The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-19
BESSIE GREY's TRAGIC DEATH.

presence of God, /, - -, do volun-
tarily declare that I will persevere in en-
deavoring to form a brotherhood of affec-
ton among Irishlaen of every religious
persuasion, and that I will also persevere
in my endeavors to obtain an equal, full
and adequate representation of all the peo-
pie of Ireland. I do further declare that
neither hopes, fears, rewards nor punish
ments shall ever induce me, directly or in
directly, to inform on or give evidence
against any members of this or similar So
%cieties, for any act or expression of theirs
lone or made, collectively or individually,
in or out of this society, in pursuance OF
the spirit of this obligation
In 1896 parliament passed a law punish
ing with death any one who administered
this oath. Despite the penalty the society
continued to flourish. To it belonged Bes-
sic Grey's only brother, George, and her
lover, William Boal. Seeing SO many cruel
wrongs heaped upon her country people
and hearing her neighbors and friends in
Weigh in bitterest terms against the OPP
pressor, she herself became a firm adherent
of the principles of the United Irishmen
and did all in her power to aid them in
their secret meetings and in the attain
ment of their aims. This brought her into
direct contact with the great uprising OF
1898. s8
But it was not until June Is, at the ia
nous battle of ~Ballinahinch, that she took
q prominent part in the strife raging be-
tween Ireland and England. On this morn
ing the sun rose clear and brilllant-1n
truth, the whole summer through it had
shone with unvarying splendor over the
| unhappy land. On this morning 1t looked
down on an army of men in brilliant uni
| forms, adopts in the art of war, with glis-
| tening weapons ready to do battle with o
force of unframed men, poorly armed as to
weapons, but strong in courage for the
| land for which they fought. General Mum
roe was in charge of the insurgents who SO
bravely battled against great odds. The
British retreated slowly before him, con-
testing every inch of the way, into the
center of the town. The insurgents had
won the. victory, but they knew it not.
The British sounded the retreat, but the
unframed soldiers of the insurgent army
knew not the signals of war and mistook
the sound of the trumpet for a note OF
triumph from the British, and, unable to
see in the dense smoke how the battle was
going, they turned and fled in confusion.
A strange sigh5-two armies fleeing from
each other! The English saw the error
/ first, and, turning, pursued theinsurgents.
Then the victory was theirs and they began
a series of inhuman outrages that would
have disgraced even a race of savages
All through tho battle in the midst OF
the carnage near General Munroe, where
the fighting was ~tiercest, Bessie Grey was
constantly seen. Mounted IN a splendid
charger, dressed from head to foot in a
robe green as her native land, waving a
slender sword above her head, cheering,
encouraging the men on to battles she rode.
Never for a moment did her spirit falter.
Bright as a vision from heaven she seemed
to tho men as she faced danger and death
with them. But all the heroism and un-
exampled courage went for naught when
that fatal error occurred and the army fed.
Bessie Grey, whom one Of the British OH
GERS described as the fairest girl he had
ever looked upon her lover and her
brother fled from the disastrous battlefield
to their tragic fate. And along the same
road they took, the lovely Lisburn road,
I walked one day 100 years later. But nc
trampled, trodden grass met my view, nc
shamrock staiuad with scaslst Al WAS