The Irish standard., 1916-12-30
(Communicated.)

| Now that the spasm of anti-hyphen-
| ism has somewhat abated and the
presidential election excitement has
subsidized, it may be of some benefit
to recall a few of the services one
group of these hyphenates has con-
tributed to the creation and establish
ment of the United States as an in
dependent nation-to wit the (save
the mark) Irish-Americans. 1t would,
of course. take a volume to deal with
this subject eXhaustively. We pur-
pose only in this article to discuss the
interesting question, recently revived
in a number of publications, as to the
percentage of Irish and Irish.Ameri-
cans who were engaged as regulars
or militia in the Revolutionary war.
If there were no records and no au-
thentic figures bearing on the question
it would require no great proof that
(reasoning priorD normally consti-
tuted Irishmen or their descendants
would be found in large numbers in
any war waged in almost any country
against their hereditary enemy, the
British empire. The Boer war in
South Africa furnishes one of the lat
est instances of this Willingness and
eagerness of the sons Of Erin to strike
blow in retaliation for the merciless
persecution which for over seven cen
turtles Ireland has suffered at the
hands of England. 1t would be, there
fore, inconceivable to suppose that,
if there were Irish here in numbers
at the time Of the outbreak of the
great revolution, that they would not
be found almost unanimously enrolled
against their ancient adversary.
And this antecedent probability is
strikingly borne out by the records of
that great struggle, for it is u histor-
ical fact that over fifty per cent of
the soldiers of Washington's army,
regulars and militia, bore Irish names
and were of that fighting race. Many
authorities can be quoted to PROVE
this remarkable statement. but per-
haps the most trustworthy is that of
Charles A. Dana, late editor of the
New York Sun. Mr.. Dana was one
of the editors of one OF the earliest
American encyclopedias, Appletons
and was also one of the editors of the
Encyclopedia Britannica, and many
times this statement appeared in his
paper, and has never been contradict
ed. 1t is also borne out by an in
vestigation conducted in the British
parliament during the war, wherein
Joseph Galloway, who had been in the
employ of the government at Phila
delphia stated in answer to ques-
ton as to the nationality of the rebel
of their nativity being taken down
can answer the question with preci-
sion. They were scarcely onc-fourth
natives OF America; about one-haIf
Irish, the other fourth English and
Scotch Lord Mountjoy, too, subsc-
quently, tainted the ministers with
the remark: you have lost America
through the Irish" Indeed there were
several hundred soldiers OH the RevO.
lutionary rolls of the same name,
Patrick O'Brien," and whole book
has been written with the title, "The
Patricks of the Revolution" from Lex
ington to Yorktown there was no bat
tlefield in which Irish blood did not
flow for American independence. OF
two million dollars raised for the con-
tinental army in the crucial year of
1880, four hundred and forty thousand
were contributed by twcnty-nine Irish
men of Pennsylvania.
Charles Thompson, secretary Of the
Continental Congress which promul.
gated the Declaration of Independ
ence, was Irish, as were at least thir-
teen of it's signers. And it was first
publicly read by hyphcnated Irish
man, Colonel John Nixon and first
printed from the press of John Dun
lap, who hailed from the County Ty