patriotism, which shall know no lines of division, which shall be
based upon loyalty to the laws, institutions and spirit of the
Republic to whose upbuilding the Irish element has unselfishly
contributed in blood and treasure, a patriotism whose simple
watchwords shall be ‘true Americanism’ and ‘human freedom,’ and
which has no concern for any man’s race, color or creed, measuring
him only by his conduct, effort and achievement.
“(7) To promote by union in a common high purpose, a sincere
fraternity, a greater emulation in well doing, a closer confidence
and mutual respect among the various elements of the Irish race in
America, that by putting behind it the asperities of the past, it
may unite in a common brotherhood with its fellows for the honor of
the race and the glory of the Republic.
“(8) To compile the results of its historical investigations in
suitable literary form; to print, publish and distribute its
documents among libraries, educational institutions and its own
membership with a view to the wide dissemination of historical
truths, and in order that such data may be placed within the reach
of historians and other writers and readers.
“(9) To discriminate every paper, sketch and document bearing on the
work of the Society before the same is accepted and given official
sanction, in order that its publication may be a guarantee of its
historical accuracy; to do its work without passion or prejudice, to
view acknowledged facts in the true scientific historical spirit;
and, having reached the truth, to give it to the world.
“Some two years ago the movement for the erection of this memorial was
started. The first suggestion came from Mr. Thomas Hamilton Murray,
the late honored Secretary-General of the Society. The Rhode Island
members at once manifested a deep interest, formed themselves into a
committee, and, in due time, solicited among their number
subscriptions for this memorial. These subscriptions came in very
satisfactorily, and, when we were assured that it was possible to
erect a suitable memorial, a sub-committee of the general committee
conferred with the Board of State House Commissioners, who assigned to
us the most appropriate space in the State House, beside the cases of
flags carried by Rhode Island regiments in the different wars.
“The memorial has been erected with the aid of Rhode Island
subscriptions, with one or two exceptions. It was designed by the
brilliant young sculptor, Mr. John G. Hardy, under whose direction it
was executed by the W. J. Feeley Company, of Providence.
“I now take great pleasure in behalf of the American Irish Historical
Society and in behalf of its committee, in presenting to the State of
Rhode Island the Sullivan memorial, which Mr. Hardy will now unveil.
(At this point the flags draping the memorial were drawn aside by the
sculptor.)
“And now I have the great honor to present to you a gentleman
well-known and highly-honored by all Rhode Islanders, one who has
shown deep interest in this, as in all other worthy projects, Hon.
James H. Higgins, Governor of Rhode Island.”
Governor Higgins spoke as follows:
“_Ladies and Gentlemen_: In behalf of the State of Rhode Island, I am
not only pleased but proud indeed to accept this splendid memorial.
Rhode Island has a particular interest in the career and achievements
of General Sullivan. He was delegated to the command of the forces in
Rhode Island largely through the recommendation of General Greene, the
greatest soldier of all in the Revolution next to Washington. Through
the joint recommendations of Washington and Greene, Sullivan was
placed in command of the forces in this State.
“There was perhaps no State in the Union which, in proportion to its
size and population, suffered more of the hardships of that great
struggle than our own. Some historians have suggested that one section
of our State, Newport and the Island of Rhode Island, have never
recovered from the blow dealt it through the long occupation of that
section of the State by the British forces. We of Rhode Island,
therefore, have a particular interest in the efforts of General
Sullivan to expel the British from this State.
“We are proud, therefore, to know that the American Irish Historical
Society has taken this matter up and has shown such active interest in
perpetuating the memory and the exploits of General Sullivan. I am
sure that I can say on behalf of our united citizenship that the State
appreciates this activity, this patriotism, on the part of the
American Irish Historical Society, and we want to say to you, sirs,
that the fruit of your interest—this memorial—will ever be preserved
by our State as a remembrance of his splendid achievements, as well as
of the generosity and the patriotism of the organization which
prompted it. May your activity, my friends, be continued throughout
the length and breadth of the land and throughout the entire period of
your career in the same creditable and patriotic manner that has
characterized your work concerning General Sullivan.
“Again, sirs, I am pleased to accept in behalf of our State this
splendid remembrance, to assure you of our profound appreciation, and
to say that it shall ever remain as a memento of your patriotism and
character, of the gratitude and appreciation of our good State, as an
inspiration to all future generations and to all visitors to this
splendid Capitol, of the value and eternity of that thankfulness which
a grateful people feel for those who serve them well.
“It is now my pleasure to turn the memorial over to General William
Ames, the Chairman of the State House Commission, in whose trustworthy
hands this monument will be placed and from whom I am sure it will
receive the same careful and patriotic attention that all his other
duties have received in connection with the management of our splendid
State Capitol. I am pleased, therefore, to introduce to you one of our
most honored fellow citizens, General William Ames, who will accept in
behalf of the State House Commission.”
General Ames responded as follows:
“_Your Excellency, Members of the American Irish Historical Society,
Ladies and Gentlemen_: As Chairman of the Commission having in its
care and keeping this beautiful State House it is my privilege to bid
you welcome here today. We are assembled, not for an ordinary
occasion, but for an extraordinary one. We are here to inscribe upon
this marble wall the name of one who was patriot, soldier and
statesman, the commander who planned and fought the Battle of Rhode
Island in 1778.
“General John Sullivan passed on long years ago to make his final
report to the great Commander of us all. Yet we have treasured his
memory, and through the years it has grown ever dearer to the hearts
of all patriotic Americans—to us of Rhode Island more than all. And
now that love has found fitting expression in this memorial, which
shall commemorate through the coming ages his patriotism, his
devotion, and his loyal services to his country.
“A State can perform no more graceful act than to make public record
of the deeds and accomplishments of its famous sons. It therefore
gives me great pleasure, and I deem it a high honor, to accept for the
State House Commission the custody and care of the beautiful memorial
placed upon these walls by the American Irish Historical Society.”
At the conclusion of General Ames’ acceptance Chairman Lee introduced
Mayor McCarthy in the following words: “The thanks of the American Irish
Historical Society are due and are hereby tendered to General Ames and
to Hon. James M. Scott and Col. J. Edward Studley, the other members of
the Board of State House Commissioners, for their great courtesy to us.
It was to them we first addressed ourselves for permission to place our
memorial to General Sullivan in the State House, and when it was ready
for its permanent position a few weeks ago, we went to them again
concerning the dedicatory exercises. Our comfortable seating was
provided for, the freedom of this beautiful capitol extended us and an
ample force of employees placed at our disposal. We may well be grateful
for the uniform courtesy and consideration that marked all the
Commission’s dealing with our Society.
“The Secretary of our committee is a very worthy member of the Society.
As I happened to be the Chairman, it was my privilege to sign my name
over his in issuing the invitations. It is the first time I have ever
had an opportunity of putting my name before that of His Honor the
Mayor, and I enjoyed the opportunity. But now, after doing his work as
Secretary of the committee very faithfully, he has tendered his
resignation, which we have most regretfully accepted, in order that he
might do his duty as Chief Executive of the City of Providence. I have
the honor to introduce to you our esteemed fellow-member, Hon. Patrick
J. McCarthy of Providence, who will, I am sure, extend to us a warm
welcome to the principal city of the State over the destinies of which
he presides so ably.”
Mayor McCarthy said:
“_Mr. Chairman, Fellow Members of the American Irish Historical
Society, Ladies and Gentlemen_: I am deeply sensible of the honor my
official position and duty brings me on this occasion as Mayor of
Providence in greeting the representatives of The American Irish
Historical Society and its distinguished guests from many states; I
tender you a ‘Providence Welcome,’ and the freedom of the city.
“I thank the Society for its munificent gift of the beautiful bronze
memorial, which commemorates the heroic deeds of Major General John
Sullivan of the Continental Army and his services to his native State
(New Hampshire) as citizen, legislator, jurist and governor, and also
to the United States as a member of Congress.
“The people of Providence thank the State House Commissioners for
allotting space for the memorial in the Capitol Building of Rhode
Island; it is an appropriate place for a memento of the hero of the
Battle of Rhode Island. The good deeds of men live after them. General
Sullivan’s life was spent in the service of his state and country. He
was generously endowed by nature, with the mental and physical
qualities that are characteristic of his race, which enabled him to
perform his duty on the field, on the bench, as chief magistrate of
his State, and as a citizen, courageously and zealously with loyalty
to God and country—seeking honor only in the discharge of duty.
“The history of his life work survives him. We are assembled to honor
his memory. The memorial you have this day placed in this State House
is a page in bronze, of the history of the early struggles of our
countrymen for National Independence, equal rights, and freedom—a page
which future generations will read with inspiration to emulate the
honorable career of General Sullivan.
“We honor ourselves in dedicating this monument to his memory.
Providence is grateful to the Society for possession of it within the
city, and is modestly proud of the fact that it is the product of a
Providence artist and establishment.
“The dedication of permanent monuments in grateful recognition of the
noble service of good men inspires others to heroic deeds and
sacrifices, and perpetuates the history of such men and their
achievements.
“The American Irish Historical Society, in placing this beautiful
memorial in Rhode Island, commemorates one of the early battles in
support of the Declaration of Independence and for national separation
of the Colonies from Great Britain, fought by an American General of
the Irish race, ever loyal to the cause of freedom and equality and
commends the history of his life, and the history of the Irish race in
America to all men of good will.”
Chairman Lee: “A generous response to our invitations has been
received, nearly all our invited guests being present. We have
received letters of regret, however, from Rev. W. H. P. Faunce,
President of Brown University, Hon. Asa Bird Gardiner, Rt. Rev. Mathew
Harkins and one or two others whose letters are not this moment before
me. Our fellow-member, the President of the United States, in a letter
to us, tenders his regrets at being unable to be present, and cites
urgent business at home as the reason. Judging from the accounts in
the morning papers about his trouble with the yellow journals, I take
it he is pretty busy at this time in Washington.
“We have letters of regret from other members of the Society who are
unable to be present. I will read the names only. Rt. Rev. Philip J.
Garrigan, Bishop of Sioux City; Rt. Rev. M. J. Hoban, Bishop of
Scranton; Hon. W. Bourke Cockran of New York; John Moriarty of
Waterbury, Conn.; J. B. Spillane of New York; M. C. O’Brien, M. D., of
New York; James H. Devlin, Jr., of Boston, Mass.; Rev. John J. McCoy,
LL. D., of Worcester, Mass.; John W. Bourlet of Concord, N. H.; Rev.
Gerald P. Coghlan of Philadelphia; Hon. Willis B. Dowd of New York;
Richard Worsam Meade of New York; Patrick Gallagher of New York;
Edward J. Brandon of Cambridge, Mass.; J. C. Griffin of Skowhegan,
Me.; W. P. Regan of Lawrence, Mass.; W. J. O’Hagan of Charleston, S.
C.; John J. Slattery of Louisville, Ky.; John F. Doyle of New York; P.
F. McBreen of New York; John J. Keenan of Boston, Mass.; William
Francis Byrnes, M. D.; Hon. J. C. Monaghan of New York; Wiliam B.
Sullivan of Boston, Mass.; Hon. P. J. Ryan, Mayor-Elect of Elizabeth,
N. J.; H. M. Cox, M. D., of New York; Dr. George McAleer of Worcester,
Mass.; William Gilbert Davies; Charles V. Dasey of Boston, Mass.;
Finley Peter Dunne of Chicago; Hon. John J. McDonough of Fall River,
Mass.; Eugene Lynch of Boston, Mass.; Stephen Farrelly of New York;
Mitchell McDonahue; Henry L. Joyce of New York; Major E. J.
O’Shaughnessy of New York; Lawrence Clancy of Oswego, N. Y.; Rt. Rev.
Thomas J. Conaty, Bishop of Monterey, Los Angeles, Cal.; Judge Mathew
Breen of New York; Capt. James Connolly of Coronado, Cal.; Gen. A. G.
Malloy of El Paso, Texas; John J. Daly of New York; Hon. Edward A.
Moseley of Washington; Judge Victor J. Dowling of New York; Rev. M. J.
Cooke of Fall River and Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady of Toledo, Ohio.
“Before presenting the orator of the day I desire to say to all
members who have not visited the Society’s headquarters at the
Narragansett Hotel that luncheon will be served there after the
ceremonies here; delegates of all the organizations represented in
response to our invitation are also cordially invited to join us at
luncheon. The headquarters are in room 10 at the hotel, and luncheon
will be served in the main dining-room immediately upon our arrival
there.
“The Society is fortunate in having secured for the principal speaker
today a gentleman who knows perhaps more about the life and works of
General Sullivan than does any other in the United States; a statesman
whose record is widely known, and whose voice has been heard in
discussion of historical and other matters in the New York capitol at
Albany on many occasions. The son of a former governor of New York, he
has always been identified with New York institutions and New York
laws. Through his efforts the Legislature of that State recently
appropriated $10,000 for the purpose of erecting a suitable memorial
to General Sullivan, and, while the purposes of that resolution have
not yet been fulfilled, it will be but a short time before a fitting
tribute is paid by the State of New York to the memory of Major
General Sullivan. And the credit for that tribute will be due in large
part to the gentleman I now have the honor to introduce, Col. David C.
Robinson, of Elmira, N. Y.”
Colonel Robinson spoke as follows:
“_Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency the Governor, Members of the American
Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen_: I should do less than
justice to the emotions of the hour if I did not, at the outset,
express my high appreciation of and my profound thanks for the honor
done me in the invitation from your Society to voice our mutual
sentiments upon so important an occasion as this. It is an honor to be
invited as a spectator to take part in such a ceremony as this; it is
a higher honor to be accounted worthy even by a few to say a word on
such an occasion; it is honor most of all that I have your unanimous
invitation to say that which I may be able to in memory of one of the
noblest and purest characters on whom the sun of history has ever
shone.
“It has been the habit of my life, my friends, to speak without a
note; the professional training of many years has made it easier. I do
remember many, very many things about Major General John Sullivan and
his life; I do not remember all that I should mention, for the line is
long, and I am, therefore, contrary to my usual custom, obliged to ask
you to bear with me while I refresh my recollection from time to time
with a memorandum of some of the most distinguished services with
which this man’s life was filled, to the end that I may impress the
lesson which speaks from this memorial, which speaks from the
long-drawn procession of brave and good and kind deeds with which the
life of the one whom we commemorate today is surrounded.
“And first, before I enter on that which I would say of this memorial
and of him to whose memory it is dedicated, I want to congratulate
this Society on that which it has even in the few years of its
existence accomplished, and on the labors, increased in volume every
year, by which it makes known the Irish chapter in American history.
“To trace that which we owe to the line of blood of which this man was
one of the most illustrious examples, is a duty which belongs to every
student of American history. Let us find, if we may, wherein lay that
in which he so far exceeded most of his fellowmen. Let us make it a
lesson not alone to say that this man was one of the greatest of
American Irish or Irish Americans, but that he illustrated a trait of
character which Americans and Irish American citizens all ought to
follow, ought to teach their children to follow, ought to endeavor to
perpetuate in the thoughts, the work, the labors of this land.
“Now we are met principally to do honor to the memory and the merits
of a brave and good man; that is our purpose; but in our acts and
words today, my friends, we do honor not only to him and to his
memory, but we do honor to ourselves and our countrymen. He belongs to
us and we appreciate it. The laurels which we lay on the graves of
such as he, who periled life, limb, fortune, happiness and health that
we might enjoy the blessings which are ours today, are laurels piled
upon our own characters, our own qualities.
“From this beautiful tablet, so fittingly placed in honor of him,
whose name in this hour fills all our hearts, the veil has just fallen
in your sight. I do not envy that American who, at such a time as
this, does not feel his heart swell with patriotic pride at the
thought of what this graven monument means to us and ours.
“A thousand recollections sparkle in the chambers of memory as we
recall the chivalry, the worth, the dauntless courage and self-denying
loyalty of him whose heart, stilled in its own earthly tenement for
more than a hundred years, yet lives and throbs and pulses in the
hearts of every lover of his land and of human liberty the wide world
around; and, although appreciating to the fullest extent all that your
Mayor has so well said and the Chairman so ably suggested of the
beauty of this memorial, I may be pardoned for saying that no work of
art, no accomplishment of high design, no costly metal, no skilful
chiseling, no beautiful moulding, can make a memorial worthy of such a
man as was Major General John Sullivan.
“For when I think of what he was and what he did, when there rises to
my sight the sacrifice and effort, the combat and the stern endurance,
the privation and the grief, the sorrow and the pain, which marked his
labor and his life throughout the years which spanned the rise of
freedom, yea, the hope of men upon this continent, I feel sure that
pen may not write, voice may not sound, nor can the chisel of art
produce token worthy of his high deserving.
“I would that the task of voicing our sentiments upon this occasion,
the impressions of this hour, had fallen to other and to abler hands
than mine. I wish that some peerless orator, born of that great race
from which he sprang, might tell us here whence came the greatness,
the nobility, the grace and loveliness which were so gloriously his,
and, in telling that, might teach our children how he came to that
high state of manly quality which all the world now knows was his.
“But, friends of this great Society, whose well-bent efforts have done
so much to give deserving heroes the credit which was rightly theirs,
I know you will not let the awakened and quickening memories of this
great soul for one moment hesitate in their progress toward wider and
better appreciation.
“I know that my own shortcomings will be more than complemented by
your larger opportunity of bringing within the circle of his admirers
every patriotic citizen of this Republic. Nay, more, I hope the day
will come when every State House in the land shall hold a tablet such
as this, when every schoolboy shall read lessons from his life, when
every human being who seeks partnership and title in the freedom of
his kind shall, in his memory, cherish the name of Major General John
Sullivan as one who deserves a niche unshadowed and a fame unscarred
among the scanty array of those great souls whom the genius of Liberty
proudly calls her own.
“This is not the fulsome word of hyperbole; it is not the sounding
tinkle of rhetoric or idle eulogy. It is the measured testimony of
those who have read aright the history of the great struggle for
Independence, and have found therein no light or shadow in which the
great soul of Major General Sullivan did not sparkle with the luster
of a flawless diamond. And in this hour, beneath the lofty dome
henceforth to shadow this memorial, in this free atmosphere which
seems even now to echo with the guns he fired against his country’s
foes, in this bright light, not purer than the soul he wore upon his
sleeve, let us trace out a few of those strands of character which
made him what he was, and, in our speaking, draw some inspiration from
a few of the many debts which Liberty and our common country owe to
him.
“Ah, my friends, the account is long. We find him early trained as a
lawyer, and at the age of 32 Major of the New Hampshire Regiment; in
the spring of 1774, a member of the Provincial Assembly of New
Hampshire; in September of the same year and in 1775, a delegate to
the Continental Congress, by which he was in June, 1775, appointed a
Brigadier-General, and in 1776 a Major-General.
“Yet even while he was, at 34, only a New Hampshire Major, he had
accomplished perhaps the most daring personal feat of the Revolution
in the seizure of the powder and arms at Fort William and Mary in
Portsmouth Harbor. Do you realize what that meant? Little more than a
boy, anticipating, as he always anticipated, troubles to come, he
dealt a crushing blow to the greatest power on earth, a boy with a
dozen companions, and he sounded in that one daring act the keynote of
that grand chorus of Liberty whose majestic final chords were heard in
the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
“I challenge the world to find a busier or more useful life than his
for the five years from 1774 to 1779. No wonder, my friends, that no
memorial can do justice to this. We find him on Winter’s Hill at the
siege of Boston, working with all the energy of a vigorous manhood and
high purpose; again at Portsmouth to advise and assist in warding off
a menaced attack from the British fleet; thence hastily ordered to New
York to aid General Putnam with a powerful detachment.
“The pressing needs of the imperiled American army in Canada caused
General Washington, in the spring of 1776, to hurry him off with six
regiments to join its Commander at the earliest possible moment. Do
you realize, my friends, what a journey to Canada with six regiments—a
hasty journey—meant in those days? Yet Sullivan was there, only to see
the death of the Commander whom he had been ordered to assist, from a
malignant attack of smallpox; and himself suddenly succeeded to the
place of Chief Commander of the entire expedition.