fa?m^!^ m i i i i i I im imtmfmm ^mt 1 25 GiH'ii Sfnrics ami 125 times 125 Hearty Laiisrlis for One Dollar. A FIRST-CLASS BOOK, Irish Wit and Humor, -OXTAIMXG The best Jokes and Witty Sayings of Dean Swift, John Philpot Curran, Rev. Father O'Leary, and Daniel O'Connell. It is almost unnecessary for us to say that trie humorous and witty sayings and doings of such men as Swift, Curran, Father O'Leary, and O'Connell have ever passed current in the highest circles of intellectual and retined students of men and manners. The present collection has been made with most judicious care, and will he found to contain all the best y^^-r d' esprit of these celebrated men, a care- ful regard having been had in the selection for modern public taste as well as for the strictest sense of morality. CON TEN T S His Birth— Singular Event A Certificate of Marriage. Grace after Dinner. The Tliree Crosses. Chief-Justice Whitshed. i"o (.)uilca. Dr. Pulteney. Resolutions when 1 come to be Old. .Miss Bennet. The Feast of O'Rourke. Swift's Behavior at Table Countess of Burlington. Swift's Political Princi- ples. Swift's Charity. Public Absurditv in Ire- land. Swift's Peculiarity oi Humor. Dr. Bolton. DEAN SWIFT, I The Scriblerus Club. ! The Upstart. i Meditation upon a broom- stick. ■ (-ossing a Dolt. Trade of Ireland. : A Beggar's Wedding, le Pies— Short Charity •ermon. , A Courtier's Retort— I Lying. I Dr. Sacheverell. j Taxing the Air— Wisdom i Epitaph on Judge Boat. ' On Stephen Duck, the Thresher and Favorite I Poet. Dialogue between Swift and his Landlord. Roger Cox. Roger and the Poultry. Kelly the Blacksmith. I Birthday Presents. The Dean's Contnbutorv Dinner. Swift and Bettesworth. Swift among the Law- ! yers. ' ! Preaching Patriotism. I Swift and his Cutler. I His Saturnalia. I The Dean and Faulk- 1 ner. I Swift. Arbuthnot, and { Parnell. i Dean Swift and the I Preacher who stole his j Sermon. I Swift's queer Testimo- j nial to his Servant. I Swift at Thomastown. f Switt's Lasc Lines. [RISH WIT AND HUMOR— Continued. JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN. His Birth. Curran as Punch's Man. At a Debating Society. The Bank— Duel with St. Leger. The Monks of the Screw. Lord Avonmore. irlis first Client. Curran and the Infor- mer. Lord Clare. Curran's Eloquence. Scene between Fitz- gibbon and Curran. Defence of Rowan. Encounter with a Fish- woman. Curran and Lord Erskine Duel with Bully Eg an. Massy versus Headfort. The Serenading Lover. Employment of Infor- mers. Curran and the Farmer. Curran and the Judge. Ouarrel with Fitzgibbon. High Authority. Red Tape — Curran and the Mastiff. FATHER O'LEARY. His Birth. Controversy with an Infi- del. Interview with Dr. Mann Controversy with John Wesley. Meeting of O'Leary and U'eslej-. Dr. O'Leary and Father Callanan. O'Leary and the Qua- kers. His Reception by the \'oliinteers. 1 O'Learv and Tohn I O'Ke'efe. I O'Leary and the Irish Parliament. I His Interview with Dan ' iel Danser. I A Fop. , I His Person — CaDtain , I Rock. * ! } Lots Drawn to Have Him j I at Dinner. ! Reply to Charge of Ke- j I cantation. i ' O'Leary and the Rector. | Ladv Morgan. .\ Batch of lntere5olitan Record. i2mo, 240 pages. Green Cloth, Bevelled. Ciold and Ink Designs, with Portrait of Swift. Price One Dollar. J. A. McGEE, Publisher, 7 Barclay Street, New York. u Marshal McMahox, LIYES OP lEISHMEN'S S0N8 AND THEIfi DESCENDANTS. BY COLONEL JAMES E. McGEE, AUTHOR OF "IRISH SOLDIERS IN EVERT LAND." NEW YORK: J. A. McGEE, Publisher, 7 Barclay St. 1874. Entered, according- to Act of Congress, April, 1874, By James E. McGee, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C» Printed and Stereotyped at the New York Catholic Protectory, West Chester, New York. TO MY YOUXG FELLOW-CITIZENS BORN TS AMERICA OF IRISH DESCENT OR PARENTAGE, HOPING, WHILE THET WILL PROVE LOYAL TO THE LAND or THEIR BIRTH, THEY WILL NOT BE FOUND WANTING IN LOVE AND ESTEEM FOR THAT OF THEIR FOREFATHERS, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. » J -A ;«3 '± PREFACE, In selecting the lives of five great men ae the sub- jects of this volume, I had the following objects in view : I. I thought I perceived in their histories the devel- opment of as many distinct types of Irish character, widely differing one from the other, but all exhibiting in a remarkable degree, the national, latent genius of our race, modified by time, place, and circumstances. McMahon, Duke of Magenta and President of the French Republic, has long seemed to me the heau ideal of a Franco-Irish soldier j brave, austere, and reserved, lov- ing arms as a profession and his native country with his whole heart, yet capable of yielding at times to the softer impulses of our nature, or of leading a desperate charge, amid dead and dying, with undisturbed compo- sure. Andi'ew Jackson, seventh President of our Re- public, I regard as a thorough North-of-Ireland Gael ; rugged, inflexible, and thoroughly tenacious in purpose, with a mind that arrived at just conclusions more by intuition than through reflection, and whose will was so unswemng that he easily gained the mastery over more cultivated, but less firm dispositions. The late Cardinal Wiseman was the lineal descendant, in the spiritual VI PREFACE. order, of those dev^oted and learned men, wlio in tlie in- fancy of the Church in the West, gave to Ireland the proud title of the Isle of Scholars and Saints, and whose missionary labors were circumscribed only by the bounds of the then known world. His Spanish birth and Roman education may have somewhat tempered and refined his natural idiosyncrasies, but, in almost all his actions may be traced that ardent love for learning, and burn- ing zeal in the propagation of the faith, which character- ized the disciples of St. Patrick and their successors. General Sheridan is the modern Irish soldier, very little changed by his American associations, and might, if he had been born a couple of centuries ago, have ridden beside Owen Roe, or charged with Patrick Sarsfield. Fieldmarshal O'Donnell, on the other hand, mav l^e res^arded as amono^ the last of a race of men who in former times swayed much more by their physi- cal, mental, and social qualities than by any hereditary right. Ai'dently devoted to the profession of arms, prince- ly in generosity and lavish in expenditure, of unsullied personal honor, they looked upon their swords as the insignia of the highest nobility, and the field of battle as the tme stage for the exhibition of all their many vir- tues. They have nearly all passed away, but though the world may have grown wiser and less romantic, it cannot recall their chivalrous deeds without a sympathetic sigh. PREFACE. VU II. Of late years it has become the fashion with a certain class of political speakers, and editors of obscure newspapers, who, wishing to trade on the generous in- stincts of the Irish immigrants in America, think to flatter their vanity by claiming as Irish every man of Gaelic nomenclature, regardless of where he was born or what have been his antecedents. This is neither correct nor complimentary to those to whom such assertions are addressed, and, if honestly entertained, simply defeats the ends sought to be attained. McMahon, for example, is not an Irishman but a Frenchman, as Jackson was a true type of an American democrat, who loved Ten- nessee much better than he did Antrim. Those who claim too much will not even be accorded what is their due. I was anxious, therefore, in part at least, to correct this growing and, to me, humiliating evil, by placing before the public a few great names, not as Irishmen, but as the inheritors of the brain and muscle of that undying race from which so many distinguished men have sprung, developed and trained by foreign asso- ciations, as well as by the accident of birth. III. I was also desirous to show to those who, not caring to look under the surface of society, or to trace the connection between cause and effect, frequently ask why it is that Ireland does not now produce more great thinkers, scientific soldiers, and astute statesmen, that Vlll PREFACE. tte reason is the expatriation of tlmt class of her popu- lation which produces the clearest minds and the most acute understandings. This emigration found an outlet on the continent of Europe in the last century, and left as its descendants such men as the Duke of Magenta and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. Later, the tide was turned to the Western World, and, disap- pearing gradually in the course of nature, left behind as its representatives such men as Jackson and Sheridan. Had Ireland enjoyed the advantages of an independent, paternal government, the greater part of her children would have still nestled lovingly in her bosom, and the valor, learning, and genius which have been lavished by her sons and thek offspring in every part of the globe, would have been cherished and nurtured at home. IV. If I have succeeded in effecting any of these objects, or even in suggesting their accomplishment to others, I shall be well satisfied, trusting that as time passes and correct ideas of contemporary characters be- come more general, the mental gifts and meritorious actions of the descendants of the Irish in this, as in other lands, will be found as conspicuous and praise- worthy as those of any other race now represented among us. J. E. M. New York, January, 1874. CONTENTS, McMahon, Duke of Magenta, President of France 11 Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States 67 Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman .... 155 Lieutenant-General Philip H. Sheridan . . 213 FlELDMARSHAL LEOPOLD O'DONNELL, CoUnt of Lucena and Duke of Tetuan .... 362 lEISHMEFS SONS. McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE. As we write, one of the foremost men in Christendom, as far certainly as reputa- tion, abiHties, position, and all that con- stitutes mundane greatness are concerned, is undoubtedly Maria Esme Patrick Mau- rice McMahon, the highest ranking officer in the French army, and, for the time being at least, president of, the French Eepublic. This remarkable man was born in the old family mansion at Sully, France, on the 13th day of June, 1808. Though not of immediate Irish parentage, there is no possible doubt that paternally he is the dhect descendant of a very ancient and noble Irish family, and can trace his pedi- 12 irishmen's sons. gree in a direct line througli successive generations for at least five hundred years. Patrick McMahon, a more modern ancestor, was an officer in King James II's army and a native of Torrodile, county Limerick, Ire- land. Upon tlie defeat of that unfortunate monarch's forces he left the country and, with his wife Margaret, nee O'Sullivan, and his children,- emigrated to France and took service under Louis XIV. One of his sons, John McMahon, also a soldier, was created first Count d'Equilly for distinguished and meritorious conduct. Though brought up in France, D'Equilly seems not only to have been a loyal French subject but an ardent Irishman proud of his name and race, and not ashamed of his native land in the hour of her humiliation. We find from an examination of the archives of Birming- ham Tower, Dublin, that on September 28th, 1749, he applied by letter to the authorities of that day to have all histori- cal and genealogical papers and records connected with the history of his family, collected, collated, and recorded, and offi- McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 13 cial copies of the same forwarded to him, '^so that his children and his posterity in France might know that they were of Irish descent." As he accompanied this request with a hberal fee, it is unnecessary to say it was granted. This patriotic Count was the grandfather of the present Marshal, Duke and President. But Patrick McMahon seems to have had other childi'en, for in 1760, a petition was sent to Louis XV, from Captain Maurice McMahon, a Knight of Malta, on behalf of himself and of his brothers. Count d'Equilly and the Bishop of Killaloe, setting forth, among other matters, that " they draw their maternal origin from the lords of Clondir- ola, in Ireland, who were descended from the lords and princes of Clare, who were issue of the ancient monarchs of Ireland. Their attachment to the Catholic religion and their legitimate prince have deprived them of theii' possessions and titles, and they find it impossible to establish their noble and ancient extraction by literal proofs. But they have proofs and testi- 14 irishmen's sons. monials beyond all suspicion, and admitted by the tribunals, which establish their nobil- ity, not only from the year 1400, but even up to Brian Boru, monarch of Ireland in the beginning of the eleventh century, and that they are of the same family as the Earls of Thomond, whom the king has honored with his favor." We are not informed what was the effect of this appeal, and we have no doubt of its veracity, but from the character of the eifete sovereign who then disgraced the throne of France, we conclude that it was thrown aside and forgotten. The number of- the D'Equilly family we have no means of ascertaining, but it is certain that he gave at least two sons to the service of his adopted country : one, the second count of the name, the father of the subject of our sketch, who rose to the rank of Lieutenant- Greneral, and Com- mander of the Eoyal and Military Order of St. Louis, and the other a younger brother who attained the position of Major- General. With such family antecedents and with McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 15 the hereditary military genius of his race, it required little foresight to prognosticate a brilliant future for the cherished scion of the house of McMahon-D'Equilly. His father certainly, with natm-al parental af- fection, appears to have indulged in such fond anticipations, and to have paid the most scrupulous attention to his education, physical, mental, and moral. His first studies were made under the supervision of his parents at a quiet preparatory school in Autun, which he left for the Military Academy of St. Cyr in November, 1825, being then in his seventeenth year. It was previous to this event that he ac- quired a knowledge of those cardinal prin- ciples which were destined to form a character so remarkable, and to govern his entire life. Abstinence, self-denial of all deleterious pleasures, and vigorous exercise, built up a constitution that seems to have defied the ravages of climate, ex- posm-e, and time itself ; quiet communings with his father beneath the shade of his ancestral forests gave to his disposition a 16 irishmen's sons. serious, tliough by no means sombre color- ing, while that deep reverence for religion, that love for the faith of his fathers, which have ever characterized him, were nurtm^ed and matured at his mother's knee, and in the society of his friends and relatives. St. Cyr, it is generally known, is not only one of the best military colleges in existence, but it is, and was, particularly after the restoration of Louis XVIII, one of the most aristocratic and sociably most exclusive. Thither what has been called the best blood of France, the descendants of the Montmorencis, Maurepas, Cavaign- acs, De Broglies, and even the princes of the royal blood, were sent to learn the rudiments of that art, in the practice of which so many of them have shed such lustre on their order and on the gallant nation they in part represented. In less than two years young McMahon completed his com'se, to the entire satisfac- tion of his professors, and left St. Cyr with an excellent reputation as a student and the rank of sous-lieutenant eleve^ having been McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 17 assigned to the 4th Huzzars, in which an older brother was abeady captain. In 1830, however, upon the resignation of the latter, the young soldier, anxious to experience the excitement and danger of actual warfare, of which he had been only enjoying ^'the pomp, pride, and cir- cumstance," exchanged into the 20th regi- ment and embarked with it for Algeria, then the theatre of hazardous and continu- ous conflict. Still we may presume that the years of peace were not misspent by the future Fieldmarshal, for on emerging from St. Cyr and his entry into the ser- vice, he joined the Staff School of Instruc- tion, in which all the time that could be spared from liis routine duties was em- ployed. Scott, in his ^' Military Dictionary," lays it down as an axiom that the staff officer should at least know as much as the General whom he serves. Artillery prac- tice, cavalry and infantry tactics, and strategy are the least of his attainments; familiarity with permanent and field forti- fications ; topographical engineering and 18 irishmen's sons. surveying; di-awing, designing, and map- making; means of supply and transpor- tation, and the knowledge of a hundred other details affecting the organization, movement, equipment, and disposition of troops in quarters or on the march, form the most essential qualifications of an accomplished aide. Thi'ee years diligently spent in the ac- quisition of these multitudinous bra^nches of the military profession must have pro- duced a marked effect on a mind so peculiarly constituted as that of the young sons-lieutenant, for even at that early age he was preeminent for his sedate habits, unostentatious industry, and application, as well as for his extraordinary capacity for mastering the most abstruse scientific problems. His tastes led him naturally toward the higher branches, such as mathematics and astronomy, the study of which generally has a tendency to give system and steadiness to the reasoning fac- ulties, as well as to elevate the mind above the little affah-s of life; while his innate McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 19 pride and gravity of character prevented liim from taking part in the frivohties and dissipation too often indulged in by his junior brother officers. Thus, after five years^ ti^aining in St. Cyr and the Staff School, at the green age of twenty-two we find the young Franco- Irish soldier, enthusiastic though self-con- tained, entering on his career of danger and glory, thoroughly versed in the theory of warfare, and only anxious to submit his school knowledge to the test of actual ex- perience. On his arrival in Algeria he was detached from the 20th and placed on the staff of General Achard, then command- ing the French forces in Africa. As orderly officer to that commander he formed a portion of his personal staff, and accompa- nied him on his first expedition against Me- deah. On this his '' first brush " he greatly distinguished himself, it is said, by his coolness and intrepidity in bearing de- spatches from one part of the lines to an- other, under the fire of a keen and skilful enemy, always on the aleii: to pick off their 20 ieishmen's sons. opponents in gross or in detail. Belidah is mentioned as one of the scenes of his gallantry, when the future stormer of the Malakoff, being alone, was* closely pui'sued by a body of Ai'abs, who shot his horse under him and nearly ended his military aspu-ations forever. General Achard was the next year re- called and sent into the Low Countries. He took with him his favorite staff-officer, who is mentioned in contemporaneous re- ports as having exhibited his usual bravery and self-possession at the siege of Antwerp in 1832, dm'ing the Belgian revolution. For his conduct on tliis occasion he was promoted to a captaincy and decorated with the insignia of the Order of St. Leo- pold. As the war in Africa at that time does not appear to have been prosecuted with any degree of vigor, or to have presented many opportunities for preferment or dis- tinction — the soldier's tvdn guiding stars — Captain McMahon did not return to Algeria till 1836, when affairs seemed about to McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 21 assume a more earnest and, to him, a more interesting aspect. He was at once at- tached to the staff of General Damremont, and in the desperate assault on the city and fortifications of Constantino was, as might have been expected, conspicuous for his efficiency and daring. This time, however, he did not come out of the struggle scath- less, for during that engagement of almost unparalleled fierceness between the instru- ments of aggressive civilization and the wild children of the desert, who strove to defend their homes and families, he was badly wounded and obliged to be taken off the field. Yet his sufferings were, in his opinion, more than amply solaced by his being appointed an officer of the Legion of Honor. France, whether monarchical, im- perialistic, or republican, always knew how to reward her soldiers. Upon recovering from his injuries and again reporting for duty, McMahon was assigned to General Changarnier's staff, a position which he occupied until 1840, when a wider field and a more responsible 22 irishmen's sons. career were opened to him. In that year the CJiasseurs-a-jned^ or as they were some- times called the Chasseurs d' Orleans ^ after their organizer, the prince of that name, were raised for African service, and the command of the tenth battalion having been tendered to McMahon, it was accepted. Heretofore he had acted only on the staff, endeavoring by practical observation and strict obedience to learn how to command. He was now, at the age of thirty-two, to have an independent force — a flying col- umn as it were — and a miniatm-e staff of his own. In the two years following, at the head of his chasseurs he made several success- ful incursions into the country of the Kabyles, and took an active part in the decisive campaign which eventuated in the complete subjugation of the Arab tribes, and the capture of their great chief Abd-el- Kader. His promotion now became rapid, and must have been highly satisfactory to the distinguished soldier who; as a sous-lieuten- McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 23 ant had, more than a decade past, evinced so much youthful bravery combined with mature deliberation and knowledge of his profession. In 1842, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel in the 2d Foreign Legion, next. Colonel of the 41st Infantry, and finally, in 1848, Brigadier- Greneral. His semi-civic advancement also showed what confidence was placed in his pru- dence and executive abilities by the gov- ernment of the day, for in the latter yeai' we find him Governor of Tiemeen, and in the following, his jurisdiction was ex- tended over the provinces of Constantino and Gran. But greater honors awaited him. In July, 1852, he was promoted General of Division, and while yet engaged in subduing the Algerine tribes and endeavoring to bring those already conquered under some regular system of government, the Crimean war, as it is called, broke out in 1854, when he was summoned to France to take part in it. McMahon was assigned at once to the command of the Fu'st corios cTarmeej and, 24 irishmen's sons. with a portion of the Allied fleet, ordered to the Baltic, the intention being that, after the reduction of Cronstadt by the naval forces, a landing" of the troops should be effected, and by thus threatening the capital to make a powerful diversion in favor of the southern movement. The attempt failed. Cronstadt was found so strongly fortified as to be unassailable ; the British went through the forms of an attack and retired, and the whole project was abandoned. In consequence of this, McMahon's sphere of action was trans- ferred to the still famous peninsula of Chersonese, so renowned in ancient military as well as legendary history. Whatever may be thought of the motives or causes which led to that war, it cannot w^ell be denied that the Colossus of the North, semi- civilized though it was and is to this day, but more decidedly so twenty years ago, displayed in its struggle with the Western powers, immense resom'ces, great administrative ability, endurance, bravery, and even genius. Attacking Turkey at her own doors, and threatening McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 25 England^s Asiatic possessions, Russia nec- essarily aroused the hostility of some of the most powerful and martial nations of south- western Europe, who, combining theii^ mar- itime, military, and moneyed resources against her, seemed about, by one decisive blow, not only to check her career of conquest but to destroy, utterly ruin, and disintegrate the gigantic but ill-cemented mass which constitutes the Muscovite Empire. Had Austria then joined the quadruple alliance, it is not improbable that such a comprehensive scheme would have been earned out, but that astute power held aloof, preferring to see her rivals engaged in weaJ^ening each other ; and her neutral- ity, as may be seen at a glance at the map of Europe, left Russia vulnerable only on two sides: by the Baltic and the Black seas. The approach by the former, however, was beset by many and almost insurmount- able difficulties. Every defensible point was strongly fortified; while nature, far mightier than man in her works, had closed up the ocean itself for more than six months 26 irishmen's sons. in the 3"ear by an icy barrier more impas- sable than moat or castle wall. The at- tempt, therefore, in this direction to assail a vital part of the empii-e, if even seriously contemplated, failed, and the main move- ment had to be directed against the south- ern extremity of the Czar's dominions, the Crimea. Sebastopol, the principal position and key to the peninsula, was at that time and, not- withstanding the ravages of war, continues to be, a place of gi-eat natural strength. Its harbor, partly the work of art, is capa- cious and deep, and susceptible of having its approaches strongly defended from the surrounding eminences. Before the war, its docks, hewn out of the solid rock, were re- garded as triumphs of engineering skill, and its extensive dockyards were capable of turning out annually, not only large fleets of merchandise, but of supplying the govern- ment with all the armed ships it required to carry its flag into every part in the Black and Azof seas. Large stores of ordnance, small arms, powder, and other munitions of war 27 were kept continually in the arsenals, while a garrison of more than ordinary magnitude was stationed constantly in its fortifications to defend the position and keep the hetero- geneous population in awe and order. It was against this place, at once a fortress and a naval rendezvous, that the whole force of the powers that had declared war against Eussia was dnected. England provided the largest naval armament and a very respect- able military force, the greater part of which was, unfortunately, composed of Irishmen, twenty thousand of whom embarked from Dublin for the intended seat of war early in 1854, and only three thousand of whom returned after two years' service. France furnished a most imposing army but a smaller fleet. Italy, or rather Sardinia, sent twenty thousand land-forces, while Turkey's quota consisted principally of bands of ir- regular cavahy, and infantrj^ still more bar- barous, and fanatical scouts, thieves, and licentious marauders. Taken altogether, it was a mighty and varied host, "and had one element of success at least, a spirit of national 28 irishmen's sons. rivalry. At tlie outset, the commander- in-chief was Lord Raglan, but his successors were all Frenchmen. Of course, during the progress of the war each country kept the depleted ranks of its armies as full as pos- sible by recruiting at home, but as we are not aware that any reliable returns of the grand total have ever been published, it is impossible to say with accuracy how many men, ships, and guns were operating against the enemy. On the side of Russia, from the meagre accounts received, generally through hostile channels, we conclude that there were about two hundred thousand men of all arms, and as their lines of communication had been cut early in the struggle and their fleet sunk and desti'oyed to prevent its -capture, there is no reason to believe that any con- siderable reinforcements reached them dur- ing the siege. It has also been stated upon apparently good authority, that before the approach of Raglan in rear of the city, the fortifications' on that side were very weak, and bore no comparison whatever to those McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 29 afterwards erected in front of the Allies under the intelligent superintendence of Totleben. The first serious battle between the con- tending armies was that of the Alma, September 20, 1854, which was gained by the Allies under command of Fieldmarshal Leroy de St. Arnaud, who had succeeded Lord Raglan, and who himself in a few days afterwards gave place to P^lissier. General McMahon, who on his arrival in the Crimea was ordered to relieve Canrobeii; in the command of the first division of the second corps of the French contingent, doubtless took an active part in this action. Then followed the engagements of Balaclava and Inkermann, after the latter of which the Rus- sians withdrew behind their newly- made fortifications, and sullenly prepared for a regular and long siege. This lasted through the terrible winter of 1854-'55, and into the autumn of the latter year, all the hideous features of an invest- ment — famine, pestilence, and death — ex- hibiting themselves as prominently to the 30 besiegers as to the beleaguered. Of the EngUsh army alone ten thousand are said to have di^d from want or exposm^e, though the French, having a better commissariat, did not suffer so severely from those causes. At length, in September, 1855, it was re- solved to make a general attack on the entire works, the principal of which were the Mal- akoff and the Redan, the Mamelon Vert hav- ing been destroyed some time previously. Of the two remaining, the Malakoff, it is known, was immeasurably the strongest and largest, and its capture, according to mil- itary courtesy, was assigned by the French commander-in-chief to his own country- men, while the English and Italian troops were directed against the minor work. To General McMahon was intrusted the des- perate and hazardous, but, to the true soldier, the highly honorable duty of lead- ing the assault. About noon on the 7th of September, the Eussian garrison was sm-prised to see, during a lull in the firing, a mass of French soldiers swarming up the slope in theii' front, some in 31 solid column of attack, and others, the tirail- leurs and zouaves, scattered over the entire surface without any apparent order. The very audacity of the manoeuvre for awhile silenced the men within the defences, but their inaction was momentary. Every gun that could be brought to bear on the assail- ants belched forth its deadly missives, and volleys from ten thousand muskets swelled the awful din. Many of the French troops fell at the first fire, but their movements had been so well designed and so swiftly executed that before a second or thu'd dis- charge could be given they were across the dikes, over the chevaux-de-frisej in through the embrasures and upon the ramparts. Then ensued a desperate hand-to-hand en^ counter in the trenches seldom equalled in the magnitude of the number engaged or in the obstinacy with which every inch of ground was disputed. For a time the re- sult seemed doubtful, and even P^lissier, fearing the works were mined, sent word to McMahon that it was best to retire. His reply was characteristic : J^y suis entrCj et 32 irishmen's sons. fy resterai. Gradually the Russians gave way before the impetuosity and desperate gallantry of their Gallic foemen, and finally their retreat from the works, at first stern and orderly, became changed into a precip- itate and confused rout. Thus was the great Malakofi" won and the city of Sebasto- pol virtually captured. But while this terrible drama was being enacted on one part of the field, another, of a very different character, was presented at no great distance. The English and their Italian auxiliaries had recoiled from the fire of the Redan, and lay cowering in the zig- zags, in some cases refusing to obey their officers who, to do them all justice, were anx- ious to make another attempt to capture the fort. McMahon saw the difficulty at once, and promptly turning the captured guns of the Malakoff on its sister work, so over- awed its defenders that under cover of his fire the English again assaulted and entered the trenches with little trouble. The entire defences being now in possession of the Allies, the defeated army, under cover of the McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 33 night, withdrew in good order, the city- proper surrendered, and the war, for all practical purposes, ended. For his gallant conduct on this occasion General McMahon received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor ; he had already at intervals been decorated with the insignia of the inferior grades, with the political rank of Senator of France, and, what he probably most valued, the highest encomi- ums of his brother officers and the applause of the entire nation. It is a strange coin- cidence that the very theatre of his glory in this instance should have been in the coun- try which more than a century previous had been won for Russia by the compatriot and fellow soldier of his grandfather, Field- marshal Lacy. The treaty of Paris, which followed soon after the fall of Sebastopol, restored peace to Europe, so McMahon^s services were again transferred to Algeria. He was made com- mander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of that province, but, though constantly en- gaged with one or other of the wild tribes. 34 IRISHMEN'S SONS. of that irrepressible region, we do not find any incident in his career worth recording till the Franco-Italian war of 1859 again brought him prominently before the world and crowned him with new laurels. Early in that year the Emperor Napoleon, in conjunction with the King of Sardinia, prepared to drive Austria from her posses- sions in Northern Italy, and, in the cant phrase of the day, to proclaim the " unifica- tion" of the Italian peninsula. In the spring he accordingly dejiarted from ad- miring and enthusiastic France with a large and splendidly equipped army, in which General McMahon commanded the Second Corps. On the 21st of May the first collision between the contending forces took place at Montebello, in which fifteen thousand Austrians were defeated by the advance guard of the French. Then fol- lowed a short, sharp, and brilliant campaign, and a succession of battles the description of which recalls to our minds the lio'htninof- like movements of the first Napoleon in his youthful and more successful days. Pales- McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 35 tro, May 30 ; Magenta, June 4 ; Malig- nano, June 18 ; Solferino, June 24, were a series of victorious encounters with an ene- my, if not of equal numbers, which is doubt- ful, certainly not inferior in skill, bravery, and knowledge of the country. In two months from the date of the declaration of war the treaty of Villafranca was signed, and the map of southern Europe materially changed. While Venetia remained to Austria, Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia, and soon after Nice and Savoy became an integral portion of France. In this campaign, so dazzling in its in- ception and execution and so pregnant of future results. Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel were of course merely the nom- inal commanders, P^lissier, McMahon, and other distinguished general officers, j)lanning and carrying out to ultimate triumph all the strategic and tactical movements of the allied armies. The latter's first great achieve- ment on Italian soil took place on the 4th of June. On that day the main body of the Franco-Itahan army, under the immediate 36 irishmen's sons. command of the Emperor, attacked the Austrians, then strongly entrenched around the village and bridge of Magenta. The numbers on either side were about equal, from one hundred and fifty thousand to one hundred and eighty thousand. The strug- gle was long and obstinate, and at one time dire defeat stared the Allies in the face, when suddenly a French force appeared on the left, marching hastily to the support of their comrades. As the grand column ap- proached the scene of doubtful combat it de- ployed in mass, and sweeping down on the astonished Austrians, scattered them in all directions and changed anticipated victory into utter rout. This was McMahon s com- mand, led by himself in person. The day previously he had left No vara, it is credibly said without orders, and rapidly passing through Tm'bigo and Buffalora, arrived on the field of Magenta just in time to change the fortunes of the day and save the honor of the French arms. The losses on this occasion, as is the case in accounts of most battles, have never been McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 37 accm-ately known, but those of the Aiis- trians, not inckiding prisoners, are generally- set down at five thousand, and of the Allies at about three-fifths of that number. For his timely, judicious, and unlooked- for aid the French emperor was deeply and naturally grateful, and expressed to McMahon on the field orally and afterwards in general orders, his high appreciation of the services he had rendered to the army and to France. Subsequently he created him Fieldmarshal and Duke of Magenta. On the 24th of the same month another and a more decisive victory was gained at Solferino. Three hundred and fifty thou sand men are said to have been engaged on both sides, and the final result of the battle having been anticipated as decisive, no matter upon which side victory inclined, it was fought with remarkable intrepidity and determination. On this occasion the Austrians took the offensive. On the morning of that eventful day, although occupying a very strong position, they did not wait the onset of the Allies, 38 irishmen's sons. but, crossing the river Chiese, fell with such fmy on the Franco-Italians as to drive back both wings, the left, composed of the Sardinians under Victor Emmanuel, being the first to give way. At this crisis the rout of the whole army seemed imminent, and doubtless would have been so had the Aus- trians restrained theu* ardor and had, instead of pushing their advantage too far against the broken wings, taken the French centre on both flanks and so crushed it between two fires. The error thus committed was speedily taken advantage of by Pdlissier and McMahon, who, concentrating all their forces, attacked the Austrian centre and utterly destroyed it. This was the turning point of the engagement. The Austrian army hastily retreated over the Chiese in as good order as could be expected, leaving, how- ever, in the hands of the victors thirty guns, three flags, and about seven thousand prisoners. The losses on both sides were heavy, and are thus stated : Sardinia, two hundred and sixteen officers and four thousand and fifty-one non-commissioned McMAHOX, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 39 officers and privates killed or wounded, and twelve hundred and twenty-eight missing ; total, five thousand five hundred and twen- ty-five. France, seven hundred and fifty officers (including five Generals wounded, seven colonels and six lieutenant-colonels killed) and twelve thousand enlisted men killed or wounded. Austria, seventeen thou- sand officers and men killed, wounded, or prisoners. McMahon's services on this day were of the same efficient character as usual, and, though only second in actual command, contributed materially to the success of the Allies. It is said, on reliable authority, that it was he who suo^g-ested the concentrated at- tack on the Austrian centre which virtually decided the combat, and it is certain that in person at the head of his corps he stormed and took the fortified heights which stretch- ed from Cavriano to Medolo, the enemy's strongest position. Those hills, bristling with batteries as they were, had heretofore been considered impregnable, but to a soldier who could take a Malakoif before 40 IRISHMENS SONS. dinner tliey did not present very serious obstacles. But even the marslial's bravery and skill at this battle paled before his actions at Magenta. His praises had been abeady sounded, not only in France but throughout Europe, and in Italy especially the mention of his name evoked the warmest praise and the wildest enthusiasm. The treaty of Yillafranca, as we have seen, followed speedily on the victory of Sol- ferino ; peace once more spread her dove- like wings over the nations of Em^ope, and the conquerors retm^ned home to receive the congratulations of their countrymen and to wear their well-won honors, some in quietude and retirement, others in the public service. Of the latter was the Duke of Magenta, who seems never to have tired of devoting his genius, large experience, and high character to the pubHc good. When the present Emperor of Germany was crowned King of Prussia in 1861, he was deputed by Kapoleon as special envoy to represent France at BerHn, a duty which he per- formed to the great satisfaction and grati- McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 41 fication of both coui'ts. Shortly after he re- lieved Canrobert in the command of the Third Corps, and in 1864 we again find him in Algeria as Governor-Greneral, a position he soon after resigned and again returned to France. We now come to an epoch in the gallant marshal's life which belongs more to the do- main of contemporary history than to that of biography. Hitherto we have followed him step by step in the paths of undimmed glory and uninterrupted success. We have found the untitled young sous-lieutenant winning his way to a marshal's baton, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, a senatorship, and a dukedom, by a course of unswerving devotion to his profession and his country, ever in the van of danger and always victorious. We have now to behold him, for awhile, outnumbered, defeated, and if not betrayed, certainly basely deceived. The history of the late Franco-German war is not wi'itten, nor will even a tittle of the secret motives and designs which led to it, and the underhand means taken to con- 42 duct it to its disastrous termination, ever be known. Even as we write the actual com- mander-in-chief of the French force is on trial for his life, charged with incapacity, duplicity, and treason, and the e\ddence so far produced from some of the highest ranking officers in his late command, and from ministers of state, leaves on the mind a painful impression that the charges are not without some foundation. Still there are some general facts connect- ed with the Franco-German war wliich have been stated mth such clearness, and con- iii'med by results so striking, that they have received general credence. It is now known that for a long time, two or three years at least, Prussia had been preparing for an aggressive war on France ; that her armies liad been put on a most efficient war foot- ing, equipped in the newest style, and armed with the most approved weapons ; that France, up to the gates of Paris, and even Paris itself, had been carefully surveyed, and everything noted, from a first-class fort to a pigsty ; and that everywhere in the McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 43 threatened sections swarmed German spies, in one garb or another, as laborers, clerks, and even subordinate attaches of the French bm-eanx. The pretence, then, of Kaiser Wil- liam, that he was forced into a war, may be considered a flimsy diplomatic false- hood, and his insult to the French ambassa- dor, which nominally led to the beginning of hostilities, a mere piece of chicanery. France, on the other hand, was not blameless, and in the minds of many who sincerely sympathize w^ith her, deserved the abject humiliation inflicted by her an- cient enemy. Elated beyond bounds by the brilliant successes of the Italian campaign, the oflicers of the French armies, as a gen- eral thing, became self-sufiicient, careless, and, as a consequence, ignorant of their duties and disinclined to perform them with that military regularity which is so essential to the efliciency of all armies. They were more at home in the boudoir and the billiard saloon than in the barrack or on the drill ground, and the consequence was that, when suddenly called into active 44 irishmen's sons. service, they were found unprepared, either to endui'e the hardsliips of a campaign or ^^ fight their men" with any degree of skill, or, what is the result only of skill and courage combined, coolness and precision. Tlien again the late emperor, Napoleon III, allowed himself to be grossly deceived as to the number of available men and muni- tions of war at his disposal, by a set of dishonest quartermasters, commissaries, and others, whose duty it was to make regular reports of the condition of the army, but who, by swelling its numbers on paper and reporting the purchase of militaiy stores that had no existence, contrived in a short time to enrich themselves at the expense of the nation. That the French emperor, other- wise so far-seeing and astute, should have allowed himself to have been so long mis- led and should have plunged into a war without accurate knowledge of his strength and resom'ces, was not only astonishing but little shoi-t of criminal ; and though he in some measure personally paid the penalty of his credulity, it will be a long time before McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 45 the nation he once governed can heal the wounds and forget the shame inflicted on her tln-ough his incapacity. While France was vaporing about her ^^ natural boundary, the Rhine," and doing nothing but boasting, Prussia, who not only wished to create and consolidate a German empire, but to annex Alsace and Lorraine, a large portion of the population of which, of German descent and speaking that language, are poetically considered part of the Fatherland. Accordingly the dec- laration of war had scarcely been promul- gated when every road and avenue leading across the frontier into the coveted prov- inces was thronged with armed men, guns, wagons, and ambulances. So quick was the movement, so complete the previous prep- arations, that it may well be said that be- fore Napoleon set out from Paris the Germans had possession of nearly every strategical position on the French frontier, their line of communication with their base of supplies being at the same time open and unassailable. 46 • irishmen's sons. The Emperor did set out at last to take command of his armv, but it would have been much better for his reputation and for France if he had remained in his capital, and allowed his veteran officers to conduct the war. Experience has shown that mere nominal commanders are potent only for evil. The army was in two divisions, the first under Bazaine, and the other command- ed by McMahon. Tlie headquarters were fixed at Metz, a very strongly fortified town, susceptible of still further defences. On the 2d of July, 1871, Marshal McMahon, with a force of about forty thousand, was ordered in an easterly and forward direction to make a recognizance in force, and having proceed- ed as far as Woerth he suddenly found him- self confronted by the enemy, estimated at one hundred and sixty thousand men, under the personal supervision of the Crown Prince of Prussia. In obeying his orders he neces- sarily became separated from the main body of the army, and being vastly outnumbered and partly smTounded, his position was a desperate one. To fight against such odds DUKE OF MAGENTA. 47 was liis only course, and tliis he did without much hesitation. The unequal conflict lasted nearly all day and the havoc on both sides was proportionally great. The Marshal was in every part of the field, urging on and en- couraging, in person, his men, while at the same time he paid particular attention to his wings, which were several times in danger of being outflanked by their more numer- ous opponents. Occasionally the French, by the precision of their artillery fire, or the imjDetuosity of their infantry charges, would drive back the Germans, but only for a moment, for the depleted ranks were soon reinforced, and the fight renewed. In vain McMahon, his staff-ofiicers disabled and his horse shot, rode into the very heart of the conflict, the immensely superior force of the Crown Prince was gradually closing round him and tln-eatened to cut him off from Metz, and even capture his entire com- mand. Under cover of night he took the only step that could present itself to a judicious general. He retreated on Paris, with the intention of uniting himself with the 48 large body of troops collected there under Trochii, hoping that thus, while covering the capital, he would soon be strong enough to advance and, if necessary, form a junction with Bazaine. The war department, however, in their self-sufficient wisdom ordained otherwise. Hearing of his approach they sent him orders to march to Metz forthwith, but neglected to send him a man or a gun by way of re- inforcing his crippled column. As was his wont he obeyed his instructions to the letter, though no one knew better than he did the futility of such an attempt. Still he pressed on and might possibly have reached Bazaine but for the unaccountable conduct of that general in neglecting to act on McMahon's despatches and in failing to communicate with him, all of which has formed a great portion of the charges preferred against Bazaine. On endeavoring to reach Metz, McMahon met the Germans at Sedan in overwhelming numbers. Disdaining to re- treat or surrender he drew up his small force in order of battle and awaited the enemy ^s McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 49 attack. He had not long to wait, for the Germans, fearing that with so diminutive an araiy he would take the first opportunity to fall back, rushed on him with the force of an avalanche. Then ensued the bloodiest fight of the war. The French would not give way and, imitating the example of their gallant leader, they fought with desperate and even reckless corn-age, so that it was only on the fall of their heroic commander, wounded, it was supposed mortally, that they acknowledged then- defeat and saved themselves from utter annihilation by an army six or seven times their strength. We now find the Marshal wounded and, for the first time, a prisoner; but though treated with all courtesy and assigned by the Emperor William a residence in the pleasant little village of Pourru-aux-Bois, we can well imagine that the thought of the imbecility, ignorance, and treachery of those who had wrought such woe to his country must have pained more his noble spirit than any bodily ailment or physical suffering. Soon after, the preliminaries of peace be- 50 tween tlie belligerents were signed, lie was released from captivity, and reached Paris in the middle of March, 1872. T\^iat a contrast the metropolis presented to the city he had left in the plenitude of its splendor and gayety only eight months previously ! Its emperor a dethroned fugi- tive, its beautiful empress fled from the very people who had formerly almost wor- shipped her, and the imperial court scattered in all directions. The Prussians, too, had been at its gates, and their shot had toppled down many a proud turret and sphe, and their bombs had razed more than one goodly edifice. And now an enemy more ferocious than the troops of Alaric or Jengis Khan was about to take possession of its palaces and magnificent public buildings and monuments, and to wreak on them, by petroleum and fire, an impotent fury which even the blood of the martp-ed archbishop and so many of his priests had not satisfied. Usually, particularly in countries like France, defeated generals, no matter how populai' previously, lose caste and sink in McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 51 public estimation; and to all, of any prominence, who took part in the Franco- Prussian war, this rule was strictly applied, with one exception. That exception was in the case of Marshal McMahon. His skill m manoeuvring his troops and his gallantry ni fighting so long and so desperately against an enemy much his superior in numbers, his severe wound in the heat of action, and his subsequent dignified conduct while a prisoner, endeared him, if possible, still more to the army, and won him the imphcit confidence of all classes. The Provisional Assembly, then at Bordeaux, therefore very wisely appointed him to the command of the army around Paris, and having confeiTcd on him plenary powers, ordered him to rescue the city from the hands of the Communists. He accepted the task with his usual willingness to serve his country, and executed it with his wonted promptness. Nor was it an easy task. Street fighting comes as natural to a Parisian ouvrier or gamin as his petit verre or black bread, and besides, the petrohsts 52 irishmen's sons. had the full control of the guns and ammunition reserved after the sui-render of the city to the Germans. It was even sus- pected that they had many sympathizers in the ranks of the army intended for their reduction. The Marshal, however, was not to be balked by such opposition, and after several days of hard fighting, driving the Com- munists from post to post, he entered the city and arrested over ten thousand of the more prominent of the malcontents. In gratitude for his prompt action and signal victory, the delighted people offered him the dictator- ship, but he refused it, as he had heretofore refused other offers of political distinction. He contented himself with publishing a proclamation, couched in plain, sti-aight- forward language, in which he assured the citizens of the restoration of law and order, and counselled them to exercise moderation, prudence, and forbearance. He then as- sumed his proper position as commander-in- chief, in which capacity he materially assisted, by his military experience and McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 53 moral influence, M. Thiers in all his designs, particularly in consolidating and reorganiz- ing the scattered fragments of the army. While thus employed, the 24th of May, 1873, arrived, a day which will be long remembered in France as the fii'st instance in her history of a change of rulers, and to a certain extent, of the form of government, having been peaceably effected. The Pro- visional Assembly, which was humedly called together to take the place of the de- funct empire and treat with the Germans, moved from Bordeaux to Versailles, and virtually voted themselves en permanence, with Thiers at their head as a sort of quasi president. No actual form of government was authoritatively proclaimed, for no party in the house, repubhcan, monarchist, or imperialist, could command a majority favorable to its particular views. The veteran statesman at the head of the tem- porary government did indeed, in May, propose the formation of a permanent republic, but after an animated debate he was defeated by a vote of three hundi-ed 54 IRISHMEN S SONS. and sixty-two against thi-ee hundi^ed and forty-eight, the Napoleonist, Legitimist, and Orleanist factions having coalesced against him. He therefore resigned his portfoHo. Then arose the question, Who should succeed him and take the helm I None but a man who had the full confidence of the people and the army, whose impaiiiality was above suspicion, and whose patriotism and integrity had been tried, was fit to be selected at such an eventful crisis and to assume the responsibility of preserving peace and of bringing order out of chaos. That man was McMahon, and when his name was mentioned for President of the Republic in the Assembly it was received with cheers from all sides, and he was forthwith elected. On being formally notified of the high honor conferred on him, with the willingness that ever induced him to set aside his own in- clinations when the good of his country demanded the sacrifice, he accepted the re- sponsible trust in the following few, but emphatic words : McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 55 Messieues the Representatiyes : I obey the will of the Assembly, the depositary of the national sov- ereignty, in accepting the charge of President of the Republic. It is a heavy responsibility imposed upon my patriotism; but -with God's help, the devotion of om' aimy, which will be the army of law, and the sup- port of honest men, we shall continue together the work of the lilieration of the territory and the re- establishment of moral order in our country; we shall maintain internal peace and those principles up- on which society can repose. In saying this I pledge you my word of honor as an honest man and a sol- dier. Marshal McMahox, Duke of Magenta. To the prefects of France he addressed, the day following, a brief circular, which read thus : I have been called, through the confidence of the National Assembly, to the Presidency of the Republic. No immediate change wdll be made in the existing laws, regulations, and institutions. I rely upon material order, and I count upon you, upon your vigilance, and upon yaur patriotic assistance. The Ministry will be formed to-day. The President of the Republic, Marshal McMahoi?, Duke of Magenta. 56 irishmen's sons. Once installed in his new office McMalion set to work to complete the labors so auspiciously begun by Thiers, and to heal as quickly as possible the wounds inflicted on the nation during the war. Instalments of the debt to Germany were regularly paid, the country was relieved from the presence of the foreign soldiery, the finances were placed on a more secure footing, in- dustry was promoted, and peace and good order maintained. When the Assembly adjourned, the President promised that during the recess law and justice should rule paramount, and he kept his word faith- fully. France was never so satisfied and orderly as in the year of grace A. d. 1873. On the reopening of the Assembly, Novem- ber 5th in that year. President McMahon addressed to that body a message which read as follows : When you adjourned for tlie recess I told you that you could leave Versailles without uneasiness, and that dming your absence nothing would occur to disturb the public peace. What I then announced has been realized. In reassembling to-day you find France at peace J the complete liberation of the territory is an McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 57 accomplished fact j the foreign army has left French soil; and our troops have reentered the evacuated departments amid the patriotic joy of the population. The deliverance has been effected without causing trouble at home or awakening distress abroad. Europe is assured of our firm resolution to maintain peace, and without fear sees us again take possession of our- selves. I receive from all powers testimony of their desire to live with us on friendly terms. At home public order has been firmly maintained. A vigilant administration, confided to the function- aries of different political origin, but all devoted to the cause of order, has strictly applied existing laws. The administration has everywhere acted in the con- servative spirit which has always been manifested by the great majority of this Assembly, and from which, as far as I am concerned, I shall never depart so long as you intrust the Government to me. It is true that material tranquillity has not prevented agitation in the public mind. As the period of your reassembling approached party strife has acquired re- doubled 'intensity. This was to be expected. Among the matters which you yourselves indicated must claim your attention on resuming your labors, was the examination of the constitutional laws presented by my predecessor. This necessarily again brings forward the question, always reserved hitherto, of the definitive form of Government. It is not, therefore, surprising that this grave problem should have been raised beforehand 58 irishmen's soxs. by various parties, ardently discussed by eacb in tlie sense agreeable to its particular views. I had neither to intervene in this discussion, nor to forestall the decision of your sovereign authority. My Grovemment could do no more than confine the discussion within legal limits, and insure, under any hypothesis, absolute respect for your decision. Your power is therefore intact, and nothing can impede its exercise. Perhaps, however, you may think that the strong feeling produced by these animated discussions is a proof that, as facts now stand, and with the present state of the public mind, the establishment of any form of government whatever which should indefinitely bind the future, presents serious difficulties. You will, perhaps, find it to be more prudent to maintain in present institutions a character enabling the Government to surround itself, as at present, with all the friends of order without distinction of party. If you think so, peraiit him whom you elected to an honor which he did not seek, to tell you frankly his opinion. To give public peace a sure guarantee, the present Government lacks two essential conditions, of which you cannot longer leave it destitute without danger. It has neither sufficient vitality nor authority. Whatever the holder of power may be, that power can do nothing durable if its right to govern is daily called into question — if it has not before it the guarantee of a sufficiently long existence to spare the country the prospect of incessantly recurring agitation. With a McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 59 power that might be changed at any momentj it is possible to secure peace to-day, but not safety for the moiTow. Every great undertaking is thus rendered impossible, and industry languishes. France, who only asks to be allowed to enter upon a fresh career, is arrested in her development. In relation with foreign powers her policy cannot acquire that consistent and persevering spirit which alone succeeds in inspiring confidence, and maintains or restores the greatness of a nation. Stability is wanting in the present Government, and authority also often fails it. It is not sufficiently armed by the laws to discourage the factions, or even to obtain obedience from its own agents. The public press abandons itself with impunitv to excesses w^hich would end by corrupting the public mind throughout the country. Municipalities forget that they are organs of law, and leave the central authority without represen- tatives in many parts of the teri'itory. You will consider these dangers, and will give to society a strong and durable executive power which will be solicitous for its future, and able to defend it with energy. This message, so terse, comprehensive, and well-timed, was received by every member of the Assembly, if we except a few radicals of the extreme Left, with warm demonstrations of approval, and at the instance of the members of the Right and 60 irishmen's sons. Right-centre, moderate monarchists and conservative republicans, a committee was appointed to consider the expediency of prolonging the term of the President, pending the formation of a permanent constitution and the adoption of a definite form of government. Some of McMahon's warmest admirers were for having him retain his high position for life, others for five or ten years, while the extremists were utterly opposed to the whole scheme. The Marshal himself was of opinion that seven years would be sufficient for his term of office, both as a probable precedent and as affording ample time for him to re- store law and order and to extricate France from the confusion and difficulties growing out of the late war. Accordingly, on the 7th of November, 1873, one of the ministers, the Due de Broglie, read to the Assembly a short message from the President, in which he said that it had been decided as best for the interests of the countiy to ask of the Assembly the prolongation of the powers of the present Executive for seven years. He McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 61 deemed it his duty to indicate the guaran- tees without which it would be improvident for him to accept the task of governing the country. He pointed out the bad effect of a postponement of the beginning of the prolongation until after the constitutional bills were voted. Such a course would diminish his authority, and render it the more uncertain. He expressed the strongest desire for a speedy discussion of the con- stitutional bills. If his term were prolonged, he would use the powers granted in the defence of conservative ideas, which, he was convinced, were those of the majority of the nation. After the adjournment Ministers De Broglie, Batbie, and Emoul attended a meeting of the committee on prolongation, and submitted the propositions of the Presi- dent's message. The committee consented to the term of seven years, but refused to yield on other points. On the 18th, in the Assembly, General Changamier presented the motion agi-eed upon by the Eight for the unconditional prolongation of President McMahon's 62 irishmen's sons. powers. A long and stormy debate followed, but without a division. On the following day the debate was continued on Chan- garnier's motion for' the unconditional prolongation of the President's powers. M. Rouher moved that the question be referred to a plebiscite, and advocated his motion in a speech in which he hinted that Providence might in time restore the Bona- partes to power. The excitement over these remarks temporarily suspended the pro- ceedings of the session. A vote upon M. Rouher's motion was finally taken, and it was rejected by a vote of 499 to 88. After an adjournment, the Assembly, as if con- scious of the gravity of the task before them, held a night session which lasted till midnight. M. Deperge, a member of the Eight, moved an amendment to the report of the committee on prolongation, providing that President McMahon's powers be prolonged seven ^^ears, independently of the adoption of the constitutional bills. MM. Laboulaye, Grevy, and others, oppos- ed the amendment, but it was adopted by a McMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA. 63 majority of 66. A motion was then made on the part of the Eight that a Committee of Thirty be appointed to report on the constitutional bills. This was adopted by a majority of 68 votes. Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour at which this important decision was reached — one of the most important events that has transpired in the political history of the country for many years — the news soon spread throughout Paris, and caused general rejoicing among all classes, always of course leaving out the disorderly and criminal. Men who had anything at stake, either reputation, property, or the produc- tions of their individual skill and manual labor, breathed more freely, and congratu- lated each other that tlie Executive of the nation was in the hands of one who was as wise as he was patriotic, and who, while consulting the best interests of France, would sternly repress disorder and fanati- cism in whatever form presented. Im- mediately after the prolongation of his term the President was waited on by the mem- 64 ieishmen's sons. bers of his cabinet, who went through the ceremony of tendenng their resignation, which he refused to accept, and requested them to retain their portfohos and assist him in the transaction of pubHc affairs as formerly. They consented. On the follow- ing day the members of the diplomatic corps waited on his Excellency and pre- sented to him their congratulations. Thus while the people as a body are delighted with the action of their represent- atives, all classes, directly or indirectly interested in the rejuvenation of the Republic appear thoroughly satisfied. The republicans are content; the sensible royalists prefer him to any ruler other than one of their many special candidates ; the imperialists have confidence in his moderation and prudence, while the army, with which he has always been a great favorite, is overjoyed at the civic honors conferred on the hero of Magenta. Even the Comte de Chambord, " Henry V, " who holds himself the rightful heir to the throne, cannot allude to the gallant Marshal but in terms of the highest 65 praise. In a late letter to M. Chesnelong, he refers to McMahon in right royal par- lance, as the modern Bayard who has drawn his sword in a hundred battles for France. Marshal McMahon, though in his sixty- fifth year, is still remarkably robust, and in the complete possession of his physical and mental faculties. In figure he is some- what above the middle size, meagre, well knit, and erect, though bearing evident marks of the many hardships he has en- dured and wounds received. His features wear the impress of his nationality ; keen gray eyes, short nose, well-formed mouth and clnn, and cheek-bones rather angular and prominent. In 1853 he was married to a daughter of the Due de Castres, by whom he lias had children ; one of whom, a son, having lately visited Ireland, was very warmly received by the Nationalists there. The Duchess of Magenta is represented as a lady still in the bloom and health of happy middle-age, and remarkable not only for her graces and accomplishments but for her gentle and unceasing charity. SG irishmen's soxs. And so Tre find the President lias not only- been successful in arms, but equally fortu- nate in matrimony ; and, in entering on his new career as ci^dl ruler of the first nation in Europe there are few in either hemisphere who do not wish that his martial and social good fortune may be but a prelude to a more brilliant career and even more en- during fame. No matter what faults France may have exhibited in the past or what mistakes she has undoubtedly committed in in the present, she is still the best loved nation in the world. We speak not now of Ireland, with whom she has been an ancient ally, nor of the United States, wliose friendship for her dates from our birth as a Republic, but of civilized communities generally, who cannot help admiring her soldiers, states- men, artists, and scholars ; who sympathize with her misfortunes, and are made glad in her elevation, and who will doubtless find occasion to feel proud of lier new govern- ment, when guided by the firm hand of the grandson of an Irish exile, and a devoted French soldier and statesman. ANDREW JACKSON, SEVENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Of the large number of Americans dis- tinguished in war or peace, always ex- cepting the great man who has been justly styled Fater Fatrice, of which our Repub- lic can be truly proud, one of the foremost in merit and decidedly the most remarka- ble in origin, character, and originality, was Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States. Doubtless we have had greater generals, successful in wider spheres of action, and statesmen more accomplished and profound, but our history presents none who united in himself, in so high a degree, those great and varied, though so dissimilar, qualities which are indispensable for the formation of a conqueror, or for the civil ruler of a great nation. Born of humble Irish emigi^ant parents A. D. 1767, in the remote Waxhaw settle- 68 irishmen's sons. ments of North Carolina, ere he had passed his boyhood he was left an orphan, without a relative or friend in that wild region, and, as we can well suppose, with little worldly goods. Shortly before his bu^th, his father, a native Camckfergus, in the county of Antrim, died, and a few years after, his mother, a woman, it is said, of singular strength of mind and overflowing charity, fell a victim to her devotion to the wants of the fever-stricken patriot prisoners confined in the jails of Charleston, S. C, by the British. His two brothers, older than him- self, bravely fought and nobly fell in support of the country of their adoption, for they were not born on this continent. Indeed the whole family seems to have been imbued with an intense spirit of military patriotism, for in 1780, we find young Andrew himself in the ranks of the Continental army, where he remained till victory crowned the long and desperate efforts of the United Colonies. For some years after, the young orphan cultivated the arts of peace under very adverse circumstances ; sometimes engaged ANDREW JACKSON. 69 in agriculture, and at others in those mul- tifarious pursuits which the sturdy back- woodsman knows so well how to adopt as a means of gaining a livelihood. It was while thus engaged that he laid the founda- tion of that sturdy, rugged physical con- stitution which enabled him in after years to perform a vast amount of work without mental or bodily fatigue, and to endm-e hardships almost incredible with little in- convenience. But he was not content to occupy always this obscure station in life. His ambition took a nobler flight, and, con- scious of his own innate powers, he sought to improve his mind as well as to sustain his body. As far as his limited means would allow, and the scant opportunities for mental improvement which that wild district pre- sented, he labored assiduously to acquire at least some knowledge of the language and institutions of his country. This partially accomplished, he commenced the study of law with Judge McKay, and afterwards re- moved with John McNairy to Tennessee. Though ill prepared by early training 70 IRISHMEN S SONS. or previous legal practice, but with an un- bending will, ever his chief characteristic, we find him in his new home rapidly ad- vancing to success, gaining so much, step by- step, in public confidence, that before the close of the century he occupied a seat on the bench of the Supreme Com-t, the high- est tribunal in the state. *' The first time I saw General Jackson,'' writes a distinguished friend of his, afterwards United States Sena- tor, ''was at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1799 — he on the bench, a judge of the then Supe- rior Com-t, and I, a youth of seventeen, back in the crowd. He was then a remark- able man, and had his ascendant over all who approached him, not the eifect of his high judicial station, nor of the sena- torial rank which he had held and resigned ; nor of military exploits, for he had not then been to war; but the effect of personal qualities : cordial and graceful manners, hospitable temper, elevation of mind, un- daunted spirit, generosity, and perfect integ- rity. In charging the jury in the impending case, he committed a slight solecism in ANDREW JACKSON. 71 language, which grated on my ear, and lodged on my memory, without derogating in the least ifrom the respect which he in- spired ; and without awakening the slightest suspicion that I was ever to be engaged in smoothing his diction. The first time I spoke mth him was some years after, at a (then) frontier town in Tennessee, when he was returning from a Southern visit, which brought him through the towns and camps of some of the Indian tribes. In pulling oif his overcoat, I perceived on the white lining of the turning down sleeve, a dark speck, which had life and motion. I brushed it off, and put the heel of my shoe upon it — little thinking that I was ever to brush away from him game of a very different kind. He smiled; and we began a conversation in which he very quickly revealed a leading trait of his character — that of encouraging young men in their laudable pursuits. Getting my name and parentage, and learning my intended profession, he mani- fested a regard for me, said he had re- ceived hospitality at my father's house in 72 North Carolina, gave me kind invitations to visit him ; and expressed a belief that I would do well at the bar — generous words, which had the effect of promoting what they undertook to foretell. Soon after, he had further opportunity to show his generous feelings. I was employed in a criminal case of great magnitude, where the oldest and ablest counsel appeared — Ha}^- wood, Grundy, Whiteside — and the ti'ial of which General Jackson attended throuofh concern for the fate of a friend. As junior counsel I had to precede my elders, and did my best; and, it being on the side of his feelings, he found my effort to be better than it Avas. He complimented me greatly, and from that time our intimacy began." He had previously been elected Represent- ative in 1796, and Senator in 1797, but he resigned all these positions for the attractions of private life, and retired to his splendid farm of two thousand acres, known as the ^' Hermitage," about twelve miles from Nashville, where, in the society of his amiable wife and her young relatives, and ANDREW JACKSON. 73 surrounded by a host of sincere friends, he resolved to pass the remainder of his days far from the bustle and excitement of the pohtical arena. But fate had not so willed it. His repose was soon to be disturbed, and his secluded home to be invaded by the clang of arms, and the voice of his imperilled countrymen. The '' Hermitage," was no longer to be a place devoted to quietness and retirement, but to become, in all future times, the shrine at which many a political pilgrim and devotee loved to \isit. In 1812 the tocsin of war was sounded throughout the land from end to end. England and her Indian alhes, the bar- barians of the old and new world, again menacing the integrity of the Young Re- pubhc, were to be once more defied, fought, and defeated, and Jackson, who, at the age of thu'teen, had shouldered his gun in the same good cause, was not the man to stand idle while his country was in danger. It was while at the Hermitage, smTOunded by his family and friends and in the enjoy- ment of all that material comfort and do- 74 irishmen's sons. mestic harmony could bestow, that the summons reached him; he had been ap- pomted Major-General of the MiUtia of his State in 1801, and was required to not only lead but raise the quota of Tennessee ; and, like a second Cincinnatus, he cheerfully left the plough in the fmTOw and took up the sword of the warrior. The Greneral Govern- ment also commissioned him Brigadier- Gen- eral, and, two years after, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General of Regulars. The former choice, in all respects, though effected by a majority of one, was most judicious. He had many friends in the neighborhood, whose confidence in his ability to execute the duties of any office which he assumed was unlimited. He quickly raised a corps of volunteers and commenced operations against the Creek Indians, then in alliance with England, whom, after marches of incredible difficulty and many battles and minor en- counters, he completely subdued. Of the former the most important and decisive was that of Tohopeka, fought April, 1814, ANDREW JACKSON. 75 in which the savages were almost completely annihilated; the last and principal charge on them being led by a gallant Irishman, of whom Jackson says, " the militia of the venerable General Dougherty's brigade acted in the charge with a \dvacity and firmness which would have done, honor to regulars." After the declaration of war in 1812, the fii'st series of engagements between the con- tending forces took place on the Canadian frontier, at the beginning with doubtful success ; but eventually the tide of victory turned in favor of the Americans. The same result occurred to the allies of the British, the Creeks, but the national cause in this case was, as we have seen, much more triumphantly sustained. The next move was against our centre. Havre-de-Grace, Maryland, having been attacked in May, 1813, and in the August of the following year the battle of Bladensburg was fought, and the city of Washington burned by the English. But their victory was a barren one; and Boss, their general, having been 76 irishmen's sons. slain, they transferred their scene of opera- tions farther south. On the 22d of Decem- ber, 1814, General Packenham ajDpeared in the neighborhood of New Orleans, with about fourteen thousand veteran troops, well armed and equipped, thoroughly officered, and supported by a large flotilla and some vessels of war. In the meantime Major- General Jackson, then commanding the seventh division, was ordered to march to the relief of the menaced city; which he did with his usual promptness and celerity, though all the troops he could muster did not number six thousand, some of whom were militia who had served under him in liis Indian war, but the majority were raw le^aes from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. It may well be imagined that a contest between forces so unequally matched could have but one result, and that result far dif- ferent from the actual one. Of the first encounter, which took place December 23d, the hero himself modestly writes to President Monroe : ANDREW JACKSON. 77 ''The loss of our gun-boats near the pass of the Rigolets having given the enemy command of Lake Borgne, he was enabled to choose his point of attack. It became, therefore, an object of importance to obstruct the numerous bayous and canals leading from that lake to the highlands on the Mississippi. This important service was committed, in the first instance, to a de- tachment of the Seventh regiment ; afterwards to Col. De Laronde, of the Louisiana militia, and, lastly, to make all sure, to Major-General Villere, commanding the district between the river a,nd the lakes, and who, being a native of the country, was presumed to be best acquainted with all those passes. Unfortunately, how- ever, a picquet which the general had established at the mouth of the Bayou Bienvenue, and which, notwith- standing my orders, had been left unobstracted, was completely surprised, and the enemy penetrated through a canal leading to a farm, about two leagues below the city, and succeeded in cutting off a company of militia stationed there. This intelligence was communicated to me about twelve o'clock of the 23d. My force at this time consisted of parts of the Seventh and Forty-fourth regiments, not exceeding six hundred to- gether, the city militia, a part of General Coffee's bri- gade of mounted gunmen, and the detached militia from the western division of Tennessee, under the command of Major-General Carroll. These two last corps were stationed four miles above the city. Apprehending a double attack by the way of Chief-Menteur, I left Gen eral CaiToll's force and the militia of the city posted on 78 irishmen's sons. tlie Gentilly road ; and at five o'clock p. M. marched to meet the enemy, whom I was resoh^ed to attack in his first position, with Major Hinds's dragoons, General Coffee's brigade, parts of the Seventh and Forty-foui'th regiments, the uniformed companies of militia, under the command of Major Planche, two hundred men of color, chiefly from St. Domingo, raised by Colonel Savary, and under the command of Major Dag win, and a de- tachment of artillery under the direction of Colonel M'Rhea, with two six-pounders, under the command of Lieutenant Spottsj not exceeding, in all, fifteen hundred. I amved near the enem\^'s encampment about seven, and immediately made my dispositions for the attack. His forces, amounting at that time on land to about three thousand, extended half a mile on that river, and in the rear nearly to the wood. General Cof- fee was ordered to turn their right, while, with the resi- due of the force, I attacked his strongest position on the left, near the river. Commodore Patterson, having dropped down the river in the schooner Caroline, was directed to open a fire upon their camp, which he executed at about half-past seven. This being a signal of attack, General Coffee's men, with their usual impetuosity, rushed on the enemy's right, and entered their camp, while our right advanced with equal ardor. Tiiere can be but little doubt that we should have succeeded on that occasion, with our inferior force, in destroying or capturing the enemy, had not a thick fog, which arose about eight o'clock, occasioned some confusion among the different corps. Fearing the consequence, under ANDREW JACKSON. 79 this circumstance, of the fmiher prosecution of a night attack, with troops then acting together for the first time, I contented myself with lying on the field that night ; and at four in the morning assumed a stronger position, about two miles nearer the city. At this posi- tion I remained encamped, waiting the anival of the Kentucky militia and other reinforcements. As the safety of the city will depend on the fate of this army, it must not be incautiously exposed. " In this affair the whole corps under my command deserve the greatest credit. The best compliment I can pay to General Coffee and his brigade is, to say they have behaved as they have always done while under my command. The Seventh, led by Major Pierre, and Forty-fourth, commanded by Colonel Ross, dis- tinguished themselves. The battalion of city militia, commanded by Major Planche, realized my anticipations, and behaved like veterans. Savary's volunteers mani- fested great bravery ; and the company of city riflemen, having penetrated into the midst of the enemy's camp, were surrounded, and fought their way out with the greatest heroism, bringing with them a number of prisoners. The two field-pieces were well served by the officers commanding them. ^'All my officers in the line did their duty, and I have every reason to be satisfied with the whole of my field and staff. Colonels Butler and Piatt, and Major Chotard, by their intrepidity, saved the artillery. Colonel Haynes was everywhere that duty or danger called. I was deprived of the services of one of my 80 irishmen's sons. aids, Captain Butler, whom I was obliged to station, to his great regret, in town. Captain Reid, my other aid, and Messrs. Livingston, Duplissis, and Davezac, who had volunteered their services, faced danger wher- ever it was to be met, and earned my orders with the utmost promptitude. ^' We made one major, two subalterns, and sixty-three privates, prisoners ; and the enemy's loss, in killed and wounded, must have been at least . My own loss I have not as yet been able to ascertain with exactness, but suppose it to amount to one hundred in killed, wounded, and missing. Among the former, I have to lament the loss of Colonel Lauderdale, of General Coffee's brigade, who fell while bravely fighting. Cols. Dyer and Gibson, of the same corps, were wounded, and Major Kavenaugh taken prisoner. "■ Colonel De Laronde, Major Villere, of the Louisiana militia. Major Latour of Engineers, having no command, volunteered their services, as did Drs. Kerr and Hood, and were of great assistance to me." Of the great battle, that of the 8th of January, 1815, tlie following graj^hic, yet glowing description, from the pen of a con- temporary writer thoroughly master of his subject will be found of even greater interest : '^ On the seventh, a general movement and bustle in the British camp indicated that the contemplated attack ANDREW JACKSON. 81 was about to be made. Everything in the American encampment was ready for action, when, at daybreak, on tie morning of the memoi-able eighth, a shower of rockets from the enemy gave the signal of battle. A detachment of the enemy, under Colonel Thornton, proceeded to attack the works on the right bank of the river, while General Pakenham, with his whole force, exceeding twelve thousand men, moved in two divisions under Generals Gibbs and Kean, and a reserve under General Lambert. Both divisions were supplied with scaling-ladders and fascines, and General Gibbs had directions to make the principal attack. Nothing could exceed the imposing grandeur of the scene. The whole British force advanced with much deliberation, in solid columns, over the even surface of the plain in front of the American intrenchments, bearing with them, in addi- tion to their arms, their fascines and ladders for storming the American works. All was hushed in awful stillness throughout the American lines 5 each soldier grasped his arms with a fixedness of pui-pose, which told his firm resolve to ' do or die ; ' till the enemy approached within reach of the batteries, which opened upon them an incessant and destructive tide of death. They con- tinued, however, to advance with the greatest firmness, closing up their lines as they were opened by the fire of the Americans, till they approached within reach of the musketry and rifles; these, in addition to the artillery, produced the most terrible havoc in their ranks, and threw them into the greatest confusion. Twice were they driven back with immense slaughter, and 82 irishmen's sons. twice they formed again and renewed tbe assault. But the fire of tlie Americans was tremendous ; it w&s un- paralleled in the annals of deadly doing; it was one continued blaze of destruction, before which men could not stand and live. Every discharge sw^ept away the British columns like an inundation — they could not withstand it, but lied in consternation and dismay. Vigorous were the attempts of their officers to rally them; General Pakenham, in the attempt, received a shot, and fell upon the field. Generals Gibbs and Kean succeeded, and attempted again to push on their columns to the attack, but a still more dreadful fatality met them from the thunders of the American batteries. A third unavailing attempt was made to rally their troops by their ofticers, but the same destruction met them. The gallantry of the British officers, on this desperate day, was deserving of a worthier cause and better fate. General Gibbs fell mortally, and General Kean des- perately wounded, and were borne from the field of action. The discomfiture of the enemy was now com- plete; a few only of the platoons readied the ditch, there to meet more certain death. The remainder fled from the field with the greatest precipitancy, and no further efibrts were made to rally them. Tlie intervening plain between the American and British fortifications was covered with the dead ; taking into view the length of time and the numbers engaged, the annals of bloody strife, it is believed, fumisL no parallel to the dreadful carnage of this battle. Two thousand, at the lowest estimate, fell, besides a considerable number wounded. ANDREW JACKSON. 83 The loss of the Americans did not exceed seven killed and six wounded. General Lambert was the only superior officer left on the field ; being unable to check the flight of the British columns, he retreated to his en- campment." We cannot better close an account of this, Jackson's, grandest military achievement, than by quoting the terse reply of Senator Thomas Benton to Monsieur cle Tocqueville, a ])ropos of the victory and the victor : '' It was no ordinary achievement. It was a vic- tory of 4,600 citizens just called from their homes, without knowledge of scientific war, under a leader as little schooled as them- selves in that particular, without other ad- vantages than a slight field-work (a ditch and a bank of earth) hastily thrown up — over double their numbers of British veter- ans, survivors of the wars of the French Revolution, victors in the Peninsula and at Toulouse, under trained generals of the Wellington school, and w^ith a disparity of loss never before witnessed. On one side 700 killed (including the fii^st, second, and third generals); 1,400 Avounded; 500 84 irishmen's sons. taken prisoners. On the other, six privates killed, and seven wounded; and the total repulse of an invading army which instantly fled to its ' wooden walls,' and never again placed a hostile foot on American soil. Such an achievement is not ordinary, much less 'very' ordinary. Does Monsieur de Tocque^^lle judge the importance of victories by the numbers engaged, and the quantity of blood shed, or by their consequences I If the former, the cannonade on the heights of Valmy (which was not a battle, nor even a combat, but a distant cannon firing in which few were hurt), must seem to him a very insignificant affair. Yet it did what the marvellous \dctories of Champaubert, Montmirail, Chateau-Thierry, Yauchamps, and Montereau could not do — turned back the invader, and saved the soil of France from the iron hoof of the conqueror's horse ! and was commemorated twelve vears after- wards by the great emperor in a ducal title bestowed upon one of its generals. The \dctory at New Orleans did what the can- nonade at Yalmy did — drove back the ANDREW JACKSON. 85 invader ! and also what it did not do — de- stroyed the one fourth part of his force. And, therefore, it is not to be disparaged, and will not be, by any one who judges victo- ries by their consequences, instead of by the numbers engaged. And so the victory at New Orleans will remain in history as one of the great achievements of the world, in spite of the low opinion which the writer on American democracy entertains of it." In those days of slow communication the news of this great victory only reached Washington on the 4th of February ; and, as might be expected, caused intense and universal joy, not only in the national capi- tal but throughout the entire country. Con- gress unanimously passed a vote of thanks to the victor and his subordinates, and or- dered a gold medal to be struck and pre- sented to the general, commemorative of the event. The populace, also, independent of all party affiliations, expressed in the most enthusiastic terms their admiration for the hero of New Orleans and his gallant little army. The press of the day, such as it 86 irishmen's sons. was, taxed its utmost energies to laud liis bravery and skill ; patriotic gatherings passed glowing resolutions of commenda- tion, and toasts were everywhere di'ank in his honor. This jubilant state of public feeling was still more heightened by the arrival, a few days after, of a ship at New York, with news of the ratification of the treaty of Ghent, by which peace between the United States and England was again restored, and the de- mands of the foinner country substantially conceded. It is worthy of notice that this treaty was signed in December, 1814; so that in fact the respective nations of Jackson and Packenham, on the day of the battle of New Orleans, were no longer enemies ; but the vessel employed to bring the intelligence to our shores was delayed by storms and adverse winds and only succeeded in mak- ing her port on the 11th of February, 1815. Jackson remained in New Orleans tln-ee months after the battle. Like a piTident and humane commander his first care was for his wounded and almost naked troops, and ANDREW JACKSON. 87 in this he was most zealously and efficient- ly assisted by the citizens. Private houses were thrown open for the reception of the sufferers ; bknkets, mattresses, and clothing of every description were cheerfully and voluntarily supplied; and all classes and sexes vied, one with the otlier, in their attention to the brave men who had de- fended their homes and Hberties. When the enemy had disappeared and all danger of his retm-n had vanished, the troops were removed from the city to a more salubrious position. It is needless to say that at that time the population of New Orleans, mostly French or of French origin, were, almost without exception. Catholic, and their devotion to the cause of the United States was no doubt heightened by their national and religious antipathy to England; then, as ever, the most bitter persecutor of tlie Church. An incident which occurred on the eve of the battle of the 8th well illustrates this feeling. It was related many years after, at a celebra- tion meeting, by Mr. Livingston, a United 88 irishmen's sons. States senator, who was a participant in the action. He said : " In the city of New Orleans is a con- vent in which a number of respectable ladies have dedicated their lives to the practice of piety, to the education of poor children of their own sex, and to works of charity. This pious sisterhood were awakened from then- rest, or disturbed in their holy vigils, before the dawn of the 8th of January, by the roar of cannon and volleys of musketry. The calendar which pointed out the prayers of the day was hastily opened, and indicated the auspicious name of St. Victoria. They hailed the omen, and prostrate on the pavement which ' holy knees had worn,' implored the God of Battles to nerve the arm of their protectors and turn the tide of combat against the in- vaders of their country. Their prayers were heard. And, while they daily offer up their thanks to the Power to whose aid they ascribe their deliverance, they have not been unmindful of him who was chosen as the instrument to effect it." ANDREW JACKSON. 89 Though by no means a religious man, much less a zealot, Jackson could not but ascribe his unexpected triumph to an agency higher than any mere human means. Accordingly, as soon as his wounded were attended to and his famished men fed and clothed, he addressed to the Abb^ Dubourg a request, couched in most appropriate and Christian terms, that he would cause a Te Beum to be sung in the cathedral, in thanks- giving for the victory. The favor was cheerfully granted, and on the 23d of January the citizens of New Orleans wit- nessed a spectacle such as had never been seen in its streets before or subsequently. The avenue to the cathedral was lined with spectators in holiday garb, the houses on either side being decorated with garlands and flags, while at intervals, floral arches of triumph were thrown across from house to house. Up this street came Jackson in, full uniform, attended by his staff and many of his oflicers, and escorted by the most prominent citizens. At the vestibule of the church he was met by 00 irishmen's sons. the venerable Abb^, in full canonicals, and welcomed in a brief, but liiglily eulo- gistic and dignified address. The General replied in a similar strain and the whole party entered the cathedral, when the noblest hymn of the Catholic Church was chanted, its notes of gratitude and exalta- tion finding a responsive echo in thou- sands of grateful hearts. Jackson departed for his home, in April, ha-vdng previously been the recipient of every honor and favor that an enthusiastic and warm-hearted people could bestow. With the ladies in particular he seems to liave been an especial favorite, and they were never tired of showing their appreciation of the services he had rendered them, and to Mrs. Jackson, who came down to visit her husband, they were particularly hospitable and attentive. Their delicacy and kindness in this respect were more grateful to the Gen- eral than any compliment they could have paid himself After four months' rest at the Hermitage, Jackson proceeded to Washington City by AjS^DREW JACKSON. 91 easy stages ; for his health, which had been exceedingly jDrecarious at the breaking out of the war, was even more enfeebled by exposure and privation in the field. Every town, village, and hamlet through which he passed on his route received him with the greatest enthusiasm, and the few large cities which at that time lay between Nashville and the capital serenaded and feted him to such a degree that he was glad to escape so oppressive but well-meant attentions. On arriving at his destination he was very cordially received by the Executive, and confirmed in his rank of Major-Gener- al, with the command of the south-west. The members of both branches of Congress, also, were unremitting in their politeness, some from a sense, no doubt, of his popularity and growing influence in public affairs, and others from higher motives. He did not, liowever, remain long in Washington, for we find him at his headquarters in Nashville, in October of the following year, having turned aside from his homeward journey to visit the Indian country and some of the more im- 92 portant posts of his command. In March, 1817, on the accession of Mr. Monroe to the presidency, he was offered the position of Secretary of War, but declined it, from a conviction that he was more useful to the country in his present capacity. He fore- saw that an Indian war was imminent, and was resolved to command in it. His foresight, as usual, was correct. In this very year the Seminoles of Florida, a very powerful and warlike tribe, instigated by a Scotch trader named Arbuthnot, an English ex-midshipman named Ambrister, and several other adventurers from the neighboring Bahamas, commenced depreda- tions on the settlers of the frontiers of Georgia, during which a great many white men were mercilessly slaughtered, and those taken captive put to death with inhuman tortures. General Gaines at first endeavored to check the savages, and to some extent succeeded, but Jackson was con^dnced that no half measures would ever succeed against so wily and implacable an enemy. The foe must not only be beaten out ANDREW JACKSON. 93 of Georgia, but pursued and destroyed in Florida, before peace could be perma- nently restored. Florida at that time was a colony of Spain, a country at peace with ours, and an armed invasion of its soil, under ordinary circumstances, would of course be a breach of the law of nations and a violation of our treaty stipulations. But the circumstances were not ordinary. A part of it around Negro Point was held by an armed force of runaway negroes ; and another, Pensacola, by Scotch and English filibusters ; while the Seminoles, supplied by the latter with arms and ammunition, invaded at pleasure the Georgian frontiers and, when beaten back, took refuge under the guns of one or other fort. The Spanish Captain- General was unable or uuwilHng to keep those lawless banditti in order, so it became the duty of om- Government, in protecting the lives and property of its citizens, to take the matter into its own hands. General Jackson saw the necessity of such a decisive step, but, unwilhng to 94 irishmen's sons. involve the country in a foreign dispute, proposed ^'to take the responsibiUty" on himself. He therefore wrote a confidential letter to the President, in which the follow- ing significant paragraphs occur : ^' The Executive Grovernment have order- ed, and, as I conceive, very properly, Ameha Island to be taken possession of This order ought to be carried into execution at all hazards, and simultaneously the whole of East Florida seized and held as an in- demnity for the outrages of Spain upon the property of our citizens. This done, it puts all opposition down, secures our citi- zens a complete indemnity, and saves us from a war with Great Britain, or some of the Continental powers, combined with Spain. This can be done without impHcat- ing the government. Let it be signified to me through any channel (say Mr. J. Rhea), that the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished. ''The order being given for the possession of Amelia Island, it ought to be executed, or ANDREW JACKSON. 95 our enemies, internal and external, will use it to the disadvantage of the government. If our troops enter the territory of Spain in pm^suit of our Indian enemj, all opposition that they meet with must be put down, or we will be involved in danger and dis- grace." '' In accordance with the advice of Mr. Calhoun," says Jackson himself, in his '' Ex- position," "and availing himself of the suggestion contained in the letter, Mr. Mon- roe sent for Mr. John Rhea (then a member of Congress), showed him the confidential letter, and requested him to answer it. In conformity with this request Mr. Rhea did answer the letter, and informed General Jackson that the President had shown him the confidential letter, and requested him to state that he approved of its suggestions. This answer was received by the General on the second night he remained at Big Creek, which is four miles in advance of Hartford, Georgia, and before his arrival at Fort Scott, to take command of the troops in that quarter." 96 The Secretary of War, Calhoun, also sent orders du'ectly to General Jackson '^to adopt the necessary measures to put an end to the conflict without regard to territorial lines or Spanish forts." And yet for this very invasion of Florida, Jackson was not only severely blamed, but the Secretary, who had countenanced the measure, was the first, in cabinet council, to advise his trial by court- martial; and, this afterwards becoming known, led to the ruptm^e between them in 1831, when President and Vice-President. The General's statement of his position at that time is terse and to the point. He writes : ^' Having received further details of my preparations, not only to terminate the Seminole war, but, as the President and his Secretary well knew, to occupy Florida also, Mr. Calhoun on the 6th February wi'ites as follows : ^^ ^ I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yom- letter of the 20th uli, and to acquaint you with the entire approbation of the President of all the measures you ANDREW JACKSON. 97 have adopted to terminate the ruioture with the Indians.' '^On the 13th of May following, with a full knowledge that I intended, if a favorable occasion presented itself, to occupy Florida, and that the design had the approbation of the President, Mr. Calhoun wrote to Govern- or Bibb, of Alabama, the letter already al- luded to, concluding as follows : '' ' General Jackson is vested with full powers to conduct the war in the manner he may deem best.' '' On the 25th of March, 1818, 1 informed Mr. Calhoun that I intended to occupy St. Mark's, and on the 8th of April I informed him that it was done. "■ Not a whisper of disapprobation or of doubt reached me from the government. '' On the 5th May I wrote to Mr. Calhoun that I was about to move upon Pensacola with a view of occupying that place. ^' Again, no reply was ever given disap- proving or discountenancing this movement. ''On the 2d of June I informed Mr. Calhoun that I had on the 24th May en- 4 98 irishmen's sons. tered Pensacola, and on the 28tli had received the surrender of the Barrancas. " Again no reply was given to this letter, expressing any disapproval of these acts. ^"In fine, from the receipt of the Presi- dent's reply to my confidential letter of 6th January, 1818, through Mr. Rhea, until the receipt of the President's private letter, dated 19th July, 1818, I received no in- structions or intimation from the govern- ment, public or private, that my opera- tions in Florida were other than such as the President' and Secretary of War ex- pected and approved. I had not a doubt that I had acted in every respect in strict accordance with their views, and that with- out publicly avowing that they had au- thorized my measures, they were ready at all times and under all circumstances to sustain me; and that as there were sound reasons and justifiable cause for tak- ing possession of Florida, they would, in pm-suance of theii* private understanding with me, retain it as indemnity for the spoliations committed by Spanish subjects ANDREW JACKSON. 99 on our citizens, and as security for the peace of our Southern frontier. Acting under instructions, General Jack- son left Nashville in January, 1818, and reached the seat of operations in Mar^h following. His troops consisted of eight hundred regulars, one thousand militia, and some Tennessee volunteers, whom he had raised on his own responsibility. His movements were rapid. On April 4th he took St. Mark^s and shortly after Pensacola, and while in the former place Arbuthnot and Ambrister, the evil genii of the Semi- noles, having been captured, were court- martialled and, in accordance with the find- ings of the court, were executed. Jackson returned to Fort Gadsden in May, but, ob- taining information that Pensacola had again become a refiigium peccatorum, he marched again on that place, occupied it permanently with a de^tachment of his troops, shortly after took possession of St. Carlos de Barrancas, and thus ended the war. Two years subsequently Florida be- came a part of the United States. 100 irishmen's sons. Wliile General Jackson was receiving on his return the hearty greetings of his fellow- citizens of Tennessee, Congress was deUb- erating as to the advisability of censui'ing, not only his late conduct, but liints were even thrown out that he ought to be sub- jected to disgrace and punishment. The House had the good sense to reject such absurd propositions by a vote of ninety to fifty-four; but the Senate held the matter under advisement for a long time, and final- ly did nothing. Ha^^ng been appointed governor of the newly acquired territory by President Monroe, Major-General Jackson, on the 31st of May, 1821, resigned his commission in the army. Here his military record ceases, and here also, at the advanced age of fifty-four, his career as a statesman be- gins. In the spring of 1821, he proceeded to Florida to discharge his new civic duties, but finding them so onerous, and his pow- ers so limited, he soon resigned the office and once more returned to the beloved ANDREW JACKSON. 101 Hennitage, now rebuilt and arranged more in accordance with advancing taste and his altered fortunes. In recognition of his great services, the Legislature, in 1823, elected him U. S. Senator for the term of six years, but though he took his seat in the Senate, and voted on some important questions, always on the democratic side, he remained in Washington during but two sessions, and then resigned. The atmosphere of the national capital still seemed distasteful to him. In 1824, there was a presidential election. There were four candidates, the friends of each of whom were anxious to see their candidate the successor of Mr. Monroe ; viz., General Jackson, John Q. Adams, Wm. H. Crawford, and Hemy Clay. There was, however, no choice in the electoral college, and the election was consequently thrown into the House of Representatives. Accord- ing to the Constitution the names of the three highest could only be presented, and these were: Jackson 99, Adams 84, and Crawford 41 ; Mr. Clay having received only 102 37 electoral votes. The majority of the 'house declared for Adams, influenced, it was alleged, by Clay and his supporters, from unworthy motives. That this was a cal- umny on that illustrious man there can now be little doubt, if we take for granted the statement of his pohtical opponent. Senator Benton. He says, in his ^^ Thirty Years^ View": ''' It came within my knowledge (for I was then intimate with Mr. Clay), long be- fore the election, and probably before Mr. Adams knew it himself, that Mr. Clay in- tended to support him against General Jackson; and for the reasons afterward averred in his public speeches. I made this known when occasions required me to speak of it, and in the presence of the friends of the impugned pai'ties. It went into the newspapers upon the information of these friends, and Mr. Clay made me ac- knowledgments for it in a letter, of which this is the exact copy : ^'I have received a paper published on the 20th ultimo, at Lemington, in Virginia, ANDREW JACKSON. 103 in which is contained an article stating that you had, to a gentleman of that place, ex- pressed your disbelief of a charge injurious to me, touching the late presidential election, and that I had communicated to you une- quivocally, before the 15th of December, 1824, my determination to vote for Mr. Adams and not for General Jackson. Pre- suming that the publication was with your authority, I cannot deny the expression of proper acknowledgments for the sense of justice which has prompted you to render this voluntary and faithful testimony." If there had been any corrupt dealing between Adams and Clay to defeat Jackson he was fully avenged dm'ing the next presidential contest, when he was elected over his former successful rival by a vote of one hundred and seventy-eight to eighty-three ; John C. Calhoun being also chosen Vice-President by a little less major- ity. He was accordingly inaugurated on the 4th of March in the year following, the oath of office being administered by Chief- Justice Marshall. His cabinet was com- 104 irishmen's sons. posed of Martin Van Buren (N. Y.), Secre- tary of State ; Samuel D. Ingliam (Penn.), of tlie Treasury; John H. Eaton (Tenn.), at War; John Branch (N. C), of the Navy ; John M. Berrien (Ga.), Attorney-General ; Wm. T. Barry (Ky.), Postmaster- General. The Senate — which at this time consisted of forty-eight members, presented on its rolls some of the ablest men of the country, such as Webster, Benton, Grundy, Living- ston, Foot, and Tyler — were opposed to the political views of the new President, in the proportion of about three to two, while the popular branch of Congress was largely in his favor. His first annual message, delivered De- cember 8th, though perhaps not altogether his own composition, at all events not un- inspired by his political advisers, was yet replete with his spirit, and ominous of the important questions which were destined to agitate the country for many years after their utterance. He took what has been called strong '^ democratic ground," and for the first time enunciated from the presidential ANDEEW JACKSON. 105 chair those peculiar views which have since been entertained by one of the two great par- ties that divide the country. In this respect Jackson may well be styled the Father of the Democratic party. He also recom- mended the reduction of the army and navy, and broke ground against the United States Bank; a fortress which, after many desper- ate assaults, he finally succeeded in captur- ing. His fii'st attack on that institution was couched in the following" simificant terms : ^' The charter of the Bank of the United States expires in 1836, and its stockholders will most probably apply for a renewal of their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy in a measure involving such important principles, and such deep pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot, in justice to the parties interested, too soon present it to the deliberate consideration the legislature and the people. Both the constitutionality and the expediency of the law creating this bank, are well ques- tioned by a large portion of our fellow- citizens; and it must be admitted by all, 106 irishmen's sons. that it has failed in the great end of estab- lishing a uniform and sound cun^ency." The first year of Jackson's term was not marked by any important event, foreign or domestic, except the removal of some promi- nent office-holders and the appointment of persons more in accord with his political views, to fill their places. And here let it be remarked that the popular notion that he was the originator of the policy of *' to the victors belong the spoils" is utterly without foundation. His removals for po- litical reasons, in point of fact, were less numerous than those of many of his prede- cessors, and far less than these of every one who succeeded him in the presidency. His second year was distinguished by a treaty negotiation with Great Britain, by which unobstructed trade with her West India colonies, lost by the Revolution, was restored. Free commercial intercourse with those islands was very desirable ; and at- tempts had been made by every president, from Wasliington down, to obtain it by negt)tiation, but had failed, till our minister. ANDREW JACKSON. 107 Mr. Van Buren, acting under the direction of the President, succeeded. An act of Congress was passed May 29th, 1830, to open the ports of the United States to vessels of Great Britain, on condition of her remov- ing all restraints on the West India traffic, which, with the President's proclamation of October 5th, giving it effect, afforded general satisfaction to the mercantile community. *'The loss of this trade," says Mr. Benton, "was a great injury to the United States (besides the insult), and was attended by circumstances which gave it the air of punishment for something that was past. It was a rebuff in the face of Europe ; for, while the United States were sternly and unceremoniously cut off from the benefit of the act of 1825, for omission to accept it within the year, yet other powers in the same predicament (France, Spain, and Russia) were permitted to accept after the year; and the " irritated feelings" manifested by Mr. Huskisson indicated a resentment which was finding its gratification. We were iU- treated, and felt it. The people felt it. It 108 irishmen's sons. was an ugly case to manage, or to endure ; and in this period of its worst aspect Gen- eral Jackson was elected President." In 1831, the rupture between the Presi- dent and Mr. Calhoun, alluded to above, took place, and was productive, at the time, of much personal feeling as well as fraught with lasting consequences injm-ious alike to their party and the country. It was commenced by the latter, who, in March of that year, accused Mr. Van Buren of having endeavored to create dissensions between the two highest executive officers of the government. The whole subject arose out of the invasion of Florida and the conduct of Mr. Calhoun when Secretary at War at that time. We have seen that he had or- dered General Jackson to prosecute and end the war as he saw fit ; but afterwards, it seems, in secret cabinet meeting, condemned his method and suggested his punishment. This, of course, was unknown for many years to Jackson, who looked on Calhoun as his best and most respected friend, and the latter certainly gave him every reason ANDREW JACKSON. 109 to think so. It was only about two years after their election on the same ticket that Jackson discovered the base deception that had been practised on him, and, with that abhorrence of duplicity which characterized him, he discontinued all personal intercourse with the vice-president. Henceforward Cal- houn, in and out of Congress, was his most bitter enemy. Van Buren, though an inno- cent party to the quarrel, nevertheless felt called on to resign his position as Secretary of State, and was shortly after appointed minister to England. This led necessarily to the breaking up of the cabinet and the formation of a new one, whose views were more in harmony with the chief executive. The new Secretaries were: Edward Liv- ingston (La.), of State; Louis McLane (Del.), of the Treasury; Louis Cass (Mich.), at War; Levi Woodbury (N. H.), of the Navy; Amos Kendall (Ky.), Postmaster- General ; Roger Brooke Taney (Md.), At- torney-General. The twenty-second Congress commenced its first session on the 5th of December, 110 irishmen's sons. 1831, and was protracted far into the mid- dle of the following summer, during which questions of the most vital importance, par- ticularly on finance, were discussed in both houses, to which the message gave the key- note. The condition and existence of the Bank of the United States was specially alluded to thus: '^ Entertaining the opin- ions heretofore expressed in relation to the Bank of the United States, as at present organized, I felt it my duty, in my former messages, ffankly to disclose them, in order that the attention of the legislature and the people should be seasonably directed to that important subject, and that it might be considered and finally disposed of in a manner best calculated to promote the ends of the constitution, and subserve the public interests. Having thus conscientiously discharged a constitutional duty, I deem it proper, on this occasion, without a more particular reference to the views of the subject then expressed, to leave it, for the present, to the investigation of an enlight- ened people and their representatives." ANDREW JACKSON. Ill This institution was chartered in 1816, soon, after the close of the war, and was in- tended to reheve the money pressure and disarranged financial condition of the coun- try, consequent on that strruggle. It had, however, it was claimed by its opponents, failed to effect the desired objects, and in- stead of proving a blessing to the manufac- tm'ing, commercial, and agricultural inter- ests of the country, it grew into an oppres- sive monopoly, controlling, by its six branches in various States, the smaller and weaker moneyed concerns. It was also the depository of the government funds, and, it was alleged against it, used them for the purpose of private speculation. To its friends in Congress, the press, and elsewhere, it had been liberal of discounts and loans, and not over-pai'ticular as to the security, and this, with its large capital and extensive ramifica- tions, made it a real power in the land; which was thought by many, and not with- out reason, to be inimical to the spirit of Republican institutions. From the first. President Jackson resolved, if not to de- 112 IRISHMEN'S SONS. stroy it, at least to curtail its immense pro- portions. The charter of the bank was to expire by- limitation in 1836, but on the 9th of Janu- ary, 1832, Mr. Dallas presented a memorial from the president and directors, asking for its renewal in advance. This was the signal for the combat between its friends and enemies. The debates which arose on this subject in the House and Senate were long, acrimonious, and replete with a full knowl- edge of the subject in all its bearings. In the Senate Mr. Webster was the chief advocate of the bank, and Mr. Benton the leading opponent of the renewal of its charter. The prayer of the memorial, how- ever, was granted by that body by a vote of twenty-eight yeas to twenty nays, and the bill was sent to the House. Here the struggle was even more obstinate, and, if possible, more hotly and persistently carried on, for its success or failure was looked upon as a party defeat or triumph. It was at length, however, carried in the affirmative by a majority of twenty- two out of an entire ANDREW JACKSON. 113 vote of one hundred and ninety. The bill was then, on the 4th of Jnlj, 1832, sent to the President for his signature. It was now Jackson's turn to act, and he did so with a promptness and decision all his own. Though on the eve of another presidential election, and knowing full well that to pro- voke the hostility of the monster moneyed power was to raise up against himself and his party a most active, unscrupulous, and indefatigable enemy, he hesitated not a moment in his course. Six days after the passage of the bill, he returned it, with his Veto. The reasons for this decisive step, as given by the President, were numerous and cogent. Some were of a local gr temporary nature, and therefore not worth reproduc- tion at this day; but the following, as they apply to all times, are as applicable to us as to our ancestors. ^' Every monopoly, and all exclusive privi- leges, are granted at the expense of the public, which ought to receive a fair equiva- lent. The many millions which this act proposes to bestow on the stockholders of the 114 irishmen's sons. existing bank, must come, directly or indi- rectly, out of the earnings of the American people. It is due to them, therefore, if their government sell monopolies and ex- clusive privileges, that they should at least exact for them as much as they are worth in open market. The value of the monopoly in this case may be correctly ascertained. The twenty-eight millions of stock would probably be at an advance of fifty per cent., and command, in market, at least forty-two millions of dollars, subject to the payment of the present loans. The present value of the monopoly, therefore, is seventeen millions of dollars, and this the act proposes to sell for three millions, payable in fifteen annual instalments of $200,000 each. ^' It is not conceivable how the present stockholders can have any claim to the special favor of the government. The pres- ent corporation has enjoyed its monopoly dm'ing the period stipulated in the original contract. If we must have such a corpora- tion, why should not the government sell out the whole stock, and thus secure to the ANDREW JACKSON. 115 people the full market value of the privi- leges granted? Why should not Congress create and sell the twenty-eight millions of stock, incorporating the purchasers with all the powers and privileges secured in this act, and putting the premium upon the sales into the treasury | • • • • ^' But this proposition, although made by men whose aggregate wealth is believed to be equal to all the private stock in the ex- isting bank, has been set aside, and the bounty of our government is proposed to be again bestowed on the few who have been fortunate enough to secure the stock, and at this moment wield the power of the ex- isting institution. I cannot perceive the justice or policy of this course. If our gov- ernment must sell monopolies, it would seem to be its duty to take nothing less than their full value ; and if gratuities must be made once in fifteen or twenty years, let them not be bestowed on the subjects of a foreign government, nor upon a designated or favored class of men in our own country. It is but justice and good policy, as far as 116 irishmen's sons. the nature of the case will admit, to confine onr favors to our own fellow-citizens, and let each in his turn enjoy an opportunity to profit by our bounty. In the bearings of the act before me upon these points, I find ample reason why it should not become a law." The veto was sustained, the bank and its defenders were defeated, and the press, throughout the country hostile to the Presi- dent, commenced a campaign of abuse, ridicule, misrepresentation, and calumny against its author which lasted not only during his second term but long after the organization sought to be perpetuated, had ceased to exist. Another question of great importance upon which President Jackson held decided opinions was a Protective Tariff. Of course he was ao-ainst it, and his views Avere ablv elucidated in the Senate by such men as Benton and Hayne of South Carolina, while they were opposed by Webster, Clay, and Dallas. In 1832, a debate occurred on this yet unsettled question, in which Clay took ANDKEW JACKSON. 117 the leading part, and in the coui'se of a long and very profound speech summed up the policy of the protectionist party of that day in the following terms : "1. That the policy which we have been considering ought to continue to be regarded as the genuine American system. ^'2. That the free trade system, which is proposed as its substitute, ought really to be considered as the British colonial system. " 3. That the American system is bene- ficial to all parts of the Union, and abso- lutely necessary to much the larger por- tion. " 4. That the price of the great staple of cotton, and of all our chief productions of agriculture, has been sustained and upheld, and a decline averted, by the protective system. "5. That, if the foreign demand for cotton has been at all diminished by the operation of that system, the diminution has been more than compensated in the additional demand created at home. ^'6. That the constant tendency of the 118 irishmen's sons. system, by creating competition among ourselves, and between American and European industry, reciprocally acting upon each other, is to reduce prices of manufactured objects. ^'7. That, in point of fact, objects within the scope of the policy of protection have greatly fallen in price. ^'8. That if, in a season of peace, these benefits are experienced, in a season of war, when the foreign supply might be cut off, they would be much more extensively felt. *^9. And, finally, that the substitution of the British colonial system for the American system, without benefiting any section of the Union, by subjecting us to a foreign legislation, regulated by foreign interests, would lead to the prostration of our manu- factures, general impoverishment, and ulti- mate ruin." Another presidential election took place in November, 1832. The candidates of the Democracy were Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren ; of the Whig party Henry Clay and John Sergeant. The ANDREW JACKSON. 119 former received each two hundred and thirty-nine votes, to forty-nine for their opponents. Jackson's policy was there- fore triumphant. The country was over- whelming democratic, and he entered on his second tenn with renewed vigor and vastly increased popular support. Still the Senate, which from its construction is slower to feel the effects of a change in public opinion than any other branch of the gov- ernment, was against him, while the House was even more strongly in his favor. Un- der the circumstances, however, this divis- ion of opinion was a source of security to the country ; checking as it did, the impet- uosity or heedlessness of the executive and coordinate branch of the legislative au- thority, and affords another proof, if any additional were wanting, of the wisdom and forethought of the founders of the Republic. In the annual message immediately after his reelection, among other things, the Presi- dent, with a modest but just pride, spoke of his past administration thus : 120 irishmen's sons. " I cannot too cordially congratulate Con- gress and my fellow-citizens on the near approach of that memorable and happy event, the extinction of the public debt of this great and free nation. Faithful to the wise and patriotic policy marked out by the legislation of the country for this object, the present administration has devoted to it all the means which a flourishing commerce has supplied, and a prudent economy pre- served, for the public treasury. Within the four years for which the people have confided the executive power to my charge, fifty-eight millions of dollars will have been applied to the payment of the public debt. That this has been accomplished without stinting the expenditures for all other proper objects, will be seen by referring to the liberal provision made, during the same period, for the support and increase of our means of maritime and military defence, for internal improvements of a national charac- ter, for the removal and preservation of the Indians, and, lastly, for the gallant veterans of the Revolution." ANDREW JACKSON. 121 On the subject of protection lie was of opinion that " those who take an enlarged view of the condition of our country, must be satisfied that the policy of protection nuist be ultimately limited to those articles of domestic manufacture which are indis- pensable to our safety in time of war." Eeferring to the position of the public lands he declared that the true policy was, that they should cease, as soon as practicable, to be a source of revenue, but that they should be sold to actual settlers in limited quantities, at a price only sufficient to re- imburse the United States for the cost of surveys, Indian compacts, etc. He also expressed himself in favor of the speedy removal of the Indians from Georgia, and their settlement beyond the Mississippi. But the message contained two passages of far greater imjDOii: than any of the pre- ceding; one relating to the United States Bank and the other to the new political heresy of States Rights or nullification. His veto of the act re- chartering the bank, as we have seen, created the most profound 122 IRISHMEN'S SONS. dissatisfaction among its friends, and during the presidential campaign that followed thej used every expedient and every means that human ingenuity could devise, to oppose his reelection. All the moneyed power of the corporation itself, as well as the personal influence of its directors, stock- holders, and employes, was directed to that sole end during the autumn of 1832. Newspapers were subsidized, pamphlet- eers employed, and so-called orators liired in every part of the country, for the single purpose of misrepresenting his actions and blackening his private and public character. All the machinery of political warfare was set in motion against him and, too often, in the most outrageous and unjustifiable man- ner. He w^as openly, repeatedly, and at every point, accused of every sin in the Table, and if it were possible to have in- vented a new crime at that time, he would, no doubt, have been denounced as the first criminal. But the verdict of his fellow-citi- zens, so absolutely pronounced, was unmis- takably in his favor ; and, with additional ANDREW JACKSON. 123 reasons for the repression of a coip oration that could use its power so basely, he thus alludes to it in his message : '' Such measures as are within the reach of the Secretary of the Treasury have been taken, to enable him to judge whether the public deposits in that institution may be regarded as entirely safe ; but as his limited power may prove inadequate to this object, I recommend the subject to the attention of Congress, under the firm belief that it is worthy then* serious investigation. An in- quiry into the transactions of the institution, embracing the branches as well as the principal bank, seems called for by the credit which is given throughout the country to many serious charges impeaching its character, and which, if true, may justly excite the apprehension that it is no longer a safe depository of the money of the peo- ple." The other matter referred to in this im- portant document was one that had lately presented itself in a new and menacing form to the public, and which has almost as much 124 irishmen's sons. interest for tins generation as for. tlie past. South Carolina, ever an unruly sister in the family of States, not content with opposing a protective tariff by her representatives in Congress, proceeded to organize a practical opposition to the collection of revenue in her ports, or in other words, to nullify the laws of the Union. In allusion to this illegal manifestation the President said : ^'It is my painful duty to state, that, in one quarter of the United States, opposition to the revenue laws has risen to a height which threatens to thwart their execution, if not to endanger the integrity of the Union. Whatever obstructions may be thrown in the way of the judicial authorities of the general government, it is hoped they will be able, peaceably, to overcome them by the prudence of their own officers, and the pati'iotism of the people. But should this reasonable reliance on the moderation and good sense of all portions of our fellow- citizens be disappointed, it is believed that the laws themselves are fully adequate to the suppression of such attempts as may be ANDREW JACKSON. 125 immediately made. Should the exigency arise, rendering the execution of the existing laws impracticable, from any cause what- ever, prompt notice of it will be given to Congress, with the suggestion of such views and measures as may be deemed necessary to meet it." For Andrew Jackson these were very mild w^ords indeed, but they were not heeded. Previously, however, to this mes- sage of November 24th, 1832, South Caro- lina, having first declined all participation in the presidential contest, issued a mani- festo entitled ''An ordinance to nullify certain acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws laying duties and imposts on the importations of foreign commodities." The following is a fair sam- ple of this extraordinary pronimciamiento : ''We, therefore, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby de- clared and ordained, that the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws for 126 irishmen's sons. the imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now having actual operation and effect within the United States, and more especi- ally, an act entitled 'An act in alteration of the several acts imposing duties on im- ports,' approved on the nineteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty^ eight, and also an act entitled ' An act to alter and amend the several acts im- posing duties on imports,' approved on the fourteenth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thu'ty-two, are unauthorized by the constitution of the United States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens ; and all promises, contracts, and obligations, made or entered into, or to be made or entered into, with purpose to secure the duties imposed by the said acts, and all judicial proceedings which shall be here- after had in affinnance thereof, are and shall be held utterly null and void." To all this and much more of the same ANDREW JACKSON. 127 character, President Jackson replied at gi'eat length in a proclamation of remarka- ble temper, force, clarity of reason, and pro- found knowledge of the nature and spirit of our institutions, and the relation between a State and the Federal Government. He concluded that remarkable state paper in the following language, which should be read and re-read by every citizen of this Republic : '^I adjure you, as you honor their memory ; as you love the cause of freedom, to which they dedicated their lives ; as you prize the peace of your country, the lives of its best citizens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your steps. Snatch from the archives of your State the disorganizing edict of its convention ; bid its members to reassemble, and promulgate the decided expressions of your will to remain in the path which alone can conduct you to safety, prosperity, and honor. Tell them that, compared to disunion, all other evils are light, because that brings with it an accu- mulation of all. Declare that you will 128 ieishmen's sons. never take the field unless the star-spangled banner of your country shall float over you ; that you will not be stigmatized when dead, and dishonored and scorned while you live, as the authors of the fii'st attack on the constitution of your country. Its de- stroyers you cannot be. You may disturb its peace, you may interrupt the course of its prosperity, you may cloud its reputation for stability, but its tranquillity will be re- stored, its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its national character will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on the memory of those who caused the disorder. " Fellow-citizens of the United States, the threat of unhallowed disunion, the names of those, once respected, by whom it is uttered, the array of military force to sup- port it, denote the approach of a crisis in our aifairs, on which the continuance of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that of all free governments, may depend. The conjunc- tm-e demanded a free, a full, and explicit enunciation, not only of my intentions, but i ANDREW JACKSON. 129 of my principles of action ; and, as tlie claim was asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws of tlie Union, and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my opinions in relation to the origin and form of our government, and the construc- tion I give to the instrument by which it was created, seemed to be proper. Having the fullest confidence in the justness of the legal and constitutional opinion of my duties, which has been expressed, I rely, with equal confidence, on your undivided sup- port in my determination to execute the laws, to preserve the Union by all consti- tutional means, to arrest, if possible, by moderate, but firm measures, the necessity of a recom^'se to force ; and, if it be the will of heaven that the recm-rence of its prime- val curse on man for the shedding of a brother's blood should fall upon our land, that it be not called down by any offensive act on the part of the United States." Early in January, 1833, the President sent a message to Congress embodying the prin- ciples laid down in his proclamation, and in- 5 130 lEISro^IEN^S SONS. forming that body of all the steps taken by the nullifiers of South Carolina. He asked for additional legislation, and expressed " his confident reliance upon the disposition of each department of the government to per- form its duty and to cooperate in all measures necessary in the present emergency," de- claring, at the same time, his determina- tion to preserve ^' the integrity of the Union " and to execute the laws by all constitu- tional means. The firm attitude thus as- sumed by Jackson had the desired effect, for the time being at least, and the Com- promise bill, introduced by Mr. Clay in May, and passed with the assistance of Mr. Calhoun, gave to the people of his fiery State a decent pretext for withdraw- ing from a position no longer tenable. Se- cession, however, was not destroyed, but postponed; the snake was scotched, not killed, as we of this day know to our sorrow and cost. The thirty-second Congress assembled on the 2d of December, 1833, and received the President's messaere ; the first since he ANDREW JACKSON. 131 liacl entered on his second term. In it he alhided to the prosperous state of the pubhc finances and to other matters of general in- terest, but the sahent point was still the condition of the United States Bank. It now became evident to every one that the war between the Executive, or rather the democratic party, and that institution, was to be fought to the bitter end. He thus alludes to it : *' Since the last adjournment of Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury has directed the money of the United States to be de- posited in certain State banks designated by him, and he will immediately lay before you his reasons for this direction. I concui' with him entirely in the view he has taken of the subject; and, some months before the removal, I urged upon the department the propriety of taking that step. The near approach of the day on which the charter will expire, as well as the conduct of the bank, appeared to me to call for this meas- ure upon the high considerations of public interest and public duty. The extent of its 132 irishmen's sons. misconduct, however, although known to be great, was not at that time fully devel- oped by proof. It was not until late in the month of August, that I received from the government directors an official report, establishing beyond question that this great and powerful institution had been actively engaged in attempting to influence the elec- tions of the pubHc officers by means of its money." The news of the removal of the government deposits was made subsequent- ly, in a communication to Congress by Mr. Taney, Secretary of the Treasury. The excitement in and out of Congress caused by the appearance of those two docu- ments was intense. In the Senate the oppo- sition were led by Webster, Clay, and Calhoun ; Benton, as usual, leading the democratic forces. Resolutions of con- demnation of the President's course in withdrawing the deposits were introduced, and, after a protracted and able debate, were carried by twenty-six yeas to twenty nays. President Jackson replied to them in a ^^ protest" marked by great ability ANDREW JACKSON. 133 and good temper. This again led to some violent remarks in the Senate, and a notice of motion by Benton to expunge the objectionable resolutions. But on the suggestion of Mr. Pointdexter the pro- test was not only not received but de- clared to be a breach of the privileges of that body. Such was the temper of the upper house when the next session opened in December, 1834. After alluding to the French spolia- tion difficulty, and declaring the country "free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers," the President returned with re- newed vigor to the attack on the United States Bank. He accused it of causing the confiscation of Si 70,041, di\ddends on the public stock, and of creating the recent com- mercial distress by " locking up " money and refusing to discount the notes of mer- chants, or accommodate, as was the former custom, State banks and other like moneyed institutions ; and concluded by saying : 134 ^^ I feel it my duty to recommend to you that a law be passed authorizing the sale of the public stock ; that the provision of the charter requiring the receipt of notes of the bank in payment of public dues, shall, in accordance with the power reserved to Con- gress in the 14th section of the charter, be suspended until the bank pays to the treasury the dividend withheld ; and that all laws connecting the government or its officers with the bank, directly or indirectly, be repealed; and that the institution be left hereafter to its own resources and means." The debates on the French Spoliation bill, as it was called, occupied the greater portion of the time of Congress during this session, but the general distress, or as we would now call it, the panic, and the affairs of the bank, were the prevailing topics among the jDeople. Indeed so thoroughly was the popular mind stirred up by newspapers and demagogues that men seemed driven to frenzy. The President himself nearly fell a victim to this insane spirit. On the 30th ANDREW JACKSON. 135 of Janiiaiy, 1835, while he was coming out of the capitol, attended by two members of the cabinet, he was confronted by a man, who evidently had been lying in wait for him, and who, at the distance of eight feet, deliberately presented a pistol to his face and attempted to fire it off. The cap only exploded, and the would-be asssasin drew another pistol, but with like result. Jack- son, with his old fire, raised his cane and rushed on the miscreant, but before he could reach him the man was knocked down by a lieutenant of the Navy and quickly se- cured by the spectators. He proved to be an Englishman named Lawrence, and though imprisoned, escaped any adequate punishment, on the plea of insanity. The most curious circumstance connected with this affau* was, that the pistols, upon examination, were found to be in good order and were easily discharged on the first attempt to do so. At this session also, Mr. King of Alabama presented resolutions of tliat State requesting the expunging of the resolutions of censure 136 irishmen's sons. from the journal of the Senate, but they were laid on the table by a vote of twenty- seven to twenty. Benton also introduced his promised resolution to the same effect, but it met a similar fate. The President's message to the twenty- fourth Congress, which commenced its sit- tings in December, 1835, contained noth- ing of special importance, being taken up almost wholly by discussions on om- relations with France, and some domestic questions of minor importance. Only a passing al- lusion is made to the United States bank, which had some time pre^dously made an assignment. The sad condition of its affau's then became apparent, and more than justifi- ed the attacks of its opponents. The expunging resolutions were again introduced by Benton, but defended, and meanwhile the presidential election took place which resulted in the election of Van Buren, Jackson's candidate and personal favorite, by a vote of one hundred and seventy, to seventy-three for Gen. Han-ison and twenty- six for Mr. Hugh L. White. ANDREW JACKSON. 157 This in itself was a triumph for the out- going president, a substantial indorsement of his policy, and a victory for his party, the fruits of which, however, were thrown away in the next four years, when the helm of the ship of state was no longer in his firm grasp. The last message of the venerable presi- dent to the session of 1836-'7, was altogether occupied by financial matters and the con- dition of the Indians, and was only re- markable for its plain, touching, and even pathetic peroration ; when the great states- man, having reached the term allotted to man, borne down by the weight of years and long and faithful services, loaded with honors and crowned by the applause of mil- lions of freemen, was about to relinquish the authority of chief magistrate and, descend- ing into the ranks of private citizenship, to await in composure that grand, final end, which comes alike to prince and peasant. ^^ Having now finished," he said, "the observations deemed proper on this, the the last occasion I shall have of communi- 138 ieishmen's sons. eating with the two houses of Congress at their meeting, I cannot omit an expression of the gratitude which is due to the great body of my fellow-citizens, in whose par- tiality and indulgence I have found en- couragement and support in the many difficult and trying scenes through which it has been my lot to pass during my public career. Though deeply sensible that my exertions have not been crowned with a success corresponding to the degree of favor bestowed upon me, I am sure that they will be considered as having been directed by an earnest desire to promote the good of my country; and I am consoled by the persuasion that whatever errors have been committed will find a corrective in the in- telligence and patriotism of those who will succeed us. All that has occurred dm-ing my administration is calculated to inspke me with increased confidence in the stability of our institutions, and should I be spared to enter upon that retirement, which is so suitable to my age and infirm health, and so much desu^ed by me in other respects, I ANDREW JACKSON. 139 shall not cease to invoke that beneficent Being to whose providence we are already so signally indebted for the continuance of his blessings on our beloved country," It was during this session that Benton again introduced his expunging resolutions, which, after a long and exciting forensic contest in which that distinguished senator bore more than the lion's share, were passed on the 16th of March, 1837, by a vote of twenty-four votes for the measure to nine- teen against it, ^ve members being absent The great majority of the people applauded the act, and President Andrew Jackson, in consequence, retired from his great office and laid down the authority which he had exercised for eight years without a stain on his private or public character. Previous to retiring into private life, Jack- son, after the example of Washington, issued an address to the American people, full of fatherly advice and patriotic senti- ments, and with almost prophetic vision he, amongst other things said : " What have you to gain by division and 140 irishmen's sons. dissension? Delude not yourselves with the belief, that a breach, once made, may be afterwards repaired. If the Union is once severed, the line of separation will grow wider and wider; and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation, will then be tried in fields of battle and determined by the sword. Neither should you deceive your- selves with the hope that the fii'st hne of separation would be the permanent one, and that nothing but harmony and concord would be found in the new associations formed upon the dissolution of this Union. Local interests would still be found there, and unchastened ambition. And if the re- collection of common dangers, in which the people of these United States stood side by side against the common foe — the memory of victories won by their united valor ; the prosperity and happiness they have enjoyed under the present constitution ; the proud name they bear as citzens of this great re- public — if all these recollections and proofs of common interest are not strong enough ANDREW JACKSON. 141 to bind US together as one people, what tie will hold united the new divisions of empire, when these bonds have been broken and this Union dissevered? The first line of separation would not last for a single gen- eration; new fragments would be torn off; new leaders would spring up; and this great and glorious republic would soon be broken into a multitude of petty States, without com- merce, without credit; jealous of one an- other; armed for mutual aggressions; loaded with taxes to pay armies and leaders ; seek- ing, aid against each other from foreign powers ; insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe; until, harassed with conflicts, and humbled and debased in spirit, they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any military advent- urer, and to sm-render their liberty for the sake of repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that would inevitably fol- low the destruction of this government, and not feel indignant when we hear cold cal- culations about the value of the Union, and have so constantly before us a line of 142 irishmen's sons. conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties." We have dwelt more at length on Presi- dent Jackson's domestic policy, because there were issues involved in it, some of which, though settled, had a direct and im- portant bearing on the future welfare and prosperity of the country ; and others are still subjects of discussion between the two great political parties who claim the suf- frages of the people. His foreign diplomacy, however, was almost equally important; was conducted in his wonted straightfor- ward style ; was equally successful, and had a most beneficial result on the recognition of our rights as a nation as well as our com- mercial interests at home and abroad. We have already mentioned his opening a direct and unrestricted trade with the British West Indies ; to this may be added the French indemnity treaty, by which our citizens obtained from that government five millions of dollars '^ for unlawful seizures, captm-es, etc., of their vessels, cargoes, or other prop- erty ;" the Danish treaty, and the Neapolitan, ANDREW JACKSON. 143 Portuguese, and Spanish indemnity treaties, by which our citizens' claims against those countries, so long in dispute, were fully and satisfactorily settled. The history of the commercial treaty with Eussia, the most important of all, is thus briefly sketched by Mr. Benton : "Up to the commencement of General Jackson's administration there was no Amer- ican treaty of amity, commerce, and naviga- tion with that great power. The attention of President Jackson was early directed to this anomalous point ; and Mr. John Ean- dolph of Roanoke, then retired from Con- gress, was induced, by the earnest persua- sions of the President, and his Secretary of State, Mr. Van Buren, to accept the place of envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- potentiary to the Court of St. Petersbui-g— to renew the applications for the treaty which had so long been made in vain. Repairing to that post, Mr. Randolph found that the rigors of a Russian climate were too severe for the textm-e of his fragile con- stitution ; and was soon recalled at his own 144 irishmen's sons. request. Mr. James Buchanan, of Penn- sylvania, was then appointed in his place ; and by him the long-desu-ed treaty was concluded, December, 1832 — the Count Nesselrode, the Russian negotiator, and the Emperor Nicholas the reigning sovereign. It was a treaty of great moment to the United States ; for, although it added noth- ing to the commercial privileges actually enjoyed, yet it gave stability to their enjoy- ment; and so imparted confidence to the enterprise of merchants. It was limited to seven years' duration, but with a clause of indefinite continuance, subject to termina- tion upon one year's notice from either party. Near twenty years have elapsed : no notice for its termination has ever been given ; and the commerce between the two countries feels all the advantages resulting from stabil- ity and national guarantees. And thus was obtained, in the first term of General Jack- son's administration, an important treaty with a great power, which all previous administrations and the Congress of the Confederation had been unable to obtain." ANDREW JACKSON. 145 The treaty of friendship and commerce with the Ottoman Porte, ratified in 1830-'l, was next in importance. By the terms of this agreement our trade with the Turkish dominions was placed on the footing of the most favored nation ; and being without limitation as to time, may be considered as perpetual, subject only to be abrogated by war, in itself improbable, or by other events not to be expected. The right of passing the Dardanelles and of navigating the Black Sea was secured to our merchant ships, in ballast or with cargo, and to carry the products of the United States and of the Ottoman empire, except the prohibited arti- cles. The flag of the United States was to be respected. Factors, or commercial brokers, of any religion, were allowed to be employed by our merchants. Consuls were placed on a footing of security, and travelling with passports was protected. Fairness and justice in suits and litigations were provided for. In questions between a citizen of the United States and a subject of the Sublime Porte, the parties were not 146 irishmen's sons. to be heard, nor judgment pronounced, unless the American interpreter was present. In questions between American citizens the trial was to be before the United States minister or consul. ''Even when they shall have committed some offence, they shall not be arrested and put in prison by the local authorities, but shall be tried by the minister or consul, and punished according to the offence." All that was granted to other nations by the treaty of Adrianople was also granted to the United States, with the additional stipulation, to be always placed on the footing of the most favored nation — a stipulation wholly inde- pendent of the treaty exacted by Russia at Adrianople as the fruit of victories, and of itself equivalent to a full and hberal treaty; and the whole guaranteed by a particular treaty with ourselves, which make us inde- pendent of the general treaty of Adi'ianople. Assistance and protection were to he given throughout the Turkish dominions to Amer- ican wrecked vessels and their crews ; and all property recovered from a wreck was ANDREW JACKSON. 147 to be delivered up to the American consul of the nearest port, for the benefit of the owners. Ships of war of the two countries were to exhibit toward each other friendly and courteous conduct, and Turkish ships of war were to treat American merchant vessels with kindness and respect. This treaty has now been in force a number of years, ob- served with perfect good faith by each, and attended by all the good consequences ex- pected from it. The valuable commerce of the Black Sea, and of all the Turkish ports of Asia Minor, Europe, and Africa, travel- ling, residence, and the pursuit of business throughout the Turkish dominions, are made as safe to our citizens as in any of the European countries. To these may be added treaties of com- merce and amity with Morocco, Siam, and the Sultan of Muscat, all of which contained conditions favorable to our merchants and travellers, and placed our trade with those powers on a most satisfactory footing. Having thus secured to the Republic a sound and permanent position among the 148 irishmen's sons. family of civilized and even semi-civilized nations, opened up to its enterprise and in- dustry new channels of wealth and new marts for the sale of its fabrics and produce abroad ; having at home relieved the coun- try from a load of debt, crushed the monop- olists of the United States Bank, settled as far as possible the Indian question, re- pressed the extravagant expenditure of pub- lic money for unnecessary improvements, stamped out secession, and modified the tariff — the United States respected abroad and on the high road to prosperity — Presi- dent Jackson on the 4th of March delivered the insignia of his high office into the hands of his successor and, turning his back on the capital forever, returned to his be- loved Hermitage, and to the bosom of his friends and family. Eight years beyond the allotted three- score and ten were allowed him for rest and preparation for the final catastrophe. It would be unreasonable to suppose that all this time was spent in private concerns and social communion alone. He could not, if ANDEEW JACKSON. 149 he would, entirely shut out the world of politics, for his home was, as it were, a temple where many puzzled or aspiring politicians repaired to consult the oracle. It is needless to say that their reception was always cordial and their visits fraught with good and wholesome advice. It was im- possible, though no longer taking an active part in public affairs, that he should not feel deeply interested in everything that con- cerned the welfare of the country for wliich he had so long and so zealously toiled. At length his end drew nigh, and found him, according to the light that was given him, fully prepared to meet it. After a short illness, and surrounded by relatives and neighbors, he expired on the 5th day of June, 1845. Of his services, military and civil, it is almost unnecessary to speak, as the evi- dences of them are so indelibly impressed on the history of the Republic that the rude changes of centuries will not be able to efface them. A brave, humane, and, though untrained, a skilful soldier, he un- 150 doubtedly was, but it is as a statesman, as the embodiment of the democracy of the New World, as the champion of popular rights and the unswerving foe of tyranny, bigotry, and oppression, in all their forms, he will be best remembered and revered by posterity. His private character and dis- position can best be told in the following words of one who knew him intimately for nearly half a century : ''His temper was placable as well as iras- cible, and his reconciliations were cordial and sincere. Of that, my own case was a signal instance. After a deadly feud, I be- came his confidential adviser ; was offered the highest marks of his favor, and received from his dying bed a message of friendship, dictated when life was departing, and when he would have to pause for breath. There was a deep-seated vein of piety in him, unaffectedly showing itself in his reverence for di-\dne worship, respect for the ministers of the Gospel, their hospitable reception in his house, and constant encouragement of all the pious tendencies of Mrs. Jackson. ANDREW JACKSON. 151 And when they both afterwards became members of a church, it was the natm^al and regular result of their early and cherished feelings. He was gentle in his house, and alive to the tenderest emotions ; and of this I can give an instance, greatly in contrast with his supposed character, and worth more than a long discourse in show- ing what that character really was. I arrived at his house one wet, chilly evening in February, and came upon him in the twilight, sitting alone before the fire, a lamb and a child between his knees. He started a little, called a servant to remove the two innocents to another room, and explained to me how it was. The child had cried because the lamb was out in the cold, and begged him to bring it in — which he had done to please the child, his adopted son, then not two years old. The ferocious man does not do that ! and though Jackson had his passions and his violence, they were for men and enemies — those who stood up against him — and not for women and children, or the weak and helpless: for all whom his 152 irishmen's sons. feelings were tliose of protection and support. His hospitality was active as well as cordial, embracing the worthy in every walk of life, and seeking out deserving ob- jects to receive it, no matter how obscm^e. Of this I learned a characteristic instance in relation to the son of the famous Daniel Boone. The young man had come to Nashville on his father's business, to be de- tained some weeks, and had his lodgings at a small tavern, toward the lower part of the town. General Jackson heard of it: sought him out ; found him ; took him home to remain as long as liis business de- tained him in the country, saying, * Your father's dog should not stay in a tavern, where I have a house.' This was heart ! and I had it from the young man himself, long after, when he was a State Senator of the General Assembly of Missouri, and as such nominated me for the United States Senate, at my first election, in 1820: an act of hereditary friendship, as our fathers had been early friends. " Abhorrence of debt, public and private, ANDREW JACKSON. 153 dislike of banks, and love of hard money, love of justice and love of country, were ruling passions with Jackson ; and of these he gave constant evidence in all the situa- tions of his life. Of private debts he con- tracted none of his own, and made any sac- rifices to get out of those incurred for others. Of this he gave a signal instance, not long before the war of 1812 — selling the im- proved part of his estate, with the best buildings of the country upon it, to pay a debt incurred in a mercantile adventure to assist a young relative ; and going into log- houses in the forest to begin a new home and farm. He was living in these rude tenements when he vanquished the British at New Orleans ; and, probably, a view of their conqueror's domicile would have as- tonished the Biitish officers as much as their defeat had done. He was attached to his friends, and to his country, and never believed any report to the discredit of either, until compelled by proof He would not believe in the first reports of the surrender of General Hull, and became sad and op- 154 irishmen's sons. pressed when forced to believe it. He never gave up a friend in a doubtful case, or from policy or calculation. He was a firm believer in the goodness of a superin- tending Providence, and in the eventual right judgment and justice of the people. I have seen him at the most desperate part of his fortunes, and never saw him waver in the belief that all would come right in the end. In the time of Cromwell he would have been a puritan." If his eulogist had added that if he had lived in this day he would have been a Catholic, he might have been nearer the mark, for he had many of the human vir- tues, the exercise of which frequently pre- cedes conversion. <^ CARDINAL NICHOLAS WISEMAN. One of the phenomena of the age is un- doubtedly the restoration of the CathoHc re- hgion in England, its growth in every paii: of Grreat Britain, and its propagation among all classes of her population since the Eman- cipation act of 1829. While on the Conti- nent the ancient faith seems to superficial observers to be losing ground, even in those countries which were considered preemi- nently attached to it, across the Channel the Church is steadily advancing its banners and drawing its recniits from the most intellect- ual, most influential, and noblest of the people. '' United Italy" can bear with the indecencies and rapacity of a debauched monarch ; Spain be in a vortex of commu- nistic revolution, from which there seems no outlet ; and Germany can be content to lie prone under the iron heel of a would-be Teutonic Caesar, yet the very nation that led the van in the so-called Reformation, that was one of the first to initiate proscription 156 irishmen's sons. and persecution for conscience' sake and one of the last to lay down the carnal weapons of polemical warfare, is now fast gravitating toward the See of Rome, from which the bestiality and ferocity of the Tudors had torn her. How the England of to-day differs from the England of the last and preceding centuries ! Everywhere churches are being built, monasteries and nunneries founded, schools and colleges opened, or- phanages and hospitals endowed, a hierar- chy in high places restored, and hundreds of priests officiating where, if discovered in the time of Elizabeth or James, they would have found that there was but a step from the sanctuary to the torture chamber, from the altar to the scaifold. Many fortuitous and happy events have occurred to bring about so desirable a change, and many pious and learned men have labored unceasingly for the same pur- pose, but none with more zeal, ability, and success than the late Nicholas Wiseman, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. So successful have been the labors of tliat CARDINAL WISEMAN. 157 portion of his life devoted to the interests of Catholicity in England, and so earnestly was every moment of his time employed to win her back to her allegiance to the Apostolic See, that he may without exagger- ation, in this respect at least, be called the second St. Augustine. Of him the present illusti'ious Pontiff truly said that he was " the man of Divine Providence for Eng- land." Let us endeavor briefly to sketch his his- tory, and trace, however faintly, the record of his labors and triumphs. He was born in Seville, Spain, on the second day of August, A. D. 1802. His mother was a lady of Spanish birth and name, but of undoubted Irish descent, and his father a scion of an old County Water- ford family who had settled in Spain and had became extensively engaged in commerce. We are aware that the nationality of this parent has been disputed, and that the English press and so-called " Biographical Dictionaries," though they hated the Car- dinal, yet were unwilling to accord the 158 - irishmen's sons. honor of liis descent to Ireland, and claim him as one of themselves. But we have the authority of those who knew him long and intimately in London, and of a near relative now living in this country, for asserting what we have above stated relative to his parentage. To argue from his patronymic that he must necessarily have been English on his father's side is to show a very lament- able knowledge of Irish history. The very section of country so long recognized as the home of his ancestors was from the fii'st a portion of the English pale, and con- sequently subject to its laws, such as they were. Now by the statute of Kilkenny passed in the fifteenth century, it was made a penal offence to use an Irish name, and all natives within the jurisdiction of English law were obhged to Anglicize their names forthwith. Thus McGowan became Smith or Smithson; McShane, Jackson or Jolm- son ; McMurrough, Murphy, and so on, to the infinite confusion and perplexity of all futm^e antiquarians and genealogists. That the Wisemans, as claimed, may have been CARDINAL WISEMAN. 159 remotely descended from a family of that name in Essex, England, is quite possible, but except in the resemblance of the names we have no proof whatever that such was the case. At a very early age young "Wiseman had the misfortune of losing^ his father. A few years after, the Peninsula was invaded by the French troops, and war, with its attend- ant consequences, plunder and devastation, overspread the land. The colleges were of course closed and the schools discontinued. Mrs. Wiseman therefore, finding it impossi- ble to obtain a suitable education for her son at home, resolved to take him to the land of their forefathers, hoping that there she might find an opportunity of training him, ac- cording to the usages of his family, in the Catholic faith and doctrine. In this, however, she was sadly disappoint- ed. The dark shadow of the penal laws still hung over Ireland, and her people had not yet been aroused from their thraldom of centuries, by the trumpet tones of the great Emancipator's voice. Maynooth College, it 160 irishmen's sons. is true, existed, mainly on a miserable stipend grudgingly and niggardly granted annually by the English government for its own good reasons, but primary education of a Catholic character was still in its infancy. In 1810, after allowing her son to remain a couple of years at a boarding-school in the vicinity of the city of Waterford, Mrs. Wise- man brought him to England and placed him in St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, near Durham. The gi^eat inducement for selecting this place in preference to others seems to have arisen from the circumstance that at that time the vice-president and actual head of the college was Dr. Lingard, the author of the '^ Catholic History of England," then in the zenith of his fame, as he is to-day the only English author upon whose statements regarding the history of his country any reliance can be placed. That the fond and earnest mother made a wise selection there can be no doubt, for we have it on the testimony of the cardinal himself many years after the death of the learned doctor. ^' I have retained upon my CARDINAL WISEMAN. 161 memory/' he wrote, in his " History of the Last Four Popes," ''the vivid recollection of specific acts of thoughtful and delicate kind- ness, which showed a tender heart, mindful of its duties amidst the many harassing* occupations just devolved on him through the death of the president and his own lit- erary engagements ; for he was reconduct- ing his first great work through the press. But though he went from college soon after, and I later left the country, and saw him not again for fifteen years, yet there grew up an indirect understanding first, and by degrees a correspondence and an intimacy which continued to the close of his life." Here he remained for eight years, study- ing diligently all that could be taught him in class, and devoting his leisure hours to cultivating an intimate acquaintance with classic art and antiquarian lore. His in- dustry even at this early stage of life was re- markable, while his gentleness and ductility of character made him a general favorite. It was at this time, also, being satisfied that his vocation was for the priesthood, he re- 6 162 irishmen's sons. solved to direct his studies to that end, and even contemplated . a jom-ney to Rome at some remote period. His Latin books had awakened in him a very intense love for the Eternal City, while his reverence for all things religions created a desire to view in person the fountain-head of Catholicity. Of Rome he says: ^'Its history, its topog- raphy, its antiquities, had formed the bond of a little college society devoted to this queen of cities, while the dream of its long- ings had been the hope of one day seeing what could then only be known through hearsay, tourists, and fabulous plans." A wish so natural and a longing so much in keeping with his tastes and habits were soon to be gratified. The English College at Rome, founded by Ina, King of Wessex, A. D. 727, was in 1818 restored by Pope Pius VII, after having been closed for many years and despoiled repeatedly during the Napoleonic wars. Young Wiseman and several other English students were selected to form its first school, and thither they were despatched shortly after the Pope's au- CARDINAL WISEMAN. 163 thority to open the college was made public. His aiTival in Rome, with six juvenile com- panions, early in December, was a source of genuine pleasure to the future cardinal, and the kindly reception given him by the rector, Dr. Cradwell, made him feel per- fectly at ease in his new quarters. The reverend rector, who had been appointed to take charge of the restored foundation, was not only a ripe scholar and an excellent executive officer, but was as remarkable for his affection for his pupils as for his facility in imparting to them the vast and varied knowledge with which his miind was stored. On Christmas day following, the young student was presented to Pope Pius VII. This was to the lad a source of genuine pleasure, and a day long remembered by him with peculiar satisfaction. The vener- able Pontiff, in addition to the reverence attached to his sacred office and to his many and shining person-al virtues, had ex- cited the sympathy and esteem of all Christendom by his undaunted and firm 164 IRISHMEN'S SONS. resistance to all encroachments of the civil power on the rights of the Church, as well as by his long suffering and im- prisonment consequent upon his courage and fortitude. Not all the blandishments of the great Napoleon could induce him to swerve a hair's breadth from his line of duty, nor all the threats, menaces, and indignities inflicted on him by that able but im scrupu- lous conqueror, could move him to depart for a moment from the pa.th in which his sainted predecessors had walked. Kings and em- perors, the great and mighty of the earth, had been forced to bow down at the feet of the son of a Corsican attorney, and even to court his friendship and seek his family alliance. But the Bishop of Rome, without an army, a navy, a revenue, or even a sub- ject, with nothing but rectitude of con- science and his implicit reliance on the as- sistance of his Divine Master, set his anger and power equally at defiance. And, as the result showed, he conquered : a lesson from history which may not be inaptly read by the present generation of bigots who are CARDINAL WISEMAN. 165 now engaged in prophesying the downfall of the Papacy. The young man's interview with the sovereign Pontiff was thus subsequently described by himself: '^ There was the halo of a confessor round the tiara of Pius that eclipsed, all gold and jewels. ... Instead of receiving us, as was custom- ary, seated, the mild and amiable pon- tiff rose to welcome us, and meet us as we approached. He did not allow it to be a mere presentation, or a visit of ceremony. It was a fatherly reception, and in the truest sense our inauguration into the duties that awaited us. . . The friendly and almost national grasp of the hand, after due homage had been willingly paid, be- tween the head of the Catholic Church, venerable by his very age, and a youth who had nothing even to promise; the first exhortation on entering a course of ecclesiastical study — its very inaugural dis- coui'se from him whom he believed to be the fountain of spiritual wisdom on earth ; these surely formed a double tie, not to be 166 irishmen's sons. broken, but rather strengthened, by every subsequent experience." Doubtless the good pope felt a peculiar gratification in welcoming those young Eng- lish students and in beholding in them the germs of a great order, the inchoate laborers in the vineyard, whose services in the future would do much to bring within the pale of Catholic unity a people who at one time had given so many illustrious sons to the Chui'ch. As the Father of the Faithful he yearned for the conversion of every part of the globe, but more especially for that country that had so unaccountably and suddenly fallen into heresy and re- bellion against God's authority. As in St. Cuthbert's, Wiseman proved him- self, in the English college, a student of wonderful application, patience, and ver- satility. His hours of regular study were employed in the most diligent manner, while the time allotted to recreation was devoted to exploring the old classic ruins, tracing the half-efiPaced monuments of the past, deciphering the almost obhterated CARDINAL WISEMAN. 167 mural inscriptions, and particularly in wan- dering through the catacombs and crypts, where the early Christians lived, worshipped, and were buried. The result of his explo- ration in these latter he has given us in very eloquent and concise language, in his beau- tiful historical tale, ^' Fabiola," and alludes to them frequently in his writings and lectures. In fact he never seemed tu-ed of referring with evident gratification to, 'as he expresses it, '' images of long, delicious strolls in musing loneliless, . through the deserted ways of the ancient city ; of climbing among its hills, over ruins, to reach some vantage- ground for mapping the subjacent territory, and looking beyond the glorious chains of greater and lesser mountains, clad in their imperial hues of gold and pm-ple ; and then perhaps of solemn entrance into the cool solitude of an open basilica, where the thought now rests, as the body then did, after the silent evening-prayer, and brings forward from many well-remembered nooks every local inscription, every lovely monu- ment of art, the characteristic featm^e of 168 eacli, or the great names with which it is associated. . . . Thus does Rome sink deep and deeper into the soul, like the dew, of which every separate drop is soft and weightless, but which still finds its way to the root of everything beneath the soil, imparting there to every future plant its own warm tint, its own balmy fragrance, and its own rejuvenescent vigor. '^ Such were the ^' hours of idleness," as spent by the future cardinal, and while others employed their vacation in mere sight-seeing or trivial amusements, his young and impressionable soul was drinking in those pm-e draughts of beauty and love of Clnistian art : and it is to those early pur- suits, and the knowledge acquired through them, that the world is indebted for most of the rare sketches of ancient Roman life, topography, and art, with which so many of his lectures are adorned. It is even questionable whether he did not carry his search after the beautiful and an- tique too far, at this period, for we find that of his fellow-students who accompanied him CAKDINAL WISEMAl^. 169 from England all or nearly all had been or- dained and had returned home, and " were gaming a crown in heaven to which many of them have passed." But we must also recollect that Providence always shapes the means to the end, and, while some are des- tined for useful obscurity, equally meritori- ous, others are designed for higher and loftier actions and require peculiar and more com- prehensive training and instruction. What would be of little use, in the matter of ac- complishments, to a quiet, laborious priest, in the prosecution of his daily and hourly avocations, becomes a necessity to a prince of the Church, to one who would not only have to treat with the highest intellects of the outer world, but, from his position, would be obHged to govern many, as much by the grandeur of his mind as by the authority of his office. At length, in 1825, his wishes were grati- fied. "The aim of years," he says, "the goal of long preparation, the longed-for crown of unwavering desires, the only prize thought worthy of being aspired to, was at- 170 IRISHMEN'S SONS. tained in the bright jubilee spring of Rome. It marks a blessed epoch in a life to have the grace of the priesthood superadded to the exuberant benedictions of the year." It will be remembered, 1825 was the jubilee year. In the meantime Pius VII had passed away, and was succeeded by Leo XII, whose partiality for the inmates of the foreign colleges at Rome is well known. To him, shortly after his election, our young student was presented, and, in reply to a remark of his Holiness, he candidly replied : "I am a foreigner who came here, at the call of Pius VII, six years ago ; my first patrons, Pius VII, Cardinals Litta, De Pietro, Fontana, and now Consalvi, are dead, I therefore recommend myself to your Holiness's protection, and I hope you will be a father to me at this distance from my country." Words so feeling and yet so simply expressed could not but have found then- way to the tender heart of the vener- able pontiff. He promised the youthful stranger his protection and kept his word faitlifuUy dm^ing his entire reign. CARDINAL WISEMAN. 171 Dr. Wiseman relates the following in- stance of his kindness soon after, speaking of himself as a thu'd person : ^^ It so happened that a person connected with the Eng- lish College was an aspirant to a chair in the Roman university. He had been encouraged to compete for it, on its approaching vacancy, by his professors. Hav- ing no claims of any sort, by interest or connection, he stood simply on the provision of the papal bull, which threw open all professorships to competition. It was but a secondary and obscure lectureship at best j one concerning which, it was supposed, few would busy themselves or come forward as candidates. It was, therefore, announced that this rule would be overlooked, and a person every way qualified, and of considerable reputation, would be named. The more youthful aspirant unhesitatingly solicited an audience, at which I was present. He told the Pope frankly of his inten- tions and of his earnest wish to have carried out, in his favor, the recent enactments of his Holiness. Nothing could be more affable, more encouraging, than Leo^s reply. He expressed his dehght at seeing that his regulation was not a dead letter, and that it had ani- mated his petitioner to exertion. He assured him that he should have a fair chance, 'a clear stage and no favor,' desiring him to leave the matter in his hands. " Time wore on j and as the only alternative given in the bull was proof, by publication of a work, of proficiency in the art or science that was to be taught, 172 irishmen's sons. he quietly got a volume through the press — probably very heavy; but sprightliness or brilliancy was not a condition of the bull. When a vacancy arrived, it was made known, together with the announcement that it had been filled up. All seemed lost, except the honor of the pontiff, to which alone lay any appeal. Another audience was asked, and instantly granted, its motive being, of course, stated. I was again present, and shall not easily forget it. It was not necessary to re-state the case. ' I remember it all,' the Pope said most kindly ; *I have been surprised. I have sent for , through whom this has been done ; I have ordered the appointment to be cancelled, and I have reproved him so sharply that I believe it is the reason why he is laid up to-day with fever. You have acted fairty and boldly, and you shall not lose the fruits of your industry. I will keep my word with you and the provisions of my constitution.' With the utmost graciousness he ac- cepted the volume — now treasm'ed by its author, into whose hands the copy has returned — acknowledged the right to preference which it had established, and as- sured its author of fan- play. ^' The Pope had, in fact, taken up earnestly the cause of his youthful appellant ; instead of annoyance, he showed earnestness and kindness ; and those who had passed over his pretensions with contempt were obliged to treat mth him and compromise ^ith him on terms that satisfied all his deshes. Another audience for thanksgiving was kindly accorded, and I witnessed the same gentle and fatherly temper, quietly cheerful, CARDINAL WISEMAN. 173 and the same earnest sympathy with the feelings of him whose cause had been so graciously carried through. If this young client gained no new energies, gathered no strength from such repeated proofs of interest and condescension ; if these did not both direct and impel, steer and fill, the sails of his little bark through many troubled waters ; nay, if they did not tinge and savor his entire mental life, we may write that man soulless and incapable of any noble emotions." In 1826, Father Wiseman was appointed vice-rector of the English College, and thus prevented from going on the home mission, and two years afterwards, when his kind preceptor was appointed bishop, he was named as his successor. He had akeady received the title of Doctor of Divinity, while in his twenty-second year, for having maintained a public disputation in theology with marked success. Though still a young man, and in a city where the best intellect and most laborious students in Christendom were wont to con- gregate, Father Wiseman had acquhed an enviable reputation, both as a theologian, an archaeologist, and a linguist. He was particularly recognized as an Oriental schol- 174 ar, and was in fact one of the few men in Europe at that time who had succeeded in obtaining a mastery over the elaborate and many-sided languages of the East. The publication of his " Horse Syriacse," his first production given to the public, confirmed the general impression, and obtained for him the professorship of Oriental languages in the Roman University in 1827, without necessitating his separation from the Eng- lish College. In the latter he taught for many years with great and well deserved success. The discipline he enforced was neither too rigid nor too lax, and the course of studies em- braced as great a variety of branches as was consistent with the objects for which the in- stitution was restored to subserve : the preparation of young ecclesiastics for the English mission, and their despatch, as soon as possible after their ordination, to the scenes of their future labors. There are many priests and even bishops yet living in Great Britain, who studied under him, and who love to acknowledge with gratitude CAKDINAL WISEMAN. 175 the benefits they received from his edifying example and wise counsels. Knowing well that the popular mind of that day, as of our own, was fast gravitating toward the study of the natural sciences, and tln^ough it, when misdirected or not directed at all, into infi- delity and atheism, he took particular care to have those sciences taught in his college, and to impress on the minds of his pupils that they would not only have to combat doubt and materialism in then- ordinary forms, but in the more attractive, though not less insidious and danoj-erous o^arb of research into the hidden mysteries of nature. That his views of the duties of an English priest were correct is thoroughly proved by recent experience, and that he succeeded in imjDressing them on the minds of the stu- dents is demonstrated by the number of reverend gentlemen in England who have entered, of late years, upon the discussion of scientific matters against those who would turn the presence of God's works into an argument against his very existence. It was is 1827 also, that Leo XII resolved 176 to institute in the church of Gesu e Maria, a course of lectures in English for the benefit not only of all the persons in the colleges and religious communities in Rome who understood that language, but for all others who might wish to attend them. In selecting a fitting preacher, the choice naturally fell on Dr. Wiseman, and he was forthwith se- lected by his Holiness. Describing the audience at which he received his commis- sion, the Doctor afterwards wrote: " The burden was laid there and then witli peremptory kindness, by an authority that might not be gainsaid. And crushing!}^ it pressed upon the shoulders. It would be impossible to describe the anxiety, pain, and trouble which this command cost for many years after. Nor would this be alluded to were it not to illustrate what has been kept in view in this volume — how the most insignificant life, temper, and mind may be moulded by the action of a great and almost unconscious power. Leo could not see what has been the influence of his commission, in merely drag- ging from the commerce with the dead to that of the liAang one who would gladly have confined his time to the fonner — from books to men, from reading to speak- ing. Nothing but this would have done it. Yet sup- posing that the providence of one's life was to be CARDINAL WISEMAN. 177 active, and in contact with the world, and one's future duties were to be in a country and in times where the most bashful may be driven to plead for his religion or his flock, surely a command overriding all inclination and forcing the will to undertake the best and only preparation for those tasks, may well be contemplated as a sacred impulse and a timely direction to a mind that wanted both. Had it not come then, it never more could have come j other bents would have soon become stiffened and unpliant ; and no second oppor- tunity could have been opened after others had satisfied the first demand." What between his duties as rector, his professorship in the university, and the preparation and dehvery of these lectures, which were always listened to with attention and criticised with no little severity by crowds of English-speaking visitors in the Eternal City, his time must have been fully employed. Yet he found leisure to compose, mainly for the benefit of his pupils, an essay on '^ Science and Revealed Religion," afterwards embodied in his lectm^es on the the same subject. Upon waiting on the Pope Pius VIII, to present a copy of this little work, he found that his Holiness had not only already read it, but honored him 178 irishmen's sons. with the remark : ^' You have robbed Eygpt of its spoil, and shown that it belongs to the people of God." This criticism, coming from so high a source, must have been peculiarly gratifying to so appreciative a mind as that of Dr. Wiseman. In fact the subject was one he had constantly studied, and upon which he always loved to descant, and soon after the appearance of the essay he was in- duced by Cardinal Weld to prepare a course of lectm-es on the ^' Connection between Science and Revealed Religion," which were delivered, fii'st in his own college and afterwards in the Cardinal's apartments, to a select and distinguished auditory. As the facilities for publishing these lec- tm^es in Rome, in the language in which they were delivered, were very limited, Dr. Wise- man resolved to visit England and supervise their publication there. He accordingly went to that country, and had the satisfaction of finding this, what may be called his first efibrt to popularize a theme so long a con- cealed one for the masses, highly successful. The appearance of his book was the signal. CAEDINAX, WISEMAN. 179 of course, for violent attacks from all quarters antagonistic to Catholicity and to Christi- anity, but the more intelligent and better class of the people read and admired it, and even the " scientists " could not help admit- ting its vast erudition and cogency of argu- ment. Many a doubting mind, lost in the mazes of scientific speculation, has been set right and restored to sound Christian views by the perusal of those philosophic, yet perfectly comprehensible lectures. During his visit he also preached a number of discourses of a controversial character, during the Advent of 1835, in the Sardinian Chapel, London ; and another series, during the following Lent, in St. Mary's Church, Moorfields. These latter were subsequently published, under the title of ''Lectures on the Principal Doctrines and Practices of the Catholic Church " ; while the former gave rise to an animated controversy between him and Dr. Turton, afterwards Protestant bishop of Ely, on the subject of the Holy Eucharist. The temper and courtesy displayed on both sides on this occasion were admhable, and 180 IRISHMEN'S SONS. produced a profound impression on the Eng- lish pubhc favorable to the Catholics, though it was generally admitted that the Anglican divine, no mean opponent, had been van- quished by the superior learning and higher moral argument of the Roman Doctor. In 1836, he returned to E-ome, to his college and his beloved studies. But the events of the preceding decade had to a great extent changed the du-ection of his mind and aroused in his bosom a latent desire which had long slumbered there. This was a longing for the reconversion of England, and an ardent hope that he might be thought worthy to become a participant in that holy work. While at St. Cuthbert's his young heart panted for the sights and scenes of old Rome ; to kneel at the shrines of the saints and worship God in the mag- nificent and awe-inspiring basilicas which adorn the capital of Christendom ; to tread the stones made sacred by the blood of the early martyrs, and explore the dungeons and hiding-places of the primitive Christians, were his highest ambition, and his dearest CAEDINAL WISEMAN. 181 wish on earth. Now, in the plenitude of his manhood, his mind fully developed and em-iched with all the learning of his sacred profession and the acquirements of an ac- complished scholar, he yearned to return to the land of his boyhood and to offer at her feet all the treasures of his great soul, if by so doing he could win even the least of her children to the knowledge of the Faith. Many circumstances combined to inten- sify this feeling. He had, years previously, opened a coiTespondence with his old teach- er. Dr. Lingard, who sought to impress on him the necessity of having additional clergymen in England, consequent on the increased demands for clerical ministration arising out of Irish Catholic immigration to the large cities and manufacturing centres. Then, his former students, who were now hard at work at home, would write to the same effect. Next came the rumor, faint at first, that ^'popery" had invaded the Gib- raltar of Anglicanism, Oxford University, and that the ablest thinkers in that time-hon- ored seat of learning were gravitating 182 irishmen's sons. toward Kome. This was followed by Ms lectui-es in the Gesu e Maria, at which not only Catholics but Protestants of all sects attended, and wliich drew around him a host of English friends most desirous for his presence in London. His subsequent visit to England, and his cordial and respectful reception there, seem to have finally de- termined him to put into execution the project that had so long haunted his thoughts. Four years' probation were still to be spent in the Christian capital before he could consider himself qualified to undertake the ponderous and difiicult task he proposed to himself Dming these years most of the time he could spare from his assigned duties were spent in consultation at the side of the then Pope, Grregory XVI, from whom, as from his predecessors, he received much valu- able ad\dce and every mark of confidence and esteem. In his ^' Four Last Popes" he gives the following striking pictm-e of his visits to that pontiif : ^' An embrace would supply the place of CARDINAL WISEMAN. 183 ceremonious forms on entrance. At one time a long, familiar conversation, seated side by side ; at another a visit to the pene- tralia of the pontifical apartment (a small suite of entresols, communicating by an internal staircase) occupied the time. . . What it has been my happiness to hear from him in such visits, it would be be- traying a sacred trust to reveal ; but many and many words there spoken rise to the mind in times of trouble, like stars, not only bright in themselves, but all the brighter in their reflection from the bnghtness of then- muTor. They have been words of mastery and spell over after events, promises, and prognostics which have not failed, assm^- ances and supports that have never come to naught." At length the long anticipated change took place. In 1840 it was resolved to increase the number of vicars apostolic in England to eight, instead of four, to meet the demands of the growing Catholic popu- lation. Dr. Wiseman was thereupon nom- inated coadjutor to the Rt. Eev. Dr. Walsh at 184 irishmen's sons. Wolverhampton, and was consecrated that year in Rome by Cardinal Fransoni. He left that city immediately after, to the great regret of the many friends to whom he was so long and so intimately known, and, if we may judge from his own account, the feel- ing was amply reciprocated. " It was a sorrowful evening," he writes, ^' at the beginning of autumn, when, after a residence in Rome prolonged through twenty-two years, till affection clung to every old stone there like the moss that grew into it, this strong but tender tie was cut, and much of future happiness had to be invested in the mournful recollections of the past." Shortly after his arrival in England Bishop Wiseman, in addition to his du- ties as vicar apostolic, assumed the presi- dency of St. Mary's College, Oscott, near Birmingham, and, profiting by his large experience in the English college, he intro- duced into that institution many impor- tant changes, which had the effect of in- creasing its efficiency and establishing it CARDINAL WISEMAN. 185 as one of tlie first seminaries in the United Kingdoms. From this period may be dated Bishop Wiseman's actual entrance into active, real life. His previous labors had been but a source of training necessary to fit him for the dischai'ge of higher and more responsi- ble duties. Heretofore he had spent his life in the society of learned men or in the quietude of his study ; there was no venal press to sjoew forth its daily or weekly venom, no hireling demagogues to excite the passions of the mob against the professors of the ancient faith, no parliamentary zealot to forge and utter the vilest calumnies against the Church and her faithful minis- ters. All these agencies of evil he was now about to encounter, and, if possible, to live them down. How well and faithfully he wrought out his great mission, and how completely he silenced, if he did not annihi- late, his opponents and the enemies of the Church, we shall see presently. The Catholics of England thirty-five years ago occupied a strange and by no 186 irishmen's sons. means an encoui^aging position. They con- sisted of four widely distinct and to some extent antagonistic elements. These were : I. A few noble families who had clung to the faith thi'ough all changes and vicissi- tude, and had succeeded in retaining, by one device or another, a portion, at least, of their ancient patrimony. II. French emigres^ with their descend- ants, who had not returned to tlieu* native country at the Restoration, but had settled down and married in England. III. Isolated groups of Catholic gentry and farmers, mostly in the north, whose ancestors had remained faithful to the Church, despite the cruel barbarity of the penal days, or who, from their comparative insignificance, had escaped the blood-hounds of the law. ly. Irish emigrants and then- children, who from choice or necessity had left their native land to seek employment in the sister island, and, who, with the tenacity of their race, clung with increased fondness to the sole consolation of their exile — the Catholic CARDINAL WISEMAN. 187 religion. This class far outnumbered all llie others combined, as they also surpassed them in the fervor of their devotion and the singleness of their purpose ; but being strangers and generally poor, they had little social standing and less political power. They were to be found in the greatest num- bers in London, Liverpool, Leeds, Man- chester, Birmingham, and other manufactur- ing cities, but seldom in the smaller towns or rural districts. There was unfortunately little cohesion among these classes, and nothing that might be called a unity of action or a disposition to labor together for a common cause. There was no literature, worthy of the name, to disseminate connect opinions on religion, morality, or civil polity ; few literary institu- tions or semi-benevolent societies to bring together persons of divers walks in life ; in fact, no common channel for the flow of common ideas or any recognized captains to defend the persecuted faith and the outraged rights of the entire body. Again, there were no recognized hierarchy, few priests 188 irishmen's sons. in proportion to the work to be done, but a few schools, and those of doubtful usefulness, and not many monasteries, nun- neries, or hospitals like those which now dot the face of the country. To correct all these evils and supply so many defects was the gigantic task allot- ted to the future cardiaal. But, in addition to the active cooperation of the priesthood and the zealous support of some influential laymen, Dr. Wiseman soon found assistance in a quarter from which it was least expected. This was the ^^Tractarian Movement," as it was then called. At first springing up among the Anglican professors in Oxford for the avowed purpose of correcting the errors and recon- ciling the incongruities of the Church of England, it ended in producing some of the brightest, purest, and most profound prelates and preachers of the faith in England. As Dr. Wiseman took a great interest in that movement, a short sketch of its origin and development may not be out of place here. CARDINAL WISEMAN. 189 Its birth may be dated from 1832, at Oxford University, where a number of young but thoroughly trained fellows and students had been long in the habit of assembling in friendly intercourse and discussing vari- ous points of Anglican doctrine and disci- pline. Principal among these was Dr. John Henry Newman, and his companions, Hurrell Froude, John Keble, Hugh Rose, and Dr. Pusey. As Dr. Newman was the leading spirit of the new school and the most advanced mind, we quote from his " Apologia pro Vita Sua " some passages de- scriptive of the 23eculiar notions, designs, and ultimate conversion of himself and many of his friends. After describing a tour he made on the Continent in 1832-'3, his visiting Catholic countries, churches, and shrines, and his calls upon ^' Monseigneur (Cardinal) Wise- man at the Colligio Inglese " in Rome, he says : "When I got home from abroad, I found that al- ready a movement had commenced in opposition to the specific danger which at that time was threatening the 190 religion of the nation and its Church. Several zealous and able men had united their counsels, and were in correspondence with each other. The principal of these were Mr. Keble, Hurrell Froude, who had reached home long before me, Mr. William Palmer of Dublin and Worcester college, Mr. Arthur Percival, and Mr. Hugh Rose.'' These gentlemen and some of their old col- lege associates commenced the publication of a series of tracts, ninety in all, on various topics affecting the condition of the Church of England, which, from their intrinsic liter- ary merit and novelty of opinions, attracted general attention and excited much com- ment and discussion. But as Dr. Newman was the recognized leader, we will let him speak for the others. He says : " I have spoken of my firm confidence in my position ; and now let me state more definitely what the position was which I took up, and the propositions about which I was so confident. These were three : 1. First was the principle of dogma : my battle was with liberalism j by liberalism I meant the anti-dogmatic principle and its developments. This was the first point on which I was certain. Here I make a remark : persistence in a given belief is no sufficient test of its truth ,• but depart- ure from it is at least a slur upon the man who has felt CAEDINAL WISEMAN. 191 so certain about it. In proportion then as I had in 1832 a strong persuasion in beliefs which I have since given up, so far a sort of guilt attaches to me, not only for that vain confidence, but for my multiform conduct in consequence of it. But here I have the satisfaction of feeling that I have nothing to retract, and nothing to repent of. The main principle of the Movement is as dear to me now as it ever was. I have changed in many things : in this I have not. From the age of fifteen, dogma has been the fundamental principle of my relig- ion : I know no other religion ; I cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion ; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery. As well can there be filial love without the fact of a father, as devotion without the fact of a Supreme Being. What I held in 1816, I held in 1833, and I hold in 1864. Please God, I shall hold it to the end. Even when I was under Dr. Whately's influence, I had no temptation to be less zealous for the great dogmas of the faith, and at various times I used to resist such trains of thought on his part, as seemed to me (rightly or wrongly) to obscure them. Such was the fundamental principle of the Move- ment of 1833." Again he writes : "A cry was heard on all sides of us, that the Tracts and the writings of the Fathers would lead us to become Catholics, before we were aware of it. This was loudly expressed by members of the Evangelical party, who in 1836 had joined 192 us in making a protest in Convocation against a memorable appointment of the Prime Minister. These clergymen even then avowed their desire that the next time they were brought up to Oxford to give a vote, it might be in order to put dowTi the Popery of the Move- ment. There was another reason still, and quite as important. Monseigneur Wiseman, with the acuteness and zeal which might be expected from that great Prel- ate, had anticipated what was coming, had returned to England in 1836, had delivered lectures in London on the doctrines of Catholicism, and created an impres- sion through the country, shared in by ourselves, that we had for our opponents in controversy, not only our brethren, but our hereditary foes. These were the circumstances which led to my publication of '■ The Prophetical office of the Church viewed relatively to Romanism and Popular Protestantism.' '^ " I have said aheady that, though the object of the Movement was to withstand the Liberalism of the day, I found and felt this could not be done by mere nega- tives. It was necessary for us to have a positive Church theory erected on a definite basis. This took me to the great Anglican divines ; and then of course I found at once that it was impossible to form any such theory, without cutting across the teaching of the Church of Rome. Thus came in the Roman contro- versy. " When I first turned myself to it, I had neither doubt on the subject, nor suspicion that doubt would CARDINAL WISEMAN. 193 ever come upon me. It was in tliis state of mind tliat I began to read up Bellaimine on the one hand, and numberless Anglican writers on the other. But I soon found, as others had found before me, that it was a tangled and manifold controversy, difficult to master, more difficult to put out of hand with neatness and pre- cision. It was easy to make points, not easy to sum up and settle. It was not easy to find a clear issue for the dispute, and still less by a logical process to decide it in favor of Anglicanism. This difiiculty, however, had no tendency whatever to harass or perplex me : it was a matter not of conviction.'^ While in this state of mind, an article by Dr. Wiseman, entitled the ^'Anglican Claim," appeared in the JDuhlin Revieiv. A copy was put into Newman's hands, with a view to his answering it, but the impression it produced on him was far from satisfactory, for he tells us : " I became excited at the view thus opened upon me. I was just starting on a round of visits j and I mention- ed my state of mind to two most intimate friends : I think to no others. After a while I got calm, and at length the vivid impression upon my imagination faded away. What I thought about it on reflection, I will attempt to describe presently. I had to deteimine its logical value, and its bearing upon my duty. Mean- while, so far as this was certam — I had seen the 7 194 irishmen's sons. shadow of a hand upon the wall. It was clear that I had a good deal to learn on the question of the Churches, and that perhaps some new light was coming upon me. He who has seen a ghost, cannot be as if he had never seen it. The heavens had opened and closed again. The thought for the moment. had been, ' The Chui'ch of Rome will be found right after all ; ' and then it had vanished. My old convictions remained as before.'* But it would seem that the Doctor's con- victions, if the same as before, were consider- ably shaken, nay, actually undermined and tottering, for he says fm^ther on, in reference to his reply : ^' However, I had to do what I could, and what was best, under the circumstances j I found a general talk on the subject of the article in the Dublin Ueview ; and, if it had affected me, it was not wonderful that it affected others also. As to myself I felt no kind of certainty that the argument in it was conclusive." Thus distracted by doubts, and en- deavoring in vain to find a resting-place in the bosom of the English church. Dr. New- man continued to fight even against his own convictions till he, like so mau}^ other Ox- ford men, overpowered by the facts and arguments that came crowding on him, abandoned the unequal combat, and became CARDINAL WISEMAN. 195 a Catholic. In 1845, in answer, lie says, to *'a very gracious letter of congratulation," he wrote the following letter, evidently addressed to Dr. Wiseman : " I hope you will have anticipated, before I express it, the great gratification which I received from your Eminence's letter. That gratification, however, was tempered by the apprehension, that kind and anxious well-wisliers at a distance attach more importance to my step than really belongs to it. To me, indeed, personally it is of course an inestimable gain : but persons and things look great at a distance, which are not so when seen close ; and, did yonr Eminence know me, you would see that I was one, about whom there has been far more talk for good and bad than he deserves, and about whose movements far more expectation has been raised than the event will justify. '^As I never, I do trust, aimed at anything else than obedience to my own sense of right, and have been magnified into the leader of a party without my wishing it or acting as such, so now, much as I may wish to the contrary, and earnestly as I may labor (as is my duty) to minister in a humble way to the Catholic Church, yet my powers will, I fear, disappoint the ex- pectations of both my own friends, and of those who pray for the peace of Jerasalem. " If I might ask of your Eminence a favor, it is that you would kindly moderate those anticipations. Would it were in my power to do, what I do not aspire 196 irishmen's sons. to do ! At present certainly I cannot look fonv^ard to the future, and, though it would be a good work if I could persuade others to do as I have done, yet it seems as if I had quite enough to do in thinking of myself." A shoii: time after the despatch of this letter, Bishop Wiseman called on the writer of it, and in^dted him, with several other converts, to Oscott, and eventually sent him to Eome. Dr. Newman's services in the cause of religion and Catholic literature since his con- version and ordination are too well known and appreciated in both hemispheres to need even a passing mention. His powerful defence of the Church, her doctrines and discipline, have drawn many amialjle and erudite men within her sheltering arms, but his example has probably had a much greater effect, particularly on the class of thinkers from which he himself sprung. How far we may claim credit for Dr. Wiseman in securing this happy acquisi- tion to the cause of Catholicity, it is im- possible to determine, but certain it is that his writings and discourses were not with- CARDINAL WISEMAN. 197 out their effect on the conscientious, but troubled, minds of the Oxford men. Two years after his advent in England, Bishop Wiseman published his letters on "Catholic Unity," and in 1849, he was made Vicar Apostolic of the district of London. During the whole of the intervening years he was actively employed in the midland distnct in discharging all the duties per- taining to his position as coadjutor. He was never idle, but, when he could possibly spare time, was to be found preaching in other districts or lecturing either to his pupils at St. Mary's or before literary societies and scientific bodies. In this manner he con- trived to break down much of the unreason- able anti-catholic prejudices which then existed in and around Birmingham, and in- spired the Catholics of that great business centre with a proper sense of the dignity of their position. Dr. Wiseman, in 1850, was summoned to Rome by the Sovereign Pontiff, doubtless for consultation on Catholic affairs in Eng- land ; at all events a short time after, the 198 irishmen's sons. Holy Father issued an Apostolic letter reestablishing the hierarchy in that country, and by a subsequent brief appointed him Archbishop of Westminster and Cardinal. Cardinal Wiseman had the singular good fortune to have known personally five Popes, and to have enjoyed their uninter- rupted patronage, respect, esteem, and con- fidence in a remarkable degree. From the Christmas day of 1818, when he received the blessing of Pius VII, of sainted mem- ory, down to the day of his death, he had the happiness of being the recipient of every attention and kindness from the Vatican. With our present beloved Holy Father he was an especial favorite, and to him he owed the unsolicited honor of being named Ai'chbishop and Cardinal, the seventh in order of that rank appointed for England since the Reformation, and the first who had entered the country since the com- mencement of Elizabeth's reign. The reorganization of the English hie- rarchy created an excitement tln-oughout Great Britain of such intensity that it is CAKDIJCAL WISEMAN. 199 difficult in tliis country, even at tins not very remote period, to form a conception of it. All classes and creeds were astonished and jDrofoundly agitated, though with differ- ent emotions. To the Catholics it was an omen of unalloyed good, a harbinger of the restoration of the old days of faith and prayer, and a guarantee that the Holy Fa- ther, involved as he v>^as in endless difficul- ties, still looked on them with true parent- al solicitude. Protestant England was of course indignant, insulting, and even threat- ening. Newspapers of every shade of politics and of no politics at all, opened their bat- teries against the Church, and every stale calumny and musty falsehood that had slept for ages was raked up from the mire of what is called modern history and found ready vent in their columns. From the ponderous daily "organ" down to the weekly penny whistle of some remote village, the same key- note was taken up, and slanders, first in- vented or revamped in the metropolis, spread like circles in the water, till, weaker and weaker, they at length reached the ex- 200 treme boundaries of the land. Next in volu- libity of denunciation of the '' scarlet woman," came that class of so-called ^' min- isters of the Lord," coarse, illiterate, and intolerant individuals, mostly Methodists, who manage to earn a precarious living by stirring up the bad passions of the ignorant colliers and navvies so numerous in England and Wales. It was through the harangues of some of these self-ordained bigots that about this time a mob was formed in the city of London which drao-o^ed throuofh the streets and actually burned outside of its limits an effigy of the Blessed Mother of God. Magazine articles also appeared by the score, and pamphlets by the hundred, the themes of which were invariably the aggression of Rome and the danger impending over the ^' Establishment." Now, would any sane per- son believe that all this abuse, vilification, and attempts at argument arose from the fact that a few ecclesiastics, who had fonnerly been styled vicars apostolic, were in future to be known as bishops and archbishops, with the name of some old Catholic sees CAEDIXAL WISEMAN. 201 attached to their titles to point out their lo- cahty and spiritual jurisdiction ? In assuming territorial titles the bishops had interfered with no person nor \dolated any law of the kingdom. So the zealots in parliament set to work to frame a statute prohibiting such assumption, as dangerous to their " sovereign lady the Queen, defender of the faith, etc." This bill was entitled "The Ecclesiastical Titles Act," and prohibited, under certain j^ains and penalties, the use in writing or otherwise by '^foreign" church- men, of English titles. It never occurred to those wise law-makers that such legislation was contrary to the terms of the Act of '29, as well as against the spirit of that much talked of and little understood conglomera- tion denominated the British Constitution, It answered its pm-pose, however, by satis- fying the demand of the bigots, who now were assured that the Establishment was safe. Otherwise it was and still remains a dead letter. It was bad enough for the Sacred College to appoint bishops and archbishops, 202 irishmen's sons. but when it became known that to Bishop Wiseman's other high title was to be added tliat of Cardinal, the cup of public hidignation overflowed. What, a Cardinal of the Popish Church planted in the very heart of good old Protestant England ! It was too much to bear. A vicar apostolic or even an arch- bishop might be tolerated in the freest country on the globe, but a cardinal, never. Still what was to be done ! The Catholics were too numerous to be intimidated by tlie mob, and acts of parliament had not been found strong enough to stem the ever-rolling tide of '^ papal aggression." The only rem- edy was, like that adopted by the lawyer who had a very bad case to defend — to. abuse the opposite counsel. And this was done right roundly. Scribblers of sorts all and degrees .of viciousness put their steel pens in rest and charged at the head of countless cohmms of mendacity and vitu- peration on the daring intruder from Rome. It was all to no purpose however, for the cardinal pursued the even tenor of his way, winning friends on all sides while constantly CARDINAL WISEMAN. 203 gaining souls to Christ. Some, like New- man and the Oxford men, he set thinking and searching after truth by his profound disquisitions on the doctrines and dogmas of the Church ; others he led into the fold by his captivating lectures on Christian art and science, and many, who were yet in the shadow of doubt, he enlightened and convinced by his eloquence and argument in the pulpit. He had now the highest ecclesiastical office in the three kingdoms, and he set himself diligently to work to fuse and assimilate the different classes into which the Catholics had been divided. From liis arrival in England he was sensible of the low condition of Catholic literature, if it can be said that there was any literature there thirty-five years ago. He resolved to create and foster one. Good books, peri- odicals, and newspapers, he held to be the best supports of morality and religion. He not only pointed out the way toward acquiring those helps, but followed it him- self. He collected his lectures and sermons, 204 irishmen's sons. and published tliem in several volumes; he wrote a most interesting and instructive history of Popes Pius VII, Leo XII, Pius VIII, and Gregory XVI ; a very beautiful classic tale, entitled '' Fabiola,"and " Letters on Ecclesiastical Aifaii's." For years he was one of the editors of the Dublin Review, and many of the ablest articles which ap- peared in that quarterly between 1840 and 1860 were the production of his pen. To the newspapers and lesser periodicals he was a liberal patron and a frequent con- tributor, and was always willing to aid them with his pui'se and advice whenever it was found expedient to do so. Though a car- dinal, and having multifarious duties to perform, he was not above writing stories or sketches when a moral was to be pointed or a difficult point to be elucidated. Take, for example, his delightful little paper on the ** Ancient Saints of God," published in the Month a short time pre\^ous to his demise. In relating the miraculous interposition of SS. Abdom and Sennen in favor of a young French officer during the siege of Rome in CAEDINAL WISEMAN.' 205 1848, he thus steps aside for a moment to descant on devotion to the saints : "But this is more tlian a subject of joy : it is one of admiration and consolation. For it is the natural course of things that sympathies and affections should grow- less by time. We care and feel much less about the conquests of William I, or the prowess of the Llack Prince, than we do about the victories of Nelson or Wellington ; even Alfred is a mythical person, and Boadicea fabulous; and so it is with all nations. A steadily increasing affection and intensifying devotion (as in this case we call it) for those remote from us, in proportion as we recede from them, is as marvellous — nay, as miraculous — as would be the flowdng of a stream from its source up a steep hill, deepening and widening as it rose. And such I consider this growth, through succeeding ages, of devout feeling toward those who were the root, and seem to become the crown, or flower, of the Church It is as if a beam from the sun, or a ray fi'om a lamp, grew brighter and warmer in proportion as it darted further from its source. ^'I cannot but see in this supernatural disposition, evidence of a power ruling from a higher sphere than that of ordinary providence, the laws of which, uniform elsewhere, are modified or even reversed when the dis- pensations of the gospel require it ; or rather, these have their own proper and ordinary providence, the laws of which are unifoim within its system. And this is one illustration, that what by every ordinary and 206 natural course should go on diminishing, goes on in- creasing. But I read in tliis fact an evidence also of the stability and perpetuity of our faith j for a line that is ever growing thinner and jthinner tends, through its extenuation, to inanition and total evanescence j whereas one that widens and extends as it advances, and becomes more solid, thereby gives earnest and proof of increasing dm'ation. ^' When w^e are attacked about practices, devotions, or corollaries of faith — ' developments,' in other words — do we not sometimes labor needlessly to prove that we go no further than the Fathers did, and that what we do may be justified from ancient authorities? Should we not confine om'selves to showing, even without the help of antiquity, that what is attacked is good, is sound, and is hol}^ ; and then thank God that w-e have so much more of it than others formerl}^ possessed ? If it was right to say Ora pro nobis once in the day, is it not better to say it seven times a day ; and if so, why not seventy times seven? The rule of forgiveness may well be the rule of seeking intercession for it. But whither am I leading you, gentle reader ? I promised you a story, and I am giving j^ou a lecture, and I fear a dry one. I must retrace my steps. I wished, tliere- fore, merely to say that, while the saints of the Church are very naturally divided by us into three classes — holy patrons of the Church, of particular portions of it, and of its individual members — there is one raised above all others, which passes through all, composed of protectors, patrons, and nomenclators, of saints them- CARDINAL WISEMAN. 207 selves. For how many Mar3's, how many Josephs, Peters, Jolmi', and Pauls, ai e there not in the calendar of the saints, called by those names without law of country or ags ! " But beyond this general recognition of the claims of our greatest saints, one cannot but sometimes feel that the classification which I have described is carried by us too far ; that a certain human dross euters into the composition of our devotion ; we perhaps national- ize, or even individualize, the sympathies of those whose love is universal, like God's own, in which alone they love. We seem to fancy that St. Edward and St. Frideswida are still English ; and soiue persons ap- pear to have as strong an objection to one of thek children bearing any but a Saxon saint's name as they have to Italian architecture. We may be quite sure that the power and interest in the whole Church have not been curtailed by the admission of others like themselves, first Christians on earth, then saints in heaven, into their blessed society ; but that the friends of God be- long to us all, and can and will help us, if we invoke them, with loving impartiality." It was in this way the Cardinal by- practice and precept supplied a great de- sideratum in English Catholic life, and the results of his labors are yet prominently to be seen in the very high order of books on religious and historical subjects which are 208 irishmen's sons. annually issued from the Catholic press of London. He was also an earnest advocate for local organizations, when of a moral, benevolent, or literary character, and was always ready by his presence as a spectator or a lecturer to assist them in their good work. His appearance in the latter capac- ity before mixed audiences had an especial effect in removing many prejudices from the minds of those who had been taught to regard the Catholic as the religion of the ignorant and its ministers as the embodi- ment of grossness and asperity. In the performance of the duties more particularly belonging to his position he was equally fortunate. He found, as we have said, tlie Catholics of England divided, without appreciable social or political in- fluence, and to a great extent with inadequate pastoral supervision. He united them in one harmonious mass, raised them to a level, at least, with the most prominent of the sects, and left them with fourteen bishops, over fifteen hundred priests, nearly a thou- sand churches and chapels, more than two CARDINAL WISEMAN. 209 hundred and fifty religions communities and convents, and twenty colleges. In 1860, the Cardinal again visited Rome, and for the last time beheld the scenes of his early youth. His reception by the Holy Father was sucli as might have been expected from the character of these two great soldiers of the Church. The cardinal, modest and humble as ever, knelt at the feet of the successor of St. Peter, and re- ceived his benediction ; the good Pope raised him up, and embraced him with the affection of a father. Many and long were the conferences they subsequently had to- gether, but what transpired during those interviews is, and probably will forever remain, a profound secret. Strengthened and rejuvenated by his visit he again returned to the scene of his apos- tolic labors, and for four years was unremit- ting in his exertions. But he was now soon to be called to the reward of his many good works. " He had fought the good fight, he had kept the faith," and his day of toil was near its close. Early in 1875, his health, 210 irishmen's sons. never very robust, showed symptoms of decay, and soon after it became known to his sorrowing friends that his days were numbered. On Saturday, February 4th, eleven days before his death, he issued a circuhir to the clergy of his archdiocese, re- questing them to cease praying for his- re- covery but to pray during the Mass on the folloAving Sunday for the grace of a happy death. On the 5th, surrounded by the craions of the chapter, he made the usual solemn asseveration of his faith, and added the following words : ^^ I wish to express before tlie chapter that I have not, and never had in my whole life the very slight- est doubt or lie^sitation as to any one of the articles of faith. I liave always desired to keep it, and it is my desire to transmit it intact to my successors. Sic me Dens acl- juvat et Jicec sancta Dei Evangelia^ On the 15th of February, 1865, his spirit passed away. His obsequies were conducted with all the solemnities known to the Church on such sad occasions, and his mortal remains were CARDINAL WISEMAN. 211 followed to their resting place in the Roman Catholic cemetery, Kensal Green, by tens of thousands of bereaved friends and mourn- ing spiritual children. How wonderiul are the ways of Provi- dence ! In the life of Cardinal Wiseman we find' a new exemplification of the inscrut- able justice of the Divine Power. Here is a boy, an orphan, whose ancestors had to fly their native land for their devotion to the Catholic faith ; raised up, nurtured, and trained in the centre of Christendom and sent to recall to a knowledge of God the very nation that had so cruelly persecuted his forefathers. In the early ages, Ireland sent many holy and zealous men to convert the Anglo-Saxons, but it is very doubtful if any among them were more learned, more earnest, or more successful in their mission than the illustrious bishop whose body lies mouldering without the confines of the Eng- lish capital. LIEUTENANT-GENERAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. The late civil war, which for four years desolated our country, resulting in the death or maiming of hundreds of thousands of citi- zens and the introduction of woe and sorrow into as many households, was not without its advantages. Apart from the poHtieal amelioration of some four millions of our fellow-beings, which grew out of the struggle as a military necessity, and the questions of inter-State and constitutional law which were finally and forever settled by the arbitrament of the sword, in the court of last resort convened on the field of battle, it awakened the dormant energies of the country and taught our citizens and the sub- jects of other governments our real strength and fertility of resources. It is generally conceded that war, with its usual attendants, famine and pestilence, is an evil of great magnitude, but there are misfortunes far grea. jr that coidd befaU a nation than even LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 213 these combined. A peojDle who from long repose yield themselves up to enervating pleasures or smother the noblest emotions of the soul in the sordid j^ursuit of gain cannot long remain free. Human nature appears to be so constituted that it sets little value on what comes to it unsought or which, being cheaply purchased, is indifferently estimated. Commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, are excellent things in their way, and indis- pensable to the greatness of a nation, but history teaches us the lesson that a com- munity which becomes exclusively devoted- to those pursuits insensibly but sm-ely loses its virility, and eventually falls a prey to do- mestic t^^ranny or foreign aggression. Hence it is that war, providing it be waged in a just cause, becomes sometimes the lesser of two evils, if not an actual blessing. Besides, it has its positive advantages, its peculiar virtues, which are rarely to be found in times of tranquillity. It is on the field, and in defence of the helpless and the weak, that true corn-age is fully displayed, and it is there also that the strongest and most dis- 216 Sommerset in that county, is the oldest temple of worship in the State ; and here young Sheridan's pious mother would often bring him to learn those solemn and salu- tary lessons of faith and charity which in all the trying hours of his after life were never forgotten. Little is known of his childhood but that he was an open-hearted, ingenuous, and daring boy, fond of all the amusements natural to his age and social position, and particularly attached to the noblest of irra.- tional animals, the horse. Many anecdotes are related of his courageous, not to say reckless, riding, and of his hairbreadth es- capes with untamed animals. His father, like most emigrants burdened with a large family, was unable to give his boy as good an education as he desu-ed, and '' Phil," being of an independent turn of mind, re- solved to make his own way in the world before his boyhood had well commenced. He therefore jom-neyed to Lanes ville, Muskingum county, and when other lads of his age were enjoying the advantages of LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 217 proper tuition or whiling away their time in sports and pastimes, the inchoate general was occupied in the useful but not very exalted duty of driving a water-cart. Still, in one way or another, he must have acquired the rudiments, at least, of an English edu- cation, for when about sixteen years of age, he attracted the notice of the member of Congress for his district, and was ap- pointed tln'ough his influence a cadet at West Point ; he easily passed the prelim- inary examination necessary for entrance into the academy. We regret that we can- not recall the name of his patron, partly in gratitude for his kindness and partly in esteem for that quickness of perception which could see in the generous, industrious young waterman the germs of great mental and physical qualities. Nor was Sheridan unworthy of his gen- erous benefactor. He entered the MiUtary Academy in 1848, and graduated July 1st, 1853, '' well up" in his class. McPherson, Schofield, Terrel, Sill, Hood, and other subsequently distinguished general officers, 216 irishmen's sons. Somnierset in that comity, is the oldest temple of worship in the State ; and here young Sheridan's pious mother would often bring him to learn those solemn and salu- tary lessons of faith and charity which in all the trying hours of his after life were never forgotten. Little is known of his childhood but that he was an open-hearted, ingenuous, and daring boy, fond of all the amusements natural to his age and social position, and particularl}^ attached to the noblest of irra- tional animals, the horse. Man}- anecdotes are related of his courageous, not to say reckless, riding, and of his hairbreadth es- capes with untamed animals. His father, like most emigrants burdened with a large family, was unable to give his boy as good an education as he desired, and ^'Phil," being of an independent turn of mind, re- solved to make his own way in the world before his boyhood had well commenced. He therefore journeyed to Lanesville, Muskingum county, and when other lads of his age were enjoying the advantages of LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 217 proper tuition or wliiling away their time in sports and pastimes, the inchoate general was occupied in the useful but not very exalted duty of driving a water-cart. Still, in one way or another, he must have acquired the rudiments, at least, of an English edu- cation, for when about sixteen years of age, he attracted the notice of the member of Congress for his district, and was ap- pointed through his influence a cadet at West Point ; he easily passed the prelim- inary examination necessary for entrance into the academy. We regret that we can- not recall the name of his patron, partly in gratitude for his kindness and partly in esteem for that quickness of perception which could see in tlie generous, industrious young waterman the germs of great mental and physical qualities. Nor was Sheridan unworthy of his gen- erous benefactor. He entered the MiUtary Academy in 1848, and graduated July 1st, 1853, ^^ well up" in his class. McPherson, Schofield, Terrel, Sill, Hood, and other subsequently distinguished general officers, 218 irishmen's sons. being his contemporaries. All the interven- ing 3^ears were spent by him in the earnest, unremitting study of his future profession. Every detail of mihtary knowledge was mastered with a quiet patience and apphca- tion that astonished his more volatile fel- low-students, and every duty from mount- ing guard upward, was performed with scrupulous fidehty. Engineering, artillery practice, cavalry and infantry tactics, languages, and all the other acquirements which form the cuniculum of a West Point education, were studied with care and thoroughness. With the cadets he was a general favorite on account of his frank, manl}^, and straightforward disposition, while the professors of the institution regarded him as a model of industry and perseverance. Sheridan's first commission was that of brevet second lieutenant in the First United States infantry in 1853, and in the autumn of that year we find him on duty at Fort Duncan, a military post on the Rio Grande, Texas. Tlie station was LIEUTENANT-GENEKAL SHERIDAN. 219 siuTOunded by roving bands of Apaches, whose friendship could seldom be relied on, but whose hostility was almost certain. Of this the lieutenant was soon painfully conscious. Happening one day to wander away some distance from the fort, with but two companions, he found himself suddenly surprised and surrounded by a band of savages led by one of their most noted chiefs. The Indians, judging from the fewness of the pale faces that no resistance would be offered, called upon them to surrender ; and their leader, with his fol- lowers, dismounted to disarm them. Quick as thought Sheridan vaulted into the vacant saddle and rode with all possible speed to the fort for assistance. At the moment of his arrival a company was coming out for drill, and this he straightway ordered to follow him. They arrived in time to save their comrades and chastise the Apaches ; the young lieutenant with his own hand slay- ing the chief and some of his marauders. An action so opportune and gallant, one would have thought, would have been re- 220 warded with some honorable mention ; but the reverse was the fact. The commanding officer of Fort Duncan never forgave him for it, and during his residence of two years made his hfe as uncomfortable as possible. He was a man, it appears, of violent South- ern opinions, which he afterwards carried out to their logical conclusion by joining the rebellion and attempting to destroy the Grovernment that had fed and fostered him, and to which he had more than once sworn allegiance. In the spring of 1855, Sheridan was created a full lieutenant, and assigned to the Fourth United States infantry, then in Oregon. He accordingly proceeded to New York for the purpose of taking shipping for that State; but as the quota of recruits wliich he was to take to his regi- ment was not fully made up he was for a time placed in command of Fort Wood in New York harbor. In July he left the fort and reached the shores of the Pacific, with his men, without accident or interruption. Soon after his arrival he LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 221 was ordered to escort Lieutenant William- son's expedition to a tributary of the Colum- bia river, for the purpose of surveying a branch route to the Pacific railroad, and in the fall he was ordered to report at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory. In the earl 3^ spring of 1856, he accompanied Major Rains, in his campaign against the Yokima Indians, and in the battle of the Cascades, April 28th, in which those savages were completely defeated, he distinguished himself so highly that his name received special and very honorable mention in Lieutenant- General Scott's report. The result of this engagement was the formation of the Yokima Reservation, with Lieutenant Sheridan as its civil and military command- ant, a position which, it seems, he filled with great credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his superior officers. The following summer he established a new military post at Yamhill. Three years of a weary and monotonous life followed, broken only by Indian skirmishes, raids, and marches through an almost deserted and impassable 222 irishmen's sons. country. Those who have experienced the dulness and inconvenience of a soldier s life on the frontiers, deprived of everything like civilized companionship, and con- stantly on the alert against the attacks of wily and implacable foes, can best ap- preciate what a man of Sheridan's temper- ament and social habits must have suf- fered ; but it was part of his duties ; and, as usual, he performed it with cheerfulness and fidelity. At length he was commissioned captain in the Thirteenth United States infantry, then commanded by Colonel (now General) William T. Sherman, and in 1861 ordered to report at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri. He was there first detailed as president of a board of audit to examine claims against the government alleged to have been created under Fremont durinof that officer's sojourn in the west. Although the position was an entirely new one to him, he acquitted himself with more than credit ; for he contrived, while allowing all just demands of the claimants, to satisfy the LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 223 authorities in Washington as to the equity of his decisions. At the commencement of the war, the government very wisely assigned subor- dinate officers of the regular army to the more important posts and bases of supplies, as commissaries or quartermasters. The step was most judicious, for it greatly facili- tated the movement, clothing, and feeding of troops. Volunteers, though of equal or perhaps superior intelligence in ordinary business transactions, had not yet acquired a sufficient knowledge of these essential requisites of a well-governed army, and re- quired instiTiction from those who had been taught it as part of their profession. Thus Captain Sheridan was appointed chief Quartermaster-General to the Army of the Southwest, then in Missouri. His arrival at headquarters is thus graphically de- scribed by a stafP officer : ^^ A modest, quiet little man was our quartermaster. Yet no- body could deny the vitalizing energy and masterly force of his presence. Neat in person, courteous in demeanor, exact in the 224 irishmen's sons. transaction of business, and most accurate in all matters appertaining to the regulations, orders, and general military customs, it was no wonder that our acting chief quarter- master should have been universally liked." In December, in the same capacity, he re- ported at Lebanon to Greneral Curtis, and was immediately put on duty. The depots at Rolla and Springfield were under his charge, and his whole time was occupied in providing and forwarding rations, arms, and accoutrements to the troops. After the battle of Pea Ridge, March 6th, 1862, he was sent to Wisconsin to pm-chase horses, but he was soon recalled to the field, as his services at the time could not well be dispensed with, and was appointed quartermaster under Major- General Hal- leck. In May occurred the battle and siege of Corinth. During the latter, the necessity of an efiicient cavahy force, to cut off raiders and intercept supplies, and a dashing and experienced officer to lead it, became apparent, so the choice fell on Sheridan, who was forthwith commissioned LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 225 by the Governor of Minnesota, Colonel of tlie second Volunteer cavalry of that State. The change must have been a pleasant one for such an enthusiastic horseman, for though the staff appointment had many at- tractions and comforts, the position of quar- termaster or commissary, being that of a non-combatant, is seldom relished by a true soldier. Still, the experience he obtained while so acting was of great service to him afterwards, when he had an independent command. Once in the saddle, Colonel Sheridan was in his proper element. At- tached to Elliott's command, sometimes with one regiment and at others with two, he was incessantly raiding round Corinth, harassing the enemy, and intercepting their convoys. On the 6th of June, being on a reconnois- sance below Donaldson's Crossroads, he fell in with Forrest's cavalry, and, after a sharp engagement, drove them back in con- fusion. On the 8th he pm-sued them for several miles and chased them through Baldwin, and on the 12th, his cammand, consisting of the Second Iowa volunteers and 8 226 irishmen's sons. Ms own regiment, was formed into a bri- gade. He met the rebel General Chalmers, at the head of nine regiments, in all about six thousand men, July 1st, and, with his little brigade, utterly defeated him and fol- lowed up his victory by a pursuit of twenty miles. For this gallant action he received the greatest praise in orders from General Grant, who at the same time recommended him for promotion. He was accordingly commissioned brigadier-general a few days after; and in SeiDtember following he handseled his new commission by beating Colonel Faulkner near Rienzi. Soon after this ensfaofement his command was greatly enlarged, and made part of the Army of the Ohio. It had become ap- parent that Sheridan was the proper officer to lead the cavalry, and from that time for- ward he was employed on every occasion when skill and daring were required. When Bragg's army threatened Louisville, then badly ganisoned, he was sent to defend it, and did so with such judgment and ce- lerity that the rebels declined to attack it : LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 227 and when the Army of the Ohio marched in the direction of Perryville, his troopers led the van of the Eleventh division. In the battle that took place in the neighbor- hood of that village on the 1st of October, General Sheridan was conspicuous, not only for his bravery but for the judicious manner in which he fought his men, and though he lost over four hundi-ed killed or wounded, he, says one of his biographers ^' saved the Union army." In the latter part of October of this year the Army of the Ohio was changed into that of the Cumberland, under Major- General Eosecrans ; and Sheridan was appointed to the command of a division in McCook's corps, of which his command formed the riofht wing. Then followed the battle of Murfrees- borough, one of the most hotly contested fights of the war. Sheridan of course was in the thickest part of it, struggling manfully against overpowering numbers and obsti- nately disputing every inch of ground. Four times in succession he repulsed Hardee's troops, and would in all probability have 228 ieishmen's sons. held his position while he had a man left, had reinforcements not been sent to enable him to assume the offensive. These were brought by General Rousseau, who thus humorously describes the condition of affairs when he came upon Sheridan. " I knew it was hell in there before I got in, but I was convinced of it when I saw Phil Sheri- dan, with hat in one hand and sword in the other, fiofhtina- as if he were the devil incar- nate, or had a fresh indulgence from Father Tracy every five minutes." Father Tracy here mentioned, it may be remarked, was Major-G-eneral Rosecrans' chaplain, and was highly esteemed in the Army of the Cumberland, even by those who were not Catholics, for his amiability and strict atten- tion to his clerical duties. On the last day of the year 1862, Sheridan was promoted to the rank of Major- General, and during the winter and early spring de- voted himself exclusively to the drilling and equi^Dping of his men, varied by an occa- sional raid now and then to try the mettle of their horses and to keep the enemy LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 229 constantly in a state of alarm. In July Eosecrans moved toward Chattanooga, and Sheridan, as part of McCook's command, took the Shelbyville road, crossed the Elk river, and captured Cowan. On this march he also had some successful skirmishes at Liberty Gap and Winchester. About this time the following incident occurred to the Major-General, for which we are indebted to an eye-witness for a description. He says : '' The belligerent in Sheridan's organization is often aroused without the stimulus of the smell of powder. In 1863, w^iile Sheridan was encamped in Bridgeport, Alabama, he invited General George H. Thomas, then encamped at Dick- ford, Tennessee, to examine the works erected at Bridgeport and the preparations going on for rebuilding the bridge. At one of the way stations, the train halted for an un- usually long time, and Sheridan, in asking the conductor, a great burly six-footer, the reason of the delay, met with a somewhat gruff reply. Sheridan contented himself with repro^ang his manner, and ordered him 230 irishmen's sons. to proceed with the train. The conductor did not reply, and failed to obey. After waiting for a time, Sheridan sent for the conductor, and demanded to know why he had not obeyed. The fellow answered still, in a gruff manner, that he received his or- ders from the military superintendent onl}^. Without giving him time to finish the in- sulting remark, Sheridan struck him two or three rapid blows, kicked him off the cars into the hands of a guard, and then ordered the train forward, acting as conductor on the down and return trip. This accomplished, he resumed his seat beside Thomas as if nothing unusual had occm-red, and pro ceeded with the conversation which had been so rudely interrupted." The battle of Chickamauga, on the 19th and 20th of September, was a long-fought and well-contested one. Sheridan's di^dsion was hotly engaged throughout the entu^e engagement, particularly Lytle's and Wal- worth's brigades, and the result was the capture of many prisoners, from five different rebel di\dsions whose onslaught LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 231 it successively withstood, and the colors of the Twenty-fourth Alabama. In his report of the operations of his corps on this occa- sion, McCook said : ^' To Major-General Sheridan, Third division, Brigadier- Gen- eral Johnson, commanding Second division, and to B. G. Da\ds, First division of my corps, my thanks are due for their earnest cooperation and devotion to duty. Major- General Sheridan is commended to his country." In October the corps of Crittenden and McCook were consolidated with Granger's, and placed under the command of that officer, Major-General Sheridan still retain- ing his division, which had again been greatly enlarged. The battle of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, or Mission Eidge, was fought on the 25th of the following month, Sheiidan's division, as usual, ha^dng its full share of the fighting and the glory attendant on that victory. On the 2d day of January, 1863, occurred the engage- ment at Stone river, in which he likewise played a conspicuous and important part. 232 ieishmen's sons. Of this entire campaign it is enough to say that no matter in what part of the line the fiery Major- General was placed, there the hardest sort of fighting and the most desperate attacks and resistance were sure to take place, and with equal certainty the Union troops were ever the victors. Much credit of course is due to Sheridan's men for their discipline, courage, and endurance. They were the flower of the young farmers of the West and Southwest, mostly Irish by birth or extraction ; but it must be remem- bered that the best troops in the world will make but a poor display when actually un- der fire, if commanded by timid or ignorant officers. In all our experience of actual warfare we have seldom found the enlisted men give way to the enemy till their officers showed signs of wavering or confu- sion, and we have known raw recruits to stand as firm as the oldest veterans, when tlieir commandants have set them the example of intrepidity and coolness. Early in 1863, Sheridan was transfeiTed from the Southwest to the East, and a new LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 233 and larger field of enterprise and distinction was opened to him. On tlie 9tli of March Grant was summoned to Washington, com- missioned Lieutenant- General, and intrust- ed Avith the command of the entire land forces of the United States. It was under- stood at the time, and confirmed by subse- quent events, that he was to be left un- trammelled in the disposition and movements of the various armies of the Union, and that he was to use his own discretion in the selection of general ofiicers to command them ; they of course looking to him in all cases for their orders and instructions. This was a wise policy on the part of the Ex- ecutive and the Secretary of War, and was fully justified by the events which followed. In the exercise of this new and ample power, Lieutenant-General Grant displayed a thorough knowledge of human nature, and an insight into the mental capacity of his sub- ordinates amounting to veritable genius. Setting aside the general ofiicers of the old school, he selected comparatively young though not untried men for the largest and 234 irishmen's sons. most important commands, such as Sherman, , Sheridan, Thomas, Hancock, and others of that stamp, and hence the march of our troops, in whatever direction and in every portion of the country, was always attended Tvdth success. Sheiidan had spent trie greater portion of February and March in Tennessee, driv- ing out the rebels who still lingered in that State, having accomplished which he re- tuined to Chattanooga. Shortly after his arrival he was ordered to Washington, and there, greatly to his surprise and no doubt gTatification, was assigned to the command of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. On his way to the capital he was asked what was the object of his visit, but he could give no intelligent answer ; for he did not know himself what his presence was required for. He was not then aware that Grant, during his stay in Washington, had spoken of him in the highest terms of praise, as the most capable officer to assume so important and responsible a position as that of commander of the cavalry in Virginia. LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 235 The campaign of 1864 on the Peninsula opened on the 1st of May. Major- General Georg-e Meade was in command of the Army of the Potomac, but as this was considered the most important portion of our forces, and as the fall of the rebel capital, the objec- tive point, was much to be desired, both for its political and moral effect, Lieutenant- General Grant accompanied Meade, and remained with him till the termination of the war. Sheridan was therefore constantly under the immediate supervision and orders of the commander-in-chief. On the 3d of May, Sheridan crossed the Papidan river with his whole force, and on the 4th passed the Wilderness, and started on a reconnoitring and raiding ex- pedition in the rear of the enemy. He successively visited Gray's Church, Parker's Store, and Todd's Tavern (strange names for a battle flag), Fredericksburg, Childsburg, and Beaver Dam station, and at the latter place had the good fortune to release some thi'ee hundred Union prisoners. In his course he destroyed large quantities of 236 lEISHMEN^S SONS. military stores, burned down bridges, and tore up rails by the mile. On the lltli, when within six miles of Richmond, he en- countered a superior force of the enemy's cavahy under the notorious Jeb Stuart, and a desperate fight took place, ending in the death of that misguided officer with that of many of his troops, and the capture of several guns and prisoners. On the fol- lowing day, he threw out a detachment toward Richmond, which passed the two outer Imes of defence, reached within a mile of the city, and having obtained all necessary infoimation, retm-ned to the main body. His next movement was to cross the Chickahominy, but on arriving at Meadow Bridge he found it partially de- stroyed and impassable for artillery and cavalry, as well as defended on the other side by a large force of rebels. Nothing dismayed, he ordered his men to ford the river, and dashing across, soon ])ut the enemy to flight. While the combat was in prog- ress, his rear was attacked, so that he was placed between two fii'es. Leaving a small LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 237 force to reconstruct the bridge and pursue the first party of rebels, he turned on his new assailants, and after routing* them thoroughly, chased them through Mechan- icsville, with the loss of many killed or wounded and several hundred prisoners. He then proceeded, carrying destruction everywhere, by Bottom's Bridge to General Butler's headquarters, having made the entire circuit of the enemy's rear in an incredibly short space of time and thoroughly effected the object of his expedition. Again we find him at headquarters at White House Land- ing on the Pamunky, guarding the flank of Meade's army, and in that position he rendered most essential service when Grant crossed his army over the James river, June 14th and 15th. Some conception may be formed of his valuable aid to the infantry and artillery on that occasion, when it is understood that the entire army, consisting of not less than a hundred and thirty or a hundred and forty thousand men, with their guns, wagons, horses, and cattle, crossed a broad, rapid, and deep river without losing 238 irishmen's sons. a man, a gnn, a caisson, or an ambulance, and that too, in the very face of Lee's whole army. Petersburg now became the * object of attack, as constituting the key to Richmond. Some preliminary attempts to take it having failed. Grant regularly invested the city and threw up works in front of it. Sheridan's cavalry being thus let loose, recommenced their usual tactics. Crossing the North Anna river, he advanced through Buckchild's to Gordons ville. Here he encountered a force of rebel calvary, and almost cut it into pieces. He next went to Guiney's station on the Fredericksburg and Richmond railroad, where he halted for a few days to rest his men, and thence returned to the White House. But he was soon again in motion. On the 23d and 24th, he defeated the rebels at Jones's Bridge on the Chicka- hominy, and at St. Mary's Church, and crossed the James river five miles above Powhattan Point. From this time until the beginning of August Sheridan may be said to have never been out of the saddle, ex- LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 239 cept during the limited times he allowed himself for sleep. It has even been as- serted that on many occasions he was seen taking his scanty meals on the road, his charger on a trot, and his men following close after. Whether this be tme or not, he certainly performed a great deal of work; by day and night and was perpetually em- ployed on the flanks and in the rear of the enemy. - To make a diversion in favor of Lee's army, then pent up in Petersbm-g and Rich- mond, as well as to gather in or destroy the crops, a large force of rebels was sent to the fertile Shenandoah Valley, under General Early. This body, scattering over the coun- tr}^, obtained much plunder; and what could not be carried off was destroyed. Meeting with little opposition at first, it advanced within a few miles of Harper's Ferry, and even threatened our communications with Washington. But its successes were short- lived. On the 7th, Major-General Sheridan was assigned to the middle Military Divis- ion to oppose those incursions, and soon 240 after we find liim indulging in his pastime of skirmishing with detachments of Early's army. On the 15th of September Grant left City Point on a visit to his cavalry com- mander, and the result of the conference is thus laconically described by the former : ^'I saw," said that general, ^'that there were but two words of instruction neces- sary — ^ Go in.' " And Sheridan did '' go in" with a vengeance, for on the 19th he at- tacked Early near Winchester, defeated him, left hundreds of his men dead or dying, and captured several thousand prisoners. Following up the fleeing rebels, he over- took them the following day at Fisher's Hill, routed Early again, and closely pur- sued his demoralized forces tln-ough Har- risonburg and Staunton. Up to this time, Sheridan's rank in the regulars was very inferior in comparison to his merits and services ; his commissions as Colonel, Brigadier- General and Major- Gen- eral were only in the volunteer service, and consequently would expire, as soon as the war was ended. His brilliant exploits in LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 241 the Valley called the attention of the Presi- dent to his abilities and immense activity in the execution of his orders, and accord- ingly he was appointed Brigadier-General in the regular army. In the fall of 1864 Sheridan had occasion to visit the capital on some business of im- portance connected with his command, hav- ing left his troops in charge of the next ranking officer, and, as he supposed, safe from all molestation during his absence. But for once was he mistaken. The rebel general having been strongly reinforced, and having been informed by his scouts that the master spirit of the Union forces was not on the field, hazarded an attack on their position near Cedar Creek and Strasbourg on the 19th of October. The onslaught was fierce and well sustained, and at first successful, the Union troops being driven back three or four miles, defeat staring them in the face and all support far beyond assisting distance. Despair was depicted on every face. But there was succor nigher than they had an- ticipated. That morning Sheridan had set 242 irishmen's sons. out leisurely for liis canip, and was well on the road when he was informed of the attack. As he drew a little near to the scene of action, he recognized the fact, from the sound of the guns, that his men were falling back and the enemy was gaining ground on them. Then he plunged the rowels of his spurs into his horse's flanks and rode as few men have ridden before. What thoughts, what sensations, must have flashed tlu*ough that excited brain as he tore along the road to Winchester. His own reputation imperilled, his gallant fellows defeated, and cut down, nay, perhaps the very salvation of the Eepublic, all, all, depending on the swiftness of his charger and his own presence in the field. On, on, he gallops, every moment seeming an hour, while the booming of the cannon sounds ominously nearer to Winchester, till at length, breath- less and hatless, his horse exhausted and covered with foam, he dashes in among his disorganized troops and with a voice that penetrated from end to end of the line — a voice that had never ordered in vain — he LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 243 commands a halt. The effect of his ap- pearance and the sound of his voice were electrical. The army which had been a disorganized mass but a minute previously is now re-formed: tlie infantry in serried lines, the artillery in position, and the cavalry on either flank. It is now the turn of the rebels to stop in astonishment and speculate in wonder what had caused such a change in their beaten foemen. But they have not long to wait. Again the trumpet tones of Sheridan ring out clear on the atmosphere. Artillery to the front ! Infantry, charge ! Away they go with one long, wild cheer, every man seeming to be animated with the contagious impetuosity of his leader, as well as with a burning de- sire to wipe out the disgrace of defeat. The sti'uggle was short, sharp, and decisive. The ^actors of the morning have become the vanquished at noon. The rebels stood firm awhile, then staggered, broke, and fled in utter confusion ; and Sheridan, bareheaded but with drawn sword, led up his cavalry and completed the victory. The pursuit lasted 244 irishmen's sons. till night, many of those who had escaped unscathed from the field fell by the road side, and those who threw down their arms, to the number of fifteen hundred, were taken prisoners. Nearly all the artillery, wagons, munitions, stores, and horses of Early's once formidable command fell into the hands of the victors, and that ill-starred general but once again troubled the peace- ful valley of the Shenandoah — except, per- haps, as a reconstructed politician mourning over the ^' Lost Cause," or as a letter writer trying to prove that some person other than himself was responsible for his want of suc- cess. Perhaps it was ^'Little Phil Sheridan" who ''sent him whirling down the valley." Very likely. The decisive victory of Winchester ex- cited the greatest enthusiasm in all quarters, and in the north, east, and west, Sheridan's name was on every tongue, and his praises resounded from one end of the Union to the other. Had our arms met with a reverse no blame could have been attached to him, for he was absent by proper LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 245 authority and by orders of his superior, the President. Defeat in such a case would have been the fault of others ; the glory of the day was all his own. To General Grant in particular his Major- General's splendid achievement was a soiu^ce of un- alloyed pleasure. He sent a communica- tion to Washington, extolling the victor in the warmest manner; and with that disin- terested admiration which he has ever felt for his subordinates, he attributed the success of the day entirely to Sheridan's personal exertions. " Turning what bid fair to be a disaster," he wrote, " into a glorious ^dc- tory, stamps Sheridan, what I always thought . him, one of the ablest of gen- erals." In addition to the thanks of a grateful country and the admiration and increased esteem of his brother officers, the hero of the Shenandoah was rewarded by the gov- ernment with a commission as Major-Gen- eral in the regular service, November, 1864. Thus at the early age of thirty-two, without political influence, social prestige, or family 246 irishmen's sons. interest, the son of humble Irish parents, the errand-boy of Sommerset, found himself the second general officer in rank in tlie regu- lar army of the United States, and in command higher than some who had ofraduated while he was drivino^ a water- cart in the streets of Lanesville. And he had the proud satisfaction of knowing that it was to his own intrinsic capacity, to his diligence, industry, and conscientious ob- servance of the rules of his profession, and to them alone, that he owed his success and elevation to the high grade now conferred upon him. Sheridan left his winter quarters Feb- ruary 27th, 1865, took Staunton March 2d, and again defeated Early near Waynes- borough. This time he left scarcely a shred of that warrior's army, and those who had the good fortune to escape hastened with their unlucky chief out of the Valley as quickly as possible, to tell the tale of their share in the " Lost Cause." As for Sheridan, who always seems to have had a passion for raiding, he turned his attention to the LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 247 destruction of the railroad, the James canal, and all other means by which the rebels might endeavor to keep up their communications or forward their supplies. On the 19 th of March he returned to his old quarters at White House Landing, and allowed his tired troops, weary with con- quest, a few days' repose. On the 27th we find him with the main body of the army in front of Petersburg, and in two days after, at the head of nine thousand cavalry and the Fifth corps, on his way to destroy the Danville and South Side railroad. The occupation of this road by the rebels w^as a vital point in their system of defence of Petersburg and Richmond, as it was the only main artery left untouched by which they could expect to get reinforcements and supplies. It was of course j ealously watched and strongly guarded at all times, and when the object of Sheridan's expedition became apparent to the enemy, large reinforce- ments were sent to the menaced point. The contending forces met on 31st of March at Five Forks, or, as it is sometimes 248 irishmen's sons. called, Amelia Court House. At first, victory seemed to favor the rebels, and Sheridan, with his cavah-}^ and infantry, was obliged to fall back, but only as far as Dinwiddle, with some loss. On the following day, hav- ing been reinforced by the gallant Second corps, in which were the celebrated Irish brigade, Corcoran's Legion, Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and many other battalions in whole or in greater part Irish, he again advanced to Five Forks and re- newed the conflict. This was the last battle of the war, properly so called, and it was contested on one side with all the energy, stubbornness, and courage of despair, and on the other with a fixed detennination to conquer, and a cool bravery, which are the offspring only of conscious rectitude and hard-earned ex- perience. Should the rebels succeed, they might still be able to hold their capital for months longer, and even to ask terms on condition of laying down their arms. Should they fail and the Union troops take possession of the road, Petersburg and LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 249 Eichmond must be abandoned, Lee and his army would be obliged to beat an in- glorious retreat, the termination of the war would become a certainty, and all the plans and hopes based on its success, would vanish like the baseless fabric of a vision. The prize was a great one — prolonged war or speedy peace — and it was contended for on both sides with a valor commensurate with the importance of the issue involved. Sheridan was everywhere on the field during the battle, issuing orders, animating his men, and even personally putting some battalions and brigades into position under the most deadly fire. To use a familiar phrase, he was bound to win. All our troops behaved particularly well, and the Irish regiments especially, " who," to use the words of a general ofiicer present in the engagement, '' never fought so splendidly." But the die was cast, and the days of the so-called Confederacy were numbered. As the shadows of the sinking sun lengthened on the blood-stained fields and woods of Amelia, the enemy's fire became irregular, 250 irishmen's sons. slackened, drooped, and finally ceased, while a prolonged cheer from end to end of the lines, repeated again and again, told in unmistakable tones that the field was won. Once again the flag of the young Republic floated triumphantly over the '^ sacred soil" — sacred now indeed, for it contains the graves of tens of thousands of devoted Union soldiers — and the '^ Stars and Bars," the emblem of ingratitude, crime, and trea- son, sunk forever, never to be seen again but as an object of curiosity, or a warning to those who would endeavor to climb to fame and fortune on the ruins of their country. General Grant, in Avriting of this battle and of Shei-idan's repulse, well said : ^' Here Major-General Sheridan displayed great generalship. Instead of retreating with his whole command on the main army to tell the story of superior forces encountered, he deployed his cavalry on foot, leaving only mounted men enough to take charge of the horses," thus enabling him to hold his posi- tion at Dinwiddle and wait for reinforce- ments. The immediate results were the LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 251 capture of some guns, a quantity of small arms, and over five thousand prisoners ; the not very remote consequence being the evacuation of Petersburg, the surrender of Richmond, the flight of the rebel government after a diabolical attempt to fu-e that city, the hasty retreat of the remnant of Lee's army, and the ending of the war that had cost the country so much in blood and treasure. But Sheridan could not rest while there was re- maining an armed enemy of the Eepublic to be found within his reach. He pursued Lee's fugitives with lightning rapidity, cut them off from their line of retreat on Staunton, and finally so hemmed them in that there was no alternative left but total and uncon- ditional surrender. When the rebel com- mander offered his submission and yielded his sword to Lieutenant-General Grant un- der the famous apple tree at Appomattox, Sheridan was by the side of his chief, and doubtless felt that, at last, in the words for- merly uttered, he had deserved well of his country. The war was at length over, the integ- 252 miSHMEN^S SONS. rity of the Union, establislied by our fore- fathers after years of struggle, suffering, and self-denial, restored, and the volunteer army, amounting to over one million of men, re- turned to civil life and to their anxious families. Let us pause for a moment and take a retrospective view of its origin, prosecution, and grand results, not as mere politicians or factious partisans, but as lovers of our common country who wish to profit by the deai'ly-bought lessons of practical warfare and desire to shield our children from the horrors of such an internecine war as many of us have witnessed in the last decade, and from the influence of which few households were exempt. The first symptoms of secession appeared in the more conservative body of oiu' na- tional legislature during the first term of President Jackson. It arose out of the ex- istence of a high protective tariff objection- able to South Carolina, and the two senators from that State, notably Mr. Calhoun, from their places in the Senate openly avowed their belief that a State had the rio-ht, under LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 253 or beyond the Constitution, to nullify a law of the United States. This was followed by a convention which actually and expressly passed an ordinance of nullification, which was subsequently indorsed by the legis- lature. Then followed the arming, equipping, and drilling of the State militia. Mr. Clay's Compromise bill and Jackson's firmness for a time averted the danger. But Mr. Calhoun had a deeper purpose than the mere collec- tion of revenue, as well as a deep-seated hostility to the President. His next cause of complaint was the use made of the United States mail by a few anti-slavery men of the North, and though a pronounced State Rights man he insisted that laws should he passed by certain States to sup- press the anti-slavery societies. ^In this he again failed, and he and those who agreed with him commenced a course of speaking and writing tending greatly to exaggerate the strength and importance of the aboli- tionists, and thus alarm and estrange the peo- ple of the South from their brethren of the free States. In vain the representatives of 254 irishmen's sons. these States almost unanimously protested against such statements ; in vain they who ought to know best declared that the oppo- sition to slavery where it existed was con- fined to an impotent and theoretical few. The virus of secession had inoculated the body politic, and it was ah-eady exhibiting s}niiptoms of disease. The dragons' teeth were sown, and they eventually grew up armed men. In proportion as the discon- tent in the South increased, the anti-slavery sentiment spread in the free States, each faction feeding on the pabulum supplied by the other till so strong became the antago- nistic feelings that a resort to arms was but a question of time. Besides, another element was introduced into the struggle between the years 1840 and 1860. That was immigration, by which our new States and tenitories were rapidly filled up, and attained, through their repre- sentatives in Congress, a large share of legis- lative power and executive patronage. In a free country like ours, power always follows population, and the leaders of the South be- LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 255 gan to fear that the day was not far distant when they would be in a helpless minority in Congress. They tried to avoid this, to them impending e\dl, by trying to induce immigrants to settle in their section, but to no purpose, for with their peculiar system of labor white competition was impossible. The crisis at last came. The disruption of the Charleston and Baltimore demo- cratic conventions, if not the result of a mature plan, answered the purpose of the secessionists as well, and the election of Mr. Lincoln in consequence of the division in the democratic ranks was the signal for the rupture. Thus the quarrel that had been commenced by a few fanatics on either side grew by degrees to such magnitude that it involved the middle conservative classes on both sides, and divided the country into two hostile camps. Though the conduct and language of the New England bigots cannot be defended, it is nevertheless true that the South was the aggressor and there- fore wrong. It sought redress by other than constitutional means ; it confiscated 256 irishmen's sons. the public property, fired on the flag of the Eepubhc, defied the law, and set up a quasi independent government within the United States, utterly opposed to that which it had helped to form and was so solemnly pledged to sustain. There was no remedy left to the national authorities but to put down by armed force this formidable rebellion. But as we had been at peace for nearly half a century, excepting the short period of the Mexican war, the countiy was at first slow to assert its authority, and the Executive was not always fortunate in the selection of its agents. In the southwest, during the first three years of the war, much was done to restore peace and order, but in the east very little. So little indeed that when Grant commenced his campaign in the spring of 1864, the enemy held all the strong positions between Richmond and the Rappahannock river, and the Peninsula down to Fort Monroe. Long and difficult marches had been made without ceasing, sometimes over and over the same route, by LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 257 the troops, and numerous bloody battles had been fought and some barren victories gained, but the fact remained uncontested that the enemy, so far from being subdued after three years' strife, were, in the winter of 1863-4, safely encamped within a day's march of the position occupied by them in the summer of 1861, when the somewhat absurd battle of Bull Run was fought. The cause of this lamentable failure is not to be attributed to the inefficiency or want of bra- very on the part of the officers of low rank and enlisted men, but to the incapacity and mutual jealousies of the generals, hardly any two of whom could agree on any particular plan or method of prosecuting a campaign. There was no unity of opinion, no concert of action, no subordination of the will to superior authority and judgment — the very Hfe and soul of all military organiza- tions. It was only when Grant assumed the supreme command and selected his own officers — men who knew no favoritism, and had no old grudges to satisfy — that the army of the Potomac commenced to move on 9 258 irishmen's sons. tinintemipteclly to victory. Cavalry officers there had been by the dozen, whose head- quarters were supposed to be in the saddle, - and their brains probably in the same place, who were constantly making* great incur- sions and generally contri^ang to get beaten, but it was only when Sheridan took hold of this branch of the ser^dce that his horse- men learned to fight battles and win them. The results of the successful prosecution of the war by such men were most mo- mentous, and can only be appreciated by a consideration of what would have been the consequences, had the rebels succeeded: a humiliated people ; the perpetual enslave- ment of four millions of human beings ; a divided Republic, first into two parts and eventually into half a dozen ; a second Mexi- co, on a larger and more enduring scale of strife and hostility ; the failure of republican institutions at home, and the death-blow of liberal institutions abroad. Surely a man who by his own intrinsic merits, by his daring, courage, and admirable generalship, contributed so much as Sheridan did, de- LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 259 serves all the honors that a generous and admh'ing nation have showered upon him. There was, however, one man then in power, whose, soul was so small, or so venal, that he could not join in the general song of praise. That was Andrew Johnson, the only man that ever disgraced the presiden- tial chair. In the spring of 1867, Major- General Sheridan was appointed to the command of the Fifth Military Division, comprising the States of Louisiana and Texas. His duties here were of a very delicate and difficult natm-e, but he was equal to the occasion, and performed them with great tact and determination. He facilitated as much as possible the recon- struction of that portion of the South, en- deavored to win back the people to their allegiance, more by kindness and the im-- partial administration of justice than by force, and even went so far in the legitimate exercise of his power as to remove the provisional governors of the two States men- tioned, because they were impediments to, rather than assistants of the reconstruction 260 irishmen's sons. laws of Congress. But because lie was understood to sympathize with that body in its opposition to the illegal proceedings of President Johnson, he was removed from his command in the following August, against the express wishes of General Grant, then Commander-in-Chief, who declared that Sheridan had performed his civil duties faithfully and intelligently, and earnestly protested against it. Sheridan, however, to gratify the petty malice of the accidental president, was ordered to take command of the Department of the Mississippi. He was, notwithstanding, subsequently commis- sioned Lieutenant- General, and is now in command of the division of the north-west with headquarters at Chicago. Fortunately for the country, Lieutenant- General Sheridan is still alive, and after all his dangers and hardships is in robust health and likely to live many years to serve his country and even to add new laurels to the wreath already entwined round his sword. We are tempted to violate the canons of biographers of the living, which say, '' Praise LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN. 261 no man till he is dead," by a few commen- taries on his private character; but knowing that this is a censorious world, and that no one is free from the accusation of flattery who speaks even less than the truth of the fortunate and meritorious, we forbear. This, however, we will say of the gallant soldier, and we have it on the authority of a clerical friend well conversant with the facts, that from the day he left West Point as a brevet second lieutenant till his acceptance at the hands of the President and Congress of the proud title he now bears, he has never for a moment forgot those good and humble parents to whom he owes his being and his first lessons in morality and religion; and that, amid all the seductions and excite- ment of an exceedingly active military life, he has constantly remembered them, and the teachings which they instilled into his heart in early childhood. He has at least observed that portion of the decalogue which commands us, ^^ Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days shall be long in the land." FIELDMARSHAL LEOPOLD O'DONNELL, COUNT OF LUCENA AND DUKE OF TETUAN. There is no family of Irish birth or extraction that has been more generally distinguished at home and abroad for high military qualities and personal nobility of conduct than that of O'Donnell, or, as it was called in mediaeval history, Cinel Conaill. Other houses, like those of O'Neill, O'Brien, and O'Conor, possessed wider domains, exercised at times broader sway, and occa- sionally produced soldiers and statesmen of greater abilities and more enduring fame, but to the O'Donnells belongs the transcendent merit of having been ever and in all places consistent lovers of Ireland, enlightened patrons of learning, and devoted as well as practical adherents to the ancient faith. Almost without an exception, they were found on all occasions faithful even amid the faithless, and when others were willing FIELDMARSHAL O^DONKELL. 263 to sacrifice the general good for the sake of private ends, or to gratify individual malice at the expense of principle, the princes of Tyrconnell invariably were found tme to the national cause, literature, and religion. For nearly eight centuries they manfully opposed by every effort in their power the Danish and Anglo-Noraian invaders, with no ambition but to serve their native land, and no foe to chastise save the armed plun- derers of their common country. From the time of their great ancestor Dulach, hered- itary Prince of Tyrconnell (Donegal), do^Ti to the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury, the sword of the O'Donnells scarcely ever rested in its scabbard, and while the hand of friendship was always extended to their fellow chieftains, their arm was potent to smite the native traitors as well as the foreign desp oiler. As an evidence of this undying sphit of resistance to foreign ag- gression, we may be allowed to quote, from the historical lectures of the late Professor Eugene O'Curry, the following comments on a very old poem written by MacLonain, 264 ieishmen's sons. the laureate of Eignechan, son of Dulach, who died in 902: '^ The most curious part of this poem, however, very vaUiable as it is in an historical point of view, is that in which we are told that the chief found himself compelled to purchase peace and exemption fi*om plunder and devastation for his territory from the ' Danish pirates,^ who were at this time committing fearful depredations along the seaboard of the island. This peace and exemption were purchased by the chief consenting to the marriage of his three beautiful daughters — Duib- hlinn, Bebnadha, and Bebhin — to three of the pirate commanders, whose names were Cathais, Turgeis, and Tor. After the marriage, the pirates sailed away with their wives and their booty to Oarraic Bracraighe, in Inis Eoghain, now called Innishowen. Here however the lady Duibhlinn, who had been married to the pirate chief Cathais, eloped from him while he lay asleep, taking with her a casket containing trinkets to the amount of one thousand ungas in gold ; and she succeeded in safely making her escape to the house of Cathelan, son of Maelfabhaill, the chief of that district, who had been formerly her lover, and under whose guardianship she was the more ready to place herself. When the pirate awoke and found his bride and his casket gone, he flew in a rage to her father, and threatened to have his territory ravaged if he did not restore to him his casket. This Eigviechan undertook to do ] and he invited the Dane to come on a certain FIELDMARSHAL O^DONNELL. 265 day, uith his brother commanders, and all their imme- diate followers, to his court at Clann Maghain, in Donegal, where the gold should be restored, and the company royally entertained. The Danes arrived, and were well entertained accordingly; after which the company retired to the lawn of the court, w^here stood a tree upon which the Tyrconnellian warriors were accus- tomed to try their comparative strength and dexterity, and the metal and sharpness of their swords, by striking their mightiest strokes into its trunk. The company, by Eignechan's an'angement, sat in circles around this tree, for the usual purpose ; the chiefs of both parties standing nearest to it. Eignechan then stood up to open the sports ; and drawing his sword, he struck at the tree, but designedly missed it ; the weapon glancing off with im- mense force, struck his reputed son-in-law, the Dane Cathais, on the head, killing him on the spot. This was a preconcerted signal for the Tyrconnellians, who instantly rushed on the rest of the band of their enemies, and quickly put them all to the sword. ^' The number of Danes on this occasion may be in- ferred from the stated number of their ships, which was one hundred and twenty ; and it is stated that not one of their crews escaped. '' Eignechan then demanded and received the casket of gold from his daughter -, and he gave it all away on the spot, in proper proportions, to the tribes and to the chief churches of his principality. Just, however, as he had concluded the distribution of the whole of the pi- ratical spoil, MacLonain, with his company of learned 266 IRISHMEN'S SONS. men and pupils, happened to arrive on the lawn, on a professional visit to his patron. And here we have a characteristic trait of the manners of the times. When the chief saw the poet, and found himself with empty hands, he blushed, and was silent 5 but his generous people perceiving his confusion, immediately knew the cause, and came forward to a man, placing each his part of the gold in the hands of his chief. Eignechan's face brightened ; he re-divided the gold, giving the poet a share of it proportionate to his rank and profes' siou, and disposing of the remainder among those who had so generously relieved him from his embarrassment." The patriotism and liberality of the son of Dulach seem to have been transmitted imimpaired to his descendants. It was under their protection and patronage that the learned family of the O'Clerys, authors of the ^'Annals of the Four Masters," and their no less erudite ancestors flomished, two of whom, the celebrated Diarmit O'Clerigh and his son Taghg Cam, taught the lay college of the ^' Three Schools," of literature, history, and philosophy, as late as the fifteenth century. In 1474, Hugh Roe O'Donnell built and richly endowed the Franciscan monastery of Donegal, which existed for one hundi'ed and twenty-seven FIELDMAESHAL O^DONNELL. 267 years, shedding innumerable blessings on the surrounding population, until confiscated and dismantled in the last days of the bloody Queen Elizabeth. Of the condition of this once famous house while the O'Don- nels held sway, Father Mooney, in his Latin Manuscript translated by the Rev. G. P. Meehan, says : " Nor is it to be supposed that we lacked wherewithal to tempt the cupidity of the sacrilegious, were such to be found among the clansmen of Tyrone or Tyrconnell. • Quite the contrary ', for many years afterwards, when I was sacristan, no monastery in the land could make a goodlier show of gold and silver than ours. During the time I held that office, I had in my custody forty suits of vestments, many of them of cloth of gold and silver — some interwoven and brocaded with gold, the remainder silk. We had also sixteen silver chalices, which, two excepted, were washed with gold ; nor should I forget two splendid ciboriums inlaid with precious stones, and every other requisite for the altars. This rich furniture was the gift of the princes of Tyrconnell j and as I said before, no matter what prey the Tyronians might lift off O'Donnell's lands, there was no one impious enough to desecrate or spoil our sacred treasury. We fed the poor, comforted them in their sorrows, educated the scions of the princely house to whom we owed every- thing, chronicled the achievements of their race, prayed 268 IRISHMEN'S SONS. for the souls of our founders and benefactors, chanted the divine offices day and night with great solemnity j and while thus engaged, the tide of war swept harm- lessly by our hallowed walls." Such was the happy state of this centf-e of piety and charity, long after the intro- duction of the " Reformation," in Ireland ; but the wars here alluded to as harmlessly sweeping by, were simply attempts, often renewed, by Shane O'Neill, to conquer all Ulster, but who, though in many respects an unscrupulous soldier, generally venerated the temjDles and houses dedicated to God. The troops of the ^' Pale," the sanguinary apostles of English Protestantism, were less fastidious, for nothing was too sacred or too venerated to escape their brutal fury. The last of the native princes who ruled in Donegal was Hugh Roe O'Donnell, who, in conjunction with his brother-in-law, *■ ^ Aodha" (Hugh) O'Neill, waged war with the Eng- lish forces for several years, sometimes with the most brilliant success ; but at length, out- numbered and exhausted, was obliged to abandon the unequal struggle and retire FIELDMAESHAL o'dONNELL. 269 to the Continent in 1601. Hugh Roe lived abroad several years, often the honored guest of the Sovereign Pontiffs, or at some of the Catholic coui'ts, eventually dying at Valladolid, in Spain, where he was buried with all the ceremonies befitting his rank and faith. With him departed from Ireland forever many of the principal men of his name who had sm-vived the war, and who, entering the service of Italy, Austria, or Spain, rose to high positions in the army and councils of their respective governments. The subsequent wars of the '' Confederation of Kilkenny," and of James II, added mate- rially to their numbers. This was particu- larly so in the last-named nation, where their descendants, even in our day, not only have held many of the most distinguished offices in the state, but have enjoyed social eminence and civic honors equal to those of the high- est grandees of that proud and exclusive class. Their high breeding, intense catho- licity, and elevated sense of honor, were thoroughly understood and appreciated by the knights of Castile and Ai-agon, and in 270 irishmen's sons. turn the O'Donnells became thorouglily imbued with the hopes, aspirations, and un- swerving patriotism of their adopted land, w^ithout, however, forgetting that of their ancestors and of tlie scene of their ancient glory. It is a remarkable fact in the history of the Irish exiles of the last two or three hun- dred years, that while they were everywhere welcomed, their bravery and martial skill gladly utilized, and their services generally well rewarded by the governments under which they served, it was in Spain alone that the full measure of hospitality and re- ward was meted out to them, and where they were not alone honored in court and camp as wise advisers and true soldiers, but admitted into the closest family alliances. Well has the poet, addressing Ireland, said : Mother of soldiers ! in the cause of Spain The Moors in Grants trench by them were slain j For full a hundred years their fatal steel Has charged beside the lances of Castile, Carb'rj'^'s, Tyrconnell's, BrefFny's exiled lords To Spain and glory gave their gallant swords. FIELDMARSHAL o'dONNELL. 271 And Spain, of honor jealous, gave them place Before her native sons in glory's race ; Her noblest laurels graced your soldier's head, Her dearest daughters shared your soldier's bed : In danger's hour she called them to the front, And gave to them the praise who bore the brunt ; Mother of Soldiers ! Spain to-day will be A willing witness for thy sons and thee ! " From the beginning of the seventeenth century to the present time the name of O'Donnell has been a famihar one in the Spanish army lists, earning and honorably holding their commissions from the lowest to the highest grades in the service, and the subject of the present sketch may be taken as an illustration of the varied career of the entire family. His father was Lieutenant-General Charles O'Donnell and his mother Donna Josephine Goris. While General O'Donnell was discharging the duties of Viceroy of Teneriffe, his son Leopold was born at Santa Cruz, the capital of the island, in January, 1809. From his birth he was. destined for the military profession, and like the illus- trious Lally Tollendal, he was trained up 272 irishi^ien's sons. to the use of arms from early childhood. At the age of ten years, having, as it was supposed, completed his primary education, he was commissioned sous-lieutenant in the Spanish army known as the Imperial Alexander. This was no mere nominal ap- pointment, no empty compliment like that so frequently paid to the infant scions of royal houses in Europe, but involved the performance of actual duties and the multifa- rious responsibilities of a soldier's life. In the following year, we find him at the head- quarters of his regiment at Ocana, when the so-called liberal constitution of 1812 was proclaimed by another O'Donnell, the Conde del Abisbal; but though his father and his near relatives were opposed to such a revolutionary step, and even left the service for a time, young Leopold remained at his post, and continued, with unabated ardor, the study of the profession of which he was destined to be so shining an orna- ment. Not without an interruption however. His mother, it seems, thinking the boy too young for the hardships and tem23tations FIELDMARSHAL o'dONNELL. 273 of camp life, or displeased with the conduct of the temporary government, re- solved to pass into France and take her son with her. For this offence of being ab- sent without leave the little lieutenant was court-martialled on his return, but upon the hearing of the charge was honorably ac- quitted. Thus we see that at an age when most boys are found at school, and their leism^e time devoted to toys and the allure- ments, of the confectioner, young Leopold O'Donnell's life had already become event- ful ; a foretaste of what was yet in store for him when the trying times, which were soon to desolate his country, should arrive. When, in 1823, the French army under the Due d'Angouleme, son of Charles X, entered Spain to support Ferdinand VII, O'Donnell was at Valladolid; and soon after we find him on the staff of the Division of Castile, as aide to the commanding gene- ral. In this capacity he was present at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, and so distin- guished himself by intrepidity and cool- 274 iRismiEN's SONS. ness under fii-e that he was forthwith pro- moted to the rank of full lieutenant. Soon after he was commissioned capcain in the royal Guards, a rank which he held up to the death of Ferdinand VII. This latter event, which took place on the 29th of September, 1833, was the fruit- ful cause of all the miseries which have cursed the Spanish peninsula to the pres- ent moment — anarchy, pestilence, blood- shed, and rapine. Though commenced more than forty years ago, the ci\dl war inau- gm-ated by his widow Chi'istina and Don Carlos is still raging with unabated violence on the fair plains of Ai-agon and in the busy towns of Catalonia, though most of the principals in the quarrel have been long since called to their great account. In order that the reader may fully understand the position of Captain O'Donnell at the commencement of hostilities we will en- deavor to sketch briefly the merits of the contest. In 1700, Charles II of Spain found him- self at the point of death ; and, ha\'ing no FIELDMAESHAL O^DONNELL. 275 issue he was unable to determine which of the numerous candidates to the succession he ought to favor. The Austrian party ad- vocated the claims of that house, while those attached to the Bourbons were warmly in favor of one of the sons of the Dauphin of France, who was himself the child of a Spanish princess, the daughter of Philip ly. In this dilemma Charles submitted the question to Pope Innocent XII, who in turn laid it before three of the most learned and experienced of his cardinals. They, after mature deliberation, decided that ^'his Catholic Majesty was in conscience bound to entail the succession upon the Due d'Anjou or the Due de Berri, the younger sons of the Dauphin, provided proper pre- cautions were taken against the union of the two crowns." This decision was trans- mitted to Charles, with an autograph letter from the PontiJBf, in which he expressed his solemn concurrence, and the King, thus fortified, acted accordingly. Soon after he died, and D'Anjou became his successor under the title of Philip V. 276 IRISHMEN'S SONS. This family alliance between France and Spain led to the long and sanguinary War of the Succession, in which England and Austria combined, without success, to drive Philip from the throne of Spain. The strug- gle lasted twelve years, and was ended by the treaty of Uti-echt, July 13th, 1713. In that treaty it was agreed that France and Spain should forever remain under separate governments, and Philip, in com- pliance with its conditions, solemnly relin- quished his claims on the crown of France to his brother De Bern and his heirs. To make the matter more certain, however, he resolved to limit the succession to the Spanish throne in the male line. The pro- ject of the monarch was laid before the Councils of State and of Castile, and having been duly considered was unanimously ap- proved by them. The Deputies of the Cortes were then in session in Madrid, and, by order of the king, letters were sent to every privileged city and town on the 10th of May, 1713, instructing them to send their delegates ''full and sufficient powers to FIELDMAESHAL O^DONNELL. 277 confer and deliberate upon this subject." The law limiting the succession to the male line was then duly and legally passed, and hence the introduction of what is called the ^^ Salic law'' into the Spanish constitution. In 1789, the Cortes, at the instigation, it is said, of Count Floridablanca, minister of Charles IV, petitioned that sovereign to de- clare by pragmatic sanction the abrogation of the law of 1713 and a return to '' the old law of succession." For some reason Charles neglected to comply with the prayer of the petition, and it was only in 1830, forty years afterwards, that Ferdinand YII issued his decree which commenced as fol- lows : '"'' Pragmatic sanction having the force of law, decreed by King Charles IV, on the petition of the Cortes for the year 1789, and ordered to be published by his reigning majesty (Ferdinand VII) for the perpetual observance of Law 2, title 15, par- tida 2, establishing the regular succession of the crown of Spain." Hitherto the existence of this law No. 2, etc., had been unknown to the Spanish pub- 278 irishmen's sons. lie, and it soon became apparent that Ferdi- nand had some object in thus doing away with the Sahc law. It was this : the king had been married to three wives in succession, all of whom had died without leaving issue. He therefore resolved to many a fourth, and selected Clmstina of Naples. The wedding took place on the 11th of December, 1829. Two daughters were the result of this union, the older of whom, Isabel, was destined by her vacillating father and ambitious mother to fill the throne of Spain. As long as the Salic law was in existence no female could occupy this position, and consequently the succession would devolve on Ferdinand's brother, Don Carlos, and next, to his sons, of whom he had three then living. The king, therefore, influenced doubtless by his aspir- ing consort, determined to remove this ob- struction to his daughter's elevation, and though in 1832, during a fit of sickness, he annulled the decree of 1830, he no sooner recovered than, having previously appointed the Queen Regent, he authorized the nullifi- cation of his pre\dous act. ^' His royal mind FIELDMARSHAL O^DONNELL. 279 having been taken by surprise," said the Queen Regent's decree of December, 1832, " in moments of agony to which he had been brought by a serious malady, he signed a decree repeahng the pragmatic sanction of March 29th, 1830, which is hereafter to be held as void and of no effect." Early in 1833, Ferdinand assumed the reins of gov- ernment again, and one of his first acts was to summon the Cortes to swear allegiance to the Infanta, which was accordingly done on the 20th of June, only three months before the death of Ferdinand, which oc- cmTed on the 29th of September, 1833. The issue was now made up, and civil war was inevitable. Those in power, head- ed by the Regent Christina, held possession on the authority of the decrees of 1789, 1830, and December, 1832; while Don Carlos claimed the throne on the ground that the Cortes of 1789 had no power to repeal the constitutional provision of 1713, as it had been summoned for one specific purpose, to swear allegiance to the then heir-appar- ent, and as he himself was born one year 280 irishmen's sons. before that time and enjoyed inchoate vest- ed lights to the thi'one, neither the act of the Cortes nor the pragmatic sanction of Ferdinand could deprive him of them. With the former were the so-called Liberals and the communistic element ; with the Carlists, most of the nobility and the old officers of the army, and, doubtless, the gi'eat major- ity of the rmral population, particularly in the northern provinces. A quadruple treaty was also effected against Don Carlos, and Dom Miguel, an aspirant for the throne of Portugal, between that country, France, England, and Christina, by which it was agreed that while France was to guard her frontiers against the entry of Don Carlos's adherents into Spain, and, if required, send an army into that country to assist the Clnistinos, England was to keep watch and ward by sea; and all were to operate in their several ways against the Carlists and Migu elites. O'Donnell, doubtless for good reasons, took the side of the queen, though his brother, looking on Don Carlos, or Charles FIELDMAESHAL o'dONNELL. 281 V, as the rightful monarch, espoused his cause and fought with great bravery and distinction in his army. We have seen that Leopold was captain of the Guards previous to Ferdinand's demise ; immedi- ately on the commencement of hostilities he was placed in command of a force of grenadiers forming part of a brigade to which was assigned the defence of the five principal cities of Aragon then menaced by the insurgents of Navarre. In this position his conduct was considered so meritorious, that he was speedily promoted to a higher command. We next hear of him in the defiles of Mendigorria, Arcos, Gruerarra, Echerarri, and Erice, where he was severely wounded while leading his men to a charge ; and it was doubtless for this act of gallantry that he was gazetted the 1st of January, 1836, as colonel of the regi- ment of infantry of Gerona. Wlien able again to take the field he was placed in command of a brigade, consisting of his own regiment and that of Malorca, with which he took possession of the valley of the Err 282 irishmen's sons. and Roncesvalles, driving the enemy before him in all directions. Soon after, O'Donnell was sent, with his brigade and a regiment of cavalry, to the borders of Navarre, to protect the flank of the queen's army and keep open its com- munications with Madrid, and in doing so he had an opportunity of taking a prominent part in the battle of Unza, March 19th, 1836, for which he received his commission as brigadier-general. From June, 1836, to May of the following year General O'Don- nell was obliged to keep away from active operations, in consequence of ill health and typhus fever. His enforced leisure was spent in Vittoria and Logroilo. No sooner, however, had he recovered from fever than, against the earnest remonstrances of his physicians, for his wound was still un- healed, he again took the field, and ha\T[ng joined the headquarters of the army at San Sebastian, he was permitted to take part in the capture of the lines of Oriamenti, the suiTcnder of Hernani, and the fall of Turen- ten-abia. In other respects he also did good FIELDMARSHAL O^DONNELL. 283 service ; for, some of the queen's regiments having about this time mutinied, he quickly reduced them to obedience, as much by his personal influence and popularity as by any display of force. This happily effected, he turned his attention to the Carlists, whom he compelled to evacuate Urrieta and Ano- ain, and on December 27th he was pro- moted major-general. Early in the following year he occupied the defensive lines of San Sebastian, in front of the fortified towns of Hernani, Artegaraga, Oyarzun, Irun, and Tuenter- rabia, besides twenty redoubts mounted with cannon. On the 24th of June he fought the enemy and drove them across the Oria, after having abandoned their works on the left bank of the river. On the 27th he again defeated them at Oyarzun, capturing many prisoners and valuable stores, and early in October he entered the city as a conqueror. In 1839, O'Donnell was appointed to the central army in the place of Nogueras, and captain-general of the kingdoms of Ai'agon, 284 irishmen's sons. Valentia, and Murcia. The enemies' strong- holds were then in Lower Aragon, in the Maistrazzo and in the provinces of Castellon, Teruel, Valencia, and Cuenca. To those places his early attention was du'ected, and before the close of the campaign he had taken and destroyed nearly all the hostile forts and works, and routed or captui-ed their defenders. He found time also to re- lieve Lucena, then only defended by two thousand troops ; and, with but eleven bat- talions and nine hundred horse, to signally defeat General Don Ramon Cabrera, one of the ablest and most experienced officers on either side. For this brilliant victory he was rewarded with the rank of Lieutenant- Greneral and the title of Count of Lucena. Thus, though twenty years a soldier, he had not attained his thirtieth year before he had won, by his skill, prudence, and desper- ate bravery, a military command and a reputation second to none of his country- men. It is interesting also to recollect that a portion, at least, of his success was due to the gallantry and proverbial bravery of FIELDMARSHAL o'dONNELL. 285 the countrymen of his ancestors, though we are by no means inclined to applaud the motives which induced so many Irishmen at this juncture to leave their homes and take part in the domestic quarrels of a country that had ever been friendly to them, merely to subserve the designs of a disrep- utable British minister. When England entered into the quad- ruple alliance of 1834, she stipulated only for the employment of a naval force, but with her usual duplicity, what she dared not do openly, she endeavored to effect by subterfuge. By an order in Council, dated June 9th, 1835, the Foreign Enlist- ment act was suspended and Colonel Evans, himself, unfortunately, an Irishman, was selected as the instrument to draw his countrymen into the meshes of a foreign dispute, in which they could by no pos- sibility be concerned, nor from the results of which could they be in any way the gainers. The so-called '^ British" Legion was however raised, not one in a hundred of the men being British, and sent out to 286 irishmen's sons. Spain. Duiing most of their period of ser- vice they formed a portion of O'DonnelFs command, and of course fouglit with des- perate and headlong valor, all of which, in the newspapers of the day and even in subsequent histories, being set down to the credit of ''British heroism" but, as might have been expected, their treatment by friends and foes alike was anything but flattering. By the Chiistinos they were regarded as mere mercenaries, and by the Carlists as adventurers who were entitled neither to quarter nor the slightest honors of war. England, too, though conniving at their enlistment, refused them all protection, and the remnant of those who had not been slain in open battle or fallen sacri- fices to the aroused vengeance of the Carlist peasantry, was led homeward by an officer named O'Connell — destitute alike of honor, glor}^, and even of the common necessaries of life. Tom Steele, the afterwards famous Pacificator of the Repeal agitation, was, we believe, among those unfortunates, and it is, probably, to the experience acquired by FIELDMARSHAL 0^D0N2s"ELL. 287 him in Spain that we are indebted for his subsequent devotion to the "moral force" doctrine. The civil war ended in 1840 ; the Carlist leaders were driven out of the country, and their followers either in their graves or seek- ing refuge in the mountains and caves. The natural results of such internecine strug- gles now began to show themselves. The victors commenced to quaiTel over the spoils. One of the first that felt the effects of the new order of things was the Count of Lucena. Becoming dissatisfied with the intrigues of the court of the Queen Regent, he joined an insun^ectionary party in Madrid in 1841, and having proceeded from thence to Pampe- luna he was threatened by overpowering numbers of the government troops and com- pelled to seek safety in flight. By this rash act he also lost his rank in the army. In two years afterwards he returned to Spain, di^ove Espartero from power, and was not only restored to his rank of Lieutenant-Gen- eral, but was appointed Captain-General of Cuba, the duties of which position he dis- 288 charged to the satisfaction of the people of that beautiful island and the home govei-n- ment, till 1848. His e.-ecutive abilities while in that position were as conspicuous as was his miHtary ski^^ during the war; and it may be said of 'liim, what cannot be truth- fully alleged of many of his predecessors and successors, that he endeavored to the best of his power to govern the Cubans with justice and moderation. On his return home he took his seat in the Altse Camarilla, and as a peaceful legislator promised to become even a more useful member of the body politic of Spain than he had been as an active defender of the throne on the field of battle. Many of his sjDeeches during his parliamentary career, though short, were full of pith and good sense, and exhibited an intimacy with the in- tricacies of Spanish politics scarcely to be ex- pected from one of his profession. But the affairs of Spain were fast degenerating into mere chaos, and the only remedy, if it can be called so, was araied insuiTection. The disease of the grand old countr}^ had become FIELDMAESHAL o'dONNELL. 289 chronic, and tliei'e was no peaceful cure that could be applied w} ;> effect. An ins;^•rec- tion accordingl}^ took place in 1854, headed by O'Donnell, who, having been joined by the ''Progresistas," den.....ied the reestab- lishment of the Constitution of 1837, the dismissal of the ministry, the banishment of Christina, and the reorganization of the national guard. All this was conceded, and Espartero returned from exile to act as re- gent for the young queen and form a new ministry, in which the Count of Lucena held the portfolio of War. Two years afterwards, this ministry was dissolved, Espartero again sent into banish- ment, and O'Donnell occupied the post of Prime-Minister from July to October, 1856. Then came his time to relinquish office, but he was again restored in June, 1858. In 1856 O'Donnell had been created a Fieldmarshal of Spain, and when the war between that country and Morocco broke out in 1859, he, as the highest ranking of- ficer in the army, as well as the ablest mili- tary leader, was appointed to the command 290 irishmen's sons. of tlie army of invasion. Though the war lasted only one year, it was full of glory and success to the Spanish arms. In a strange country, beset with difficulties and discour- agement at every step, and confronted by a brave, keen, and watchful foe, his cam- paign was one series of successes, so that even his enemies could not help admiring his audacity, tact, and indomitable per- severance. A peace most advantageous to Spain was concluded in 1860, and the con- queror returned amid the applause of a proud and grateful people, having, as he hoped, conferred honor on his country and race, and in return received the title of Duke of Tetuan. But alas ! for the uncertainty of political life and the inconstancy of rulers, particu- larly where there is no Salic law; the cheers of the populace had scarcely sub- sided and the favors of the court had not yet grown stale, when he again found himself an exile, and for the last time, for he died at Biarritz, France, in 1867, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, almost within sight of that FIELDMARSHAL O^DONNELL. 291 country which he had served for almost half a century. His death created a deep sensation in Spain ; and those who had been most active in causing his banishment now vied with each other in honoring- his memory. His remains were brought to Madrid by order of the queen, and with regal pomp and gorgeous ceremony deposited in the convent of Atocha. As he left no male issue, his title and estates descend to his nephew, Charles O'Donnell, Marquis of Altisnera. Whatever may be our opinions of his merits as a statesman, or the correctness of his judgment as a politician, few will deny Fieldmarshal O'Donnell the possession of the leading qualities of a great and success- ful soldier: comprehensiveness, resolution, undaunted moral and physical courage, and a thorough mastery of the details of the art of war. With each step of promotion, from the very lowest to the highest rank, his mind seems to have risen equal, if not superior, to each new demand upon its at- tention, and the result was that whether 292 irishmen's sons. called upon to act as sub-lieutenant, colonel, or general, he was always singularly prompt and invariably successful. In per- sonal appearance he had also many advan- tages, ha^dng been considered remarkably handsome, even in his declining years, with a commanding' fig-ure and a stature con- siderably over six feet. Under other cir- cumstances, he might have stood on the hills of Donegal or have been inaugurated at Kil- macrenan as no unworthy representative of the long line of illustrioHS princes of the Cinel Conaill. THE END. Date Due /- fe^^A- ti Q ^'^-^'-<';m • *^ If^i 1 ha battles, things, era of t Irish t they wi accord: a homt into va cution sword i social actual d.ites, examir bv Ins _. I ho, ide, rith ;her the s. f ;hat ent, e of ded n:: in Ct and ned lya few of these noble actions— to cull' as it were, some tlowers trom the immortal garlands with which modern histor>' has en wreathed the brow of Irish valor, and, by presenting them in a well-assorted bouquet, to show to the world, in miniafSife form, what grateful tributes have been ofFered to the exiled and long-suffering children of the land in which I had the honor of being born. "While selecting prominent characters, and incidentally touching on the relation of important battles, I have endeavored also to pre- serve as much as possible a chronological sequence, so that those BOSTON COLLEGE history of the who have neithel Q qqo^ 01 91 QnOQ a history oi tne last three centuL.0,1 ?^^^ U1213029 i afflictions of Ireland, may incidentally gain some notion of the motives, aims, and innate strength of her people, while amusing themselves with the moving accounts of practical warfare." ^ CONTENTS. Hugh O'Neill.— Battle of Yel. low Ford. Owen Roe O'Neill. — Battle of Benburb. A Fi ghting Bishop. — The Con- if" ■ Mad Anthony Wayne. — Cap- ture of Ston}- Point. General John Stark. — Battle of Bennington. General Edmund Hand. — How — ^-^"^ — ^^''=^---«iies BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. Books may be kept for two weeks and may be renewed for the same period, unless reserved. Two cents a day is charged for each book kept overtime. 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