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Jlmtritan History 
A LECTURE 

BY 

HON. J. L. MACDONALD 

"* * * I hope ever to see America the foremost nation i n examples 
of j u stice and liberality, And I presume that your fellow-citizens will 
not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of 
their revolution, and the establishment of t heir government; or the 
important assistance they received from a nation in which the Roman 
Catholic faith is professed,"-GEN. WASHINGTON, repl ying to the 
congratulatory address of the Catholics of the United States. 

alulrrl1utinuul Q!u1l1nlir wru1l1 ~nctdy 
ARBUCKI,E BUILD ING 

BROOKI,YN. NEWYOaK CITY 

Cable Address: "Veritas," New York 

P rice, 5 cents each; $3.00 per hundred 



I , 

,,' 

I I 



THE CATHOLIC PAGES OF AM;ERICAN 
HISTORY. 

A LECTURE BY HON. J. L. MACDONALD. 
Delivered in Cretin Hall, St. Paul, Minn., February ~8, ~89~, under the 

auspices of the Catholic Trttth Society. 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: 

There is no country on the face of the earth whose 
citizens, as a body, are so free from religious prejudice 
and sectarian bias, as the United States. Our people, 
with but few exceptions-as becomes the citizens of a 
great republic-have learned to respect each others 
opinions; and, recognizing the fact that man is account-
able to God alone for his religious belief, they have 
agreed to disagree, where they differ, and to insist 
that no one shall be disturbed in the enjoyment of the 
inestimable right of freedom of conscience. 

The friends and admirers of human freedom, in 
other lands, regard the United States-and rightly, 
so-as a grand temple of liberty, in which th ey all 
would fain reside. It so appears to them, because 
nere, more than uuder any other government upon the 
globe, our people enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of 
happiness," and because here the oppressed of all 
nations have found a refuge from tyranny, oppression 
and wrong. 

The arch which would represent the entrance to this 
temple of liberty is our constitution, and its keystone 
is that provision which secures to all living under its 
protecting [egis, religious as well as civil fr eedom j 
the right to worship God according to the dictates 01 
their own consciences. In the language of the ' author 

j 



2 

o£ the declaration o£ independence, this constitution 
"has banished from our land that religious intolerance 
under which mankind so long bled and suffered!" 

But there are exceptions to every rule, and this 
rule is, not without them. Now and then there arises 
a bigoted Cassandra who attempts to disturb the spirit 
of harmony and good will that exists among , our citi-
zens, by frantic appeals to religious prejudice, and by 
doleful forebodin gs of dangers which have been fore-
told for almost a century, but have not yet matm:ialized. 
In the recAnt past, thi s portion of our country had an 
exhibition of these "alarming" prognostications, and 
the periodical and oft-refuted effort was made to array 
the Catholic Church as the enemy of r epublican in-
stitutions. But the attack met the fate of its predec.es-
SOl'S, and is now scarcely remembered. The Catholic 
Truth Society has, however, concluded that it is due 
to the members of the Catholic Ohurch, and the Amm'i-
can people, that the truth of our history, as to the 
Oatholic portion thereof, be made more generally 
known, They have concluded that the most crushing 
rebuke that can be administered to these maligners 
of the Catholic Church and its members, is to place 
before our citizens the Oatholic pages of American 
histol'y, and I have been requested to perform that 

-duty. 
I would have much preferred that the task had been 

assigned to other and abler hands; but, believing it to 
be the duty of us all to aid and assist this Society in 
its laudable efforts when we can ' do so, I have con-
cluded to comply with that request, to the best of my 
ability. 

It will be hardly necessary for me to remark that a 
lecture on this subject can be but little more than a 
brief statement of historical facts. 

It is not my intention to claim or seek to establish, 
in the mind of my fellow Oatholics, that the great body 
of which we are members, i s entitled to the credit of 
possess inO" a historical record superior to that of allY of 
our non-Catholic brethren. I.. do not intend to even 
institute a comparison. I shall simply state facts and 



3 

let them speak for themselves. If anyone expects to 
hear me this evening indulge in the denunciation _of 
those who differ with us in matters of religion, he will 
be disappointed. Any institution that cannot maintain 
itself except by assailing those who differ with it, does · 
not deserve to live. 

The Oatholic Ohurch has not been compelled to rely 
on the denunciation of others for existence; and the 
assaults of her enemies, for ages past, have failed to 
make an impression upon her. Upon this point the 
distinguished Protestant writer, Lord Macaulay, in 
1840, said: 

The history of that Church joins together the two great ages of 
huma n civilization. No other institution is left standing which 
carries the mind back to the time when the smoke of sa crifice rose 
from the Pantheon, and when camelopards and tigers bounded in 
the Flavian amphitheatre. The proudest royal houses are but of 
yesterday when compared with the line of the Supreme Pontiffs. 
That line we trace back in an unbroken series from the Pope who 
crowned Napoleon, in the nineteenth century, to the Pope who 
crowiled Pepin, in the eighth; and far beyond the time of Pepin 
the august dynasty extends, till it is lost in the twilight of fable. 
The republic of Venice came next in antiquity. But the republic 
of Venice was modern when compared with the Papacy; and the 
republic of Venice is gone, and the Papacy remains. The Papacy 
remains not in decay, not a mere antique; but full of lite and 
youthful vigor. The Catholic Church is still sending forth, to the 
·farthest ends of the world, missionaries as zealous as those who 
landed in Kent with Augustine, and is still confronting hostile 
kings with the same spirit with which she confronted Atilla. The 
number of her children is greater than in any former age. Her 
acquisitions in the new world have more than compensa ted her 
for wh a t she has lost in the old. Her spiritual ascendencyextends 
over the vast countries which lie between the plains of the Missouri 
and Cape Horn-countries which, a century hence, may not im-
proba bly contain a population as large as that which now , 
inhabits Europe. The members of her community are certa inly 

• no fewer than a hundred and fifty millions; and it will be difficult 
to show that all the other Christian sects united amount to a 
hundred and twenty' millions. Nor do we see any sign which in-
dicates that the term of her long dominion is approaching. She 
saw the commencement of all the governments and of all the 
ecclesiastical establishments, that now exist in the world, and we 
feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them 
all. She was great and respected before the Saxon had set foot 
on Britain-before the Frank had passed the Rhine-when Grecian 
eloquence still flourished at Antioch-when idols were still wor-
shipped in the temple of Mecca. And she may still exist in un-
dimini shed vigor, when some traveller from New Zealand shall, in 
the midst of a vast solitude, t ak e his stand on a broken arch of 
London bridge to sketch the ruins of St . Paul 's. 



4 

The history of the fifty eVfmtful years that have trans-
pired since Lord Macaulay wrote those lines, have cer-
tainly furnished evidence of the wisdom and foresight 
he exhibited, in his prophetic statements.-

' My purpose accordingly to-night is simply to show, 
by a candid and truthful r efer ence to American history, 
that the Catholic portion th ereof is a record of many of 
the most important 'events contained therein, and re-
flects fully as much credit upon Catholics as is reflect-
ed by any other portion upon any other denomination. 
In fact so interwoven in the history of this country, are 
the deeds of distinguished and d evoted Catholics, that 
were we to prune it of the record of those deeds, its 
brightest pages would be obliterated, and many of its 
noblest and proudest recitals of self-sacrificing heroism 
and patriotic virtue would be lost. 

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

I would ask you to go back with me, in imagination , 
to the fifteenth century, and into the city of Genoa. 
We enter a certain house, and looking into a room 
therein, we discover a man whose dress and bronzed 
and weather-beaten countenance indicate him to be a 
sea-faring man. He is kneeling-perchance before a. 
crucifix-around him are lying maps, charts and nauti-
cal instruments peculiar to his occupation. In that 
attitude he is appealing to his Creator to smile upon his, 
efforts, and grant him success in carrying out an under-
taking, the magnitude of which, when first suggested, 
startled some, and created ridicule in others, as an in-
~ane idea-the discovery of a Western Hemisphere, 01 
as some called it, a " new world." 

That man is Christopher Columbus, the discoverer 
of America, whose character and subsequent career fully 
justify me in introducing him as I have done. Calm, 
persevering and patient, under the most trying difficul-
ties; dignified in his deportment, at all times master of 
himself, he commanded the respect and elicted th e 
esteem of all with whom he came in contact. 

The difficulties which he met and overcome, in car-
rying out his undertaking, and in accomplishing an 



5 

object so grand in conception and stupendous in result, 
shows him to have been well qualified, by nature and 
education, for an enterprise so arduous. He first applies 
to the government of his native town, Genoa-anxious 
that it should share and participate in the honor that 
might arise from so grand an enterprise-but, to his 
great mortification, they treated his theory as a visionary 
scheme. He next applies for aid to King John II, of 
Portugal, and is again refused. ~e then sends his 
brother Bartholomew to England, to solicit the patronage , 
of Henry VII, but Bartholomew having been captured 
by pirates, failed to reach England' for several years. 

Disappointed in his applications to other courts- but 
not disheartened-Columbus in 1486 applied to that of 
Spain. Here he was fortunate in having a powerful 
friend and mediator in Father Juan Perez, guardian of 
the ~onastery of La Rabida, the queen's confessor, and 
an ecclesiastic of great influence and ability. Through 
the representations and mediation of this distinguished 
divine, a favorable hearing was granted to the propo-
sitions of Columbus. Still circumstances conspired 
against him, eveIl. here, in the accomplishment of his 
object. Spain had just emerged from a long war with 
the Moors, who had been expelled from Grellada, and 
the state, of her finances was so low as to render it im-
possible for him to receive assistance from the public 
treasury, alld Ferdinand was compelled to acknowledge 
his inability to assist him in his enterprise, 

But through the influence of Father Perez, who spoke 
to the queen of .the glory which would result from the 
achievement and success of the enterprise, and which 
would forever attach to her reign; and of the extension 
of the Catholic religion over the countries to be discov-
ered, this noble queen-appropriately styled" Isabella 
the Catholic "-pledged her crown jewels, and thereby 
raised the means necessary to complete the preparations 
for the voyage. 

Thus after six years of patient solicitation, and after 
surmounting difficulties, under which any other than 
Columbus would have succumbed in despair, the dis-
coverer of this continent was enabled, by the munifi. 



6 

cent aid and liberality of " Isabella the Catholic" __ 
effected through the mediation of a Catholic priest-to I 
carry out his projected enterprise, and open up,to the 
"old world" this vast and. glorious land of ours. 

A squadron was fitted out, consisting of three vessels 
of inconsiderable size, and when ready for sailing, 
Columbus-ever mindful of his duty as a Catholic--
proceeded with his crew in solemn procession to the mon-
astery of La Rabida, and there at the hands of their 
friend, Father Perez, partook of the sacraments, and 
committed themselves to the protection of Heaven. 
They then took leave of their friends, whom they left 
full of gloomy apprehensions, with respect to their 
perilous undertaking. 

On the morning of the third-of August 1492, Colum-
bus set sail from the harbor of Palos, in the Sa1'l ta 
Maria, the largest vessel of his squadron, followed by 
the Pinta and Nina. I will pass over the account 
given of his perilous voyage; that long and doubtful 
period-his accidents-the discontent and almost 
mutiny of his crew, who failed to possess the persever-
ance to continue on across the trackless ocean, but for 
the indominitable energy of their commander-until 
the morning of the twelfth of October, 1492, when we 
find him and his crew first looking upon the island of 
San Salvador, the first portion of the American con-
tinent which he had discovered. 

Their first act is to offer up thanks to God, and, 
under the leadership of the crew of the Pinta, to sing 
hymns of praise and thanksgiving, in tears of joy and 
congratulation. This office of gratitude to Heaven is 
immediately followed by an act of retribution to their 
commander, by that portion of the men who, but a few 
days before, required all the self-possession and ad-
dress of the admiral to preserve his ascendency and 
insure the completion of the voyage; they threw them-
selves at his feet, and, with the humblest acknowledg-
ments of their rashness and disobedience, besought 
forgiveness. 

The boats were lowered and rowed to shore1 and 
Columbus, as the r epresentr.tive of Spain, is th e first to 



step upon the long wished for land, followed by those 
who accompanied him. They bear aloft the banner of 
the cross and, erecting it upon the shore, prostrate ' 
themselves before it and again return thanks to God. 

The world is therefore indebted to the Christian zeal 
of a Catholic nation, and its noble queen and her 
spiritual adviser; but more than all to that great man 
and heroic Catholic-Columbus himself-for the ac-
complishment of this great undertaking, and the open-
ing up to commerce; civilization and Christianity, of 
the fairest portion of the earth. 

The cross, the emblem of man's salvation, and 
symbol of Catholic faith, is planted upon the shores of 
the new world. I will now pass to a review of later 
events connected with our history. 

The next important event in the history of our coun-
try, which I shall take up and, consider, is the estab-
lishment of 

CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 

Notwithstanding Columbus discovered the "new 
world" for Spain, she secured but a 'small portion of 
the Southern part of what is now known as the United 
States. France settled Acadia and Canada, and Eng-
land succeeded in colo~i~ing the greater portion of the 
United States, or what is generally known as the orig-
inal colonies. 

With the settlers from the "old world" came its pre-
judice and bigotry. The home government insisted 
upon maintaining absolute sway and authority over its 
subjects, and "civil liberty"-so-called-was refused 
the colonies until the seventeenth century. Prior to 
that time the colonies were but mere settlements, sub-
ject to the control of such irresponsible rulers or gov-
ernors, as chance, coupled with the caprice of their 
sovereign, placed over them. 

The first colonial assembly ever convened in America, 
assembled at Jamestown, Virginia, on the nineteenth of 
June, 1619, and American historians style that day, "the 
birthday of civil freedom in our country." To a certain 
extent it is. The charler under which that assembly 



8 

convened, secured rights which were sufficient to form 
the basis of PJliticalliberty; but one great element was 
wanting to make their liberty complete; and that was 
religious freedom. 

That grand element in our government, which has 
made our land the asylum for the oppressed of all 
nations, had not yet been incorpo;rated into the laws, 
regulations or charters of any of the colonies; and it re-
mained for a Catholic to first introduce and establish 
perfect civil and religious freedom upon the American 
continent. -

Sir George Calvert-Lord Baltimore~a Catholic 
gentleman, who was distinguished as a statesman in 
England, and had held the office of Secretary of State 
under James I, sailed to Virginia in 1631, in search of 
an asylum for himself and his persecuted brethren; but 
meeting an unwelcome reception on account of his re-
ligion, he fixed his attention upon a territory beyond 
the Potomac. Finding it unoccupied and well adapted 
to his purpose, he immediately returned to -England 
and secured of Charles I, a grant of the land. In honor 
of Henrietta Maria-the consort of Charles-the coun-
try was called Mary land. 

Before the patent was completed Sir George died, 
and the grant was transferred to his eldest son, Cecilius 
Calvert, who inherited the titles of his father and be-
came Lord Baltimore. - Preparations were immediately 
made for the settlement of a colony. Remaining in 
England himself, Cecilius Cal vert appointed his brother 
Leonard as governor of the intended settlement; on-the 
twenty-second of November, 1633, emigrants to the 
n umber of about two hundred set sail from the Isle of 
Wight, in two small vessels, the "Ark" and the "Dove," 
an d after a tedious voyage, arrived, in March of the 
following year, on the shores of the Chesapeake. 

Following the example of Columbus, they immedi-
ately erected a cross and returned thanks to God, who 
had conducted their voyage to so happy an issue, and 
then took _possession of their colony in the name of 
their sovereign. Their next act (one which performed 
byWm. Penn nearly fifty years later has been extolled 



9 

by · h~s.torians, and bas made his n\"me distinguished), 
was to purchase the lands from the natives before build-
ing. 
. Of the founders of this colony, Kearney, in his "com-

pendium of Ancient and Modern history," says: 

The leading features ofthe policy a dopted by the founders ofthis 
colony, claim our warmest admiration. Their intercourse· with 
Indian tribes was marked by the strictest equity and humanity ; 
at the s ame time the unrestrained exercise of opinion, in matters 
of religion, granted to the professors of every creed, r eflects the 
highest honor upon the memory of Lord B a ltimore and his benev-
olent associates. Whilst the Episcopalians of Virginia woul d 
suffer no other form of worship among them, except that of the 
Church of England, and wJlilst the Puritans of New E ngland 
punished with fines, tortures and exile all those who differed from 
their creed, the Roman Catholics of Maryland, transcending the 
proscriptive principles of the age, extended their arms and invited 
among them the victims of intolera nce from every clime. 

N or is Mr. Kearney alone in bearing testimony to 
this fact. The distinguished historian, Mr. B ancroft, 
in the earlier editions of his history of America, says: 

Its history is the history of benevolence , gratitude an d tolera -
tion . The Roman C atholics who w ere oppressed by the laws of 
Bngland, were sure fa find a peaceful asylum in the quiet h arbors 
Df the Chesapeake, an d there, too, Protestants were sheltered 
tram Protestant intolerance. 

"Calvert," says Mr. Bancro ft, "deserves to be ranked among 
the most w ise and benevolent .law-givers of a ll ages. He was the 
first in the Christian world to seek for reJjgiolls security and 
peace by the practice of justice, and not by the exercise of power; 
to plan the establishmen t of popular institutions with the enjoy-
ment of liberty of conscience; to advance the career of civilization 
by recogni zing the rightful equality of all Christian sects. The 
,asylum of papists was the spot where, in a remote corner of the 
world, on the banks of a river which as yet had hardly been ex-
plored, the mild forbearance of a proprietary. adopted religious 
freedom as-the basis of the state." 

Frost, in his history of the United States, says: 

Although Sir George Calvert was a Roman Catholic, he allowed 
the most perfect r eligious liberty to the colonists, under hi s 

-charter; a nd Maryland was the first state in the world in which 
perfect religious freedom was enjoyed. All English subjects, with-
out distinction, were allowed equal rights in respect to propertJ , 
and r eligio us and civil franchis es. A royal exemption from 
English taxation was a nother singlllar privilege obtained by Lord 
Baltimore for the people of his co lon y . All the extraordinary 
f~atures of his charter owe their origin to the political foresight 
and sagacity of this remark able m a n . ' 

Lord Baltimore was certainly entitled to all the 



10 

praise bestowed upon him by these and other histor-
ians. Noone can fail to recognize the grandeur of his 
conduct, in contradistinction to that of the founders of 
the other colonies; and especially New England, whose 
proscriptive doctrines compel even Baird, with his 
strong predelictions in their favor, to say-: 

It cannot be denied that the fathers of New England were in-
tolerant to those who differed from them in religion; that they 
persecuted Quakers and Baptists, and abhorred Roman Catholics. 

Roger Williams was banished in 1634 from the 
colony of Massachusetts, for having promulgated cer-
tain doctrines which were declared to be heretical and 
seditious, and, which according to Bancroft, were "that 
the civil magistrate should restrain crime but never con-
trol opinion; should punish guilt, but never violate the 
freedom of conscience." 

It has been claimed by some, who would fain deprive 
Catholicity of the honor which attaches to it and its 
professors, by the establishment of religious freedom 
in Maryland, that it was first established by Roger 
Williams in Rhode Isiand. This however is an error. 
As I have already stated, WEliams was banished from 
Massachusetts in 1634-one year after Maryland was 
settled, by those who arrived with Calvert in the "Ark" 
and the "Dove." In 1644 (ten years later than the 
Maryland settlement) Williams visited England and 
obtained a charter, declaring "that none were to be 

, molested for any difference of opinion, in matters of 
religion;" yet the very first assembly, convened under 
its authority, excluded Catholics from voting at elec-
tions, and from every officE:' in the government. 

Mary land was truly the" Beacon Rock" of civil and 
r eligious liberty, and stands forth in bold relief, as 
being-in the language of Baird in his "Religions of 
America"-

"The first government in modern times, in which entire toler-
a tion was granted to all denominations of Christians; this too, at 
a time when the New England Puritans could hardly bear with 
one another, much less with "papists," when~ the zealots of Vir-
ginia held both" papists" and "dissenters" in nearly equal ab-
horence; when in fact tolerance was not considered, in any part of 
tbe Protestant world due to Roman Catholics." 



11 

Such is the language of a Protestant writer, and 
Maryland was worthy of all that has been said of it. 

What more precious legacy could be bequeathed to 
nations yet unborn, than the following oath of the gov-
ernor of this colony:-

"I will not by myself or another, directly or indirectly, trouble, 
molest or discountenance any person professing to believe in Jesus 
Christ, for or in respect to religion. I will make no difference of 
persons in conferring offices, favors or rewards, for or in respect to 
religion, but merely as they should be found faithful and well-de-
serving, and endowed with moral virtues and abilities; my aim 
sha ll be public unity, and if any person or officer shall molest any 
person professing to believe in Jesus Christ, on account of his re-
ligion, I will protect the person molested and punish the offender." 

How much happier and better governed would be 
the world, did all the rulers and governors therein sub-
scribe to such an oath, and were they bound by its 
obligations? 

Nor is the action of Lord Baltimore the only case, in 
our early history, which shows that the spirit of relig-
ious toleration was characteristic of the Catholics of 
that period. and, I had almost said peculiar to them. 
After the Island of Manhattan had been by Stuyvesant 
-the last governor under the government of Holland-
surrendered to the King of England, and" New Am-
sterdam" had its name changed to that of New York, 
it passed under the control of Colonel Nichols, the first 
English governor of New York. After its subsequent 
surrender to the representatives of Holland by Manning, 
and r es toration to the English, by the treaty of West-
minster in 1674, Andros was, by the Duke of York, ap-
pointed governor of all territory from the Connecticut 
to the Delaware. Andros is declared by historians to 
have been" the oppressor of New England," and in his 
rule "to have exhibited much of that harshness, severity 
and rapacity which afterwards rendered him so odious in 
the Eastern Colonies." 

III 1682 Andros was succeeded by Col. Thomas Don-
gan, who had been appointed governor of that colony. 
Governor Dougan was a Catholic, and the historian 
tells us: "his administration is memorable flS the era of 
the commencement of representative government in the 
colony." He iil represented by Frost in his history . as 



12 

" a man of high integrity, unblemished character, and 
great moderatiol,l, who, although a Catholic r ! J may be 
ranked among the best of our governors." 

The first legislative assembly of New York, was con-
vened by Governor Dongan; and its first act was the 
"Oharter of Liberty," passed October 30, 1683, which 
declares:-

"Th a t no person or persons who profess faith in God, through 
Jesus Christ, shall at any time be disquieted or called in question, 
but a ll such may freely have a nd fuJly enjoy his or their judgments 
or consciences in matters of religion-they not u sing this liberty to 
the civil injury or outward disturbance of others." 

The administration of Governor Dongan was marked 
by his excellent management of the Indian affairs of 
his colony. It was he who first perceived and sug-
gested to Lord Effingham, Governor of Virginia, the 
necessity of a treaty with the celebrated Five Natio,ns, 
and who did, in conjunction with Lord Effingham, 

-enter into that treaty, embracing all the English set-
tlements, and all the tribes in alliance with them-a 
treaty which was long and inviolably adhered to. 

This state of affairs was continued, by the excellent 
conduct and superior administrative ability of Gover-
nor Dongan, nntil, by the death of Charles II, in 1685, 
the Duke of York ascended to the throne of England 
as James II. , After his accession to the throne, the 
new king inaugurated several measures highly injuri-
ous to the interests of the colony, and which cul-
ininated, in 1688, in the reappointment of the tyrant 
Andros. From this on through a long series of years, 
1he colony of New York was involved in one continued 
succession of foreign wars, hostile invasions and inter-
nal dissensions. . Andros departed from the line of 
conduct marked out by his distinguished Catholic 
predecessOl;, 'and such was the result .. 
' The first act of the first legislature convened by 
Andros, was' t'O repeal those excellent laws, which I 
havEl r eferred to, as passed by the first assembly con-
vened by"Governor:Dongan, and to p ass the "Bill of 
Rights," w-hich excluded Catholics from , all participa-
tion in its privileges. From this on, through many 
years, ' the spirit of bitterness towards, the Catholic 

: .. <:: . .';.,:. .. P.' 

, ' i . ' 



13 

Church increased. It was death for a priest to come 
voluntarily into the colony, and a penalty of $1,000 
was imposed upon the Catholic who harbored a priest. 

In 1778 the British, who still held New York, took 
a large French ship in the Chesapeake, which was sent 
to New York for condemnation. Her chaplain-De la 
Motte-desiring to celebrate mass, and having been 
informed that a prohibitory law existed, asked permis-
sion to do so; and in his ignorance of the English 
language, mistook a refusal for permission, and was 
the first priest that publicly celebrated the divine ser-
vice, after the passage of the odious laws under Andros, 
at which his own countrymen and those of his faith 
attended. For this he was arrested, cast into prison, 
and kept closely confined until exchanged. 

But the power of Great Britain was crushed, and the 
American Congress, rising above the prejudices of the 
age, and fully appreciating the value of the services 
and aid rendered by Catholics during the revolution-
ary war (and which I will refer to hereafter) incopOl'-
ated in the laws of the new nation, then springing into 
life, the tolerant and liberal principles of Lord Balti-
more and Governor Dongan, and religious freedom 
became the grandest feature in the magna charta of 
our liberties. 

With this reference to the first establishment of 
l'eligious freedom on the American continent, I will 
now pass to a brief consideration of another branch of 
my lecture. 

THE EARLY MISSIONARIES AND EXPLORERS. 

To attempt any more than a brief reference to a 
subject that has filled volumes, from the pens of Ban-
croft, Irving, Parkman, Shea, DeCharlevoix and a host 
of other writers, would be the height of folly. In 
fact, I hesitate to refer to these heroic men of God, 
whose deeds of self-sacrificing -devotion, patient suffer-
ing and martyrdom, has called forth the most eloquent 
enconiums and eulogies from the distinguished authors 
whose names I have just men~-\oned. But the record of 

. their labors, suffering /l-nd death, form~ one of the most 



important parts of the' Catholic history of America, 
and without a mention of them it would be but a frag-
menl 

The Fran:liscans and DominiClans, and other devoted 
servants of ChriBt, who followed in the footsteps of 
the Spanish adventurers, established missions, some of 
which still exist. They labored with a zeal unsur-
passed, and a large proportion of them gave up their 
lives for their faith; "but," as a late writer remarks, 
"unfortunately the crimes of their countrymen have 
been permitted, by the prejudice of modern writers, to 
tarnish the renown of these heroic "preachers; and the 
cruelties of a Cortez are better remembered than the 
virtues ,of the Spanish Dominicans. The Jesuits in 
the northern parts of the coptinent have received more 
justice in history. About their characters and achieve-
ments, there is but one voice." 

The Jesuits have always been the pioneers of civiliz-
ation and Christianity. It was a Jesuit missionary 
who first explored nearly every northern iltate in the 
union. When the most intrepid layman or Protestant 
shrank from penetrating the unknown wilds of our 
continent, the Jesuit missionary, forgetting all but his 
holy vows, and quailing before no danger, in his 
ze"alous desire to Christianize the untutored savage, 
hesitated not to pass beyond the confines of civilization, 
and to explore the wilderness. A part of that advance 
guard of civilization and Christianity, which establish-
ed missions in Japan, India, in the isles of Sunda, 
Tartary, Siam, Syria, Persia and innumerable other 
regions of Asia-missions on the burning sands of 
Africa, in Abyssinia, Congo, Mozambique,-missions 
in Brazil, Mavagon, New Grenada, Mexico, Guatemalas 
and California, converting millions of the natives or 
barbarians-when settlements were made on "the borders 
of North America, penetrated into the wilderness of 
Canada and the West and Northwest; and a half a cen-
tury before Le Sueur had ascended the MissiAsippi and 
explored the St. Peter (now Minnesota) river, they 
had established missions among the Hurons, Illinois, 



15 

Algonquins, Chippewas, Dakotas and other tribes in 
Canada and the Northwest. 
. The Franciscans had been before them in Canada, 
but the capture of Quebec by the English almost 
wholly obliterated the mission, and but little trace was 
left of it; and when the colony was restored to the 
French, two Jesuit priests-Le Jeune and De Neue-
arrived there from Havre. They were followed soon 
after by four more-Brebeuf, Masse, Daniel and 
Davost; and later by Garnier, Chabuel, Chamont and 
the illustrious martyr, Isaac Jogues, and others. The 
story of the hardships which these Christian heroes 
endured, in the inhospitable climate of Canada, in 
their efforts to convert the Indian tribes, would be too 
lengthy for this lecture. 

As an evidence of their indomitable energy and 
perseverance, I would say that as early as in the year 
1639, Fathers Jogues and Raymbault passed around 
the northern shores of Lake Huron, and preached the 
faith among the Chippewas as far inland as Sault Saint 
Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior. 

After enduring indescribable sufferings and tortures, 
Brebeuf, Goupil, J ogues, Lallemant, Garnier and 0hab-
uel suffered martyrdom at the hands of the savages, 
for whose souls they had offered up their lives. Bre-
beuf and Lallemant were burned to death, but not until 
they had been put to all the torture which the refined 
cruelty of the savages could invent. 

Father Daniel, another victim to the savage hate of 
the Iroquois, with his vestments on, fell pierced with 
scores of arrows and a musket ball, at the door of his 
chapel. But the associates of these martyrs were not 
discouraged; they continued on in their labor of love, 
and imitating the example of Him whom they had 
vowed to follow, they still labored to convert the savages. 
Their establishment at Quebec continued to send its 
apostles to the great lakes on the one hand, and through 
the forests of Maine to the sea coast on the other. 

A beautiful and flourishing mission had been estab-
lished in Maine, by the saintly Father Sebastian Rasle. 

That indefatigable missionary suffered martyrdom, 



• 

16 

a~d the tribes which he had converted were dispersed 
and many of them massacred; and, as a result, there, 
Bancroft says: "influences of commerce took the place 
of the influence of religion, and English trading houses 
supplanted French missions." 

More intimately connected with the history of this, 
the Northwest, are the names of Fathers Menard, Hen-
nepin and Marquette. 

Father Menard was lost in the year 1658, and his. 
fate is only a matter of conjecture-his casflock and 
breviary having been found, years afterwards, among 
the Indians, preserved as medicine charms. Hennepin, 
a Franciscan perhaps much misrepresented, was the 
first to penetrate to the Falls of St. Anthony, which he 
did in 1680. Like his co-laborers in the cause of 
Christianity, he endured his full share of suffering. 
His captivity among the Dakotas, and his success in 
securing the compassion and protection of the Nodawas-
sey chief, would form the theme of an interesting 
narrative. He it was who first stood by the Falls of St. 
Anthony and gave them the name of the Saint they 
bear-St. Anthony of Padua . 

. 'The saintly Father Marquette, now known in history 
as the explorer of the Wisconsin, and the Mississippi 
and Illinois rivers, visited the Northwest nearly two 
centuries ago. History has at last done him justice, 
and not only Catholics but Protestants unite in doing 
honor to this great and good missionary, whose name is 
to be found among the list of towns that are situated 
upon the shores of the lake, beside whose waters he 
breathed his last. 

I cannot better describe the death or Father Mar-
quette, than by quoting the following lines, from the 
pen of an unknown author, which appeared some years 
ago in the" 'Western Messenger. :' They are the just 
tribute of, presumably a Protestant, to the great mis-
sionary and explorer;-



• 
17 

His solitary grave was made 
Beside thy waters, Michigan! 

In thy forest shade the bones were laid 
Of a world-wandering man. 

Discoverer of a world! he sleeps, 
By all the world unknown; 

No mousoleum marks the spot, 
Nor monumental stone. 

He died alone! No pious hand 
Smoothed down the pillow for his head; 

No watching followers reared the tent, 
Or strewed the green leaves for his bed; 

His followers left the holy /man . 
Beside a rustic altar kneeling'-'--

The slanting sunbeams setting rays 
Through the thick forest branches stealing. 

An hour had passed-and they returned, 
They found him lying where he knelt , 

But oh! how changed! the calm of death 
Upon his marble features dwelt. 

Even while he prayed, his living soul 
Had to its native heavens fled; 

Whilst the last twilights holiest beams 
Fell like a g lory on his head! 

Thus died a Jesuit! And his death is but one of 
many thousands of that band of martyr heroes, whose 
deeds shed a halo of glory over Catholic history, and 
challenge the world to produce a truthful record of 
th eir equal. . 

Well may Catholics feel proud of the early mission-
aries, when/even the Protestant historian Bancroft is 
l ed to say:-"Thus the religious ot the French bear 
the cross to the banks of the St. Mary and the confines 
of Lake Superior, and look wistfully towards the homes 
of the Sioux, in the valley of the Mississippi-five 
years before the New England Elliott bad addressed 
the tribe of Indians that dwelt within six miles oj 
Bosion harbor." 

And among the missionaries of later days, no names 
are better entitled to a place in Catholic history, aR 
worthy successors ' of J ogues, Brebeuf, Menard, Hen-
nepin and Marquette, than those of our late Bishop 
Cretin, our revered Archbishop Grace, and Fathers 
Galtier, De Smet and our own Monseigneur Ravoux. 

It is customary for the average non-Catholic writer 
upon South America, to attribute, without investiga-



18 

tion, to the early missionaries who settled th~fe, . thE} · 
present unsatisfactory condition in which he maJt )18p'--< 
pen to find the native inhabitants of that part of this 
continent. As a complete answer to all such effusions, 
I will read this extract, from a letter written a few years 
ago by M. Sacc, the distinguished Calvinist savant, to 
his friend Abbe Migno, on his return, after a lengthy 
sojonrn in South America. The letter was published in 
Les Mondes and attracted considerable attention at the 
time. He said: 

During my long peregrinations from one end of America to the 
other, the immense . services rendered there by the Jesuits were 
made in some manner palpably visible to me. To them alone the 
civilization of that immense continent is due, and what remains of 
their works attests both the might of their genius, and the perse-
verence of their efforts to civilize those wonderful countries which' 
their b arbarous Spanish conquerors sought only to profit by, At 
present, of all their admirable works, nothing is left but ruins and 
fond remembrances which the poor Indians cherish and bless, 
They still weep at the thought oftheir lost" Robes Noires, " whilst 
the same remembrances are branded with ostracism by the present 
governments who reject any bridle that may be used to rein in the 
course of bruta l passions , There we have the true cause of the 
social disease which blights the very existence of all the Hispano-
American Republics, and which ceases only for a while, when anew . 
dictator arises. There also we have the true cause of the prosper-
ity of Ca n a da and Brazil, where a strong executive power sets due 
limits to the selfish struggles of unbridled private ambitions. 
It is my conviction that nothing short of a rec a ll of the Jesuits 

,can r a ise the republics of South America. They are fallen so low 
merely because they have become a prey to constant revolutions 
,brought on by ambitious men who place the government of their 
country in jeopardy by the vilest devices. The order of the Jesuits 
alone, with its military organization, represents the interests of 
all, and can bring back order to those unhappy countries. They 
alone ca n save the Indian tribes, which are threatened with com-
plete extinction, although laborers are the only thing required to 
work out the incredible wealth ofthat soil, which contains all im-
aginable treasures, either at its surface orin its bosom. When the 
civilization of those tribes is brought about, colonization will be 
easy enough because they know the country thoroughly, without 
them it will always be extremely difficult, chiefly on account of the 
obstacles they put in the way. Unfortunate}y it is to be feared 
that the recall of that order, so deservedly famous, will meet with 
many difficulties, brcause it would stand in the way of all those 
personal ambitions to whose shameless and relentless rivalries 
those unfortunate states have become a prey. 

It will be noticed that he has fallen into the same 
.[error that nearly all non-Catholic writers do, of regard-
ing every Catholic missionary as a Jesuit. But it is 

lJ 
I 
" 



1J 
,I 

19 

not. important. For his honef?ty and candor the child-
ren of St. Dominic and St. Francis will not complain. 

Among the Catholic explorers who first followed in 
the footsteps of the miElsionaries was La Salle, who in 
the year 1682, descended the Mississippi from Illinois 
to the sea. Of him Bancroft says;-

"His sagacious eye discerned the magnificent resources of the 
country. As he floated down its flood, [the Mississippi]; as he 
framed.a cabin on the first Chickasaw bluff; as he raised the cross 
'by the Arkansas; as he planted the arms of France near the Gulf of 
Mexico;-he anticipated the future affluence of emigrants, and 
heard in the di~tance, the footsteps of the advancing multitude that 
were coming to take possession of the valley. Meantime he claim-
eq the territory for France, and gave it the name of Louisiana." 

It was Le Sueur, who in 1700 explored the St. Peter 
or Minnesota river, to the mouth of the Blue Earth, and 
built his fort "La Rullier" at the mouth of the" Mahn-
kahto." Baron La Routan who wrote his "narrative 
and description of La Longue Reviere" also followed 
Le Sueur and La Salle. 

It was not until 1776 that others ventured to follow 
our brave Catholic missionaries and explorers. Cap-
tain Jonathan Carver visited what is now Minnesota, 
and was followed years afterwards by Cass, Schoolcraft, 
Nicollet and others. 

Passing from a consideration of this portion of my 
bcture, I now come to that which is embraced in the 
period beginning with the commencement of the 

STRUGGLE FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, 

and extending down to the war of the Rebellion. 
When the American colonies determined to throw off 

the yol{e of England, and ridthemselves of the oppres-
sions of the mother country, it was deemed necessary 
that a declaration, informing the world of the reasons 
why they took such a step, should be made, and Thomas 
Jefferson was appointed to prepare the same. In con-
,formity with his instructions, he presented to Congress 
that immortal document for their consideration. The 
reader of history need not be reminded I of the impor-
tance of the act, which each of the members of this (Jon-
gress performed, in yoting to declare the!llselves free, 



20 

and in signing the Declaration of Independence. Not 
only did that act involve the colonies in a war, but it-
at one stroke-placed them in an attitude of unmistak-
able hostility to England, and put in jeopardy all that 
they pledged to each other-their lives and their for-
tunes. They staked everything upon the result of that 
act, and, with a heroism unsurpassed, virtually invited 
the enmity and vengeance of their King. Everyone of 
them was necessarily a man of iron nerve, in thus brav-
ing the anger of their sovereign, and entering upon a 
war with one of the most powerful kingdoms, so illy 
prepared and deficient as the colonies were in every-
thing except undying patriotism and zeal, and un con-
querablebravery. 

And among the list of patriot heroes, whose names 
are attached to that "immortal document," none was 
more distinguished than that celebrated Oatholic, 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who, in signing the 
Declaration of Independence, did not hesitate to stake 
upon the issue, more property than all of the other 
signers put together. 

The reference to this patriot, and his family, by 
Lord Brougham, ' in his "Historical sketches of states-
men who flourished in the time of George III," will ex-
plain his history and the reason of the addition of his 
place of residence to his name. Lord Brougham says:-

His family was settled in Maryland ever since the reign of James 
II, and had during that period been possessed of the same ample 
p roperty-the largest in the union. It stood therefore at the 
head of the aristocracy of the country; was naturally in alliance 
with the government; could gain nothing, while it risked every-
thing by a change of dynasty; and, therefore. according to all the 
'rules, and the prejudices and the frailties which are commonly 
found guiding m en in a crisis of affairs, Charlt's Carroll might 
huye been expected to take a part against revolt, certainly never 
to join in promoting it. Such, however, was not this patriotic 
person. He was among t ·he foremost to sign the celebrated dec-
l aratio n of independence. All who did so were believed to have 
devoted themselves and their families to the Furies. As he set 
his hand to the instrument, the whisper ran round the hall of 
Congress, "there goes some millions of property!" And there 
being m a nyof the same name, when they heard it, said: "Nobody 
will know what Carroll it is," as no one wrote more than his 
name, and one at his elbow remarked, addressing him: .. You 'll 
get clear-there are several of the name-they will not know which 
to take." "Not so!" he replied; and iustantly added his resi-
dence, "of Carrollton." 

/ 



21 

Nor was this all that can be said of this remarkable 
man. In 1827 the editor of the then Philadelphia 
National Gazette published a biography of Mr. Carroll, 
which appeared in the American Quarterly Review; 
and in it he stated, that shortly before the l'evolutionary 
British war, Mr. Carroll wrote to a member of the 
parliament as follows: 

Your thousands of soldiers may come, but they will be masters 
of the spot only on which they encamp. They will find naught 
but enemies before and around them. If we are beaten on the 
plains, we will retreat to the mountains, and defy them. Our 
resources will increase with our difficulties. Necessity will force 
us to exertion; until tired of combating in vain against a spirit 
which victory cannot subdue, your enemies will evacuate our soil, 
and your country retire, an immense loser from the contest. No , 
sir! We have made up our minds to bide the issue of the ap-
proaching struggle; and though much blood may be spilled, we 
have no doubt of our ultimate success. 

He was appointed with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Chase, 
Commissioners to Canada, in behalf of the struggling 
Colonies. 

He lived to be. the last surviving signer of the Dec-
laration of Independence. As has beeu well said of 
him:-" Like a peaceful stream his days glided along, 
and continued to be lengthened out, till the generation 
of illustrious men with whom he acted on that memor-
able Fourth of July, 1776, had all descended to ' the 
tomb." He died in 1832- , 

"Full of years and honors, 
Through the gate of painless slumber he retired. " 

In his last days he uttered these remarkable words: 
"I have lived to my ninety-sixth year j I have enjoyed 
continued health j I have been blessed with great wealth, 
property, and most of the good things which the world 
can bestow-public approbation, applause j but what 
I now look back on with the greatest satisfaction to 
myself, is that I have pmcticed the duties of my r e-
ligion. " 

Nor is Charles Carroll the only one of the name en-
titled to honorable mention, as a distinguished patriot 
of the revolution. Rev. J oha Carroll took as active a 
part in behalf 0f the Colonies, as was consistent with 
his position as a clergyman. He was employed by Dr. 



22 

Franklin on a confidental mission to Canada, in refer-
ence to the then lately declared independence of the 
Colonies-and afterwards became the first Archbishop 
of Baltimore-the first Episcopal See in the country. 

In attemptIng to refer to the long list of Catholic 
patriots who distinguished themselves in the Revolu-
tionary war, I am at a loss where to begin, as time will 
not permit me to make honorable mention of them alL 

At the head of the list is the name of that distin-
guished hero-General Lafayette-who, leaving the 
comforts of home, of happiness and wealth, crossed the 
ocean in a vessel fitted out at his own expense, and, 
laying aside his rank, "plunged into the dust and blood 
of our inauspicious struggle." The world affords no 
nobler illustration of disinterested heroism, and gal-
lant and generous conduct than that exhibited by La-
fayette, Rochambeau'-Fleury, Dupartail, Lowzun, Count 
De Gras, Pulaski, De Kalb, Kosiusko and other Catho-
lic lovers of liberty, in their efforts in aid of the estab-
lishment of American independence. 

The first American navy must not be forgotten, with 
its first and Catholic Commodore, John Barry; appoint-
ed by Washington to form the infant navy of this coun-
try, and who has been appropriately styled "Saucy Jack 
Ban:y, father of the American navy." Many of his 
sailors and mariners, who so gallantly assisted the land 
forces, in the contest for freedom; were, like himself, 
Irish Catholics. 

General Stephen Moylan, first quarter-master of the 
revolutionary army, was also a Catholic. Washington, 
recognizing his ability, appointed him to that position, 
the duties of which, even under all the trying circum. 
stances incident to an impoverished country and de-
pleted treasury, he performed to the satisfaction of all. 

It is also worthy of note, that a large number of the 
men who composed the command of General Anthony 
Wayne, and whose fighting qualities gained for their 
commander the cognomen of "Mad Anthony Wayne-
the ever-fighting general," were Irish and German 
Catholics. 

In the year 1780, the cause of American indepen-



• 

23 

dence was menaced by dangers more formidable than 
the English forces which opposed them. The conti-
nental currency had depreciated in value, and bec,ome 
almost worthless, and the commissary of the army 
was without the means to supply the troGPs with sub-
sistance. Gaunt famine stared Washington's little 
army in the face, and all the evils attendant upon such 
a condition of affairs-discontent, desertion and mutiny 
-threatened to defeat and qestroy the great object and 
end sought to be accomplished; and when, in the dark 
hours and destitution of Valley Forge, 'Vashington 
united with Congress in an appeal to the colonists for 
pecuniary assistance, and when, in the language of 
another, "the urgent expostulations of the commander-
in-chief and the strenuous recommendations of Con-
gress, had utterly failed to arouse the American pub-
lic to a just sense of the crisis," none responded more 
promptly than did. the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick-
an Irish Catholic society-twenty-seven members of 
which contributed 103,500 pounds sterling-over half. 
a million of dollars. This patriotic act of liberality ' 
was fully appreciated by Washington, who wrote the 
SO(1iety a very complimentary letter, and declared it to 
be "distinguished for the firm adherence of its mem-
bers to the glorious cause in which we are embarked." 
The same compliment could be paid to Thomas Fitzim-
mons, who subscribed a loan of twenty-five thousand 
dollars to aid in carrying on the glorious war. 

Such acts of disinterested patriotism may not appear 
to be so very great, or important, to those who are 
purse proud among us; but if it was patriotic for our 
millionaires and wealthy fellow-citizens to loan their 
money to the government during the late war with the 
South, with all the extraordinary inducements offered 
-with an opportunity to exchange their gold coin for 
double the amount in legal tenders, Had bonds of the 
government, secured by the faith and credit of the 
cC!untry, at a time when one of our states contained 
nearly as large a population as the colonies contained, 
and more available wealth than they could then com-
mand-how much more patriotic was it for those men 



24 

to come forward and contribute their money in the man-
ner and under the circumstances in which they did! 
All honor to the men, who in the darkest hours or our 
nation's historv, by their deeds of valor and patriotic 
virtlle and liberality, set an example worthy the imi-
tation ot their fellow citizens to the end of time! 

No Olle appreciated the part which Catholics took and 
performed, in the struggle for American independence, 
more than did the immortal Washington himself. After 
the war was over, and he was elected first President of 
the new Republic, he received a congratulatory address 
from the Catholics of the United States, signed by 
Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, on the part of the Catholic 
clergy, and by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Daniel 
Carroll, Thomas Fitzsimmons and Dominic Lynch, on 
the part of the Catholic laity. In that address they 
said:-

"This prospect of national prosperity is peculiarly pleasing to us 
on another a~count, because, whilst our country pn:serves her 
freedom and independence, we shall have a well founded title to 
claim from her justiceandequal rights of citizenship, as the price of 
our blood spilt under your eyes, and of our common exertions for 
11er defense, under your auspicious conduct; rights rendered more 
dear to us by the remembrance of former hardships." 

To this portion of the address, Washington replying 
I:;aid:-

" As mankind become more liberal, they will be the more apt to 
allow, that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members 
ofthe community, are equally entitled to the protection of civil 
government. I hope ever to see America the forem®st nation in 
examples ofj ustice and liberality. And I presume that your fellow-
citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the ac-
complishment of their revolution, and the establishment of their 
government; or the important assistance they received from a 
nation in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed." 

No denomination of Christians exhibited greater zeal, 
in the struggle for independence, or more anxiety for 
its success, or manifested more joy at its glorious ter-
mination than did the Catholics. And when the war 
was over, and a grateful and sorrowing country mourn-
ed his death, and sought .by every means to do honor 
t.o him who was" first in war, first in peace, and first 
ip the hearts of his countrymen," it remained .£01' 
Bishop Carroll to deliver in the Cathedral at Baltimore, 

• 



25 

what was .conceded to be th e most solid, eloquent and 
noble oration upon vVashington. 

After the battle of New Orleans, it was in the Catholic 
Cathedral that General Jackson was received in triumph, 
and the laurel garland of victory-woven by Catholic 
hands--placed upon his brow by a Catholic priest, and 
the noble hero could have been seen weeping with joy-
ful emotion, as he listened and responded to th e elo-
quent address of the Rev. Mr. Dubourg. In a beauti-
ful address delivered some years ago in Washington, 
by Mr. Livingston, the distinguished orator feelingly 
alluded to the pavement of that church being worn 
smooth, by the holy knees of the Ursuline nuns, pray-
ing fervently that victory might perch on the American, 
banner, and drawing from the feast of .the day-that of 
St. Victoria-an omen of success. 

It is a fact not generally known that one-half of the 
soldiers of the Revolutionary Army of the United States 
was of Irish birth. During the seven years of that 

-war, which secured our independence as a nation, the 
forces raised by the United States consisted of 288,000 
men, of which 232,000 were Continental soldiers and 
56,000 militia. Of this army there were two Irishmen 
to every native. At the close of the war, a Mr. Gallo-
way, who had been Speaker of the Pennsylvania As-
sembly, was examined before a committee of the House 
of Commons, and asked what the Continental Army 
was composed of. Here is his answer:-"The names 
and places of their nativity being taken down, I can 
answer the question with precision. There are scarcely 
oue-fourth natives of America; about one-half were 
Irish, and the other fourth principally Scotch and Eng-
lish." Now, it n eeds no guess to determine what the 
religious belief of those Irish revolutionary soldiers 
was, and when we take into consideration the large num-
ber of Catholic soldiers, of other nationalities, who came 
with and fought under Lafayette, Rochambeau, Pul-
aski, Kosiusko, De Kalb and others already named, we 
al'e fully justified in believing th at one-half of the 
soldiers in the Revolutionary Army of the United 
States were Catholics; I commend this historical faei 



26 

to the consideration of those who think we are indebted 
to native Americans and Protestants, alone, for the 
achievement of our national independence. 

In all the subsequent wars in which the United 
States has been engaged, Catholic valor and patriotism 
has maintained a position corresponding with its earlier 
history, and contributed its full share to the successes 
which have attended them. Side by side with the 
names of Charles Carroll, Barry, Lafayette, Moylan, 
Fitzsimmons and Archbishop Carroll, will be placed 
the names of Sheridan, Rosecrans, Shields, Meagher, 
Newton, Mulligan, Ewing, Sands, Ammen; and that 
army of distinguished prelates at the head of whom we 
place Cardinals McCloskey and Gibbons, Archbishop 
Hughes and our own beloved and honored Archbishop 
Ireland. 

THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

At the head of the list of those Catholic officers who 
acq uired distinction in the war of the Rebellion, I place 
General Sheridan. 

I had the honor to be a member of that Congress 
which attended in a body, the funeral service of General 
Sheridan, at St. Mathew's Church, in the city of Wash-
ington. That scene will always come vividly before me, 
as memory recalls to mind that great soldier and de-
fender of the Union. There the people of our whole 
country, in the person of their official representatives, 
gathered around his bier, to do honor to the departed 
patriot-hero, and to attest a nation's sorrow and grat-
itude for the great services which he had rendered in 
the suppression of the rebellion. !n front sat the 
President, surrounded by members of his Cabinet, flank-
ed by the officers of the Army and Navy on the one side, 
and the judges of the Supreme Court on the other; next 
came the Senate and House of Representatives, and 
members of the Diplomatic corps; then the officers of 
the different other departments of the government; rep-
resenta!ives of the press, and other influential persons. 
It was a. memorable and truly impressive gathering and 
scene. The offering up of that solemn requiem high 
mass; the truly eloquent and ma.sterly sermon of Ca.r-



27 

dinal Gibbons and the appropriately grand music of the 
magnificent choir of that church, will be remembered 
by all the participants in that solemn ceremony, as long 
as life lasts. 

As I listened to the beautiful but mournful music of 
the choir, I fell into a reverie, and mused upon the life 
and career of him whose remains lay before us.--I saw 
him a boy at Somerset, Ohio, the son of poor but re-
spectable Catholic parents, having the ambition and 
lieI'Ve, to write to the member of Congress from that 
district to secure his appointment at West Point, to 
succeed, and then to graduate with honor, and distin-
guish himself as an Indian fighter. I saw him soon after 
the outbreak of our civil war, taking command of the 
Second Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, and in less than 
two months winning the stars of a brigadier general at 
the battle of Boonville; then at Perryville at the head 
of the Eleventh Division gaining new fame by his re-
sistance of the dare-devil forces of Hardee and Leydell; 
then at Stone River, with Rosecrans, again distinguish-
ing himself; then at Mission Ridge, as at the front of 
his men he led them up toward · the lofty summit, 
through the cross-fire of the Confederates, from the 
ramparts above; then at Winchester, where he clinched 
with and defeated Early; then at Appomatox, where 
his dash put the finishing stroke to the rebellion, then 
receiving from General Lee the flag of truce that an-
nounced the close of the war. Then peace was declared, 
and I saw him receive, equally with Grant and Sherman, 
the thanks and plaudits of his country, and his name re-
ceived with enthusiastic cheers wherever mentioned. 
Here my musing brought to mind an incident in his 
career which has become as historical as it was dramatic. 

It was the night before the battle of Cedar Mills-
a time when the fate of the Union hung trembling in 
the balance. In the war office, at Washington, sat Sec-
retary Stantoa in consultation with General Sheriuan, 
npon some grave subject; for it was long after mid-
night. In the adjoining room sat Gen. Eckert, superin-
tendent of military telegraph lines, beside the instru-
ments, watching for messages from the armies at the 



28 

front. Morning was fast approaching. Presently a click 
of the instrument caught GEm. Eckert's ear. It was a 
call from Winchester. To his prompt I'esponse came the 
message:-" There is danger here. Hurry Sheridan 
to the front." In an instant the message was handed 
to the two in consultation "in the next room. Gen. 
Sheridan came to the instrument and there was a hur-
ried conversation over the wire with his headquarters. 
Intercepted dispatches of the enemy showed that Long-
street had arrived in front and learning of Sheridan's 
absence, had ordered Early to attack Sheridan's army. 

The railroad was at once ordered cleared, and an 
engine to report in readiness. Sheridan left the war 
office and is soon aboard the panting engine, and away 
they speed to Harper's Ferry. Every station on the 
railroad reported his progress to Gen. Eckert, and Sec-
retary Stanton, who waited to hear that Sheridan had 
reached his destination. Harper's Ferry at last report-
ed his arrival, and a fresh engine is ready to take him 
to Winchester, and then comes the welcome report:-
"Sheridan has just reached Winchester." The run 
had been made in the shortest time ever made over the 
line, and the anxious watchers in the war office breathed 
freer to know that he had reached there without acci-
dent. But he was not yet at his destination. There 
he mounted his favorite black charger, that had carried 
him safely through many a battle, and away through 
the town and up the Shenandoah Valley he rode, as only 
Sheridan could ride, on such an occasion. Then I saw 
him meet his retreating and demoralized army and reach 
the field and turn defeat into victory, and the battle of 
Cedar Creek was won. I saw Gen. Grant then at City 
Point, order a salute of one hundred guns fired from 
each of the armies in honor of this victory, and Presi-
dent Lincoln promote him to a Major Generalship, in 
the regular army and personally notify him of this in 
a letter of thanks. I saw him standing side by side 
with Grant when Lee surrendered, and crowned with 
honors on the disbanding of the armies, and awoke from 
my reverie to find the nation mourning his death, as 
to-day we monrn the loss of his grand companion in 
arms, General Sherman. 



As I recall this now, I wonder what the great-hearted 
and liberal-minded people of this nation would have said, 
if a Burchard, a Burrell or a Burgeds had then raised his 
voice in opposition to their doing honor to the "Hero 
of Winchester," because, forsooth, he worshipped God 
in a Catholic Church, and educated his children in the 
Catholic Academy of the Visitation. I 

N ext on our list is General Rosecrans-the last sur-
vivor of that grand quartet; Grant, Sherman, Sheridan 
and Rosecrans. The name of "Old Rosey" is also a 
household word with our Union veterans, and is men-
tioned with love and veneration by every soldier of the 
Army of the Cumberland. 

When the bill placing him on the retired list was 
before Congress, many eloquent appeals for its passage 
were made, and I wish to quote briefly from remarks or 
some of the Union officers who then spoke in its favOl·. 

General B. M. Cutcheon of Michigan, said: 

"When the tocsin of war sounded! General Rosecrans did not 
hesitate or falter, but he left everything behind him and laid all 
that he h ad upon the a lta r of his country, and when we needed 
victory, when this country in its heart of hearts was aching for 
want of victory, General Rosecrans In the very beginning, in West 
Virginia, !?ave us victory. Again in t he far Southwest, at 1uka, he 
gave us vIctory. He was promoted step by step from colonel to 
brigadier-general, and from that to major-general, and was placed 
at the head ofthe army ofthe Cumberland, and again, in the clos-
ing days of December, 1862, at Stone River he lighted the horizon 
ofthis whole country from edge to edge with the fir es of victory. 
Then, following th at, he gave us one of the most magnificent 
specimens of perfect strategy that the entire war afforded, in the 
Tullahoma campaign, when, almost without the sacrifice of a life, 
he flanked Bragg out of his fortified position at Tullahoma and 
carried his army across the mountains into the valley oJ Chick-
:l.lnauga." 

Hon. O. L. Jackson of Pennsylvania, who served four 
years in the army of the Tennessee, said: 

It was Rosecrans who comm a nded and directed the brave men 
at Stone River on those fearful winter days when again the tide of 
battle was turned southward. It was under him Phil Sheridan 
first rode at the head of a division, and on this bloody field gave 
evidence of the high r ank he was afterwards to obtain. It was 
Rosecran's skill and genius tha t maneuvered the enemy (Jut of 
Chattanooga and gav~ the Army of the Cumbel'land a position a_t 
Chickamauga that enabled him' to hold a t bay Bragg's at':11Y, re-
enforced by one of the best corps fr0111 the rebel army on the 
Potomac. 



30 

Do not forget that it was under Rosecrans that Thomas stood, 
the Rock of Chickamauga. 

Mr. Speaker, there was a day in the nation's peril when good 
Abraham Lincoln thought he ought to send the thanks of the 
nation to General Rosecrans and the officers and men of his com-
mand for their great services in the field. 

Gen. David B. Henderson, of Iowa, who left a leg on 
the battlefield, electrified the House by his appeal in 
behalf of his old commander. In the course of his re-
marks he said: 

As a member of the Army of the Tennessee, I followed both Grant 
and Rosecrans. I fought under Rosecrans at Corinth. 

I was with him in that battle, and he was the only general that 
I ever saw closer to the enemy than we were who fought in the 
front, for in that great battle he dashed in front of our lines when 
the flower of Price's army was pouring death and destruction into 
our ranks. The bullets had carried off his hat, his hair was floating 
in the wind, and, protected by the God of battle, he passed along 
the lines and shouted, "Soldiers, stand by your flag and your 
country!" We 0 beyed his orders. We crushed Price's army, and 
gave the country the great triumph of the battle of Corinth. Gen-
eral Rosecrans was the central, the leading, and the victorious 
spirit. 

Gen. J. B. 'Weaver of Iowa, also spoke eloquently in 
behalf of Rosecrans, under whom he served, and in do-
ing so said: 

I, too, had the honor to participate in the battle at Corinth in 
1862, and I know, and the country knows, that but forthe magnif-
icent strategy of Rosecrans, his soldierly bearing, his wonderful 
grasp of and attention to the details of that battle, the Army of 
the Southwest would have been overthrown, and the consequences 
could not have been foretold. He decoyed the army of Price on to 
the spot where he designed to fight the battle, and the result was 
that he was victorious and capttlred parts of sixty-nine different 
commands serving under Price and Van Dorn and the other Con-
federate commanders. In that important battle he saved the 
Cause of the Union in the Southwest. Rosecrans was a splendid 
soldier, a valuable officer, and he is now a most honorable citizen. 
Few are more distinguished. He is one of the heroes of this age, 
and his name wi1llive forever. 

These extracts from four of the fourteen speeches 
that were delivered in support of that bill, must suffice 
for this occasion. And my friends these speeches were 
not delivered at the close of the great conflict, when 
the war feeling ran high. They were made in the last 
Congress; and everyone of the speakers from whom I 
have quoted, were non-Catholics, and knew General 
Rosecrans to be an out-spoken and practical Catholic; 



31 

for it was a. common occurrence for him, during the war, 
to have the sacrifice of the Mass offered up. at his hQad-
quarters in the field. 

I speak from personal knowledge, when I say that 
the visitor to the city of Washington, will find no more 
regular attendant at the sacrifice of the Mass, in that 
decidedly Catholic city, than General Rosecrans-Gal-
lant and grand "Old Rosey," the hero and idol of the 
Army of the Cumberland. He is a regular attendant 
at St. Mathew's Church, and he can be seen in his pew 
there, at divine service on every day that a practical 
Catholic should, if possible, and on many other days. 
Like Sheridan's, his life in Washington, in its sim-
pJicity and modest demeanor, is a model of all that a ' 
worthy citizen of this great republic of ours should be. 
lt is difficult for the stranger _to believe that the kind 

-and mild-mannered gentleman, who is now the Register 
of the United States Treasury, is none other than -"Old 
Rosey," who so often led his men, sword in harid, where 
the battle raged hottest and fiercest. 

N ext to General Rosecrans, we place General Shields; 
the hero of two wars, and United States Senator from 
three states, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri who cai'-
tied through life the scars of severe wounds, received 
in both the Mexican war and that of the Rebellion. 

Next we name General Meagher, the dashing com-
mander of the famous Irish Brigade, and brave General 
Mulligan, "the hero of Lexington," whose dying words 
on the field of battle-" Lay me down and save the 
Hag"-have made him famed in song and story. 

( 

Among the distinguished officers of the Union Army 
were other -Catholics, whose names will be familiar t o 
many of you, 'When mentioned. I ca~ only recall and 
name these:-,-

General Ewing, brother-in-law of General Sherman: 
General Newton, Chief of Engineers, and later known 

to fame as having planned and executed the world r e-
nowned engineering feat, of the destruction of the " H ell 
Gate" obstructions, in New York harbor. 

G eneral Henry Hun t, Chief of ArtilLery of th e Army 



32 

of the Potomac, and late governor of the Soldier's Home 
at Washington. . 

. General /Stone of the Army of the Potomac, and after-
. wards Ohief of Staff and Lieutenapt General of the 

armies of the Khedive of Egypt . 
. General McMahon of ' the Army of the Potomac, and 

United States Marshal of the District of New York, 
under President Oleveland. 

General Rucker, late Quartermaster General ' of the 
Army. . 

General Vincent, Assistant Adjutant General of the 
Army, and since Ohief of Staff to General Schofield. 

Oolonel Jerome Bonaparte; and, by no means the 
least, the brave General Garishe who, as Ohief of Staff 
to General Rosecrans, fell at the battle of Stone River. 

But, I must stop here, as the list · could be extended · 
alinost indefinitely. 

It can hardly be necessary to say, in this connection, 
that the Oatholic Ohurch had its full quota of represen-
tatives among the brave men who composed the rank 
and file of the army, and who performed the deeds of 
valor which made it ' possible for their officers to ac-
quire the destinction and fame which is now accorded 
to them. 
. Among the Oatholic naval officers who distinguished 

themselves and acquired national fame as leaders in the 
war of the Rebellion, I can now name Admiral Sands 
and Admiral Ammen. There were and are many of 
lesser rank in that branch of the service. 

-And yet there is nothing surprising in all this. It is 

. BUT A REPETITION OF HISTORY, 

and a reflex of the love of liberty exhibited by Oatho-
lics in other portions of the world; to prove which, I 
have but to quote from that celebrated traveler, and 
staunch Protestant, Bay~rd Taylor, who, in writing upon 
this point, during the know-nothing excitement, said: 

"Truth compels us to add, that the oldest repuhlic now existing 
is that of San Marino, not only Catholic but wholly surrounded 
by the especial dominions of the Popes, who might have crushed 
it like an egg-shell at any time, these last thousand years-but 
they didn't. The only republic we ever travelled in besides our own 



33 

is Switzerland, h a lf of its Cantons, o r states, entirely Catholic, yet 
neve r, that we h a ve hea rd of, un fa ithful to the cause of freedom. 
They were nearly all Rom a n Catholics. from the Southern Cantons 
o f Switze rland, whom Austria so ruthlessly expelled fro m Lom-
bardy, aft er the suppression o f the las t revo lt of Milan, a ccountirig 
t hem n a tural b o rn republicans a nd revolutionists; and we sup-
pose Austria isnot a know-nothing on this point. \Venever h eard 
of the Catho lics of Hungary acc used o t b ac kw a rdn ess in the late 
g lorious struggle ofth eir country for freedom, thoug h its leaders 
were Protest a n ts, fi ghting again s t a leading Catholic power, 
avowedly in favo r of religious as well as civillibert y,- a nd chival-
ric unhappy Poland, a lmo st wholly Cath olic, h a s made as gal-
lant struggles for freedom as any other n ation , while of the three 
despotisms that crushed her, but one' was Catholic .' " 

Nor has the Catholic church of America any r eason 
to be less proud of those of h er members, who in the 
more peaceful walks of civil life, have acquired dis-
tinction, and l'efl ected credit upon their country. The 
list of their names-h eaded by that of Ohief Justice 
Taney-embraces among th em many of the most dis-
tinguished in the arts, sciences and professions. Of 
the present Catholic hierarchy of the United States, it 
is not necessary ·for me to speak. To the Catholic who 
is at all familiar with the present condition of the 
church, their names are as familiar as household words. 
Distinguished for their learning and ability, as for 
their piety and zeal, they command the respect and 
esteem not only of Catholics, but of all high-minded 
non-Catholics-who, I am pleased to say it, constitute a 
large portion of our dissenting fellow-citizens. We are 
certainly justified in entertaining the conviction that 
among tb,e Catholic prelates and clergy of this country, 
are to be found some of the most distinguished men of 
the present age. 

With the t ermination of the late terrible struggle 
which deluged our land with blood, and left its traces, 
in the habiliments of mourning which are still to be 
seen, as the sad relics of the war, from one end of the 
Union to the Qther, a new era dawned upon Catholicity. 
The war has had its influence upon bur political and 
social system, and also, to a certain extent, upon thQ 
sentiments of the people with reference to religion. 
Bringing togeth er, by force of circumstances, all de-
nommations, it brought thousand s of Protestants- who 



knew nothing of ~he Catholic Church and her religion, 
except what they had learned, through sources contam-
inated by prejudice-in intimate contact with Catholics; 
and as a natural and logical result, their preconceived 
prejudices were removed, and they ceased to regard the 
church with that abhorrence, which they had formerly 
entertained. And to none are Catholics more indebted 
for bringing about this gratifying change than to those 
saintly beings, 

THE SISTERS OF CHARITY 

whose labors in the cause of humanity and Catholicity 
(although apparently overlooked by me) have been 
proportionately equal to that of the missionaries. I 
cannot find language to r efer to the acts of these holy 
women during the late war, more appropriate than the 
following extract from an editorial which appeared in 
1868 in one of our state papers, the editor of which was 
a non-Catholic and had served in the Union army. He 
said:-

.. It has always been a matter of some surprise with us that the 
self-sacrificing labors of these angels in disguise have not been 
more specially noticed in the newspapers and in thethousand-and- • 
one books written and published about the war. Thereissc arce ly 
a battle field, a hospit a l or a prison within the whole broad com-
pass of the war-scourged district that was not the scene of scores 
of acts of heroism and mercy performed by these women. Not 
with the pomp and parade of the Sanitary and Christian Commis-
sions were these acts performed, but hundreds a nd thousands of 
living witnesses can this day testify that when the cruel bullet or 
burning fever had stricken them down, somehow a quiet-faced 

. woman dressed in black, would find her way to their side and with 
the cup of cool water, the soothing ointment, or better than a ll, 
the word of encouragement and hope,give them a new lease oflife. 
No question of creed or religious belief was asked or hinted at-
their mission was one of gentleness and mercy-to smooth the pil-
low of the dying, and to comfort and sustain the sick and afflicted, 
and nobly they performed their work . . Yet how seldom do we to-
day meet in public print, any acknowledgment of their works of 
charity and love. 

It is safe to leave the reward of these women in the hands of 
that Saviour they are serving while they imitate His blessed ex-
ample. and we know that human praise is distasteful to them, 
while human obloquy and scorn is unnoticed; but we never see the 
familiar dress, and quiet. meek features of a Sister of Charity with-
out an inward" God bless yo u, " and an instinctive desire to lift 
our hat to them as they pass." . 



35 

Well might the late Henry J. Raymond, in his 
paper (the New York Times) in commenting, but a 
short time before his death, upon the labors of the 
Sisters, and the great want of proper nurses, that exists 
in our non-Oatholic hospitals, and the many deaths _that 
can be attributed to that cause, say:-

" Does not a ll this suggest to our great Protestant Churches , the 
necessity of establishing some order of holy women, whose labors 
shall be akin to the Sisters of Charity. or rather we should say, 
akin t o the angels? If we cannot have such an order, we earnest-
ly h ope, for the sake of suffering huma nity , that the Catholic Church 
wilt devote itself moreth a never, to enlarge the numbers and extend 
the beneficent labors ofthe Sisters." 

This candid admission-from one of the leading 
journals of the nation-of the great good which these 
self-sacrificing womeu are doing, for the poor and un-
fortun ate, in contradistinction to the spirit which, but 
a few years before the war of the Rebellion culminated 
in mob violence, and reduced convents to ashes, exhibits 
as much as any other evidence can the progress which 
the Catholic Church has made, in general public 
estimation, in the past quarter of a cen tury. And its 
growth in power aud greatness has been fully equal to 
its growth in popularity. From a few hundred thou-
sand at the close of th e Revolutionary war, its member-
ship h as increased to about one-fifth of the present 
population of the United States; or about twelve mil-
lions-a membership which is more than double that of 
any other denomination. 

It is not necess ary, for the purposes of this lecture, 
that I should enter into an enumeration of the Oatholic 
hierarchy and clergy, or of our churches, or institutions 
of learning and charitable institutions. This might 
seem like a disposition to boast. 

CONCLUSION. 

With this imperfect epitome of the" Oatholic P ages 
of American History, " I must close. It is necessarily 
brief and incomplete, because it would be impossible t o 
do more th an X h ave done within the time th at I should 
occupy with one lecture. 

Imperfect and incomplete as it is, I trust that I have 



36 

furnished sufficient to satisfy the most prejudiced, that 
the children and members of the Oatholic Ohurch have 
been, at all periods of our country's history, among its 
truest friends, and are entitled to the proud distinction 
of being the- founders and chief builders of that magni-
ficent temple of liberty which I mentioned in my open-
ing remarks, and which our beloved country so grandly 
typifies. 

As we reflect upon these pages of our country's his-
tory, and entertain such a . pride in it as would almost 
justify us in challenging our other fellow citizens to 
point to a superior historical record, we should not for-
get that-as the successors of the distinguished Oath-
olics whom I have mentioned-we have a duty to 
perform. 

That duty is to prove that we are worthy to be the 
successors of the illustrious Oatholics who have made 
this history. We can, by imitating their virtues and 
patriotism, show that a true and practical Oatholic must 
necessarily be a good and worthy citizen of this great 
republic. 

Living thus, and not forgetting that these pages of 
American history are the common property of us aU-
of our citizens of other belief as well-let us content 
ourselves with pointing to this record with pride, ann 
in the spirit of truest brotherly love, invite our non-
Oatholic brethren to a friendly rivalry for higher pur-
poses, in what we hope and pray to be the glorious 
future of our country to the end of time. 



, 

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AS CITIZENS, by HON. WILLIAM J. ONAHAN. 

THE CONSERVATIVE POWER OF CATHOLICITY, 

by CONDE B. PALLEN. 

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