The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-08-17
FoNTENoY's FIELD.
A Memorial Tablet Will Mark Scene
Of Conflict

Of Conflict.
On the famous battlefield in Fonte-
noy. the little village not far from
Journal, memorial in the shape of
Celtic cross made of Scotch granite,
and inscribed Limerick" and "Fonte-
noy," is being erected by number of
patriotic Irishmen in Ireland. England
and other parts of Europe and Amer
! lea to the memory of those compatri-
OTIS who fell in the battle fighting on
the side of the French.
The memorial will be unveiled with
appropriate ceremonies on August %.
A delegation of men from Ireland. in
cluding Lord Mayor Nannetti, of Dub
lin, will assist in the exercises, as will
also the inhabitants Of Fontenoy, Tour
mai and Anaoine. + A right hospitable
welcome is being. organized for the
Irish deputations on the occasion.
| The Belgians are past masters in
the art Of pageantry; their old COM
munal life has maintained their skill ;
and it is understood that the cere-
monial will revive in a striking way
the historic associations of the period
and the day that saw the Wild Geese
achive their famous victory.
The people of Antoine, Belgium, will
have an historical procession, formed
of groups representing the various
events of the battle.
The Historical Society of Journal
and its pro-Irish president is lending
it's aid, and the communes of Antvine
and Fontenoy are joining hands for
the occasion.
These friendly Belgiums are show
ing in marked way their pride in
the old relations that existed between
the Low Countries and the Ireland of
the persecution.
i The site of the cross is in the heart
Of the little Belgian village whose
name lives in the story of the Irish
Brigade, and istthe gift of the burgo-
master and Communal Council of F'on-
tenoy. Close tosrhe 'Itttf nttffe church sleer
the bodies of many Of the Irish heroes
Il of that battle. The battlefield itself is
between Fontenoy, in Belgium, and
Tournai. in France-the actual spot
where the Irish Brigade fought is
Journal, but the promoters of the
monument decided, after. going over
the details, that Fronfenoy should have
the honor coveted by1both towns.
| OF the famous victory which saved
the monarchy of France, victory
snatched by the Irish soldiers from
the very hands Of fate, the Freeman's
Journal. of Dublin. says editorially:
Fontenoy was not mere acciden'
of war-a detached victory snatched
out of the jaws of defeat. 1t was the
blow Ireland struck back. when the
Penal Laws were at their worst in re-
venge for the broken Treaty of LINER
ick:
The Treaty broken. ere the ink where
with twas writ was dry
Their plundered homes, their ruined
shrines, their women's parting
cry;
Their priesthood hunted down like
wolves; their country over
Each looks as if revenge for all were
staked on him alone.
When the exles left Limerick in
1891 they were $4,000 strong. The
Majority of them were young men
but. even so, few Of them could have
taken part in the charge which
smashed .Cumherland's dauntless
army on the plain outside Tournai, or
May II, 1745. more than half cen.
tury afterward. They may have beer
some dozens of old veterans who were
beardless boys behind the ramparts Of
|Garryowen. and had seen service, per.
haps, at .Steinkirk and Landon, or al
Cremona, Families or Blienheim: bu
the bulk of the brigade which. on tht
immortal day at Fontenoy, dashed
down the Sassenach." knew of the
wrongs of Ireland only at second.
hand, from the lios Of the old men. OF
from those of newly arrived "Wilc
Geese"
Il What an illumination 1t was to Eu.
rope as to the position Of Ireland il
! the British system William had beat.
en- US at the Boyne and Aughrim. ant
when Limerick capitulated ireland
was left. as was said Of her in tn,
subsequent century, like corpse or
; the dissecting table.
There were seventy years of Cim.
merriam darkness; yet. out Of the mid
die of it, like a. fash of lightning
when it was thought the Irish natior
was dead. there was heard, from Lon.
don to Vienna, the order of Lally a