The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-03-26

had been blasted by the breath of the
destroying angel. 1t has been said that
praise from an enemy is praise indeed,
and surely no one will accuse the Lon
don Times Of undue Partially to Irish
men. Before and since the day that its
envenomed comments extorted from
O'Connell that famous epithet the 'Felon
Times down to the time that it was
mulcted in damages for its libelous at
tack On Parnell-nay, even to the pre-
sent hour-that paper has been noted
for its inveterate hostility to everything
Irish. Let us see what it's war corre-
spondent. Mr.. Russell. who watched the
battle from the heights, has to say Of
Meagher's troops at Fredericksburg:
Never at Fontenoy, Albuera or at
Waterloo was more undoubted courage
displayed by the sons of Erin than dur
Ing these six frantic dashes which they
directed against the almost impresnable,
position OF their foe with dauntlessnes;
of race which has gained glory en- Il
thousand hattlefelds, and never more
richly deserved them than at the, foot of
Mary's Heights on the 18th day of De-
cember 1862
'Decimated at Fredericksburg and
Antietam The Irish Brigade dying
like the Theban sacred band at Chac-
ronea, was annihilatcd at Chancellors-
vile, after which, as 'Meaghcr's Bril-
gade, it disappears from history lls
Valor and that of it's gallant leader had
constituted the silver lining of the dark
cloud of disaster that so long lowered
over the Army of the Potomac, and fire.
Quently elected the hearty enconliums
OF such soldiers as Burnsides, Hooker
and Mcclellan. Truly no Drawer soldier
than Meagher treads the asphadel-be-
spangled verdure of the Elysian fields.
1t has been charged that Meaghcr
was reckless, and that he exposed the
lives OF HIS men unnecessarily. A mo.
ment's cons liberation will refute this silly
charge. Measher had to obey the orders
OF his commander-in-chief. Tcnnyson's
immortal lines on The Light Brigade
which was similarly immo.a:ed at Bllak-
lava will apply to General Meagher and
his troops at Fredericksburg:
Was there man dismayed?
No; Though the soldier knew
Someone had blundcred
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but do CT die
Meagher never asked troops to go
where he did not himself lead. His
sword always shone where danger was
greatest and where death was surest, in
the foremost of the van.
"Oh, what a picture for the brush of
Meissonier was that scene when Meagh-
err bid adieu to the war worn remnants
or MS once magnificent command. When
the concomitant circumstances are con-
sldered, greater, nObler. more pathetic.
was that scene than that other memoir
able episode which took place in the
flace de Cheval at FontainebIeau in 1914
when the great Napoleon parted from his
ola guard; more pathetic. | repeat it,
and more deserving Of being immortal
lZed on the canvas of a genius because
Meagher fought for emanc:pltic n-Napo-
leon to enslave.
Possessed of the bravery of a Bayarl
or Ney, the tenderness and poetic fer
Vor or a Sydney, Meagher was not ONLY
hero en- the battleneld-in the realm of
oratorical art he was a kinr.
And this was the man whom the pov
eminent of England sentenced to the GAL
lows in my native town of Clonmel n
man whom any other government in the
world would he delighted to honor But
although Meagher's fame needs no mon
ument to keep his memory ever groom
In the hearts of his people, we owe some
such recognition of his genius and SER
vices to those members Of his family
VINO still survive and also to ourselves.
1T would indeed be the acme of base
lngratitude if that people for whose nm
lifting he sacrificed all the pleasures OF
a happy and honorable home. together
with all the emoluments that were so
surely within the reach OF his snholor1v
and splendidly gifted mind: that race fo.
whose veal he stood within the deepen
ing shadow Of the scaffold with that IN
trepld courage so peculiarly his own.
and If that mighty nation for whose
union and permanence he bore the red
toll of so many bloody fields should NO.
elect to honor him in his undiscovered
grave. Undiscovered? Alas, YES: for
the turbid Missouri has not given I'm
It's dead, and its tawny waters will Groom
their lonely drges above his bones for
cvermore
To many Americans accustomed to
our ruder and less cultured fellow conn
trymen the learning, ability and cnlirht.
ened patriotism OF Mcaghcr was a rcvc-
latlon. He proved to the most skonticol
mat, being "a true Irishman even to the
death, only made him the stauncher
American, and therefore to the gallant
American veterans. by whose side Men.
CHER fought and whom he loved with all
the strength of his noble nature WE an
peal for help to make this monument a
success. We appeal to the generous pco.
pie of Montana. among whom he spent
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