The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-04-27
THE IRISH SOLDIER.

I
we reproduce them:
On the field of Fontenoy, Louis of
France, in behalf of his nation, publicly
thanked his Irish brigade for the preserva-
tion of the French army, and on the field
| made their commander, Count Lally, a
general of France. We are told also that
when is was Iecounted to George of Eng
land how the Irishmen fought on the glo-
| rious day against him, the king bitterly
cursed the penal laws of Great Britain
which had deprived him of such subjects
and such soldiers. The Roncevalles Pass,
where fell, before the opposing lance, the
| harnessed chivalry of Spain, saw no bet
| ter troops, braver men or truer knights
than the young legions of Ireland, who
SO often by their valor decided the fate
of the crown of Ferdinand and Isabella.
And in later times have but to call up the
llustrious name of Marshal O'Donnell, of
Spain, to bring flush to the cheek and
light to the eye of every son and daughter
of dear old Erin. | could recount to you
many occasions where the valOr of the Irish
soldier and the skill of the Irish general
saved the armies of Britain, but no true
Irishman will contemplate with joy or sat
isfactIon the victories of England, even
when won by Irish valor, until the heavy
hand of her oppression is lifted from the
Irish nation aud England does full justice
| to Ireland.
A glowing reference was then made to
the fact that the duke Of Wellington was
of Irish birth, and to the services of Wolf
| on the plains of Abraham against the
French under Montcalm and the assault
upon Quebec by Montgomery.
The records of the armies of the revolu
tion glitter all over with the gallant ex-
ploits of Irish soldiers, who, with the
| fathers of the republic laid the very found
alton OF our liberties. and whose deeds and
loyal conduct shoue out cOnspicuously III
the very darkest days of the revolutionary
contest. Ineed give the names Of Sullivan,
Stark, NJ Neil and NJ Clary. from New Eng
| land alone, to call to mind but examples of
| their host.
In referring to Andrew Jackson, the hero
of New Orleans, as of Irish descent, the
speaker said he was not the only instance
where soldier Of Irish extraction has been
| ca He'd as a civil chief to conduct great re-
public in the hour of its greatest civic perils,
when "a nation calls for
single strong hand
In II blatant land
X X \
Who can rule, and dare not lie.
For AS such may be named Marshal Maurice
Patrick Mac Mahon, president Of the French
republic.
Coming down to tho late civil war the
General spoke ofiCoI coran, Meagher, Lalor,
Sweeney, Murphy, MinIy, Donahoe, Cor
man, Hennessey, Kearney, Doherty and
Mulligan, Birney, Shields, Logan, Geary
and Sheridan. who fought to MAINTAIN the
government Cleburne, Mcbride, Malone,
Shields and Carroll, who fought for the
.'los, cause All and each were consl icu-
Gus for gallautry of conduct and brave
deeds, and equal loyalty to the flag whose
cause he had espoused. Their names will
live i'll history, song and story, and neither
| s.(iael nor Saxon'' has cause to be other
| than proud to hail each aud all as country
| men and cOmpeers.
While these names, so great and illus
| trious, will maintain SO large a place in
| the history OF our country, we must not
| forget that tnany-nay, most OF then-won
| their laurels leading troops made up of
! officers and men of The same race as them
| selves, organized into distinctive bodies,
! known in our army as the Irish regiments
| and brgaCes, and :hat much of their sue
! cess and honor are due to the fact that the
| men they commanded were SO well fitted
! bv nationality. aptuess FOR discipline, capa-
bllity for taking care OF themselves, eiaStlci-
! ty Of empeIament, capacity for endurance,
| carelessness of danger, heedlessness of self
! sacrifice and courage i'll battle, that they
soon became the finest soldiers The world
\ ever saw.
Our own Ninth regiment was thus quick
" enlisted, followed by the Twenty eighth
| Massachusetts. Connecticut sent her Ninth
! also Later, PennSy lvania sent her IRISH
| Sixty ninth regiment; Illinois more In
| diana hers Michigan hers Delaware hers !;
and laier New York added the splendid
brigade under General Meagher. Would
! that the occasion aud your time permitted
me to follow the variant fortune OF this
| celebrated brigade, always, however, dis
| tinguished by steady bravery, whose proud
boast it was, that the same green banner
| and the same stars and stripes led them to
the conflict during the whole war, and al
| though engaged in every battle OF the
army of the Potomac the brigade never lost
a flag.
True il is there were also Irish organiza-
| tions in the armies of the Confederates !;
| but this fact only illustrates how loyal and
true is the 1rishman to the community
| which gave him protection with liberty,
| and how thorough and completely he lden-
| tifies himself with its interests and though
! they fought against our flag we can more
| readily forgive them, for by their side
| fought many native born officers, educated
! by the bounty of the government, ana VINO
| had taken solemn oaths to support 1t. be-
| sides, something is to be pardoned our
| friends of foreign extraction, from the
r,ct. so long we'll known to the world, that
| no true son of Erin ever kept out of fair
| fight which was taking place in his pres
ence. ,
The New York Sixty-nnth, under the
| gallant and lamented Corcoran, was earliest
| in the field Within less than ten days
| from the time of the call of the president,
assembled at the first tap of the drum, a
thousand strong, they were guarding the
road that was opened for the troops OF the
north from Annapolis 20 Washington.
Nor was il the fault Of the gallant Irish
| men of Massachusetts, that their brethren
| of New York were before them. The state
Of New York. with cosmopolitan liberality
and sold ier-like appreciation of their ex-
ceIlence for war, had permitted distinctive
Irish organizations in their state militia,
| while Massa chusetts, with singular mfelIci-
ty, had six years before, by the governor
! of a short lived party, acting under an un-
! q lioxad ha dad