The Irish standard., 1918-12-14
By Rev. NJ. NJ. English.

we'll, Stewart, Moylan, Pickens, Doc
ley, Gibbons, Murphy, Butler, Mont
gomery, Brown and host of others.
Even before the advent of the
French fleet, some of the Irish who
fought under the fluer-de.lis came to
America to aid the patriotic colonists.
Lieutenant General Count Arthur Dill
Ion, commander of the Irish brigade,
addressed petition to the French war
office on behalf of all the Irish SOL
diers in France who we're DESTROYS of
| fighting for American freedom. He
stated that the Irish regiments in the
English wars had always claimed the
privilege of marching foremost against
the troops of that nation. 1t was ow-
ing to this principle that the Irish
troops under Dillon demanded and OBJ
tanned the right of serving in America.
Wonderful Bravery.
The bravery of the Irish was amaz-
ing. OF one of the officers of the
French army, Colonel Lynch, it is re-
lated that, having been directed by
his general to carry urgent dispatches
to the third column fighting on the
left, instead of proceeding along the
rear of the column, he plunged
through the shower of balls and grape
slot which the English and French
were firing at one another. 1t was
in vain that his comrades shouted at
him to take another direction. He
went on, executed his order, and re-
turned the same way. Lynch" said
the general, "the devil must be in you
surely! Why did you choose such a
road as that, in which you might have
expected to perish thousand times
over?" Because it was the Shortest
answered Lynch, and coolly marched
back to the firing line.
In the navy, too, the Irish were no
less prominent and intrepid. The
O'Briens and Jack Barry have already
been alluded to. Others who signally
distinguished themselves in the serv-
ice were: Burke, Dunn, Tanning,
Murphy, Stacey, Read, Simmons, Nc
Gee, Mease, Mcneil, the Barrons, Null
lowney, Ross, McElroy, McRea, O'Dris-
coll, Byron, Somers, McCutchen, Nc
Clelland, the McDonoughs, Roach, Car
roll, McGrath; Fleming, Hartigan, Hen
messy, Walsh, Blakely, the Moores,
Rossiter, Blake, Mcconnell, Kearney
and Casey, all of whom were Irish
either by birth or parentage.
The names of the Irish who fought
| and died for American independence
could be multiplied, if necessary, for
testimony of the most convincing kind
establishes the fact that without Ire
lands sons the struggle for liberty
would have been a disastrous failure.
Joseph Galloway, an uncompromising
loyalist, in his examination before a
select committee of the house Of com
mons in London, June 6, 1879, was
asked, "What were the troops in the
service of congress chiefly composed
Of? Were they natives of America, OF
were the greatest part of them Eng
fish, Scotch, or Irish?" Galloway re
piled, II can answer that question will
precision. There were scarcely one
| fourth natives of America, about one
! half Irish the other one-fourth Eng
lish or Scotch
Major General Robertson was asked,
How are the principal corps COM
posed? Are they mostly native Amer
leans, or emigrants from various ma
tions of Europe?" He replied, Some
of the corps consist mostly of natives,
others, believe the greater number,
are enlisted from such people as can
be got in the country, and many of
them may be emigrants. remember
General Lee telling me that half the
rebel army were from Ireland"
Plowden says chat most of the early
successes of the patriots in America
were Immediately owing to the vigor-
GUS exertions and the prowess of the
|
cause" Froude, one of the bitterest
Of antiIrish historians, is compelled
to admit that according to all evidence
the foremost, the most irreconcilable,
the most determined in pushing the
quarrel to the last extremity were
those excited tenants whom the Anglic-
an bishops and Lord Donegal & Co.
had been pleased to drive out of
Ulster.
Lord Mountjoy solemnly asserted in
the British house of commons, "You
have lost America through the Irish"
True, many of them were only raw
1rishmen," who scarcely knew how to
load musket, yet, these men, un-
drilled and undisciplined, fought with
cold steel and dubbed muskets to the
death"
Perhaps the greatest and most reli-
I al $hfo ~oo<<a~ ~r,o,