isle,
| Where rest. ut lcugth, tho lord and slave,
| They'll wondering, ask how hands so vile,
| Could conquer hearts SO brave!
II, On this subject. I have trespassed too fal
upon your patience, let the agitation caused By
the crusade of James Anthony Froude against tnt
| Irish cause 10 my cxcuao. SHAMROCK.
| CHICAGO, Eec. %, 1874