Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Five Nations, better known later as
the Six Nations, was the most powerful confederacy of Indians in North
America. The governor of the province of New York, in a communication to
the committee of trade dated February 22, 1687, said, “The Five Nations
are the most warlike people in America. They go as far as the South sea,
the Northwest passage, and Florida to war. They are so considerable that
all the Indians in these parts of America are tributary to them.” To
gain the friendship of these people, was the constant aim of the French
in Canada, and the English in New York and New England.
The latter at the outset had an advantage from the fact, well-known,
that the former under Champlain, had antagonized the confederacy, by
forming an alliance with the Hurons whom it had not, up to that time,
subjected to its rule. This advantage, however, there is good reason to
believe, would not have inured to the benefit of the English, were it
not for the influence of two men of Irish blood, who by their tact,
discretion, and humanity, secured the alliance of the Six Nations for
the British government. The union thus created was of the greatest
possible benefit to the English colonies, and existed until the power of
the confederacy was destroyed forever, and the Indians themselves,
connected with it, almost swept from the face of the earth.
This deed was performed by troops under the command of another man of
Irish blood, who is credited with being the first in the English
colonies to commit an overt act against the British government by
leading a body of armed men against the Royal troops at Newcastle, N.
H., on Dec. 14, 1774. Thus will the names of three men, Thomas Dongan,
William Johnson, and John Sullivan, be forever inseparably connected
with the annals of the Six Nations, and the records of the province and
state of New York.
The ferocity, the cruelty, and the barbarism of the Indians comprising
the Six Nations, are described at length on the pages of the various
works written by Francis Parkman. Their very name terrorized the other
Indian tribes, almost from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Mississippi,
and in their efforts to dominate all others, they devastated the entire
country. It was not, therefore, surprising that their enmity was feared,
and their friendship sought. After the conquest of New York, and during
the dominion of the three first governors appointed by the English
government, no effort had been made to secure the latter.
The appointment, however, by James II, of Col. Thomas Dongan, placed at
the head of affairs in New York a man of distinguished character as a
soldier, and, as events subsequently proved, possessed of abilities in
civil affairs that entitle him to the rank of a statesman. He was a
native of Ireland, a Catholic in religion, and had been, through weal
and woe, a stanch adherent of his royal master. He had seen service in
the French army, and in both Britain and France was looked upon as a
brave and skilful officer.
He was commissioned governor on Sept. 30, 1682. Under his administration
the first legislative assembly met in the colony and under it a law was
enacted granting religious toleration to the members of all Christian
churches. He had not been long in his new position before he realized
the importance of securing for his government the good will of the Five
Nations. It goes without saying that, in their intercourse with the
American Indians, the French, for one reason or another, had been able
to get along with them better than did the English, and up to the time
of Colonel Dongan’s arrival, they were doing all in their power to
secure an alliance with the Indians whose prowess they feared as well as
respected. He saw that action, immediate action, was necessary to
counteract the influence being exercised by the French.
One of the first steps taken by him was to oblige the Jesuit
missionaries who were among them to return to Canada; thus proving that
his religion was no obstacle in the way of loyalty to his government.
For this, and for other similar acts, he was complained of by the
Canadian authorities, who wrote at length to the king of France, who in
turn complained to the king of England in relation to the matter.
This did not deter Dongan, however, and during his entire
administration, extending over a period of nearly six years, he labored
incessantly to effect a union between his government and the Indians,
which, through his tact, and his good judgment, was finally effected to
his satisfaction before his departure. No man of British birth or of the
Protestant religion, labored more diligently, zealously, or successfully
for his government, than did this Irish-born Catholic. His address to
the Indian Nations in City hall, Albany, on Aug. 5, 1687, near the close
of his administration, as published in the documentary history of New
York, is most interesting reading, as well as a good illustration of the
condition of affairs then existing between the French and the English
nations on this continent.
Dongan was so fair, honorable, and equitable in his dealings with all
men, that, to this day, none of New York’s rulers, before or since the
Revolution, stands higher with historical writers. An unpublished life
of him, written more than seventy-five years ago, by ex-Governor Plumer,
of New Hampshire, is now in possession of the New Hampshire Historical
Society. During Dongan’s term as governor, all the New England governors
looked to him for counsel and advice. It was not uncommon in those days
to appeal to him to send the Mohawks to their aid in repelling the
attacks of the French and Indians. It can safely be said that from the
settlement of New Amsterdam down to the day of his departure, no one man
had done more than he in shaping the course of events which ultimately
led to the success of the English government, and the final
establishment, in consequence, of the republic. It is not too much to
say that, had the French been successful thus early in securing the
coöperation of the Indians mentioned, the result to the English colonies
would be easy to conjecture.
From 1688 to 1746 it is safe to say that the colony of New York
contained no man who can be considered equal to Dongan in the capacity
of either a soldier or a statesman. In the latter year, however, a young
man arrived in America, commissioned by the royal government as
“colonial agent and sole superintendent of all the affairs of the Six
Nations and other Northern Indians,” who became in time his legitimate
successor. For nearly thirty years he was the greatest power in New
York, and his reputation extended far beyond its borders.
His name was William Johnson. He was the son of Christopher Johnson, of
Smithtown, County Meath, Ireland, who was descended from a distinguished
Irish family. His mother was Anne Warren, daughter of Michael Warren, of
the same county, and sister of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, who was second
in command, under Admiral Lord Boscawen, at the reduction of Louisburg,
Cape Breton. Christopher Johnson was the son of William McShane,
afterwards anglicized to Johnson, and of Anne Fitzsimmons, of Westmeath,
Ireland.
William McShane was the son of Thomas McShane, and Thomas McShane was
the son of John O’Neill, who was a descendant of the O’Neills of Ulster.
Four steps backward, consequently, places William Johnson where he
properly belongs as a descendant of one of the greatest of the Northern
Gaelic clans. The Warrens, from whom his mother was descended, came to
Ireland in 1170. This record is taken from the order book of Sir John
Johnson, the son of William, and a major-general in the British army
during the Revolution.
William Johnson was adopted by his uncle Admiral Warren, and accompanied
him to America in 1746, or thereabouts. From the first he took an active
part in the affairs of the province and it was not long before his
reputation extended beyond it. His services were duly recognized by the
home government and a baronetcy was the expression of its satisfaction
with his management of the affairs committed to his charge.
His power over the Indians of the Six Nations was unbounded. The union
effected by Dongan was strengthened and perfected by him. In the various
conflicts occurring from his arrival in New York, until the final
downfall of the French power in Canada, he was looked up to as a leader
by all the eastern provincials. He was commander-in-chief of the forces
engaged in the expedition against Crown Point, to which soldiers were
furnished by the four New England colonies and New York.
In consequence, his form and features became familiar to Rogers, Stark,
and others from New Hampshire, who were with him at Lake George and Fort
William Henry. Of him it was said at this period by a well known
historical writer, that “he was perhaps the most prominent man in the
province of New York, during the decade that preceded the Declaration of
Independence.”
The sturdy Knickerbocker, Peter Van Shaak, in alluding to him, said, on
July 24, 1774, “I own I consider him as the greatest character of the
age.”
Another writer said of him, “Coming to America at the age of
twenty-three, although of good birth and family, he set out to make his
own fortunes, and plunged into the forests. He opened a store, bought
furs, and traded with the natives. He won their admiration, for he was
athletic, brave and true-hearted. He won their confidence, for he always
told the truth, and treated them with justice. He was made
superintendent of Indian affairs, but he never took advantage of his
place to rob his wards.
“He was made a baronet, but he never forgot his humble friends. For
nearly thirty years he stood up as the advocate of the Six Nations,
compelling a recognition of their rights. The struggle often was severe,
for he encountered every obstacle that the greed or avarice of the
whites could suggest, but he triumphed, enforced good faith towards the
red men, and retained their friendship.”
The correspondence between Sir William and the governors of the New
England colonies, in those trying times, takes up considerable space in
the Provincial records. In considering the present condition of New
York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, so far
as population and resources are concerned, it cannot but be of interest
to make a comparison with the situation then. On the authority of
Theodore Atkinson, provincial secretary of New Hampshire, in the spring
of 1755, that province fitted out a regiment of 500 men for the Crown
Point expedition and had them in the woods fully two months before the
other provinces had their men on the Hudson river.
In addition, the province supplied its own troops with rations during
that period. Colonel Blanchard of this regiment was post-commander at
Fort Edward. The New York regiment was also under his command. Colonel
Blanchard’s regiment experienced hard service, and acquitted itself
creditably. Sir William wrote Governor Wentworth, Nov. 4, 1755, and
said: “The activity and usefulness of Colonel Blanchard’s regiment would
prejudice me in favor of any other from your province.” In September of
the same year a second regiment, numbering 300 men, was raised and
placed under command of Colonel Gilman.
In the formation of this expedition the following apportionments were
made for the colonies named: Massachusetts, 1,200; Connecticut, 1,000;
New York, 800; Rhode Island, 500; New Hampshire, 600.
To this division, so far as the provinces of New Hampshire and
Massachusetts were concerned, the New Hampshire officials objected.
Their proportion as a rule being one hundred, to Massachusetts, 1,000.
They were informed in reply that Massachusetts had raised four
regiments, respectively, for Governor Shirley, Sir William Pepperell,
and two for the Nova Scotia campaign, and in justice, this fact ought to
be taken into consideration.
New Hampshire retorted in turn, that, while willing to give
Massachusetts credit for raising the four regiments named, their
province furnished more than half of the men; a circumstance similar to
that which occurred twenty years later at Bunker Hill, where New
Hampshire furnished more than one half of the men, and Massachusetts
took nearly all the honor. A compromise was effected by reducing the
number from 600 to 500. It can be seen from this that the provinces of
New York and New Hampshire were in close touch in those early days, and
the record made in the Civil War by the descendants of the men who
fought at Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, was fully equal to that
made by their ancestors, as testified to by Sir William Johnson. To the
white settlers around him, he was always a kind friend as well as a wise
counselor.
To his subordinates, he was a generous and liberal superior. When
appointed to take command of the expedition in question, and while
negotiating with the authorities of New Hampshire and Massachusetts for
the appointment of white officers for the Indian troops, he insisted
that as the service would be very severe, they must receive the same
compensation as the officers in the regular service, and required what
he called “solid satisfaction” instead of a verbal agreement as a
guarantee for the payment of the same. He was surrounded on his estate
by many of his own countrymen, and lived in the same style, so far as it
could be done, as those of his rank did in Ireland. It is fair to
presume that the Gaelic tongue was not unknown in his family, for one of
his daughters was alluded to as “Sheilia,” and Sir Guy Johnson, his
nephew and successor, was credited with being the possessor of a
“genuine rich Irish brogue.”
His son John succeeded to his estate and title. As in the case of
Colonel Dongan, Great Britain did not possess on the American continent
a more loyal or devoted subject or a more faithful officer than it had
in Sir William Johnson, and both, as the records show, in blood were
Irish of the Irish. It was not his fortune to live when the struggle
began between the colonies and Great Britain for he died on June 24,
1774.
On Dec. 14, 1774, barely six months from the death of Johnson, the first
rumble of the guns of the Revolution was heard. On that date an armed
body of determined men, led by Major John Sullivan and Capt. John
Langdon, stormed Fort William and Mary, at Newcastle, near Portsmouth,
N. H. The garrison was captured, the munitions of war taken, and in
broad daylight, the British flag was hauled down, and, so far as New
Hampshire was concerned, remained down forever. This was the first overt
act against the Royal government in the thirteen colonies. It was four
months before the conflict at Concord and Lexington, and six months
before the battle of Bunker Hill.
The powder captured at Newcastle was put to good use at Bunker Hill, and
many of the men who handled it in both places had served their
apprenticeship as soldiers under Johnson during the various Indian
campaigns. John Sullivan was the grandson of Major Philip O’Sullivan,
one of the defenders of Limerick, who went with his regiment to France
after the surrender. His family was one of the most distinguished in the
south of Ireland. His father was Owen O’Sullivan, who was a teacher in
New Hampshire for over fifty years. He contributed four sons, all of
whom became commissioned officers, to the Continental army. Two of these
later became governors, respectively, of New Hampshire and
Massachusetts. John Sullivan, when the troubles first began, was an
attorney with an established reputation and with a lucrative practice.
On the authority of John Adams, he was worth ten thousand pounds when he
cast his lot with the advocates of independence. He held the commission
of major in one of the Provincial regiments.
He had seen no active service, but possessed a good theoretical military
education from a close study of all available works relating to the art
of war. His ability was recognized by his associates. He was chosen
delegate from his town to the first Provincial congress of New
Hampshire, and was selected by that body to represent his native
province in the first Continental congress which met in Philadelphia in
1774. He was reappointed January 25, 1775. He was the first person
chosen to represent New Hampshire in Congress, and his name heads the
first roll of delegates to that body. He was one of the eight
brigadier-generals appointed by Congress in 1775, and in less than a
year from the date of his commission was promoted to major-general.
His first appointment came to him for his leadership at Newcastle, and
his promotion for the ability displayed in leading Montgomery’s defeated
army back from Canada, without, it is said, the loss of a man or a gun.
The Royal government recognized his ability as it feared his influence.
Realizing who was to be held responsible for the storming of the fort at
Newcastle, Peter Livius, a Royalist refugee, who had been chief justice
of New Hampshire, wrote him in June, 1777:
“You were the first man in active rebellion, and drew with you the
province you live in. You will be one of the first sacrifices to the
resentment and justice of the government. Your family will be ruined,
and you must die with ignominy.” This was the man to whom Washington
turned for a leader when Congress determined, in 1779, to organize an
expedition for the destruction of the Six Nations. When the Revolution
began the colonial authorities sent delegates to the great council of
the Iroquois, to secure, if possible, their neutrality in the coming
contest. There was good reason to expect it, for the Provincials had
fought with them and for them against the French for years. The
confederacy could muster at this time about 2,000 warriors. The
delegates returned, confident that an arrangement had been effected,
but, as subsequent events proved, any action by the Indians to that end
was revoked, and fully 1,200 of them were secured for the British
service.
It is not necessary, neither was it the intention, to describe here the
events occurring on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania during
the years 1777 and 1778. The terrible atrocities perpetrated on the
defenceless settlers by Indians, Tories, British regulars, and refugees,
whose passions were inflamed with hatred against the struggling
patriots, were a disgrace to civilization and a foul blot on the British
government, which sought to crush the Revolution by such horrible
methods. A well-known New York writer, a descendant of some of those who
suffered at Cherry Valley, while describing the massacres by the Indians
said: “But, after all, I blame much more the English monarch who incited
the fiendish warfare, than the red men, who took his gold and fought
after their fashion.”
He could have truthfully added that but twenty years after, similar
deeds were committed without the aid of Indian auxiliaries, by order of
the same government, when it crushed, in Ireland, the rebellion of 1798.
Many of those who then met their death by the bullet or bayonet, or
swung from the gallows, were akin to hundreds who marched and fought
under Sullivan in this campaign. A kinsman of one of them, Francis
McKinley, who suffered death on the scaffold in Ireland at that time, is
now president of the United States. The destruction of the thriving
settlement of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, and the devastation along the
banks of the Susquehanna, finally brought Congress to a realization of
the situation.
That body adopted a resolution on February 27, 1779, authorizing General
Washington to take the most effective measures for protecting the people
and punishing the Indians, who were allies of the British. The
commander-in-chief made no delay. An expedition consisting of four
brigades, made up of some of the best troops in the Continental Army,
was organized. Their composition was as follows: First Brigade,
Brig.-Gen. William Maxwell, four regiments from New Jersey; Second
Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Enoch Poor, three New Hampshire and one
Massachusetts regiments. Third Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Edward Hand, three
Pennsylvania regiments, a German battalion, three independent companies,
and a battalion of Morgan’s riflemen. Fourth Brigade, Brig.-Gen. James
Clinton, four New York regiments and a section of artillery.
The command of the expedition was first offered to General Gates, the
hero of Saratoga, as a matter of courtesy, with the request, in case he
did not desire to assume command, to turn it over to General Sullivan.
The expected happened; it was refused, and the army was placed under
Sullivan’s leadership. Washington’s instructions were, in short, to
devastate, and, if possible, destroy the Indian settlements totally, and
to capture as many persons as possible. Sullivan had no easy task before
him. Difficulties, which are needless to mention here, beset him on all
sides. Some of the troops were discontented, almost to the point of
mutiny, on account of the worthless character of the Continental paper
money paid them; and delays in furnishing supplies were not among the
least annoyances of the situation.
Sullivan’s energetic disposition and tireless efforts, aided largely by
Washington’s sympathetic encouragement, finally overcame all obstacles,
and on June 14, 1779, his command had reached Wyoming. It is not
necessary to describe in detail this campaign, for it is too well known.
Washington’s instructions were carried out to the letter. The powerful
confederacy of the Indians, for more than a century the terror of the
country and the peaceful settlers, was completely destroyed; their
villages, orchards, and cornfields were devastated beyond reparation,
and the greater part of themselves, not killed or captured, driven
forever beyond the Canadian border. No repetitions of Wyoming and Cherry
Valley were possible thereafter. For his conduct of the campaign,
Sullivan was severely criticised. The destruction of property was cruel
and needless, it was said, and the treatment of the Indians not in
harmony with civilized warfare.
To these strictures no reply was made. Sullivan heard them in silence,
and through life bore them uncomplainingly. He had obeyed the orders
given him by General Washington, and time has done him justice. The
great state of New York has ever held his name in grateful remembrance.
It is borne by one of its counties. Nearly twenty years ago the people
dwelling in the valleys through which marched his victorious troops,
assembled at Newtown, Waterloo, Geneseo, and Aurora, to celebrate the
first centennial of the campaign, which opened up the fertile lands of
Central New York to the victors in the War of Independence.
The principal celebration was at Newtown. Among the participants were
the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire, the
provinces furnishing full three quarters of Sullivan’s soldiers; and
Gen. William T. Sherman, then commander of the United States Army. In
his address, he said: “Washington gave General Sullivan orders to come
here and punish the Six Nations for their cruel massacre in the Valley
of the Wyoming, and to make it so severe that it would not occur again,
and he did so. General Sullivan obeyed his orders like a man and like a
soldier.”
As a recognition of what had been done, Sullivan and his troops received
the thanks of Congress, and were complimented in General Orders by
Washington. At the conclusion of his military service, John Sullivan
returned to his native state, where he lived to the hour of his death,
honored and respected by those who knew him best. He was its third
governor, its first United States judge, appointed by Washington, and
the organizer, and for a time commander, of the state militia.
He was attorney-general of his state for years, and was succeeded later
in the same position by his son and grandson. His great great grandson,
Captain John Sullivan, was an officer in the Thirteenth N. H. Regiment
in the Civil War. From the entrenchments round Boston in the winter of
1775 he wrote to the Committee of Safety of New Hampshire, in response
to its request, giving his opinion of the kind of a government we ought
to have for he was in favor of separation from the outset. On the line
of his suggestions was drafted the State Constitution of 1776, which was
the first to be adopted by any of the thirteen colonies, and this at a
time when the minds of many, prominent in public affairs, were wavering
on the question of independence. There was no intention to give, in this
paper, any account in detail of the great events occurring between 1682
and 1779, save what is necessary to bring out as clearly as possible the
characters and the deeds of a few men of Irish blood who aided largely
in furnishing material for making American history, and as well to give
the country which produced them the credit to which it is justly
entitled.
The credit due Ireland for them, as well as for many others who have
distinguished themselves here in years gone by, has not always been
given. Our duty, as members of the American-Irish Historical Society,
will be to right this great wrong and never cease our efforts until the
errors of latter day historians, so far as they relate to the Irish in
America, are corrected. This expedition against the Six Nations is in
itself a great illustration of the prominent part taken by men of Irish
birth or parentage in the War for Independence and the establishment of
the Republic. Of the five generals holding command, the leader,
Major-General John Sullivan, and Brigade-Commander James Clinton were
born here of Irish parentage. Two of the other three, namely: General
Edward Hand and General Wm. Maxwell, were born in Ireland. The fifth,
General Enoch Poor, was a native of New Hampshire.
That there were many of Irish blood in the ranks with muskets on their
shoulders, the rosters of each regiment will doubtless show. Among them
was Timothy Murphy, who was one of the few of Lieutenant Boyd’s scouting
party escaping capture by the Indians. He was styled by Colonel Hubbley,
commander of one of the Pennsylvania regiments, in his diary, as a noted
marksman and a great soldier. On his authority Murphy killed, during the
campaign, thirty-three Indians. His name is, in consequence, a household
word in Pennsylvania and New York. Among those of Boyd’s party killed or
tortured to death were Lieut. Thomas Boyd, Corp. Michael Parker, John
Conroy, William Faughey, James McElroy, Benjamin Curtin and Corporal
Calahawn. Col. Thomas Proctor, who commanded the Pennsylvania artillery
regiment, and Col. William Butler, of the same brigade, were both born
in Ireland.
As a native of Ireland I am proud of the record here spread forth of the
deeds of Irishmen and the sons of Irishmen; and as an adopted son of New
Hampshire, I glory in the spirit of independence displayed by the people
of that state from the very first, and believe that it is largely due to
the liberal strain of Irish blood running in the veins of her sons. Her
men were with Johnson at Crown Point, as they were with Stark at Bunker
Hill, and Sullivan at Newtown. They never failed to go where duty
called, and their service in the Civil War showed no degeneration, for
the official records of the Union and Confederate armies give the Fifth
New Hampshire credit for losing more men in action than any other
infantry regiment in the Union army. Territorially, as well as in
population, she does not cut a large figure to-day, but less than a
century and a half ago, she sent as many men to Crown Point as the
province of New York, and contributed nearly one quarter of the troops
for Sullivan’s expedition, besides furnishing its commander.
She contributed more than her quota of men to the Continental army, one
hundred thousand dollars more than her proportion of money, and
possessed within her borders fewer Tories than did any one of the
original thirteen colonies. It has often and truthfully been said, “New
Hampshire is a good state to hail from.” She gave you here in New York
one of your most distinguished governors, Gen. John A. Dix, who, when
the shadow of secession hung like a cloud all over the country, penned
the memorable sentence, “If any man attempts to haul down the American
flag, shoot him on the spot.” She sent to Massachusetts the only man,
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, who dared to execute the order; only he thought
shooting too honorable and hanged the man Mumford, who dared to disobey
it. The record of her sons for bravery and honorable service has been
second to none. One of her regimental commanders, Henry Dearborn, who
was with Sullivan in his campaign, became afterwards commander-in-chief
of the United States army. Another, Maj.-Gen. John G. Foster, was one of
the defenders of Sumter, and a gallant soldier of the Civil War. Still
another was Maj.-Gen. Fitz John Porter, who, like General Dix, became a
resident of New York. The _Kearsarge_, built of New Hampshire timber and
manned mainly by New Hampshire tars, met the _Alabama_, and under the
direction of executive officer Capt. James S. Thornton, the grandson of
New Hampshire’s Irish-born signer of the Declaration of Independence, in
a fair, open fight, sent the British-built and British-armed privateer
to the bottom of the ocean.
In civil affairs, also, her sons have distinguished themselves. She sent
to Massachusetts, Henry Wilson; to Maine, William Pitt Fessenden; to
Iowa, James W. Grimes; to Michigan, Zachariah Chandler; and to Ohio,
Salmon P. Chase. The latter was secretary of the treasury, and the
others chairmen, respectively, during the Civil War, of the senate
committees on military affairs, on finance and appropriations, on
District of Columbia, and on committee on commerce. To represent herself
during the same period, she sent to the United States senate John P.
Hale and Daniel Clark. The former was chairman of the committee on naval
affairs, the latter chairman of the committee on claims.
She contributed to New York, in addition to those named, Horace Greeley
and Charles A. Dana. Of those here mentioned, John P. Hale, Daniel
Clark, James W. Grimes and Horace Greeley were of Irish descent. Hale
was the son of Mary O’Brien. Her father was Wm. O’Brien, the younger of
the historic O’Brien brothers of Maine. While acting as second in
command under his brother, Capt. John O’Brien, on the Hibernia ship of
war during the Revolution, he was mortally wounded in an engagement with
an English vessel, and died of his wounds at the age of twenty-two.
The reader of history to-day, if conversant with the events occurring in
British and French America from the first settlement down to the
outbreak of the Revolution, can see the wisdom of securing the
friendship of the Six Nations. For a century they stood as a bulwark
between the English and their northern rivals. Without their aid and
with their enmity the former could not have prospered as they had; and,
as a consequence, would not have been in condition to resist the unjust
exactions of the home government. For this reason the names of Colonel
Thomas Dongan and of Sir William Johnson ought to be held forever in
remembrance in New York and in New England for what they had done in
bringing this about. The ways of Providence are mysterious, and to
mortals often beyond comprehension.
This powerful confederacy, for so many years the terror of the French,
as it was the hope of the English settlements, outlived its usefulness;
and its downfall was finally brought about by the men or the children of
the men with whom it had been for so many years in alliance. As in the
first instance, the union between it and the English had been effected
mainly through the influence of two men of Irish birth, so in the end it
was broken forever by an army led by a man of Irish parentage.
If these conclusions are correct, Thomas Dongan, Wm. Johnson O’Neill,
and John Sullivan ought to be assigned honorable positions among the
pioneers and builders of the United States of America.
[Illustration:
MR. JAMES F. BRENNAN,
Of New Hampshire, State Library Commissioner.
Residence, PETERBOROUGH.
]
[Illustration:
JOHN D. HANRAHAN, M. D.,
Of Vermont, Ex-President Rutland County Medical and Surgical Society.
Residence, RUTLAND.
]
[Illustration:
JOHN F. HAYES, M. D.,
Of Connecticut, Member Waterbury Board of Education.
Residence, WATERBURY.
]
[Illustration:
WILLIAM A. M. MACK, M. D.,
Of New Jersey.
Mayor of ELIZABETH, N. J.
]