The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-09-30
IRISH FOUNDER OF ARGENTINE NAVY.

in Foxford County Mayo, Ireland, IN III. Tie
spoke nothing but Irish until he left home for the
United States IN his ninth year with his father
Soon after landing in Philadelphia he lost his
father and was thrown an orphan upon the world.
He was taken on board ship by an American
skipper and became cabin boy Fer twenty years
he saw many lands and many hardshlps lie was
made prisoner during the Napoleonic wars, was
sent TO Metz escaped was halfstarved in the woods
of Ardenness staggered across the Rhine into Ger
many and fell into the hands of the Grand Duchess
of Wurtemburg, who gave him the means OF going
| back to
He worked his way from the forecaste to quar-
terdeck and now sailed southwark by the Spanish
Main as commander of his ship which bun
Cling pilot ran aground near Buenos Ayres. Saved
the cargo hawked it through the provinces and sold
it, crossed the Andes into Chile bought schooner
in one of the Pacific ports came back to the river
| Plata and established packet service between
| Montevideo and Buenos Ayres.
He was two years here when the revolution gave
him his chance. In 1914 the government asked him
to fit out squadron to fight the Spanish navy then
J in complete mastery of the sea ON both coasts OF
the continent. Brown crossed the broad estuary of
the Plata with three old whalers armed warshps,
attacked a Spanish squadron composed of nine
vessels defeated it, took Martin Garcia island, for
titled it, and then went down stream to Montevideo
having been reinforced by .two three other leak
ing, old tubs" which the government of Buenos
<Ayres had picked up in the meantime and sent
strengthen the fighting line. The Spanish fleet of
the South Atlantic consisting of thirteen warships
was under the batteries of MonteYideo. Brown drew
them out and on the high captured sank
every ship and came back to seal the fate of Mon
tevideo, the last stronghold of the Spanish the
Atlantic seaboard. There is no space in a brief
article like this to tell of Browns exploits They
read like romance
The Irish admiral was the hero of the hour. His
deeds were chronicled with wonder and admiration.
Brown, meanwhile, was busy preparing for raid
round the Horn and up the Pacific coast to destroy
the Spanish feet in those waters. He bombarded
Callao captured several Spanish ships in Peruvian
waters and attacked the fortified seaport of Guaya
quill almost single-handed. His ship went aground
in a falling tide, and he was boarded by regiment
of Spanish infantry. He sat over the powder mag
azine torch in hand, and ordered them ashore.
Brown made terms with them, sailed back round
Cape Horn, found Spanish feet in the river Plata
beat out to in haf-cripped condition, put his
guns in the hold when the British refusing to rec
ognize the Argentine flag, then on the sea, re
garded him as pirate, captured him, and treated
him in such way" says his biographer, that to
the end of his days he would sooner hear the evil
one spoken of than the English, He could not say
much to them in Spanish, tongue which he never
spoke huently, nor even in Bearia; but in Irish he
often eased his mind about them and it is said that
the suave and elegant leaders of the revolution,
with the manners of Spanish hidalgoes, from whom
most of them were descended, lifted their eyebrows
mildly at the torrential flow of Gaelic lava which
relied out or the toXfOrdmanS Ups when he
getting rid of some of the things that on his
mind about the Sassenach"
When our hero again makes his appearance on
the deep it is ten years later, In 1926. Latin-Amer
lean independence had been won, but there was
some after trouble with Portugal and the branch
house of the Portuguese monarchy in South Amer
ica viz, Brazil. Browns exploits against the Bra
zilans were even more wonderful than his exploits
against the Spaniards He won the decisive battle
of Juncal against fearful odds, smashed powerful
Brazilian blockade of Buenos Ayres wrought havoc
among e-enemy in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro p
seized coffee ships bombarded the forts, disorgan-
lied the commerce and coasting trade of the entire
country, and did many fearsome deeeds to the in
finite terror Of the Brazilians.
Trouble with Uruguay sent Brown on board
again ten twelve years later, and it was during
this that he administered a memorable whip
ping to Garibaldi, who fighting against the Ar
gentine republic. Garibaldi sailed UP the Parma
with squadron to the relief of Corrientes Brown
Followed him and overlook him at Costa Bravo.
Jaribaldl fortified himself By drawing his ships to-
yether close against the shore and placing all his
guns on the side facing his opponent. Brown sailed
lose in, and gave his enemy such a pounding that
Jaribaldi resolved to abandon his ships which he
red to blow up. Brown boarded the beaten enemy
ut the fuses, towed off the prizes and took prison
rs all of the crews that had not been killed
AS for Garibald he crept over the side. into
oat, down stream and out of South American his
DRY IN most humble and unobtrusive manner
late, 1912 In due course he went to Europe and
onned the bloody shirt, but never forgot Brown
nd Costa Bravo
The end of the war brought to a close Browns
areer on the sea. He retired to his country house
n the suburb OF Buenos Ayres and after that made
My one more appearance in public life. He was
ummoned once to take up the reins of government
nd be the Argentine chief magistrate in great
Gtional crisis He obeyed the call and held the post
ntil the crisis passed. when he cheerfuy resigned
+ and went back to his gardening.
For forty years he kept the Argentine flag flying
n the Main. 1t he who first raised it to the
lasthead, and who first carried it through victory
n the waves. He destroyed the Spanish power in
outh American waters. thereby saving the revo-
ition in series of daring and splendid victories
hlch, III their own way leave the deeds of Nelson
ocllrane and Farragut in the shade He contrib
ted to the, consolidation of the republic and NAV
regarded as one of its saviors He had been vel
omed back in triumph by the people of Buenos
yres from repeated victories. He had been made q
le recipient of the highest honors in the gift Of
le nation. He had won glory for the arms of his
iopted country which will never fade In his old
60 he visited Ireland and spent some time in the
enes of his childhood. He died in 1857. honored