The Irish standard., 1898-09-03
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Some Interesting Facts Relating
to the Question.
HAROLD FREDERIC DOUBTS 1T
Brings Michael Dayitt to Task for
the Statement.

An issue Of the Weekly Nation, re-
Gently to hand, contains letter from
II. u. Sullivan, replying to some sneers
of Harold Frederics regarding the SER
vices rendered by the Irish in the war
of the revolution. 1t seems Mr.. Davtt
had stated on some public occasion that
about one-half of the army which fought
ander, Washington was Irish by birth
Or extraction. Answering this in the
Westminster Gazette, Mr.. Frederic
speaks Of it as an amazing statement"
1nd undertakes to show that Ireland
contributed little or nothing towards
the result of the revolutionary war.
Cur only objection to Mr. Sullivan's ar
dcle is that he let's Mr.. Frederic down
much too easily, says VIM. Dillon in the
New World. This gentleman has of late
come out, in his correspondence to the
New YORK Times, as an ardent advocate
OF the Anglo-American alliance; and for
Irish nationalism, in any shape or form,
ne has, forfsome time past, had nothing
but sneers. His most recent discovery is
that the true mission of the Irish race
on this side of the Atlantic is to forward
In every possible way the Anglo-Ameri-
can alliance.
Touching the controversy between Mr..
Frederic and Mr.. Davitt, Mr.. Sullivan
has this to say:
What really wanted to speak about
is Mr.. Davitt's amazing statement that
over half of Washington's army was
! Irish. He first made the assertion last
winter; I remember rubbing my eyes
over 1t in bewilderment at the time.
Now he has become so enamored of it
that he lugs it into almost everything
ne writes. In the name of all that is
miraculous, where can he have got it
from?"
Well read as he is in the history of
MS country, it Is, indeed, an amazing
thing If Mr.. Frederic never saw that
estimate until recently. For my own
part, l always thought it looked some-
what large; but there was testimony
1or 1t quite as good as there is for many
historical statements which are COM
monty accepted as truths. To give one
instance, ] refer to the proceedings of
committee of the house of commons
which sat in June, 1779 to inquire into
the causes and conduct of the American
CIVIL war, on which occasion number
OF military officers and others who
were there were examined Lord
Germain asked Maj.-Gen. Robertson,
who had served "a years in America,
H'how were the American forces COM
posed, whether mostly of native Ameri-
cans or of emigrants from various ma
tions of Europe and he was thus an
swered:
some OF the corps consist mostly of
natives; others, believe the greater
number, are enlisted from such people
as can be got in the country, and many
OF them may be immigrants. remember
Gen. Lee telling me that he believed
half the rebel army was from Ireland,
on the same occasion one Joseph Cal
loway, a native of Pennsylvania. who
had for IL years been speaker of the as
sembly of that place, but who took the
side OF the royalists in the war, was ex-
amlned at considerable length. and
touching the point above mentioned. he
was asked: THAT part of the rebe,
army that enlisted in the service of
congress, were they chiefly composed of
natives of America, or were the greater
part of them English, Scotch and
lrish?' Here is his reply:
THE names and places of their no.
ESity being taken down, I can answer
the question with precision. There were
scarcely one-fourth natives of America.
about one-half Irish, the other fourth
English and Scotch"
Ihls estimate of the nationaities rep
resented in the revolutionary army NAV
nave been rough one; ii was COM
monty accepted at the time, and proba-
~bly was not far from the fact. Ed
ward O'Meagher Condor, in his excel
lent work entitled THE Irish Race in
America treats this subject very fully.
Basing his statements on American and
other historical authorities, he several
! times gives the proportion OF Irishmcn
IN Washinetons army as about one
half, and he gives references to the au-
thors and the works that support his
view OF the case. Really to meet that
estimate in print at this time Of day.
ought hardly to be novel experience
to any literary man.
After some references to Irish saner-
ais on both sides in the war of indie
pendence, of which I shall have some
remarks to make presently, Mr.. Fred
eric goes on to say:
ss.Rut, leaving generals aside, where