Rhode Island, and for his noble victory, has always been mine. That he
was of Irish extraction, and that his ancestors, like those of all the
rest of us who are not descended from Indians, emigrated from a home
land to this new country in the western hemisphere, is well known. My
descent is from the English, with a strain of the French and the
German races rather than from the Irish. No one in any way familiar
with American history can hesitate an instant in according to the
Hibernians the honor of many noble actions and the respect due to
sacrifice of untold value, in every emergency of our common country.
“General Sullivan came of a sturdy race. His father was born during
the siege of Limerick, away back in 1691, of such good stock that he
outlived the century and did not pass away until 1796, at the age of
one hundred and five. It was his son that gave so much of his life and
energy, his intelligence and ability, to the cause of American
freedom. That he served with distinction in the Continental Army goes
without question. That he was at Trenton the night before Christmas
and aided in the defeat and capture of that hated Hessian contingent
that had been marauding up and down New Jersey is also an established
fact. It is equally true that with the three Rhode Island regiments,
forming a material part of Washington’s army, he braved the elements
in that historic night march from Trenton to Princeton, fought the
next morning in the battle of Princeton, and successfully assisted in
driving Cornwallis out of New Jersey. It was the crisis of the
Revolution. In that time of stress and doubt John Sullivan, the
descendant of an Irishman, like so many others of his race, stood
shoulder to shoulder with the descendants of the English and the
French in securing for us and the millions that have inhabited this
land the priceless privileges of liberty.
“His course in the Genesee Valley and the very proper punishment he
administered to the savages who committed the horrible massacre at
Wyoming has been eloquently traced. His campaign in Rhode Island has,
perhaps, been studied in rather more detail in this neighborhood than
in other parts of the country.
“History records and practically every American schoolboy can tell how
the Americans fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. Wherever the
Revolution is known there is an intimate knowledge of that great
conflict. We all of us glory in its story, and remember with gratitude
and sympathy the bravery of those untrained patriots who administered
such a fearful blow to British power and prestige.
“Compare for a moment the battle on Rhode Island and the results
secured by Sullivan’s generalship with the circumstances and the issue
on that hill near Boston. The loss of the English at Bunker Hill was
1,054 men, that of the Americans 449. Until the British entered the
redoubt, the Americans fought behind entrenchments. In the third
attack the British captured the redoubt, drove the Americans from the
hill, and retained undisputed control of the battlefield.
“In the campaign on Rhode Island the inability of the French to
control the sea obliged the Americans to retire to Butts Hill. In the
valley separating it from Quaker, Turkey and Anthony hills,
immediately south, a battle was fought, not behind entrenchments, but
in the broad open, where each army had equal advantages and success
was won by brilliant tactics and skill and spirit in using weapons. In
the retreat and in the battle between the nearby Rhode Island hills,
the English lost 1,023 and the Americans 211. After repulsing two
vigorously and pertinaciously pressed charges of the English army, the
Americans were obliged in the early afternoon to face a last violent
onset that almost broke the right wing of Sullivan’s army under the
immediate command of General Greene. Jackson’s regiment connected with
Colonel Livingston’s detachment, that had contested during the early
morning the British advance up the island, after a needed rest on the
north side of Butts hill were marched around the rear of the army, by
Sullivan’s direction, to the extreme right of General Greene’s
command. The British and Hessians charged down the slope of Anthony
hill and were met in the valley by Greene’s somewhat exhausted forces.
It was the final struggle for victory. At this critical moment Colonel
Livingston led Jackson’s regiment, using the cold steel, in a fierce
onslaught against the enemy’s flank that gave the British the final
blow and sent them scurrying up the slope of Anthony hill to their
entrenchments on the top. The Americans, closely following the flying
foe, captured Brady’s battery as an evidence of their victory.
“The Americans maintained absolute control of the battlefield. Colonel
Campbell of the Twenty-Second British Regiment sent to General
Sullivan the day after the battle and asked permission to search among
the dead for the body of his nephew, who had been killed the day
before by his side, but whose body he could not remove they were so
closely pursued.
“The Battle of Rhode Island was a gratifying success for the
Americans. Victory was due to the skill, the intelligence, the courage
and the audacity of General Sullivan, and to his brave officers and
men. Lafayette characterized it as ‘the best fought action of the
war,’ and the statement accords the highest compliment to the military
skill of General John Sullivan.
“It is a great pleasure to participate with so many friends in
expressing our high appreciation of the services of Sullivan that have
been so adequately and happily recognized by the American Irish
Historical Society. It is an intense gratification to contemplate the
success of these ceremonies and to sincerely join in congratulation
and in commendation of efforts that have resulted in adorning this
noble State House with this beautiful, substantial and enduring tablet
to our heroic dead.”
President-General Quinlan of the Society was then introduced by the
Chairman, as follows: “I have the pleasure now to call upon the
President-General of the American Irish Historical Society, under
whose careful and enthusiastic administration it has been possible to
erect and dedicate this tablet. There never has been a time when his
efforts, his energy, and all his powers were not at our disposal.
There never has been a time when we have called on him for anything
since the memorial has been under way that he has not promptly and
vigorously responded. I have the great honor of introducing to you,
ladies and gentlemen, our President-General, Francis J. Quinlan, M.
D., L. L. D., of New York City.”
President-General Quinlan said:
“Mr. Chairman, your Excellency, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Before I attempt to say a few words in honor of the auspicious event
of this day, I will take occasion to render the tribute of my personal
thanks and of the collective thanks of our Society to the
distinguished assemblage gathered here to do honor to our illustrious
hero by the loyal support of their presence.
“I take occasion, first of all, to thank the Ex-Governors, the present
Governor, the Governor-elect, and the Department of the G. A. R., an
association that to me is representative of the rarest and choicest
texture of the loom of American Independence. (I would rather wear
their button than be decorated by one hundred kings.) To those who
represent the Society of Colonial Wars I extend my heartfelt thanks
for their presence. To the Daughters of the American Revolution and to
the distinguished Sons, as well as to the Sons of Veterans and also
the illustrious Society whose early achievements in this country need
no word of commendation from me,—the Society of the Cincinnati,—to
them and to their representatives I extend my thanks and my greetings.
To the Rhode Island Citizens’ Historical Association I also offer
welcome. To those who are associated with none, but whose attendance
is due to their interest in these exercises, I am thankful for their
presence here today.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, you have heard the stirring notes of
welcome that have rung out in this beautiful building, the tributes
that have been paid by those gentlemen, one of them with a line of
nine generations of pure and unsullied English blood. What further
tribute do we need, what other ratification or emphasis do we require
than that which comes from one whose nation held us in subjugation,
with its heel of tyranny upon our neck, for seven hundred years, when
this offspring, eager to forget past enmities, frankly tells us in
tones of eloquence that the Irish have been and always will remain
loyal and true and constant and devoted to every cause they espouse!
We need but little further argument to justify our existence, but it
behooves me, on an occasion of this kind, not apologetically, but in
bold words, to explain the purpose of the American Irish Historical
Society.
“It has been truly said by the Chairman of this meeting that this
Society was born in the City of Boston in the year 1897, for the study
of American history generally, as well as to trace the immigration of
the people of Ireland to this country, to correct erroneous and
distorted views of history in relation to the Irish people in America,
and to encourage and promote the formation of local associations in
American cities and towns as aids in the work of the parent Society.
These purposes have been so enlarged upon by the Chairman that they
need no word of encouragement from me.
“You know that the tide of immigration turned to this country in the
last century. Irish people haven’t always been immigrants. Nine
hundred years before Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, a bishop of
the old faith named Brendan left his home in Galway, sailed over the
sea, visited Iceland and Greenland, and there are today evidences of
this man’s presence in Delaware and Virginia—nine hundred years before
Columbus set foot on this continent. Even in the very crew which made
up the contingent in Columbus’ navy which manned the three ships there
was one to whom, when Columbus left, he gave the custody of one of
those ships, and this man’s record proves he was an Irishman, William
Ayer of Galway. We have historical facts; they cannot be gainsaid;
they stand out in bas-relief today; the story is plain and intelligent
men accept it.
“Immigration! Do you know that as the years have gone by they have
witnessed immigration from many lands? Germany has furnished us with
some of the best bone and sinew of its country. England, through her
unwise laws, through her erring principles of justice, exacted from
the Irish people something that they would not give—taxation without
representation, and surrender of civic and religious liberty. Deprived
of everything that men in common hold dear, deprived of education, of
religious worship, they were driven from the shores of Ireland and
found the arms of Columbia extended and ready to receive them as
children. We came here, and we thank England for sending us here. If
it hadn’t been for the conditions of a hundred and fifty years ago, we
might be toiling there today. It is a wise Providence that directs and
overrules conditions. We came, and this asylum was beautiful, the flag
of freedom and union waved for us, everything was lovely compared with
what we had left behind. Friends and kindred, religion and society
grew up within our own experiences. The warm heart of the Irishman
broadened; he grew, and when the country rang out the alarm, when the
country announced that it was menaced with danger, in that Irish boy’s
ears rang the traditions and the wrongs of ages. He buckled on his
belt; he took down the flintlock from the wall; he marched forward
anywhere, everywhere, under the command of Washington and
Sullivan,—Washington, the ideal, and Sullivan, the son of an Irish
exile. These were the traits exhibited.
“‘Theirs not to reason why—not to make reply—but to do and die.’ These
men made it possible for you and for me to live to enjoy the
conditions of today, to be here in this temple of local pride.
“I am reminded of the story so beautifully told in Roman history of
the mother who once paid a visit to a wealthy matron of that glorious
republic so many centuries ago. After dinner the matron said, ‘Now I
must show you my beautiful jewels.’ They were carefully guarded, but
she displayed them to the eyes of her visitor, and then remarked, ‘You
must show me your jewels when I go to your house.’ In turn she called
upon the mother, and stayed a little longer than is usual, awaiting
the exhibition of jewels. Finally she inquired, ‘Have you forgotten to
show me your jewels?’ ‘Oh, no,’ the mother replied. ‘Come this way,’
and as she threw open a door five beautiful children were revealed.
‘These,’ she exclaimed, ‘are my jewels.’
“People of Rhode Island, these noble patriots and these scarred flags
are your sacred jewels. Guard their memory, defend it, and, as your
blood has the rich central vein of patriotism, so sacrifice all you
have to keep these jewels sacredly enshrined in your hearts forever.
“I would that Sullivan could get a day’s leave from his sacred parole.
I would that he could come back to us today, that he might obtain from
the St. Gabriel of St. Peter’s Gate a day’s leave of absence to look
at these pillars and to gaze about these corridors. We almost hear the
whisper, can almost note the footfall of a strange presence here. It
is the spirit of the Revolutionary hero that communes with us; it is
the lofty emotion that emanates from him, though unseen, and which
commends our spirit of patriotism and ratifies our act, not to him
individually but to the noble band of which he was Captain.
“This is a great day for Rhode Island. This is a great day for
America, because this afternoon and tomorrow the wave of thought that
is ours will extend beyond us and be carried everywhere to receptive
minds. The sunlight will dash it into every possible nook and corner
of the land; the rivers will take it down to the Mexican slope; the
whole country will vibrate with it. You who know the history of the
man we honor, cherish it in your memory, and when you recall these
exercises, congratulate yourself that in assisting at them you have
fulfilled a duty; one and all, you have paid the homage of a great and
noble State.
“One moment more, my friends. I have tarried long. This page stands
out alone in the history of this Society of which I have the honor and
rare privilege of being the Executive. Ladies and gentlemen, that
Society has one purpose; that purpose is written between the lines of
today’s event. We want to know the men who have lived, who have
fought, who have bled, who have given everything to the cause of the
American people. We want to record their deeds in order that the womb
of the future may bring forth a race, generations distant from us,
that will stand up and say, ‘I, too, am Irish, although I have six
generations separating me from that blood,’ a race that will cherish
everything Irish and will extend the open hand of welcome to everyone
who bears the hall mark of Ireland, whether his religion be Catholic
or Protestant.
“We are broad, we are honest, we are liberal. We want to attack no
man, but when we peruse the pages of American history, when we turn
over volume after volume, chapter after chapter, page after page, and
search paragraph after paragraph, line after line, syllable after
syllable, and see no recognition of the services of Irishmen, our
hearts bleed because the omission is culpable and not due to the fact
that the historian could find no achievements to make good his lines.
“We claim our place in this Republic. We have sacrificed everything in
the world for it. We would go further tomorrow and pledge every
security, sever ourselves from home, to protect our freedom and these
flags. The United States is ours, whether on the shores of California,
Maine, Texas, or Washington. There is one freedom, one brotherhood of
man.
“I could detain you longer, friends, but the time allotted me forbids.
I have lingered longer than I should, but I know of no sentiment with
which I might more fittingly conclude than that of one of your great
New England worthies, the man who is enshrined in the sanctuary of
your hearts, John Boyle O’Reilly. He says, in his own peculiar but
grand way:
“‘No treason we bring from Erin, nor bring we shame nor guilt!
The sword we hold may be broken, but we have not dropped the hilt.
The wreath we bear to Columbia is twisted to thorns, not bays;
And the songs we sing are saddened by thoughts of desolate days.
But the hearts we bring for freedom are washed in the surge of tears;
And we claim our right by a people’s fight outliving a thousand
years.’”
At the conclusion of Doctor Quinlan’s address the Chairman declared the
ceremonies of dedication over, thanking all those present for their
attendance.
The several organizations were represented at the dedication as follows:
Society of the Cincinnati, Ex-Governor Charles Warren Lippitt,
Ex-Governor George H. Utter, Hon. William Page Sheffield, Edward Aborn
Greene, George Humphrey, Thomas A. Peirce, Rev. Daniel Goodwin; Society
of Colonial Wars, Henry B. Rose, Gen. Hunter C. White, Hon. John T.
Blodgett, Prof. Wilfred H. Munro, E. A. Burlingame and George C.
Nightingale; Daughters of the American Revolution, Miss Mary A. Greene,
Mrs. Charles Warren Lippitt; Rhode Island Citizens’ Historical
Association, T. W. Bicknell, H. A. Atkins, A. L. Anthony, Ellen R.
Jolly, Caroline A. Weeden, Mrs. Lyons Delaney, B. L. Dennis, Francis
Gallagher, Elizabeth Doyle, J. H. Foster, John R. Richmond, Elizabeth
Halton, C. H. Eddy and Mrs. R. B. P. Tingley; Rhode Island Historical
Society, Professor Munro, Amasa M. Eaton, Robert P. Brown and Clarence
S. Brigham. Among others present were: Dr. Francis J. Quinlan of New
York, D. H. Tierney of Waterbury, Conn., John J. Linehan, Worcester,
Bernard J. Joyce of Boston, Michael J. Jordan of Boston, Edmund O’Keefe
of New Bedford, John F. Hurley, Mayor, of Salem, Mass., Patrick H.
Powers of Boston, John Morgan of New York, Augustin H. Morgan of New
York, P. F. Magrath of Binghamton, N. Y., T. B. Fitzpatrick of
Brookline, Mass., Michael F. Dooley, Frederick Roy Martin, Dr. James E.
Sullivan, Col. James H. McGann, Col. James C. Moran, Michael W. Norton,
John F. O’Connell, Patrick Carter, M. S. Dwyer, John McManus, Barnard
McCaughey, William L. Wood, both of Pawtucket; Gen. Charles R. Brayton,
Col. Frank T. Sibley, Mrs. Chadwick, wife of Admiral F. E. Chadwick;
Mrs. James Chadwick, James C. Collins, Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, T. M.
O’Reilly, Frederick H. Jackson, Rev. Austin Dowling, Col. J. Edward
Studley, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Chandler, Mary A. Darling, Benjamin L.
Dennis, General Treasurer Walter A. Read, Secretary of States Charles P.
Bennett, Attorney-General William B. Greenough, Mayor-elect Henry
Fletcher, Judge Elmer J. Rathbun, John Dunn, Secretary of the State
Board of Agriculture; Hugh J. Carroll, Mr. and Mrs. Albert G. Chaffee,
John F. McAlevy, Thomas E. Maloney, V. S., Fall River; Benjamin L.
Dennis, Mrs. Doyle, William J. Feeley, Walter H. Barney, Dr. M. H.
Sullivan of Lawrence, Mass., Dr. Michael F. Kelly of Fall River and
Frank Carter.
POST-PRANDIAL EXERCISES.
At the termination of the exercises at the State House the Society and
its guests proceeded to the Narragansett Hotel for luncheon. Chairman
Lee acted as toastmaster, and speeches of an appropriate nature were
made by the following: Gen. Charles R. Brayton, representing the
National Encampment, G. A. R.; Hon. John F. O’Connell; Prof. Wilfred H.
Munro of Brown University, President of the Rhode Island Historical
Society; Hon. Walter H. Barney, representing the Rhode Island Bar; Judge
Livingston Scott, whose wife is a direct descendant of General Sullivan;
Hon. Thomas Williams Bicknell, President of the Rhode Island Citizens’
Historical Association; Mrs. Ellen Ryan Jolly, President of the Ladies’
Auxiliary, A. O. H.; Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, representing the Rhode
Island G. A. R. and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; Hon. John H.
Hurley, Mayor of Salem, Mass.; and John G. Hardy, the sculptor who
designed and executed the memorial.
Judge Scott during his address read the following original letter to
Gen. Sullivan from President Washington:
“Sept. 30th, 1789.
“SIR: I have the pleasure to enclose to you a commission as Judge of
the United States for the District of New Hampshire, to which office I
have nominated, and by and with advice and consent of the Senate,
appoint you. In my nomination of persons to fill office in the
Judicial Department, I have been guided by the importance of the
object, considering it of the first magnitude and the pillar upon
which our political fabric must rest.
“I have endeavored to bring into the high offices of its
administration such characters as will give stability and dignity to
our national Government; and I persuade myself that they will discover
a due desire to promote the happiness of our Country by a ready
acceptance of their several appointments. The laws which have passed
relative to your office accompany the Commission.
“I am Sir with very great esteem
“Your most obedient servant,
“GEORGE WASHINGTON.”
The Committee having in charge the erection and dedication of the
memorial were: Thomas Zanslaur Lee, Chairman; Patrick J. McCarthy,
Secretary; Michael F. Dooley, Treasurer; Patrick Carter, James E.
Sullivan, William P. Dempsey, James Murphy, Francis I. McCanna, William
J. Feeley, Bernard McCaughey, Patrick E. Hayes, John McManus, James
Moran, John F. O’Connell, James H. McGann, Rev. Austin Dowling, James H.
Hurley, John F. McAlevy, James T. Egan.
The entire proceedings at the dedication were reported verbatim by Miss
Viola Follis, the official stenographer for the Society, and hence we
are able to print the excellent orations in full.
SPECIAL MEETING.
At the conclusion of the post-prandial exercises a special meeting of
the Society was held at headquarters, President-General Quinlan
presiding.
A vote of thanks was tendered Col. David C. Robinson for his efficient
services in behalf of the Society.
It was voted that the thanks of the Society be extended Mr. Michael W.
Norton for the use of his automobiles and carriages to transport
members and guests to and from the State House, and in special
recognition of Mr. Norton’s kindness the President-General appointed
him chairman of the Reception Committee to be on duty at the White
House at Washington January 16, 1909, when President Roosevelt gives a
reception to the Society.
The acting Secretary-General was directed to extend Colonel Robinson
the Society’s invitation to be its guest at the Annual Dinner and
President Roosevelt’s reception at Washington.
THOMAS ZANSLAUR LEE,
_Acting Secretary-General_.
PROVIDENCE, R. I., December 16, 1908.
Following is the circular letter which was sent to members of the
Society, informing them of the plans for the dedicatory exercises:
“To make better known the Irish Chapter in American History.”
THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
(Founded 1897. First President-General, Rear Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S.
N.)
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL.
49 Westminster Street.
PROVIDENCE, R. I., December 8, 1908.
The committee of the American Irish Historical Society having in charge
the erection and dedication of the Major-General John Sullivan Memorial
in Rhode Island beg to announce that the dedication will take place in
the Rhode Island State House, Wednesday, December 16, 1908, at twelve
o’clock noon.
The principal address will be delivered by Colonel David C. Robinson,
through whose efforts an appropriation of ten thousand dollars for a
monument to General Sullivan in the State of New York was obtained, and
whose knowledge of historical events of the Revolutionary War is most
extensive.
Delegations will be in attendance from the following organizations:
Rhode Island Historical Society, Rhode Island Division Sons of Veterans,
Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of the Colonial Wars,
Society of the Cincinnati, and Rhode Island Citizens Historical
Association.