The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-08-24
The TRUTH ABOUT The
IRISH IN The REVOLUTION
Joltin6 The Re-Writers of American History
E With Facts
BY BENJAMIN WELLINGTON
BRYANT.

xxx

By BENJAMIN WELLINGTON
BRYANT.
Much has been said recently by
the champions Of the new indoor
sport Of rewriting Americans his
tory" concerning "the Irish of the
Revolution" It seems passing
strange, however, that such ardent
advocates of historical accuracy
should overlook, or at least fail to
bring forward, certain vital facts con-
corning those particular Irish. The
propaganda in question would lead US
to believe, by implication, if not by
direct statement, that those Revolu-
tionary Irish were merely the
eighteenth century forerunners of
the twentieth century Sim Feiners,
and that the establishment of Ameri-
can independence was but an anna
flourish prelude to the crowning
event Of the ages-the proclamation
Of the Irish Republic. We have
breathlessly awaited further discov-
eries-or revelations-to prove that
our George Washington was but an
earlier incarnation Of De Valera
born in the slums Of New yeEk Of an
Irish mother and a Spar father!
Revolutionary Ratriot Much daIigned
It is time that the truth regard
ing those much-maligned revolution
airy patriots, as well as some Of the
facts regarding the other side of
the historical picture, should be
brought forward. If American his
tory must be rewritten, it is surely
as permissible that Masons should
lend a hand as it is for our friends
Of the sacred hyphen. Masonry could
supply many missing pages of his
tory, but Masons, be. it remembered,
have not raised the cry for ere
written history" Recent historical
works have already been SO thorough
ly emasculated that it has been re-
marked with considerable justice
that "moderA history consists of
those things to which no one can
raise objection" But it has remain
ed for those who have profited most
by the Examinations to assume the
self-appointed task and proclaim
their purpose to further interfere
with the record.
Term "Irish" Applied With Injustice
It is indisputable fact that a very
considerable number Of our revolu-
'ionary patriots were either born in
Ireland or descended from settlers
who had immigrated FROM that IN
happy island. But they were far
from being the kind Of Irish that
our friends would lead US to believe.
In fact, the term Irish" is applied
o them with about as much justice
as the appellation of German" could
be to an Englishman or Scotchman
who happened to be born in Ger
many. The story Of the colonization
IF the north Of Ireland by Scotch
Presbyterians in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries is too well
known to need repetition. From it
has come a legacy that has caused
British craftsmanship many Sleep
'ess night during all the years that
have passed since that migration. In
the early eighteenth century the Brit
ish parliament, in what was to prove
most unfortunate hour, passed bills
which resulted in seriously crippling
the commercial life of the Industrious
North Ireland Protestants. Con-
sequently untold thousands Of those
people immigrated to America dur
ing the first half of that century.
Protestant "Irish" in America Took a
Big Part in Revolutionary War
With the first rumblings Of that
storm which finally became the
American Revolution, those people
and their children, having the bitter
memories Of injustice at the hands
Of parliament still fresh in their
minds, were only too ready to spring
to arms to prevent a repetition of
the same conditions in America. 1t
was a most fortunate situation for
the cause of independence, but far
from being so for the British Empire.
It is estimated by reliable authorities
that at the outbreak Of the Revolu-
ton those immigrants from Ireland,
together with their descendants,
numbered close to half a million, or
about one-sixth of the population Of
the Colonies. They were of brave
and sturdy stock whose Irish tradi-
tions consisted Of one long fight to
preserve their racial and Religious in
tegrity, they were fresh from condi-
tions which were a fairly close paral-
lei to those which king and parlia-
ment were seeking to >impose. upon
the colopists, and they were, to a
man, uncompromisingly Protestant.
Moreover, very considerable num-
Der Of them were Masons.
"Irish" Patriots of Revolutionary
Days Identified
In view Of the present propaganda
It may be Of interest and profit to
identify few Of the members Of our
Fraternity during that period who
were Of Irish birth or extraction.
Much has been written in the public
tions Of the Craft regarding their
Masonic Affiliations, but little at