The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-04-03
WHAT THE IRISH DID
Continued from First Page.)

NSot'~''A.'SNh - 1AA = ->o|.
Wexford The fame of his victories is
known to every schoolboy. 1t was he
who, when hailed by an English frigate
IN the West Indies and asked the usual
questions as to ship and captain, an
swered, *"rhe United States ship Ali
ance, ssaucy Jack Barry, half Irishman,
half Yankee. Who are you?"
In a speech delivered not long ago,
Joseph Medill, the veteran editor of the
j Chicago Tribune, directed public atten-
tion to the fact that the first English
fort taken in the Revolution was cap
tured by an 1rishman, the first naval
engagement fought was won for the
colonies by l1ishmen, and the first gen
eral killed IN action was Ell Irishman,
nnd the first artillery organization in
the Colonial army was created by all
freshman.
So much for the Irish officers in the
Colonial army. What Of the men in
The ranks? 1t is now we'll established
That a very large proportion of them
were Of irish birth Or descent. Some
historic evidence On this point is worth
repeating. The Journal Of the English
House of Commons for June Is, 1879,
gives the testimony of Joseph Galloway.
b Tory, before the parliamentary COM
mittae appointed to inquire into the
rauses that led to the rebellion OF the
eolonies Here is an extract from his
testimony:
q. What were the troops in the
seIvice OF the congress chiefly composed
Of? Were they natives of America, On
were the greatest part Of them English,
Scotch or irish?
ca. I can answer With precision.
There were scarcely one-fcurth native
Americans, about one-hall Irish, the
other fourth English and Dutch"
August 10, Of the same year, before
the same committee, MajorCen. Rob-
hrtson, OF the British army, replying to
p similar question: said: Some Of the
corps consist Of natives; others, 1 be-
lieye the greater number, are enlisted
from such people as can be got in the
country. remember Gen. Lee telling
us that half the rebel army were from
Ireland - Washington's adopted son,
!. Parke Gusts, made this written state
n,ent: "Ot the operatives OF the war
I mean the so1ders--ilp to the coming
OF the French, ireland had furnished in
the ratio Of one hundred for one Of any
foreign nation Whatever The Eng
lish historian Powder, says: ut is Il
fact beyond question that most Of the
early successes of the patriots Of Amer
lea were owing to the Vigorous exer-
tons and prowess Of the irish emf
grants who bore arms in that cause"
Lecky, the historian, declared chat few
classes were SO largely represented in
the American army as Irish emigrauts.
Other authorities might be cited to the
same effect, if time permitted. We
know that Washington cherished the
most profound gratitude for the serv-
Ices Of his Irish soldiers. When he
Joined the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
as "a society distinguished for the firm
est adherence to our cause"
As early as It'll the Irish House Of
Commons gave evidence of its sympa-
thy with the American colonies, and
Benjamin Franklin, who visited Ireland
In that year. wrote home to that effect
Two Irish orators, Edmund Burke and
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, were fore
most in championing the cause of the
colonies in the British parliament. Our
immortal Declaration of Independence
was signed by ffty-six names, Of which
eight, in addition to that Of Charles
Thompson, of Pennsylvania, County
Derry man, who was the secretary of
the Continental congress, belonged to
Irishmen or the sons OF Irishmen. These
were Matthew Thornton, Of New Hanp~
shire: James Smith, George Taylor and
Thomas Mexican, of Pennsylvania:
George Reade. Of Delaware; Charles
Carroll, of Carrollton; Thomas Lynch
and Edward Rutledge, of South Caro-.
thing besides their courage and talents
to the cause of the Revolution. In 1780,
when the finances of the army were at
the lowest ebb, when the hardships of
the soldiers for want Of food and cloth
ing had reached point where mutiny
reared it's head, seventysix merchants
Of Philadelphia subscribed an enormous
sum for the relief of the soldiers OF
the subscribers, twenty were Irish. and
the amounts appearing opposite their
names aggregated S442,50O.
On this occasion the feast of Ireland's
patron saint, we may well recall these
facts, not in vainglorious spirit, but to
show that the Americans of today
and their sons and daughters have
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