the reason that England needed her entire available marine force for
service in home waters because of the war with France. The suggestion of
a private ship was more successful and met with the financial assistance
of the King, the duke of Shrewsbury, lord chancellor Somers, the Earls
of Oxford and Romney, Robert Livingston and others, Bellomont assuming
the responsibility of equipment. It was this ship, the _Adventure_,
which was turned over to William Kidd, a resident of New York, then in
London. Kidd, beyond question, ranks as the transcendent specimen of his
class. He was a navigator _par excellence_, a man of the world; a type
that, when pushed by fortune into any orbit, commands the situation by
the power of his own robust characteristics. Kidd’s orders were simple.
He was to prey upon French commerce and to destroy pirates. In the first
desideratum he proved a failure; in the second, by becoming a pirate
himself he achieved a brilliant and, in the end, a fatal success. Upon
his career on the high seas, as a privateer and pirate, it is not
necessary to dilate. Two years after his departure from Plymouth he
arrived in New York, only to find that his friend, Governor Fletcher,
and other piratical sympathizers were no longer in control of the
affairs of the province. Kidd sailed Eastward along the Sound and buried
part of his plunder on Gardiner’s Island. He then proceeded to Boston,
where he appeared on the streets in the gorgeous raiment of a man of
fashion. Governor Bellomont happened to meet him, recognized him,
arrested him and shipped him to Europe. Kidd was tried and convicted for
the murder of William Moore—and was hanged as a pirate.
In the meantime Bellomont deplored the legacy his predecessor, Fletcher,
had left him: A divided people, an empty purse, a few miserable, naked,
half-starved soldiers, not half the number the King allowed pay for; the
fortifications and the governor’s house very much out of repair, and “in
a word the whole government was out of frame.” The province was rent
with turmoil and turbulence in consequence of the Leisler-Milborne
rebellion. The new governor’s sympathies had been drawn toward the
martyr Leisler, whose enemies in the aristocratic party resisted almost
to the point of violence Bellomont’s efforts to make restitution for a
monstrous crime. As a rebuke to the rascality of his predecessor
Bellomont had declared: “I will take care there shall be no
misapplication of the public money; I will pocket none of it myself nor
shall there be embezzlement by others.” To this standard he
unflinchingly held. No breath of scandal, no charge of prostitution of
duty for self-aggrandizement tainted his reputation. He loyally
protected the interests of those whom he was sent to govern. He was
distinctively a statesman of the constructive school, in marked
contradistinction to many of those governors who preceded and who
followed him, who pursued a policy of confiscation or of destruction—of
confiscation in grabbing everything in sight and of destruction by
undermining the liberties of the people and by attempted restriction of
their God-given rights. Under Bellomont’s short administration the
frontiers were strengthened, a library was established, printing was
encouraged, shipping promoted and education, which had been neglected,
stimulated. His untimely death, however, prevented the development of
many beneficent reforms which he had under contemplation.
Under the cloak of politics repressive religious measures were adopted
and inhuman persecutions practised. Dongan, an Irish Catholic, favored
an act permitting Jews to exercise their religion, but the New York
Common Council vetoed the proposition, while Bellomont, an Irish church
of England worshipper, approved the measure proscribing priests, on the
ground that Catholic prelates uniformly labored to excite the Indians
against the Anglo-Americans. Both governors recommend themselves to
posterity for enlightened statesmanship that throws into deep obscurity
the times in which they lived. Dongan brought to the province of New
York the first semblance of a representative form of government; under
Lord Bellomont the first spark of American Independence flashes, by the
demand that the colonists repudiate the laws of England because the
colonists are not represented in the parliament that frames these laws.
The board of trade of London directs Bellomont to check this heresy
because “the independence the Colonists thirst for is so notorious.”
During the Colonial epoch England assigned many men to govern New York.
The governor possessed unlimited despotic powers. He exercised authority
denied to the King. He not only made the laws but interpreted and
executed them, and when necessary unmade them. He usurped the
prerogatives of the Assembly and of the courts; his council was merely
an aggregation of automatons who danced when he pulled the string. No
act of the Assembly was placed on the statute book without his signature
and no decision of the court was valid until he, as chief justice,
passed judgment, and in this respect he exercised powers denied to the
King, for his Majesty, while permitted to sit on the king’s bench, was
prohibited from expressing judgment. There were two governors of early
New York who never have been brought under the ban of usurping the
functions of the coördinate branches of government nor of debasing the
powers confided to them by their superiors, Thomas Dongan and the Earl
of Bellomont. No charge ever has been brought that they carried away
money unworthily raised or dishonestly made. Nor has either ever been
accused of using his high position for unmeritorious or discreditable
purposes. Both, however, have received the encomiums and praise of
historians of England and America as rulers and statesmen of the highest
degree of efficiency and honesty at a time when the standard of morals
and of statesmanship was lamentably low and unquestionably debased.
Toward both every Irishman and every New Yorker should turn with
sentiments of the strongest esteem and admiration of the highest
calibre, not only in commendation of the success they gained in the
fulfillment of official obligations in the face of discouraging and
corrupt environment, but for the sturdy and sterling manhood they
displayed in the maintenance of their official honor and in the normal
performance of their official duty.
In this connection it may not be amiss for us to pay a deserved tribute
to Dr. Edmund Bailey O’Callaghan, a native of Ireland, who was more
instrumental in awakening the study of the Dutch language and of our
priceless Dutch records than any other man since the creation of the
State of New York. Dr. O’Callaghan represented the type of the pushing,
aggressive and scholarly Irishman. Two years of his early life were
devoted to the study of medicine in Paris. At the age of twenty-six he
crossed the ocean, settled in Canada and at once became prominent in the
agitation for Catholic emancipation in Ireland and England. He became
secretary of an organization for Irish immigrants to America, edited a
newspaper in Montreal, and was sent to the Provincial Parliament, where
his activity and ability placed him in the front rank as a leader. His
radical views and conduct, however, brought a mob of tories to his
office and led to the destruction of his type, press and establishment.
His neighbors, however, made it so unpleasant that he was compelled to
seek refuge in the United States when he was forty years of age. He
established his residence in Albany, was fortunate in the selection of
his most intimate friend, Chancellor Reuben Hyde Walworth, practised his
profession with more or less success, and at the same time conducted an
industrial paper called the _Northern Light_. It was at this period
that, during the anti-rent disturbances, he undertook the study of the
Dutch language. His “History of New Netherlands” made him famous and
stimulated the study of Colonial records and Colonial research
throughout the United States.
[Illustration:
HONORABLE JAMES FITZGERALD.
Justice of Supreme Court of the State of New York.
]
THE SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK CITY.
_A Paper Read before the American-Irish Historical Society, at its
Twelfth Annual Meeting, Held at the Hotel Plaza, New York City,
Saturday, January 8, 1910, by Hon. James Fitzgerald, Justice of the
Supreme Court of the State of New York._
The patriotic founders of our government looked with disfavor upon the
existence of large standing armies in times of peace for very many
reasons. Not only did they consider them a tax upon industry and a drain
upon the young manhood of the country, but they felt that their
maintenance constituted a menace to liberty, and yet these wise and far
seeing builders of the Republic realized that there could be no security
for personal liberty or property rights in a State that had not at its
command an armed force, and so we find imbedded in the fundamental law a
provision that “a well regulated militia being necessary to the security
of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not
be infringed” (Art. 2, 1st Amendts. U. S. Const. March, 1789). Freedom
had just been achieved by the sword, and that reliance for its
preservation must at all times rest upon arms was a doctrine to which
the statesmen of the Revolution unreservedly subscribed. Soldiers were
necessary but it was not necessary that all good soldiers should be
professionals. To citizens engaged in the ordinary avocations of life,
in industrial arts, in commercial pursuits, in commerce or trade, in the
professions, military instruction could be given, opportunities for
practice and drill formations afforded, including lessons in the
organization and mobilization of armies, so that when necessity
required, a well disciplined armed body might be readily summoned from
civil ranks for service in the field and as readily absorbed back into
industrial life when the hour of peril had passed, the threatened danger
had been averted and the emergency no longer existed for martial music,
emblazoned banners, marching legions and tented fields.
Since the earliest settlement of this continent, the Irish race has been
prominently identified with our history. Irishmen were among the first
settlers; they continued to come uninterruptedly, they are still coming,
and unless conditions change very much for the better in the Green Isle,
they are going to keep on coming in the future. The spirit of
Irish-Americanism is a spirit of intense Americanism; it stands for the
Union of States, the sovereignty of the flag, obedience to the laws,
loyalty to the government, good citizenship in peace, and in war, prompt
response when volunteers are called for. Volumes would be insufficient
to spread the record of the achievements of the sons of Erin upon
American battlefields; individuals might be cited by the score or by the
hundred whose intrepidity and devotion shed glory upon our arms on sea
and shore.
The Constitution of the State of New York, adopted April 20, 1777,
contained the clause: “The militia of this State at all times hereafter,
as well in peace as in war, shall be armed, disciplined and ready for
service.” The necessary enactments to carry out this provision were
provided for by legislation the following year. (Chap. 33. “An Act for
regulating the Militia of the State of New York.” Passed April 3, 1778;
Chap. 46, An Act to amend an act entitled “An Act for regulating the
Militia of the State of New York.” Passed June 30, 1778.) Outside of a
few cities, while the militia force was large upon paper, it was in
reality but a mere skeleton. Until at the end of 1860, there were less
than 15,000 men uniformed, disciplined and drilled, or in any sort of
readiness for military duty, and this meagre force was chiefly confined
to the cities of New York and Brooklyn, with contingents at Kingston and
Albany.
The first record of the 69th Regiment of New York City is the order
issued by the Adjutant General, bearing date November 1, 1851, and
designated “General Order 489.” This order provided for the
consolidation into a single regiment of a number of independent
companies which had been separately organized prior to that time chiefly
by men of Irish birth or parentage. About this period, owing to the vast
volume of immigration in the preceding decade, New York contained the
largest Irish population of any city in the world, and from the first,
the 69th became identified in the public mind as a regiment composed of
Irishmen. Among its early officers appear the names of some men who were
well-known in connection with the Young Ireland movement, which had
culminated but a few years previously. Its first commander was Colonel
Charles S. Roe, who served until 1854, and was succeeded by Colonel
James B. Ryan, who was followed August 26, 1859, by the gallant and
beloved Col. Michael Corcoran. The regiment crept early into the
affections of the people of the metropolis and was beloved by the Irish
residents. Its distinctive character was manifested in numerous and
emphatic ways,—sometimes by the wearing of green faced tunics, at others
by the display of plumes showing the green above the red, the carrying
of the Irish flag, or other similar devices. It had usually the right of
the line in the St. Patrick’s Day parades, and in all functions in which
it participated, its approach was heralded by the strains of well-known
Irish music. It rapidly became the typical Irish military organization
of the country, and for its success or failure, the children of the race
throughout the Union felt themselves responsible.
In 1860, the then Prince of Wales—now Edward VII, King of Great
Britain—visited the United States, and was scheduled to arrive in New
York City on Thursday, October 11, of that year. The First Division, New
York State Militia, was ordered out to receive him and directed to form
at the Battery for the purpose of parade and review. All the regiments
of the Division with the exception of the Sixty-ninth Regiment,
assembled at the time and place appointed for the formation. The order
received by Colonel Corcoran from headquarters was not promulgated, and
he was immediately ordered under arrest and a court martial summoned to
try him upon a charge of disobedience of orders. This circumstance fixed
firmly in the public mind the race and sentiments of the commander and
the men of the 69th.
April 12, 1861, witnessed the firing upon Fort Sumter, and on the 15th,
President Lincoln issued his proclamation calling out the militia of the
several states to the number of 75,000 men, and five days thereafter,
the court martial which had been ordered to try Colonel Corcoran was
dissolved, the pending charges were dismissed, and he was at once
restored to his command. The order dismissing the charges, which bears
date, April 20, 1861, is designated Special Order No. 9, and reads as
follows:
“In pursuance of Special Orders No. 58 from General Headquarters, the
Court Martial detailed for the trial of Colonel Corcoran is dissolved,
and the charges dismissed, and Colonel Corcoran is directed forthwith
to resume the command of his regiment.
“By order of
“CHARLES W. SANFORD,
“_Major-General_.
“GEORGE W. MORELL,
“_Div. Eng’r. and Div. Insp’r._”
Colonel Corcoran at once resumed command of the regiment and issued
General Order No. 1, an historic order concluding with the words: “The
Commandant feels proud that his first duty after being relieved from a
long arrest is to have the honor of promulgating an order to the
regiment to rally to the support of the Constitution and Laws of the
United States.” Within twenty-four hours from the posting of this order,
six thousand men had volunteered, but the instructions of Governor
Morgan prohibited the enlistment of more than the regimental compliment
of one thousand men. The twenty-third of April, 1861, dawned bright and
clear, but warmer than usual at that season, over the Empire City;
apprehension and gloom prevailed throughout the country; ten sovereign
states had formed a powerful confederacy and were in armed revolt
against the authority of the Federal Government. Many of the ablest
soldiers and statesmen of the Republic had taken their stand against the
Union; the timid were upon the verge of panic, and misgivings and
uncertainty were paralyzing even the resolute and strong. Under such
circumstances, faithful and loyal, the gallant Sixty-ninth Militia
assembled in Prince Street, near the then St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the
Cathedral of the great Archbishop of New York, the Most Reverend John
Hughes, and proceeded thence to the rendezvous at Great Jones Street.
Hope was given to the hearts of the good people of this city as they
witnessed the spirit displayed by this brave body of citizen soldiery,
and when at the appointed hour, the order to march was sounded and the
regiment proceeded down Broadway to the strains of martial music, the
surging multitude that lined the streets, the myriad spectators that
filled the windows along the route to Cortlandt Street broke into
continuous cheers. Twin flags floated everywhere on that day. Twin
banners were carried by the regimental standard bearers—the flag of
Columbia with all its stars emblazoned on its field of blue, the green
banner of Erin with the harp uncrowned. The regiment boarded the Steamer
“James Adger,” at Pier 4, North River, reached Annapolis on the
twenty-sixth of April, and proceeding up the Potomac to Washington by
Steamer “Marion,” was mustered into the service of the United States on
May 9 for three months. The following is a list of the field, staff and
company commanders at this time:
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel—Michael Corcoran, Commanding.
Lieutenant Colonel—Robert B. Nugent.
Major—James Bagley.
Adjutant—John McKeon.
Chaplain—Rev. Thomas Mooney.
Engineers—Hon. John H. McCunn, James B. Kirker.
Surgeon—Dr. James L. Kiernan.
Assistant Surgeon—Robert Johnson.
Quartermaster—Joseph B. Tully.
Paymaster—Martin Kehoe.
COMPANY COMMANDERS.
Company “A”—Captain Haggerty.
Company “B”—Captain Lynch.
Company “C”—Captain Cavanagh.
Company “D”—Captain Clark.
Company “E”—Captain Kelly.
Company “F”—Captain Breslin.
Company “G”—Captain Duffy.
Company “H”—Captain James Kelly.
On the 22nd of May a body of three hundred men, known as Meagher’s
Zouaves, recruited after the regiment’s departure, joined Colonel
Corcoran at the Capitol City. At midnight on the 23d of May the 69th,
together with the 5th Massachusetts, the 28th New York, and a detachment
of regular cavalry, crossed the Aqueduct Bridge at Georgetown into
Virginia. On the following morning the regiment began the construction
of Fort Corcoran, which, with Fort Runyon, constituted the first regular
works erected by Federalist forces at the beginning of the Civil War,
and the ceremonies attending the raising of the flag on the occasion
were participated in by Colonel Corcoran, Colonel David Hunter and
Captain Thomas Francis Meagher, two of whom subsequently attained the
rank of Brigadier General (Corcoran and Meagher) and the third of whom
(Hunter) afterwards became a Major General. The 69th, together with the
79th and 13th New York and 2d Wisconsin regiments, and a Battery of
Light Artillery, U. S. A., composed the 3d Brigade of the 1st Division
of McDowell’s Army, having for its Brigade Commander Colonel William
Tecumseh Sherman, of the 13th U. S. Infantry, whose distinguished
achievements in after years elevated him to foremost rank among the
great Captains of history. Brigadier General Daniel Tyler commanded the
division.
On July 21st, the regiment participated in the Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas). Col. Corcoran was wounded and fell into the hands of the
Confederates. The regiment lost one hundred and fifty of its members,
among them its gallant Acting Lieutenant Colonel James Haggerty, of whom
the eloquent Meagher said: “No braver soldier was ever produced by the
land of Sarsfield and Shields.” The three months period of service
having expired, the 69th Regiment, New York State Militia, was mustered
out of the United States service August 3, 1861, and returned to New
York City, resuming its position as a militia regiment of the State. The
time for which the regiment had been called into service had ended but
the great war had only fairly begun, and President Lincoln having issued
his call for 500,000 men for three years or the war, about 800 of the
returned militiamen volunteered to re-enlist, and on August 30, 1861,
under orders from the War Department, the 69th Regiment, New York
Volunteers, was formed. Robert Nugent was selected as Colonel; James
Kelly, Lieutenant Colonel; and James Cavanagh, Major. This regiment was
rapidly recruited to full strength, and so many additional recruits
presented themselves that it was decided to organize a brigade. The 63d
and 88th Regiments, together with the 14th and 15th Independent
Batteries, New York Light Artillery, in furtherance of this design, were
immediately formed. The organization of the brigade was entrusted to
Thomas Francis Meagher, who, on February 6, 1862, assumed its command as
Brigadier General. This gifted and daring soldier and patriot, the
Commander of the Irish Brigade, will ever be remembered as a conspicuous
figure of his time. In his early manhood, by gift of genius, he had
leaped to foremost rank among public men in his native isle. He had
pleaded the doctrine of armed resistance to tyranny with an inspired
eloquence and had defied the might of his country’s oppressors by
participating in an insurrection; he had been condemned to death and had
suffered a long imprisonment. The electric eloquence of the peroration
of a speech delivered by him in Conciliation Hall in Dublin in 1846,
during the Repeal agitation, caused him to be referred to thereafter as
“Meagher of the sword.” His fidelity to the warlike principles advocated
in his youth on behalf of Ireland was demonstrated by gallant conduct in
many of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, and well
established his title to high rank among the soldier sons of a fighting
race. To tell the story of the Irish Brigade would be to recite the
history of the Civil War. It participated rapidly in the Battle of Fair
Oaks, May 31st; Gaines Mill, June 28th; Savage Station, June 29th; Peach
Orchard, White Oaks Swamp, Glendale, June 30th; and Malvern Hill, July
1st, marching thereafter to Newport News, and proceeding by transports
and on foot to Falmouth, Alexandria, Arlington Heights, Falls Church,
Fairfax Court House and Centreville, crossing the Potomac at Chain
Bridge, and marching to Tenallytown, Rockville and Frederick City,
Maryland, crossing South Mountain to Antietam, participating in that
battle and leaving two hundred and one of its members either killed or
wounded to testify to the character of the resistance offered by these
sons of the Gael to the rebel line in front of the “Bloody Lane.” On
December 13th the regiment constituting part of Meagher’s Brigade took
part in the desperate attempt to carry the impregnable position of the
Confederate forces on Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg. The valor
displayed by the officers and men on this memorable day must dwell
forever in the memory of mankind. Inspired by the traditions of the old
brigades, the brigades of O’Brien, Dillon, Lally, Sarsfield, the
brigades of Landen, Ramilles and Fontenoy; aroused by the burning
eloquence and encouraged by the intrepid daring of their fearless
leader; mindful of the wrongs which exiled them from their native
shores; grateful to the free, fair land that welcomed them to home and
liberty, there was no danger too great for them to face, no suffering
too severe to endure, no odds too overwhelming to encounter. Five
hundred and forty-five soldiers of the Irish Brigade fell in that heroic
charge in that most bloody quarter of a mile ever dashed over by armed
men in the annals of civilized warfare. The testimony of the _London
Times_ correspondent will be regarded at least as not coming from an
unduly partial source. This is his description of the charge of the
Irish Brigade: “Never at Fontenoy, Albuera, nor at Waterloo was more
undaunted courage displayed than during those six frantic dashes which
the Irish Brigade directed against the almost impregnable position of
their foe. That mortal man could have carried the position, defended as
it was, seems idle for a moment to believe, but the bodies which lie in
dense masses within forty-eight yards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton’s
guns are the best evidence of what manner of men they were who pressed
onto death, with the dauntlessness of the race which has gained glory on
a thousand battlefields and never more richly deserved it than at the
foot of Marye’s Heights on the 13th day of December, 1862.” In his
official report General Meagher says: “Of the 1,200 men I took into
action, only 280 appeared on parade next morning.”