The Sunday morning news., 1891-12-13
MANCHESTER RESCUE.
New and Interesting Light
on a Notable Historic
Event.
HISTORIAN COsTELL0'S STORY.
Who Shot Sergeant Bret-Ihe Mar
tyrs aud Their Share in It
Facts Cleaned From Eve
Witnesses.

ary OF the hanging OF the Manchester
Martyrs, Allen. Larkin and O'Brien. Mr..
Augustine Z. Costello, the author of the
History of the Jersey City Police recently
published, made an address in which he
revolutionized all the accepted ideas
regarding very notable event in
Anglo-Irish history. The Feuian cause
was at low ebb everywhere after the
disastrous emeute of 1887. The Irish lead
ers were discredited and the people were
disheartened. At this conjuncture the
rescue of Colonel Kelly and Captain
Deasy from the prison van of the Man
chester police took place.
1t made a tremendous sensation. The
English Tory Government made the pre-
posterous mistake of hanging three OF the
men engaged in the rescue. This gave
the Irish revolutionary party a rallying
point, and they were not slow to take ad-
vantage of it. 1t may be said that the
Home Rule movement dated from the
hanging of the three men named above.
Mr.. Costello has been good enough to
commit 10 writing his account OF the
Manchester affair. and to furnish it to
The NEWS for publication. IL will be
read with the special interest by Jersey
citizens, who have come to know Mr..
Costello so we'll through the literary SER
vice he has done their own city. Here is
the story:-
10 the Editor of the JERSEY C,ty Ne,es:--
James Stephens had failed to keep his
pledge to the Irish Revolutionary Broth
erhood and the Irish people everywhere.
that at q given time Ireiand's flag of
green would be unfurled to the breeze on
Ireiand's hills. The organization was
fast losing ground and Irish patriots
were fast losing hope In the success of
4 IN hara nf ha 1aadarc
had been arrested in '65. '66 and '67, and
not few had been sentenced to death
while others were transported beyond
seas. Stephens himself had been arrested
and rescued. He came to this country
and preached war to the knife. but did
nothing to redeem his pledges. 1t was
therefore deemed advisable to place a
man at the helm, of military training,
and Colonel Thomas j. Kelly, Stephens
deputy chief organizer, and an ex-Union
officer, was placed in command. He
went about rallving the scattered forces
and reuniting the broken ranks and soon
confidence began 10 be restored. His
operations were confined principally to
the North of England. Manchester con.
| tained o large Irish population and there
he found promising field for his labors.
| The officers Of the law tried various
methods 10 entrap him, but he was too
old bird to be caught by Scotland Yard
| chaff.
| AT last accident did what design and
detective skill failed to do. At an earlv
| hour in the morning, September IL, 1857,
| IA policeman saw four men who by their
actions excited his suspicious. He took
them for burglars or footpads. and so
went about arresting them. Two got
| away, but the pliceman took the other
two to the station house, not without a
| scuffie, however. They seemed to be me-
! chanics by their dress and appearance
! When searched revolvers were found
upon them. They gave fictitious names
and after Dsing arraigned at court tbay
would probably have been dischsrged
only that it entered the head of seme sa.
| pieut official to remand the meD until in
| formers could have been brought for
! ward 10 identify them, as IL had dawncd
upon the police that these mysterious
| characters might be Fenians in disguise.
| Corrydon, the informer, was brought
| identified the TWO men rs
| Col. Thomas j. Kelly. the chief of
the l. r. B., and Captain John Deasy,
| his chief OF staff. Tnls was great news
for the British Government and there
WAS great rejoicing thercat in govern
| ment circles. James Stephens had
recently slipped through their hands, his
successor in Office, Colonel kelby, the
bold Iish American Fenian chief. would
be held fast with q stout string. The
gaol and the court house were separated
by about three miles, by road that run
| through Il crowded section OF Manchester.
The rescue was planned to take place ou
the 18th of September, us the van was in
the act of conveying the prisoners from
the court house to The gaoi.
The Government had received warning
of this meditated rescue and took un-
| usual precautions to thwart any such
scheme. Sixteen armed policemen formed
l 49,
outside passage on the roof, one on the
rear step, one inside with the prisoners.
while the remainder followed close he
hind in two 'busses. The van itself con-
tanned twenty-tWo prisoners, all OF whom
except Kelly and Deasy being the COM
| mon run of jallbirds.
As against this formidable escort eleven
men were told off TO rescue the Irish pa
triots. Captain O'Meagher Condor was
In command and the men were in waiting
at spot on the Believer road near u
railroad bridge. One side of the road was
occupied by private houses, the other side
of the road was not enclosed but opened
into brick fields that stretched to the rail-
road tracks. These tracks were separated
from the brick fields by a wall twelve
fee thigh.
These are the names Of the men who
formed the rescuipg parity
Peter Rice, William Allen, Joseph
heeleyt Oaul6t TStueus JOuu GLOnPuanl, !,
James Cahill. Peter Ryan. James Doran,
Patrick Bloomfield, John Mearie and
Thomas Bulger.
Besides this attacking party a crowd of
some fifty Irish Nationalists followed
after to see that their colleagues were not
overmatched by superior numbers. II
needful, 500 volunteers could have been
found as easily as eleven.
AS the van approached the railroad
arch the eleven meu suddenly sprang
from their ambush and before the par
alyzed guard could regain their wits the
two horses were shot dead la their tracks.
the police guard surrendered uncondi-
tionally without strikinga blow--they ran
for their lives. The van was captured,
but that was the least of the trouble. The
sledges and hammer aud other necessary
weapons 10 demolish the van which
should have been on the spot were no.
where to be found. "Some one had
blnndered." Well, that van must come to
pieces somehow or their efforts so far
would be in vain. Men mounted on the
roof and with heavy rocks rained blows
upon ii, but 1t budged not from it's fas-
Jennings. A great row like this soon col
lected big crowd, every man OF whom
was hostile to the sulall baud of rescuers.
But the latter were armed with revoivers
aud the fear of these kept the
constantly increasing crowd at Il
safe distance. The van stoutly
witnstood all the blows that had been
rained upon it. Sergeant Brett. who
held the fort on the inside, refused all
appeals and threats 60 hand out the keys.
He was locked in as u precaution with
the other prisoners. aud no one could
| ,fx.l. 10 a