Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-05
l|hCAN, HERO OF '76
Bones of Martyr General to
Rest in Arlington.
KILLED DEFENDING PRESS
Victim of Famous Baltimore Riot of
1912.
FIRST CITIZEN OF THIS CITY
Jailed With Light Horse" Lee,
Then Brutality Murdered by
Butcher Mumma.
FIRST CITIZEN OF THIS CITY

| IN one OF the most Dcautl1u1 Spots III
| Arlington. on the main walk. halfway be-
| tween the gate and the vault. there was
buried today at pm. the bones of an in.
innate friend of Washington, of one OF
the most gallant of the generals of the
revolution. a martyr to the cause of the
| freedom of the press in this country, and
the foremost citizen of Georgetown and
| this city in his day-Gen. James McCub-
bin Lingan. In the same grave the bones
of his wife will be laid to final rest.
The remains of both were disinterred
| on the 9TH of last month from the grave
| where the body of the martyr general had
| lain since 1S12-his own private burying
ground near the junction of Foxhall and
New Cut roads. west of Georgetown.
They are now in the vault at Arlington.
Both skeletons are in excellent condition.
| The fracture I'm the skull Of the long-dead
hero. which caused his death, is plainly
visible.
His two granddaughter. Mrs. Eliza beth
Randolph Calvert and Miss Randolph of
Stoneleigh Court, fearful lest some day
| the grave of their great ancestor might
be forgotten. asked the War Department
to give them lot in the national ceme-
terry. One of the very best there was
granted readily, and arrangements for a
solemn military burial were at once be-
gun.
An Absorbing Romance.
No romance could possibly be more in
teresting. more thrilling, more tragic.
than the life history of this revolutionary
soldier.
Miss Ella Lorraine Dorsey. his great
grandniece who lives here, has told the
tale. and the following is nearly in her
own words:
T.
May 81. 17o1. and was of distinguished
English and Scotch ancestry. His Amer
lean forefathers were identified with
Maryland history as early as 1887. His
first colonial ancestor, George Lingan,
was member of the house of burgeSseS,
and Lord Baltimore recommended that he
be appointed member Of the council.
The Lingans were extensive landowners
as shown by the successive grants in CAL
sopny anss e9e and e FRED
erick county the name fingers on hill
and in village.
When the call to arms came after the
battle of Lexington the Maryland troops
hurried to join Washington's forces in
the north. Young Lingan left his posi-
ton in one of the tobacco wharves along
the Georgetown water front to enter the
army with the Marylanders OF this body
of troops President Hancock wrote Wash
ington: They were an exceeding fine
body of men," Lingan was commissioned
second lieutenant July IL, 1776.
Battle of Long Island.
The Marylanders' baptism of fire was at
the battle Of Long Island. August D. 1776,
and Field has told the story OF the valor
of these young heroes more graphically
than any other of their many historians.
1t was necessary to hold the enemy in
check while the shattered army of Sulli-
-
men charged the head of the advancing
column and actually drove CORVALLIS
back to Cortelyou House, holding him
there and forcing him to bring up two
guns to resist their attack. Sweeping
nearer until the guns were fired into their
very faces. their ranks were torn and
shattered, but the only sound heard be-
sides the rattle of small arms and the
rip OF the grape and canister was the
call of the officers: 'Close up! Close up"
as they swung CALAMITY onward to their
death.
The desperate valor of young Lingan
attracted the attention and admiration of
his seniors. even where all were heroes.
Hips Bay. Harlem Heights, White Plains.
ChattertOn Hill and Fort Washington
brought fresh honor and glory to him. At
the latter place Gordon says it cost
knyphausen 500 men to drive back this
single regiment
With his breast torn open by a bayonet
Lngan was captured when the strong
hold fell. and the day he was promoted to
a captaincy, November Is, 1916 saw him
on the way to a martyrdom as cruel as
any recorded in the history of the world.
that grave of thousands who persisted
or were cruelty slain in her rotten hulk.
In the Prison Ship Jersey.
Confined in cell too short for him to
lie at full length. too low for him to stand
erect in. tortured by the sights and
sounds. starved, i'll treated, even here his
courage rose sublime, and the dying
breathed out their mournful lives on his
broad breast and the dignity of the dead
was protected at the risk of his own life.
While here his cousin, Admiral Hood of
the British navy. came to him with the
offer of liberty. wealth and rank in the
English army If he would desert the
American cause. His terse answer was.
Il will rot here first.
And he nearly did so, suffering from
rheumatism, brought on by the trickfing
water and permanent damp of the prison
hole. and sleeping for months after his
release In chair. being unable to
straighten his cramped and rigid limbs.
But he returned to the field with his be-
loved rifle corps. whose captain he was,
and the end of the war found him in the
field.
At the close of the revolution his
adored chief. now his warm personal
friend and the head of the nation, ap-
pointed him collector of the port of
Georgetown, and he began a long ca
reer of valuable citizenship lahoring
hard for the advancement of Washing
tons plans for the Federal city He was
a man Of substance. Two Of his handsome
estates were named lfor the battles in
which he was wounded-Harlem, the
one on which he was buried and which
was bought by Judge Thurston after his
death, and Middlebrook. on the Fred
erick road. several miles beyond Rock
vile. The house on the last named was
of brick with two wings, and over the
door was a stone slab bearing the name
Lingan and the date. 1t belonged a few
years ago to the estate Of Ogle Tayloe
His town house was a stately mansion
at the junction of Goth and l streets and
Pennsylvania avenue, with wide grounds
He, his youngest brother. Nicholas (who
married Anna Hanson), Mr. Laws (who
married Miss Custis) and Gen. Van Ness
(who married Marcia Burns) were the
largest landholders in Washington.
Large Landowner Here.
Mr.. Laws bought east of the Capitol.
thinking that would be the court end of
the town: Gen. Van Ness bought south
of the avenue. and Gen. Lingan bought
west of 18th street and north of the ave-
nue.. The latter presented every other
lot to the government on condition of
improvement. and the city owes him
heavy debt of gratitude, for when the
public buildings had to be stopped for
lack Of money and the general credit of
the government was SO low that even
devoted Maryland required q guaranty
from the commissioners in their individual