While the children of Ireland were engaged in defending the flag of
the Union during the late civil war, and sealing with their blood their
fidelity to the great Republic, they were, also, acquiring a knowledge
of arms and a warlike hardihood, which tended, on the cessation of
hostilities, to render the Fenian organization more formidable than
it could possibly have become, had peace pervaded the land from the
inception of the Brotherhood to its triumph at Ridgeway. All through
this gigantic struggle the hand of the Irish patriot and exile was
prominently observable. Not a field had been fought from the firing of
the first gun at Fort Sumter to the surrender of Lee’s army, on which
their blood had not flowed in rivers. Look at Murfreesboro, Corinth,
Perrysville, Iuka, Antietam, Chickahomany, Winchester, Fort Donaldson,
Island Ten, Shiloh, Lexington, Bull Run, Carnifex Ferry, the
Rappahannock, the Mississippi, the Cumberland, the Potomac and
Fredericksburg, “where one-half of Meagher’s Brigade are still encamped
_under the sod_,” and we have evidence of the truth of this assertion,
the most ample and complete. Amidst these scenes of terrific
carnage, the warlike genius and matchless personal bravery of many a
distinguished Irishman were eminently conspicuous; while the latent
fires that had previously lain dormant in the breast of others, leaped
forth into a glorious conflagration, that commanded the admiration of
every true soldier and evoked the recognition of the Commonwealth
at large. Amongst this latter class stood pre-eminently forward,
the present President of the Fenian Brotherhood throughout the
world--GENERAL JOHN O’NIELL, a brief sketch of whom we introduce here
for obvious reasons, drawn from authentic records in our possession, as
well as from the current newspaper literature of the day:
“To the Irish reader,” observes a contemporary, well informed upon
this subject, “and especially to that portion of our people, who are
conversant with the past history of their country, and feel a patriotic
pride in its glorious records, as well as a fervent hope for their
renewal in the future--there is no name fraught with memories more
inspiring than that of O’Neill--the princely house of Ulster, the
champions of the Red Hand, who, for centuries, in the struggles of
the nation against the Saxon invader, led the hosts of their people
to victory, and only succumbed at last when poison and treachery, and
chicane had accomplished what force failed to effect; for their valor
was powerless against the dagger of the assassin, as were their honesty
and open-heartedness against the bad faith of England’s perjured tools.
Like many a noble and ancient Irish house, its scions are to-day to be
found scattered through the world, in every walk of life. But though its
banner no longer floats over embattled hosts, there is magic still in
its associations; and when men speak of the O’Neill, the Irish heart
leaps fondly towards the historic name and the proud recollection of the
days when Hugh and Owen stood for the rights of their people and native
land, and dealt the assailants of both those sturdy blows which so well
justified their claim to the blazon of the ‘Red Hand.’
“In our own day, too, the old blood has vindicated its inherent force
and purity, and has found a worthy representative in the subject of our
present sketch--GENERAL JOHN O’NEILL,--whose name, in the future history
of the Irish race, will be as inseparably linked with the struggles of
the present generation for national independence, as are those of
his ancestors with the efforts made by our people in the past against
English tyranny and usurpation. As this noble and patriotic Irishman is
now occupying so much of the public attention, and his political conduct
meeting with that cordial endorsement which is a just tribute to his
bravery and patriotism--whether on the bloody fields of the South,
routing a Morgan, or assuming the command of his colonel, or, with
thirty men repelling the attack of a regiment; or, with his gallant band
of Irish soldiers, chasing the ‘Queen’s Own’ at Ridgeway--a brief
review of his career will not be devoid of interest to all who desire
to preserve a record of those who have deserved well of their country.
Within the limits of such a sketch it would be impossible to do adequate
justice to the character of a man like General O’Neill, and we can only
assume to glance at the many attestations of his bravery and gentlemanly
bearing which should have a public record, as they are from men of high
position, and are of importance in illustrating the estimation in which
he has always been held by his superior and brother officers. No man can
produce a more unsullied one, or one better calculated to confirm his
title to the high position in which his countrymen have placed him.
“General O’Neill was born on the 8th of March, 1834, in the townland of
Drumgallon, parish of Clontibret, county Monaghan, Ireland. At his birth
he was an orphan, his father having died a few weeks previously. The
early part of his existence was spent with his grandparents in his
native place. Bred up in a country, every hill and river and plain of
which was linked in story with the deeds of the mighty men of old, it is
not to be wondered at that the mind of young O’Neill seized with avidity
every incident of the past connected with the condition and history of
his fatherland, or that the bias of his future life was given by his
meditations as he rambled along the slopes of Benburb, or traced the
victorious steps of his ancient sept, through the classic region where
his schoolboy days were passed. That it should be so is only natural;
for he is a kinsman, as well as namesake, of the great Hugh O’Neill who,
with his fearless followers, swept over Ulster and defeated so many of
England’s greatest generals, and brought the heads of some of her pets
to the block. And there is no doubt but that some of her favorites of
to-day shall be made to bite the dust ere the General has done with
them.
“General O’Neill is a man of calm temperament, but a firm will, which,
when excited, however, is stern and inflexible; uniting with this a good
education and gentlemanly address, with a mind bold, independent and
decisive. His person partakes of the character of his mind for if the
one never succumbed in the council, the other never bent in the field.
Few could imagine from his modest exterior the latent, fire and energy
which burn in his bosom. His manner is as unassuming as his mind is
noble; quiet, yet impervious to flattery or laudations, he seems at the
same time to pay due regard to popular opinion, without in the least
permitting it to influence him in the discharge of his duties.
“While he was yet quite young, the family of General O’Neill emigrated
to the United States, and his mother settled at Elizabeth, N.J., where
she still resides. He did not follow them until 1848, when he was
fourteen years of age. Having devoted some time to the completion of his
studies here, he determined to engage in commercial pursuits, and for
some time travelled as agent for some of the leading Catholic publishing
houses. In 1855 he opened a Catholic Book Store in Richmond, Va., and
while residing there became a member of the ‘Emmet Guard,’ then
the leading Irish organization in that section of the country. The
inclination thus manifested for the military profession soon proved to
be the ruling passion in the mind of the young Celt,--checked only by
the repugnance of his family towards the soldier’s life; for, in
1857, he gave up his business and entered the Second Regiment of U.S.
Cavalry--a regiment which has since furnished the most distinguished
officers who have figured on both sides during the late war.
“In the Regular Army, O’Neill rose steadily by his good character,
bravery and aptitude, no less than by his education and invariable
gentlemanly conduct. But though he has since filled positions of high
responsibility, he has often declared that one of the most pleasurable
emotions of his life was experienced when, for some meritorious act, he
received, from his commanding officer, his warrant of Corporal.
“At the outbreak of the war, the regiment with which he was serving
was recalled from California, and on the organization of the army under
McClellan, was attached to the Regular Cavalry Division, which took part
in the principal battles in the campaign of the Peninsula, during
which O’Neill was in command of Gen. Stoneman’s body guard. After the
withdrawal of the army from the Peninsula, he was dispatched to Indiana,
where he was retained for some time as instructor of cavalry, drilling
the officers of the force then being raised for the defence of
that portion of the Union against the incursions of the Confederate
guerillas. He subsequently entered the 5th Indiana Cavalry as Second
Lieutenant, and served with that regiment, during 1863, in the
operations against the Southern leaders in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana
and Ohio. In these expeditions, which, whether in the nature of scouts,
reconnoisances or advances, generally took the shape of sharp running
fights, Lieut. O’Neill’s skill and daring not only attracted the
attention of his commanding officers, but further enlisted the
enthusiasm of the men, insomuch that, when one of those _sorties_
was ordered, the first question asked was always--‘Is O’Neill to lead
it?’--and if the answer was in the affirmative, no matter how jaded the
men might be, volunteers in any number were ready at once.
“There is no greater instance of personal bravery, or gallantry equal to
any emergency, than that related by Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati,
in his account of O’Neill’s encounter with Morgan, the famous guerilla;
and as many of our readers have not read the partial account given in
Mr. Savage’s ‘Fenian Heroes and Martyrs,’ it may prove of interest to
them, as his encounter with Morgan is more generally spoken of than
understood. Archbishop Purcell says:--
‘There is a remarkably brave officer suffering from diarrhoea,
contracted in a three month’s chase after Morgan, now in St. John’s
Hospital, in this city--Lieut. O’Neill, of the 5th Indiana Cavalry. His
mother resides in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Her adventurous boy enlisted
in the regular army at the time of the Mormon excitement in Utah; was
afterwards sent to California; was made Sergeant for distinguished
services on the Potomac; employed on a recruiting tour in Indiana, and
promoted to a Lieutenancy in the famous 5th Indiana cavalry.
‘Respecting his encounter with Hamilton’s rebel force, in May, the
Indianapolis papers spoke of the exploit of Lieut. O’Neill, and a
detachment of his company, as one of the most daring and brilliant
achievements of the war. The Lieutenant has kindly furnished us with
the following interesting account of the part he took in the defeat of
Morgan. The authorities here have recommended him for promotion to the
rank of Major.
‘INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHT WITH MORGAN, AT BUFFINGTON’S ISLAND, ON THE 20TH
OF JULY.
‘On the night of the 19th, about 10 o’clock, Gen. Judah, with his
cavalry and artillery command, left Pomeroy for Buffington. The General
sent First Lieutenant John O’Neill, of the 5th Indiana cavalry, with
fifty men, ahead, with instructions to try and open communications with
the militia, said to be in close proximity to the island. The Lieutenant
was delayed by losing the road during the night, and did not arrive
till about an hour and a half after daylight. He then learned that the
militia had been skirmishing with the enemy during the night, and that
Gen. Judah’s advance had been ambushed, the morning being foggy; and the
General’s Assistant Adjutant General, Capt. Rice, with some twenty-five
or thirty men and a piece of artillery, and Chief of Artillery, Capt.
Henshaw, had been captured and sent to Gen. Morgan’s headquarters on the
river road, some thirty miles ahead of him, on the enemy’s left flank.
The Lieutenant at once resolved to recapture what had been taken; and,
with his Spartan band, kept steadily on. Several parties tried to stop
him; but a volley from the “Sharp’s” carbines of his boys invariably
drove them back. At length he came on Morgan, with two regiments and a
body guard of one hundred men. The Lieutenant halted his men suddenly,
at an angle of the road, within one hundred and fifty paces. He gave the
command “ready,” and intended to have given them a volley; but seeing
some of his own men in front, he did not fire, but commanded “forward,”
and dashed in amongst them. If he had fired, every shot must have told,
he was so close. Morgan, with his two regiments and body guard, ran
without firing a shot. All our prisoners were released, and about thirty
of the enemy taken. Some were killed and wounded. The Lieutenant pursued
Morgan about two miles clear off the field, and captured three pieces of
artillery, which he carried off with him. This was the last of Morgan on
the field. The Lieutenant cannot tell how many he killed or wounded, as
his fight was a running one, extending over four miles; but the surgeon
in charge of burying the dead and looking after the wounded, reported
that most of both were along the river where O’Neill had been.’
“The above, from Archbishop Purcell, is an unquestionable testimony of
the daring and audacity of the subject of this sketch in the field. The
_National Journal_, in giving an account of the same battle, says:
‘Lieutenant O’Neill, of the 5th Indiana Cavalry, now appeared by
another road, with but fifty men, and charged two different regiments so
desperately that they broke and left our captured guns, officers and men
in our possession.’
“The _Louisville Journal_, after relating an instance of O’Neill’s
personal bravery, says:
‘Lieutenant O’Neill is the same who, about two weeks ago, while out with
Col. Graham, on the Tennessee side of Cumberland, with twenty men as an
advanced guard, came up with Hamilton, having two hundred men drawn
up in line--charged and ran him thirteen miles, and with his own hand,
while ahead of his men, killed five--two of them with the sabre.’
“To go into detail, and give a minute account of the many instances
of gallantry, pluck and determination displayed by the subject of our
sketch, would be beyond the scope of our present purpose, as they, at
the same time, would only tend to multiply instances, without lending
any additional proof. But we cannot, as it directly bears on his
letter of resignation, with accompanying letters of endorsement from
distinguished Generals, pass over that singular and noble proof of
unexampled bravery--his assuming the command of his Colonel Butler, when
the latter showed signs of cowardice.
“The affair took place at Walker’s Ford, on Clinch River, in East
Tennessee, where the division to which O’Neill’s regiment was attached
was stationed, to dispute the passage of the Southern troops, which in
large force occupied the adjacent country. O’Neill had only a few days
before rejoined his command, after the illness incurred in his chase
after Morgan, and was at breakfast when the alarm was given that the
enemy had surprised the advanced guard, and were attacking in force.
Springing on his horse, he rallied the company of picked men he
commanded, and for a long time held the advancing forces of the enemy
in check, to give time for others to form line of battle. But the enemy
were rapidly getting in rear of the Union troops, and O’Neill fell back
on the main body of his regiment, just in time to hear his Colonel cry
out, ‘Oh, God! all is lost! save yourselves, men, the best way you can.
Nothing is left us but retreat!’ ‘Not by a long sight!’ shouted O’Neill,
as, sword in hand, he dashed in front of the mob of soldiers, upon whom
panic and the example of their commander were rapidly doing the work of
disorganization. ‘Men,’ continued he, turning to them, ‘all of you who
mean to _fight_, fall in with me.’ The effect was almost miraculous.
About one hundred and fifty of the fugitives rallied, and with these
he drove back the advancing columns of the enemy, saved the day, and,
though severely wounded in the action, remained master of the field.
“Of this attack, a correspondent of the Indianapolis _Daily Journal_, of
January, 1864, says:
‘The rebels, finding we were retreating, determined to drive us into
the river. About three hundred mounted men came over the hills, charging
Company “A,” 65th Indiana, and three companies of the 5th, commanded by
Col. Butler and Capt. Hodge. Our boys began to waver. The Colonel tried
to rally them to no effect, when O’Neill rode up and took command.
Taking a Henry rifle from one of the 65th boys, he commenced firing,
at the same time yelling at the men to charge them, which they did.
For about five minutes it was the most frightful scene I have ever
witnessed. Out of the three hundred Confederates, only about _twenty_
went back mounted, the balance being killed, wounded, and dismounted. A
rebel officer, afterwards taken, admitted the loss of twenty killed
and forty wounded in the charge. This so effectually checked them, and
convinced them that a charge would not pay, that we very easily held our
ground until the wagons and guns had crossed the river. But our brave
Lieutenant, O’Neill, received a wound in the thigh while we were making
our last stand. He rode out all day, never seeking shelter, cheering his
men. When other officers had given up all as lost, he replied, “Not by
a long sight.” He met with a hearty response from the men. We afterwards
learned that we were fighting three brigades, among them the “Texan
Rangers.”’
“There is no nobler instance of daring or pluck, or of presence of mind,
or decisiveness of character, equal to any crisis, than this. But what
is the sequel? The Colonel, narrow minded as he was cowardly, was piqued
at young O’Neill’s gallantry in repelling the attack, which at once
stamped himself with cowardice, and lowered him, as a consequence,
in the estimation of his brother officers. After the battle he sent a
report of the officers and non-commissioned officers whom he recommended
for promotion, _omitting the name of O’Neill_. This was a direct insult
to the man who displayed the most bravery, and had saved them from
a watery grave, a fiery death, or, worse than all, an ignominious
surrender. It at once aroused all that was stern in his nature--to have
such a coward offer him an insult. He went to the Colonel, and demanded
if it was true that he had sent the names of certain officers to the
Governor for promotion, and noncommissioned officers for commissions
over him, and omitted his name altogether. The Colonel replied in the
affirmative. ‘Then,’ said O’Neill, ‘I shall never serve another day in
your regiment.’
“We give these particulars in detail, as well as his resignation,
not only on account of its boldness, but as some people try to put a
different construction on the fact of his sending in his resignation at
that time. Conformably with his determination, he went to his quarters,
where, after a fortnight, he prepared his resignation, and sent it to
headquarters. In the interim, the Colonel sent one day to know if he
would drill the regiment. O’Neill sent back to know if it was an order
or a request; on being assured it was the latter, he complied. He was
expecting to be arrested every day; but the Colonel was too much of a
coward, as he was afraid the consequences would be rather unpleasant.
After a few weeks, his resignation was sent to headquarters, with
letters of disapproval--but endorsing his complaints, and testifying to
his bravery and efficiency--from Gens. Sturges and Stoneman. Comments
on these letters would be superfluous, as they speak forcibly for
themselves.
“CAMP NEAR PARIS, KENTUCKY, April 7th, 1864.
“Sir: I have the honor herewith to tender my resignation as First
Lieutenant of Company ‘I,’ 5th Cavalry, 90th Regiment Indiana
Volunteers, on account of promotions in the regiment, which have
placed men over me whom I cannot consistently serve under. Some of
them, Captains, have been Sergeants in the same regiment since I
have been First Lieutenant; and while I have a high regard for these
officers personally, I can never allow myself to be commanded by
them in the field.
“I served in the regular army nearly four years, in Utah,
California, and on the Peninsula: as private, Corporal, Sergeant,
and acting-Sergeant-Major, and have been in the regiment, as
Lieutenant, sixteen months.
“The enclosed copies of letters from Generals Hodson, Judah and
Stoneman, with others from the present Colonel of my regiment, and
the former, Colonel Graham, recommending me to Governor Morton, for
the position of field-officer in one of the regiments being
organized in Indiana, will show that I am not undeserving of
promotion in my own regiment, and that I have some cause to be
dissatisfied with not receiving it, and with having officers placed
over me whom, in point of military knowledge and experience, I
cannot regard as my superiors.
“I certify, on honor, that I am not indebted to the United States
on any account whatever, and that I am not responsible for any
government property, except what I am prepared to turn over to the
proper officer on the acceptance of my resignation, and that I was
last paid by Major Haggerty to include the twenty-ninth of February,
1864.
“Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
“JOHN O’NEILL, First Lieut., Co. ‘I,’ 5th Ind. Cav.
“Rather a bold epistle this! He tells his commander squarely he will
not serve under officers whom he considers his inferiors in military
knowledge. We shall now give the accompanying letters to which he
refers, from Generals Sturges, Judah and Stoneman, which furnish
unquestionable proof of his ability and military capacity. These
letters, from men of fine military experience, are very high references
of O’Neill’s ability. The following is that from Major-General
Stoneman:--
“HEADQUARTERS 23D ARMY CORPS, March 8th, 1864.
“I knew Lieut. O’Neill well on the Peninsula, and as a brave and
worthy officer, in whose judgment and capacity I had the greatest
confidence. I hope he will receive the promotion to which his merits
entitle him, that of a field-officer in a colored regiment.
“GEORGE STONEMAN, Major-Gen., Com’g. Corps.
“That from General Judah is equally as commendatory. If the one refers
to his bravery on the Peninsula, the other testifies equally to his
daring during the war:--
“HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, 23D ARMY CORPS,
In camp near Mossy Creek, Tenn., March 7th, 1864.
“It gives me pleasure to state that, from personal observation, I
deem Lieut. John O’Neill, of the 5th Indiana Cavalry, one of the most
_gallant_ and _efficient_ officers it has been my duty to command.
His daring and services have been conspicuous, and I trust he may
receive what he has so ably merited--his promotion.
“H.M. JUDAH, Brig.-Gen., Com’g. Division.
“The following endorsement, written on the resignation by General
Sturges, when forwarded to the headquarters, shows that if merit,
military and personal, could meet with its reward, Lieut. O’Neill should
get speedy promotion:--
“HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS,
PARIS, KY., April 7th, 1864.
“Disapproved and respectfully forwarded.
“This is an excellent officer--too valuable, indeed, to be lost to
the service. He was severely wounded near Tazewell, under Colonel
Graham, last December, and is estimated as one of the best officers
of my command. This is not the only resignation which has been
offered on account of the promotions of inferiors having been made
in the 5th Indiana Cavalry over the heads of superiors, based upon
political or other considerations, and altogether regardless of
merit. By this system junior and meritorious officers find
themselves cut off from all hope of advancement, and compelled to
serve subordinate to others for whose qualifications they can
entertain no respect.
“While, therefore, I disapprove his resignation for the public
good, I would respectfully urge that some policy be initiated
or recommended by which officers can see the way open for their
advancement according to merit.
“Respectfully,
“L.D. STURGES, Brig.-Gen. Com’g.
“The following was the reply from Headquarters:--
“HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO,
KNOXVILLE, TENN., April 16, 1864
“Respectfully returned from this Headquarters, Cavalry Corps, to
Lieut. John O’Neill, 5th Indiana Cavalry.
“There appears to be no remedy for the evil referred to by General
Sturges.
“By command of
“MAJOR GEN. SCHOFIELD.
“R. MOORE, Ass’t. Adj’t. Gen.
“Such attestations of the bravery, military skill and high moral
character of General O’Neill, coming from his companions in arms, from
the public press, and from Generals of experience and high position,
form a record of which any man might be proud. Comment on them is
unnecessary, as they speak forcibly for themselves. Of his noble
spirit, decisiveness in the hour of danger, ability, pure character, and
gentlemanly bearing, we have produced overwhelming testimony; but as he
is now before the public in so very prominent a manner, it is necessary
that the people should know minutely his every act and the nature of the
man under whose leadership the Irish Nationalists in America are about
to renew the good old fight for loved Erin’s disenthralment. No matter
whether on the field or in the drawing-room, his calmness of deportment
and gentlemanly bearing are the same. The simplest child he would no
more offend than the most powerful man. Uniting with such gentleness and
heroic bravery, precise military knowledge, and a pure patriotism, may
not Irishmen hope that in him they have found the man who is destined to
lead them on to victory and liberty. In whatever sphere he moves, he is
universally endeared to all; for
‘In him is the heart of a woman, combined
With a heroic life and a governing mind.’
“In the movement on Canada, in 1866, Gen. O’Neill sacrificed a business
which, in a few years, would have made him a wealthy man. But he did so
without hesitation; for he loved his country, and had pledged his life
to her service. With the contingent raised by him in Tennessee, he
proceeded to Buffalo, where, finding himself the senior officer, he
assumed command of the troops there assembled, and, in obedience to the
orders he had received, crossed the Niagara river, at the head of six
hundred men, on the night of the 31st of May, and raised the Green Flag
once more on the soil of the enemy. On the following evening, receiving
information that the British forces were marching against him to the
number of five thousand, in two distinct columns, he resolved to fight
them in detail, and by a rapid march got between them. On the morning
of the 2d of June, at Ridgeway, he struck them under Booker; and, though
the enemy out-numbered his force _four to one_, routed them signally.
Falling back on his original position at Fort Erie, he there learned
that the United States Government had stopped the movement at other
points, and arrested its leaders. Under the circumstances, nothing more
could be done, at that time; and he was reluctantly obliged to re-cross
the Niagara, and surrender to the United States forces. That he only
did so under the pressure of necessity, is attested by his offer to the
Committee in Buffalo to hold his ground, as his own report of the battle
of Ridgeway attests, in which he simply says:
‘But if a movement was going on elsewhere, I was perfectly willing to
make the Old Fort a slaughter pen, which I knew it would be the next day
if I remained; _for I would never have surrendered!_’
“At the Cleveland Convention of the Fenian Brotherhood, in September,
1867, General O’Neill was elected a Senator of that body; and having
been chosen Vice President on the resignation of that office by James
Gibbons, Esq., he succeeded President W.R. Roberts, on the resignation
of that gentleman, Dec. 31, 1867.
“We have thus briefly sketched the principal incidents of General
O’Neill’s career, and, in conclusion, may venture to say that a more
stainless, or meritorious, could scarcely be presented to the public.
His whole history incontrovertibly illustrates as noble, determined and
daring a character as ever led a brave but enslaved people to victory.
“We could supplement this with various other official documents and
accounts, serving, if such were possible, to illustrate still further
the proud daring and exalted spirit of this worthy son of an illustrious
past; but shall, at this particular point of our story, content
ourselves with what has just been said. We might, were we so inclined,
introduce, also, various other Irish names that shone forth with
unrivalled splendor during the late war, and point to the thousands
upon thousands of Irish rank and file that, on numerous fields, piled up
ramparts of dead around the glorious flag of the Union; but such would
not serve our purpose here, as we are restricted in relation to the task
before us; and as the fact of the exploits and the bravery of hosts
of our loyal countrymen are known to the government and people of this
Republic. Sufficient to say, however, that amongst all those of our race
who fought and bled in defence of the North, and the integrity of the
Commonwealth, there was not to be found one individual who evinced more
profound judgment than he in handling the forces at his command, or
more cool daring, or instances of personal bravery, as well as that
tremendous and overwhelming dash, which gained for Ney the proud
appellation, ‘the bravest of the brave?’ and placed the Marshals of
France amongst the foremost in history.
“From out of this fierce civil contest, then, it is obvious from all
that we have just said, that Fenianism, in its military aspect, received
the largest and most important accessions. At the close of the conflict,
thousands upon thousands of veterans joined its standard; and thus, in
an incredibly short period, its warlike character became intensified,
until, at last, the organization on the American continent loomed up
before England with an aspect so threatening and a purpose so apparent,
that she instantly set about putting her house in order, and began
to glance in the direction of making some cunning, though paltry,
concessions to Ireland.
“If, however, the military circles of the Brotherhood were distinguished
by the accession of many brave and patriotic soldiers, at the juncture
already referred to, the organization, in its civil aspect, was not
less fortunate or noticeable. Led triumphantly through some of the most
difficult phases of its existence, by such self-sacrificing and noble
patriots as Colonel W.R. Roberts, of New York, its late President, and
James Gibbons, Esq., of Philadelphia, its present Vice President--than
whom two more disinterested and sterling Sons of the Sod do not
exist--its basis enlarged and strengthened, we say, by such men as
these, and the able and truehearted Senators that surrounded them, the
Brotherhood, at the close of the war, was in a condition sufficiently
exalted to attract to its centre many of the ablest soldiers who had
fought on the side of the Union, and who, with their numerous and
respective followings, were ready to evince their love of liberty and
republican institutions further, by resuming their swords and striking
home for the freedom of poor, down-trodden Ireland, against a tyrant the
most infamous that has ever existed, and to whom America owes a debt
of vengeance, that, under any circumstances, cannot fail to be one day
repaid with tenfold interest.
“And so this grand confraternity of patriots prospered and became the
greatest and most powerful that has ever appeared upon the theatre of
human existence. To be sure, in a body so numerous and all but ramified
throughout every portion of the habitable globe, there have been some
unworthy members, who fell before the love of gain, or British gold;
but, then, and with pride we say it, taking the gigantic proportions of
the organization into consideration, and the temptations to sin which
have been so constantly placed before it by that blood-thirsty assassin,
England, it stands, by comparison, pre-eminently pure above any other
similar revolutionary body that has ever obtained in either hemisphere,
or in any age of the world. Up to the present hour, under the protection
and guidance of a Divine providence, it has surmounted every difficulty
that has beset it. It has outlived whatever of treason or mismanagement
obtained in its own bosom; it has survived the cruel calumnies and
falsehoods of a traitorous and subsidized press, and the machinations of
that dangerous English element that sometimes steals into high places,
and which has so often interfered with the true interests of America
within her own borders, as well as touching her foreign relations. These
and many either untoward influences it has surmounted; until, now, it
stands upon a pedestal beyond the reach of danger; not only from
its great inherent strength and virtue, but from its all but
incomprehensible ubiquity, and positive existence in every land and
clime. How futile, then, the efforts of its enemies to crush it either
by ungenerous legislation, or through the propagation of falsehood.
Fenianism is a power founded upon the immutable principles of truth and
justice; and is, therefore, indestructible. Consequently, until it has
achieved the grand and holy objects that it has set before it, it must
win its way to triumph, step by step, if needs be no matter what the
magnitude or the number of the difficulties that beset it.”