The Irish standard., 1894-12-15
zer of the American navy?

| JL0r OF tQo AuoTlCAU navy
Do these men forget the.
forget-that more than one. half of tn
army of liberty who fought and contend
ed for that priceless jewel during tn
revolutionary time were Irish or o
immediate Irish descent? Do they for
get that when Washington was at Vale,
Forge IN that dreadful winter of ITS
when he appealed to Congress for sup
plies in order to keep together the las1
remnant of the army of liberty, do they
forgee the Friendly Sons of st. Patrick
in Philadelphia contributing el03,000'
am a member of that society today. Il
is now known as the Hibernlan Society
| for the Relief of Immigrants from Ire
land. [Applause.] Upon the records Of
! that society today is the testimony o1
Gen. Washington himself, in which he
says: ''Were it not for the timely relief
given me by the Society of the Friendly
Sons of St, Patrick OF Philadelphia in
1778, were it not for the relief given me
by that society, the last remnant of the
army of liberty that WAS struggling for
righteousness and justice in this land
would have been disbanded as would the
snow before the monday sum-" Wash
ingtou himself III accepting an honorary
membership IN that society puts these
golden words upon the record there that
will remain as his testimony when all
this spirit Of bigotry and intolerance that
is known as the A. 2. A. spirit, when
that has passed into oblivion, when it
has been sunk into the grave from which
trust it never will be resurrected, be-
cause no American man, no Intelligent
American man, care not at what altar
he worships, no intelligent American
man dare, in face Of history, stand up
and asperse the courage, the loyalty and
the devotion OF the people of our race
and creed to the Stars and Stripes and
to the free institutions of Our country.
Applause.
I will not talk of Shields, of Perry,
Mac cDonough, and of all that glorious
galaxy of worth es. will not talk OF
jackson and of numerous men who
preceded him in their struggle
and in their fight for American
liberty, but want to recall this incident,
because at an Ancient Order meeting it
is proper thing to recall, and it is
pardonable even If We take pride in it,
In the early part of 1860 the present
Prince of Wales visited this country.
There was a regiment in New York
known as the Sixty-ninth New York
State militia, whose colonel at that time
was named Michael Corcoran. The
Governor Of the State issued an order as
commander in-chief OF the militia that
all OF the regiments, especially in that
section of New York, should turn out in
parade in order to do honor to the dis
tinguis he'd guest who had visited them.
Col. Corcoran, who had been driven from
his country by the tyranny and oppres-
sion, degradation and misery that had
come to them by reason of that govern
ment whose representative was there to
be honored at that time Col Corcoran,
in his Irish manhood, refused to turn out
his Sixty ninth Reg ment III parade.
The Colonel was suspended from his
place and ordered for court martial.
And just Immediately succeeding that
the gun was fred upon Fort Sumter.
The fate of this nation was at stake.
At that time there we're two companies
of State militia in New York city, one in
Hoboken, and few miles from that very
spot, and one in Brooklyn, that because
of the conduct of Col. Corcoran and the
Sixty ninth Regiment, had passed reeo-
lutions that they would not admit into
their ranks any foreigners, and especially
any Irish Catholics. They were prohibit
ed from joining those companies. Fort
Sumter was fred on the 17th day of April,
1861. President Lincoln issued his pro-
clamation calling upon the manhood OF
Americans to rally in defense Of the
nation and their fresldes-to rally in
defense of the only republic that guar
anteed free and equal rights to all men
These four companies that passed the
resolutions that they would not admit
Irish Catholics to their ranks disbanded.
They disbanded Immediately; but two
days-forty-eight hours-after the proc
lamation was issued-it was issued on
the 18th day of April and on the 10Th
day Of April, 1861, there were 1900 Hiber-
mans, every man a member Of the An
cient Order of Hibernians, marching
down Broadway, New York, carrying
side by side the stars and stripes of their
adopted and of their beloved country,
and along with that the green flag rep
reeenting the hopes and inspirations OF
the country Of their birth. One thou
sand eight hundred ,Hibernians march
ing down roadway in the Sixty ninth
New York and not 100 of these ever came