When it was first suggested to me that I prepare a paper dealing with some phase of the history of the Irish in America I decided that I would take as my subject the history of the Irish in Rhode Island up to the present time. My belief was that the part played by the men and women of Irish birth or descent in the early history of our state was so slight, and the facts relating thereto so meagre, that I could in a few words deal with the early history of the Irish in Rhode Island, and could pass on to their history for the last three-quarters of a century.
Upon beginning my researches I was at once convinced of my mistake and soon learned that if I adhered to my original intention, instead of preparing a short paper I would be obliged to write a large volume. Therefore, I have taken as my subject: “The history of the Irish in Rhode Island to and including the Revolution,” with the hope that some abler Irish man or woman will, at some future time, tell the story of the part played by the men and women of Irish birth or extraction in the modern history of the “lively experiment” of Roger Williams.
In discussing the history of the Irish in America it is not our intention to belittle the work of others, or to steal from other nations the glories of their achievements; neither are we seeking to dim the lustre of the Puritan crown, nor to call our own the mighty deeds of the pioneer Pilgrims who landed in New England and conquered the wilderness. We have no desire to turn Plymouth Rock into a Blarney Stone. We are not going to assert that Roger Williams was the grandson of Fin Mac Cumbal, or that the clam was first planted in Narragansett Bay by the founder of Clan McFadden.
Our object is simply to record the deeds of the men and women of our race in the making of America; to enable Americans to judge us in true perspective; to tell the world what we Irish have done and are doing in the upbuilding of this state and nation. We are trying to bring to the minds of the country a knowledge of the fact that we have been here from the beginning, that we have given our service and our lives for the promotion of America’s happiness, that, by our brain, by our brawn, by our courage, tenacity of purpose, morality, we have fairly earned the right to the highest and best that America can offer to its devoted sons and daughters. We seek to tear away the veil of ignorance that has blinded many to our worth and to bring into relief a better picture of our race that has too often been falsely depicted. We are proving our claim, not by appeals to race prejudice or bigotry, but by incontrovertible evidence. In the words of the American-Irish Historical Society, we are laboring “that the world may know.”
There is a very erroneous impression in the minds of many, even in this enlightened age, that the struggle for liberty in Ireland has been a religious struggle, a struggle for the principles of Catholicity and for these principles alone. Our fight is not a religious fight. It is the fight for the liberties of a race, not a religion; for the right of a distinct, ethnic entity to work out its salvation in the way best suited to its temporal needs. “Nations have no hereafter, their reward must be of this world”; neither have they religions as nations.
Many are also of the opinion that unless a man or woman is a Catholic he or she is not Irish, though bearing an Irish name. Thus we see people of other faith with the name of Sullivan or Murphy classed as “Scotch-Irish,” that race with no existence, repudiated alike by Irish and Scotch, and which someone has called the “Equinoctial Gael.”
Another fact to be borne in mind in connection with Irish names is that many Irish men and women have come to America, and particularly to New England, who, for one reason or another, bore names distinctly un-Irish. Why this is so will be explained later.
The first trace of the Irish in New England of which we have any record is found in the story of the “Mayflower.” In his book, “Brave Little Holland and What She Taught Us,” Rev. William Elliot Griffiths says: “In the Mayflower were one hundred and one men, women, boys and girls as passengers, besides captain and crew. These were of English, Dutch, French and Irish ancestry.” History has established beyond the possibility of doubt that Priscilla Mullins and John Alden were both Irish.
Plymouth was founded in 1620. William Bradford, governor of the colony, tells us that a ship arrived at Plymouth, 1626–7, and a large number of passengers, “cheefe among these people was one Mr. Fells and one Mr. Sibsie, which had many servants belonging unto them, many of them being Irish.”
In Winthrop’s Journal it is stated that on March 15, 1636, a ship arrived “called the Saint Patrick, belonging to Sir Thomas Wentworth, Deputy of Ireland, one Palmer, Master.”
Soldiers of Irish birth or extraction had made their mark in the colonies as early as the Pequot War, among them Darby Field and Daniel Patrick or Gilpatrick. Field is mentioned as having explored the White Mountains in 1642 with a band of Indians. (Winthrop’s Journal and Sketches of Early Irish Settlers by Linehan.)
It is now necessary to turn to the history of England for an explanation of why so many Irish came to this country, beginning in 1641, and why some of them did not bear Irish names.
In the reign of Charles First there occurred what is known as “The Revolution of 1641.” At that time many of the gentry of the west of Ireland held their lands under what parliament claimed a defective title. Charles, after promising the Irish that we would remove the cloud on their title, immediately went back on his word, and, in order to give his conduct some show of justification, had thousands of Irish men and women tried on an absurd charge of treason and their lands and goods confiscated. The history of England, gleaned from the records of the House of Commons, tells us that in two days over two thousand Irish were indicted, “tried,” convicted and sentenced for treason, or one for each one and one-half minutes in a working day of twelve hours; a fair sample of English “justice” in Ireland. The English army overran Ireland, slaughtered a very large number of men, women and children, besides shipping many thousands to New England as slaves. These exiles were obliged to change their names and adopt English names.
After the fall of Charles First, Cromwell started a similar crusade in Ireland. He also caused to be sent to the colonies many thousands of Irish boys and girls who were given names different from those of their fathers. Cromwell also shipped large numbers of adults to the colonies from Ireland where they were sold as slaves. In 1652, the Cromwell Commission recommended that “Irish women as being too numerous now be sold to merchants and transported to ... New England.” In 1653 Captain John Vernon contracted with Messrs. Selleck and Leader for 250 women of the Irish nation and 300 men “to transport them into New England”; these to be secured in the country within twenty miles of Cork, Youghal, Kinsale, Waterford and Wicklow.
The women thus sold into slavery were to be given in marriage to the colonists, as it was impossible to get English women to emigrate to the colonies willingly. Sales were conducted and each man paid for his wife as he did for his chattels at public auction. An interesting account of the manner of conducting these sales may be found in the histories of Virginia and in a popular book of fiction of a few years ago: “To Have and To Hold.”
So brisk was this trade for a time that finally the ship owners, in their greed, forcibly abducted some English women and children, and this led to the stopping of the traffic.
We see, therefore, some reason for the fact that many people of undoubted Irish origin did not bear Irish names, some of them taking the names of their owners, and others dropping their Irish names to save themselves from persecution. In addition to this, no ship could clear for the colonies from an Irish port. She must first proceed to an English port and thence outward. When she did clear all her passengers were required by law to adopt some name other than an Irish one. Lest I be accused of romancing I will quote the law of England of the time:
JAMES THOMPSON, ESQ.,
Of Louisville, Ky.
Vice-President of the Society for Kentucky.
“An Act that Irishmen dwelling in the counties of ... go appareled like Englishmen, and wear their beards after the English manner, swear allegiance, and take English sirnames; which sirnames shall be of one town, as Sutton, Chester, Trim, Skyrne, Corke, Kinsale; or colors, as white, black, brown; or arts or sciences, as smith, carpenter; or office, as cook, butler, etc., and it is enacted that he and his issue shall use this name under pain of forfeyting his goods yearly.” (Paternalism with a vengeance. If the law had required him to wear a monocle in his left eye the picture would have been complete, and instead of building railroads he could have married an American heiress.)
We can from this easily perceive the policy of England: to wipe out from the minds of the Irish all thoughts of nationality, and to exterminate the race.
Many of these exiles, of course, obeyed the law, as being along the lines of least resistance. The banished children did not even know their right names; and thus we see the names of Smith, Carpenter, Chester, Sterling, Kinsale, White, Butler, etc., borne by Irishmen. We shall also see that names distinctly Irish were found in Rhode Island at that period, demonstrating one of two things, or perhaps both: that many of the Irish were smuggled out of the country without touching at English ports, and that many others, on arriving in this country, resumed their original names.
The popular histories of England and the colonies make no note of these facts, but there is a more reliable source than the histories for confirmation of these assertions, and that is the records of England. It is one of the established customs of English law to sacredly preserve all papers of this character, and it is from these, even more authentic than histories, that we have discovered the facts.
Thomas Hamilton Murray, late Secretary-General of the American-Irish Historical Society, has compiled a list of Irish names in the records of Rhode Island, giving the years in which the men were known to have lived here. These are all strictly Irish names and exclude those of doubtful origin:
Larkin, Dunn, 1655; Casey, 1663; Kelly, Macoone, 1669; Heffeman, 1671; Martin, Macarthy, Long, 1677; Devett, 1685; Malavery, 1687; Dailey, 1689; Linniken, 1690; Cary, 1693; Dring, 1696; Doyle, 1698; Higgins, 1699; Moore, 1700; Walch, Mitchell, 1703; Coursey, 1713; Murphy, 1718; Lawless, 1720; Carty, 1721; MacKown, 1723; O’Harra, 1728; Phelon, 1730; Shay, Joyce, 1731; Connor, Cassidy, 1732; Gallagher, 1736; Lyon, Mackey, 1737; Hurley, McCane, Sullivan, 1740; Whelan, 1741; McGonegal, Delaney, Farrell, Mulholland, Rourk, 1742; Dempsey, Fitzgerald, 1743; Hanley, Egan, McDonald, 1745; Donnelly, Tally, Byrn, 1747; Lanahan, Maguire, 1750; O’Brien, Donovan, Barrett, 1751; Cavenaugh, Flynn, Murray, Hickey, 1752; Hartagan, 1753; McMullen, 1754; Burke, 1755; Dwyer, O’Neil, Ryan, 1756; Magee, Donohue, 1758; Sheehan, Hearn, McGrath, 1759; Mullen, 1760; Gorman, Lary, Dermott, Fitzpatrick, 1761; Dunphy, 1765; Carroll, 1768; Roach, 1773; Mahoney, Rohan, 1774.
These are all names of people who lived in Rhode Island prior to the American Revolution. When such a large number of names is found in the records it is but fair to assume that there were many others to us unknown and who lived and died without ever having their names recorded anywhere.
In the early history of New England there were of course no directories of names, few, if any, records of births, marriages or deaths, and practically the only time when men’s names were written was in time of war or public danger, and it is in war that we first find the names of any large number of Irishmen in Rhode Island.
King Philip’s War started in 1675 and was begun for the purpose of ending the rule of the white man in the colonies. Time will not admit of a detailed account of the part played by the Irish in that terrible conflict and only passing mention can be made.
Again taking the writings of Thomas Hamilton Murray (“Irish Soldiers in King Philip’s War”) we find the names of one hundred and fourteen men of undoubted Irish birth or descent. I have verified these names. The list excludes the names of doubtful origin. It is to be borne in mind that the men who wrote the names were, in many instances, guided largely by sound, owing to the inability of the bearer of the name to spell it correctly, or at all. The list follows:
“Richard Brine” in the above list is undoubtedly Richard O’Brien, “Daniel Canada,” Daniel Kennedy; and “John Cann,” John McCann. There are many other names in the records who may have been Irish, like Owens, Stewart, etc., but these are not claimed.
One Henchman was among the captains of the colonists in the campaign against Philip at Mount Hope. In his command were Joseph Ford, John Barrett, Daniel Magennis, a corporal, John Good, John Cann, or McCann, Joseph Lyon, William Healy, Daniel Kennedy, John Moore, Patrick Moran, William Manley and others.
Henchman marched to Dedham, along with a troop of cavalry under Prentice, thence to Attleborough and Swanzey, where they joined Captain Mosley. All then proceeded against Philip at Mount Hope. In Mosley’s company were Richard Nevill, Joseph Sexton, Edward Reade, Samuel Lane, Richard Brine, probably O’Brien, Thomas Welch, Peter Lane and Philip Keane.
In Captain Wadsworth’s company were Matthew Hurley, James Ford, Robert Corbett, James Stuart and William Lyon.
Under Captain Lathrop were William Buckley, Edward Moore and Stephen Butler.
Major Willard’s command included Thomas Tally, Phillip Read, John Barrett, John Healy, Daniel Gowen, John Gleeson.
Joseph Winn was in Captain Wheeler’s company; John Riley, Thomas Davis, Sylvester Hayes and Arthur Neale, in Captain Appleton’s. John Lane, John and William Day served under Captain Poole.
It was also necessary to garrison the towns and settlements to protect the women and children from prowling Indians. Among those who did this perilous work were John Cary, James Carr, John Malone, John Larkin, Daniel Kennedy, Thomas Owen, Timothy Larkin, John Boyd, Thomas Welch, Joseph Griffin, Brian Murphy, James Harrington.
In Captain Davenport’s company were Nathaniel Henly, John Drury, Daniel Harrington, Jeremiah Toye, Patrick Moroney. Moroney is also mentioned as having served under Captain Oliver; and Cornelius Davis is reported in Mosley’s company.
In the Great Swamp Fight, which took place at South Kingstown on December 19, 1675, we find Captains Mosley, Prentice, Davenport, Appleton and Oliver, and as shown above, all these commands contained many Irish.
In that fight Philip had assembled an army of three thousand warriors, and had laid in his winter’s supplies, with the determination to hold his position. We find the colonists wading through fifteen miles of snow in the middle of winter and dislodging him; and if the history of the Irish race on the battlefield proves anything it is fair to assume that the Irish were not in the rear. The Swamp Fight was the beginning of the end to Philip’s hopes.
In March, 1676, one Captain Michael Peirce had an engagement with a band of Indians at Pawtucket. His force was wiped out and massacred. Two days later the Indians crossed the Seekonk River and fell upon the inhabitants of what is now Rumford. The old histories tell us that when the Indians approached “Ye Irishman, Robert Beers, was sitting at a window reading ye bible. He was warned of ye approach of ye Indians and told to fly. He refused to move, saying that ‘he who was engaged in ready Holy Writ would not be molested by ye enemy.’” The story goes on to say that “ye Indians, disregarding ye biblical injunction, incontinently scalped ye Irishman Robert.” Robert was a mason by trade, and is the first Irishman of whom we have any record in the present town of East Providence.
The war ended in 1676, on the murder of Philip at Mount Hope. The Indians had devastated the entire colony. Crops were destroyed, or had not been planted. There was neither food nor clothing. Nine hundred men had fallen. Homes had been razed and starvation stared the colonies in the face.
And here we see again of what the Irish are made. We see the people of Ireland collecting money, food and clothing and fitting out the ship “Katherine” and sending her to the relief of the colonies. History calls this the “Irish Donation.”
Freeman, the historian, in mentioning the fact, says:
“It is somewhat remarkable that from ‘divers Christians’ in England and Wales no word of cheer greeted the suffering colonists, and no contribution, save that of Ireland, is recorded in this dark and perilous period.” Continuing he says: “It is worthy of particular notice, to the honor of humanity, that in the time of the distress of the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies, by reason of the wars, when few families remained that were not in mourning for the loss of some relative, and whose pecuniary embarrassments pressed upon them, the donation from Ireland to which we referred ‘for the relief of the impoverished, distressed and in necessity by the war’ was received. We record with pleasure this noble instance of benevolent sympathy.”
Bailies, in “History of New Plymouth,” says:
“Ireland was the only place in the British European dominions which bestowed any relief on the suffering colony.”
For a full account of the above see “Bodge’s Writings on King Philip’s War”; Publications of the New England Historic, Genealogic Society; Histories of Rhode Island and the Colonies; Writings of Thomas W. Bicknell, and many other authorities therein cited.
In the records of the State of Rhode Island we learn that Michael Kelly was a prominent man in the island of Conanicut as early as 1667. Michael was apparently a Quaker, and was one of a committee of three formed in that year for the purpose of defence against the Indians.
One of the founders of the town of East Greenwich was Charles Macarthy. He was afterwards given five thousand acres of land by the General Assembly for services in King Philip’s War.
Matthew Watson, another Irishman, was one of the most prominent inhabitants of the town of Barrington as early as 1722. His history has been written by Mr. Bicknell.
The present town of Warren was named in honor of Sir Peter Warren, an Irishman.
Another prominent family in the life of Rhode Island from the beginning to the present is that of Dorrance. We shall meet them again.
What is perhaps the most interesting of all, interesting because it deals with the intellectual life of the state, is the story of the part played by the Irish in the founding and maintaining of our most noted institution of learning, Brown University.
I was always under the impression that if there was one institution in the making of which we Irish had no part, that institution was the college on the hill; and when I first read that the first money contributed for its founding was obtained in Ireland, I confess that I accused the writers of deserting the field of fact and entering the realm of romance. Subsequent investigation, however, convinced me that the claims of the Irish were established beyond peradventure, no less an authority than the records of Brown itself proving our case.
To go back a little before the founding of the college, history tells us of eight Irish schoolmasters who taught in Rhode Island during the eighteenth century. Rev. James MacSparran, Rev. Marmaduke Brown, Stephen Jackson, “Old Master” Kelly, Knox, Crocker, Terrence Reilly and John Phelan.
MacSparran was an Irishman who settled here about 1718. For forty years he was pastor of St. Paul’s Church in Narragansett, where he taught many pupils at his home, among them Thomas Clapp, afterwards President of Yale.
Rev. Marmaduke Brown, the son of Rev. Arthur Brown, a native of Drogheda, county Louth, Ireland, where his mother was also born, was the Rector of Trinity Church, Newport. He also had a school there. In 1763 he had a school of thirty, fifteen of each sex. He was a member of the first Board of Fellows of Rhode Island College, now Brown University.
Stephen Jackson, a native of Kilkenny, came to America in 1724. In 1762 he was living on Benefit Street. One of his grandsons was for years town clerk of the town of Providence, and one of his great-grandsons was Governor of Rhode Island.
“Old Master Kelly” taught school at Tower Hill, South Kingstown, for a great many years. Among his pupils was Oliver Hazard Perry, who, we claim, was the son of an Irish mother. I have not gone into the ancestry of Commodore Perry in detail, as the proper place for the treatment of that subject is the history of the Irish Rhode Islanders in the war of 1812.
“Before 1800, Messrs. Knox and Crocker, natives of Ireland, taught school at Bowen’s Hill (Coventry) and the neighborhood.” (Cole’s History of Washington and Kent Counties.)
Terrence Reilly and John Phelan were schoolmasters in the time of the Revolution, but after the founding of the college.
But the first man who ever caused the idea of a college to take definite shape was none other than the ablest educator of them all, the Irish bishop, George Berkeley, who was born in Kilkenny. He started for America in 1729 for the purpose of educating and Christianizing the American Indian. He arrived in Newport in the same year. His first idea was to establish a college in Bermuda, but he soon changed his plan and determined to establish it in this state. His plans did not mature and he returned to Ireland. Shortly after his return he sent to Yale College the best collection of books ever received in this country up to that time. He also gave to the college a deed of his farm of ninety-six acres in Rhode Island, to be held by trustees for the support of three scholarships, to be bestowed upon the best classical scholars. The Rhode Island farm was rented in 1762 for a period of 999 years, and the Dean’s Bounty, as the fund is called, is still in existence and devoted to the same purpose. He also contributed to the libraries of Harvard, King’s College (now Columbia University), and the Redwood Library of Newport. He was a famous scholar and poet and is best known as the author of the line:
William E. Foster, librarian of the Providence Public Library, says of him (in speaking of the founding of Brown): “By thus anticipating by a third of a century the actual establishment of a college in Rhode Island, his plans unquestionably had an important bearing on the steps leading up to it.”
In 1762 the Philadelphia Baptist Association determined to form a college in Rhode Island. Rev. Morgan Edwards and Rev. Samuel Jones were placed in charge of the movement. The institution was incorporated in 1762 and was at first in Warren. In 1770 it was removed to Providence and the name was changed to Brown University in 1804.
Doctor Guild in “The First Commencement of Rhode Island College” says: “It is a singular and well-known fact ... that the first funds of the college were obtained from Ireland, in guineas and half-guineas, from Mary Murphy, Susanna Pilson, Joseph Fowke and other members of Protestant churches and societies in Cork, Waterford, Belfast, Ballymony, Coleraine, Londonderry and Dublin. This may be accounted for when we learn that Mr. Edward’s first settlement in the ministry, before coming to this country, was in Cork, where he married his wife (Mary Nunn). The original subscription book, with genuine signatures, is one of the most interesting documents on file in connection with the history of the University.”
Morgan Edwards went to Ireland and England in 1767. The list of his Irish contributors is a long one, and not all were Protestants. There were several Catholic contributors, as shown by the histories of the families in Ireland, still extant. Some of those who contributed were Mary Murphy, Matthew O. Dwyer, Francis Macarthy, Humphrey Crowley, Samuel Neale, Mrs. Luke Kelly, Rachel Connor, John Reilly, James Martin, Samuel McCormick, James Brennan and many others.
In 1769–70, Rev. Hezekiah Smith solicited funds for the college in South Carolina and Georgia. Among his contributors were Malachi Murfee, Edward Dempsey, Charles Reilly, Patrick Hinds, James Welsh, Hugh Dillon, John Boyd, Matthew Roach, John Canty and many others.
Someone has said that the names on the payrolls of the publications controlled by James Gordon Bennett remind one of a Fenian Roster. With as much truth could it be said that the names of the contributors to Brown University in its infancy would be taken for the chief marshal and his staff in a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Providence.
William Edwards, son of Morgan, was graduated from Brown in 1776. Marmaduke Brown was a member of the first Board of Fellows. Another graduate of Brown and afterwards one of its Board of Governors was John Dorrance. George Dorrance and his two sons, George and James, came from Ireland between 1715 and 1720, and settled in the town of Foster. John graduated from Brown and was afterwards president of the Providence Town Council for sixteen years.
Time will not admit of any further treatment of the history of Brown and I will close this part by mentioning the names of only a few of the graduates of Irish birth or ancestry in its early history: James Sullivan, brother of Major-General John Sullivan, received the degree of LL. D. in 1779; John Meredith Read, LL. D., John Mackie, A. B. 1800, M. D. 1813; Andrew Mackie, 1814; Joseph Mulliken, 1817; John Sharp Maginnis, 1844; Joseph Moriarty, 1830; Mark D. Shea and James G. Dougherty, 1865.
We see from this brief account that the Irish race has done its part in the making of Brown. From its inception until today hundreds of its graduates of Irish birth or descent have left its halls and have gone forth into the world, doing honor to their race and to their alma mater. At present it numbers among its students many men and women of that race. The President of the Class of 1910 in the Women’s College is, I understand, a namesake of mine, Miss Lillian Ruth Cosgrove.
We are proud of the part played by our people in the history of Brown, proud of its sons and daughters of our race. We are confident that some day an Irish graduate of Brown will tell the world the whole story of the Irish chapter in the history of Rhode Island; and may we not hope that in the not far distant future we will see on the campus on the hill, along with the statues of Marcus Aurelius and others, a monument perpetuating the memory of the Irish men and women who made the dream of the Irish Bishop Berkeley a living fact.
We now come to the greatest event in the history of our state and nation, the American Revolution. We have heard and read so much about the colonists throwing off the yoke of the “mother country” that it would seem to be necessary to determine who is entitled to the credit of being called the “mother country.”
Washington, Lee, Franklin, Custis and others, all men of English descent, tell us that one-half of the continental army was Irish. Galloway, Mountjoy and Robertson reported to England the same fact. Galloway stated to a committee of the British House of Commons that: “There were scarcely one-fourth natives of America; about one-half Irish, the other fourth were English and Scotch.” We do not claim that Galloway’s testimony was entirely trustworthy, and it is only quoted here in corroboration of the testimony of the others.
In the story of the part played by the Irish Rhode Islanders in the Revolution I have carefully omitted names of doubtful origin and have confined myself to those whose nationality cannot be questioned.
In 1765 Rhode Island opposed the Stamp Act. In 1766 a Liberty Tree was planted in Newport. In 1768 a similar event took place in Providence. In 1772 the “Gaspee” was attacked in the Providence River. Her commander was wounded and Dr. Henry Sterling, an Irishman, lent him assistance. In 1775 James and Alexander Black, two Irishmen, were leading merchants in Providence. On May 4th, 1776, the people of Rhode Island formally renounced allegiance to England, two months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
The records in the State House and elsewhere show that some three hundred soldiers of Irish birth or extraction enlisted from this state. I have been conservative in my estimates and have excluded names which may have been English, Irish or Scotch, as Carpenter, Chester, etc., although, as we have seen, these were as likely to be Irish as anything else. A detailed list of these names may be found in Murray’s “Irish Rhode Islanders in the American Revolution.” That publication also gives the names of the Irish who enlisted in the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut regiments. These add several hundred more. In this collection of names we find Bennets, Boyds, Carrolls, Caseys, Cooneys, Daleys, Donohues, Dorrances, Fitzgeralds, Gallaghers, Hanleys, Hogans, Larkins, Mahoneys, McCarthys, McDonalds, McNamaras, Murrays, Morans, O’Briens, Murphys, Sullivans, Tracys, Watsons and Wrights. We also find the three Irish fighting names: Kelly, Burke and Shea. These are only some of the names found which include about every Irish name imaginable.
Likewise we find the names Blake, Bowen, Carr, Cummings, King, Harvey, etc., but these are of doubtful origin and are not claimed by us.
Henry E. Knox, one of Washington’s generals, the son of an Irishman, visited Rhode Island in 1776 and laid out certain forts at Newport.
At the beginning of the war Washington ordered two invading armies into Canada. One of these was commanded by Richard Montgomery, a native of Raphoe, County Donegal, Ireland. The other was commanded by Benedict Arnold. In these armies were many Irish Rhode Islanders. Captain Simeon Thayer of Providence organized a company for the expedition. In it were John Barrett, John Carrell, Edward Connor, Thomas Garey, Patrick Hannington, James Hayden, Cornelius Higgarty, Edward Mulligan, John Ryan, Patrick Tracy and James Welch.
Captain Ward of Westerly also had a company on the expedition and this included Thomas Dougherty and John Hickey. Captain Topham of Newport had many Irish in his command. In this campaign every regiment from the colonies contained numerous Irish soldiers, as shown by the muster rolls.
In the spring of 1776 Washington ordered General Sullivan to the support of the armies in Canada, assigning six regiments to his care. Owing to the death of the commander-in-chief before Quebec the mission of Sullivan was a failure. Sullivan’s regiments contained a large number of Irish soldiers, but as we are concerned only with the Irish in Rhode Island it is not necessary to mention all their names here.
Sullivan was given command of the army in Rhode Island in 1778. Under him were Generals Lafayette and Greene, each commanding one-half of the army, with Sullivan Commander-in-Chief. The object of Washington was to emphasize the alliance with France by making a successful attack on the British forces, military and naval, aided by the French fleet. Every schoolboy knows the result of that campaign. How its complete success was rendered impossible by a storm off Point Judith and how Sullivan, Lafayette and Greene saved their forces from disaster by their masterly tactics. With Sullivan were his two brothers, James and Eben, and the muster rolls of the regiments in the Rhode Island campaign read like the Directory of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
I have purposely omitted to go into detail as to the history of the two greatest Irishmen in the Revolution, Major General John Sullivan, and Commodore Barry, “the Father of the American Navy.” My object has been to record the deeds of the Irishmen who fought in the ranks rather than to try to add lustre to those two men. Enough has been written of them. Their story and their work are well known.
It is possible to mention the names of only a few Irish Rhode Islanders who took part in the different battles of the Revolution:
George Dorrance was an ensign in the Regiment of Providence in the “Army of Observation.” George Dorrance, probably the same, was, in 1780, lieutenant of the second company of Scituate. Again we find the name as captain, in 1781, in a regiment raised by act of the General Assembly and again we read of a George Dorrance commissioned Major in the Third Regiment of Militia.
Dr. Henry Sterling, the Irish surgeon, is stated as “being in hearty sympathy with the revolution and aided the patriot cause with his advice and professional services.” He was born in Londonderry, Ireland.
Patrick Tracy of Thayer’s company was killed before Quebec and Hagerty and Hayden were wounded. In Colonel Elliot’s regiment were John McCarthy, Cornelius Sullivan, John McCoy, John Lyon and Daniel Conway.
Thomas Hughes, known as “gallant Thomas Hughes,” was Irish, a captain in the Revolution and a major in the War of 1812. Many articles have been written about him, and as there are some of his descendants living today, who have told of him better than I can do, I will pass him with this brief mention. Miss Mary A. Greene, one of his descendants, is a prominent Rhode Island writer and scholar.
William Ennis became a sergeant in Sherburn’s command. William Lawless was a captain. William McCoy was a quartermaster in Colonel Christopher Greene’s command. Rev. Erasmus Kelly lost his household effects in Warren by pillage. James Foster, a native of Dublin, with a name that would not indicate his Irish origin, “enlisted for the war.” John Harrington was an ensign in Sheldon’s company. Elizabeth O’Brien was a nurse. The name “Ensign M. Carthy,” probably Ensign McCarthy, appears as among those of Israel Angell’s regiment. John Tracy was an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Glover on the island of Rhode Island under Sullivan. William Lawless, probably the person mentioned before, was made captain in 1778 under Colonel Crary. Edward Ross was an ensign in the Second Infantry Company of Westerly. William Creed became a captain. John Larkin was, in 1776, a member for Hopkinton of the “committee to procure arms and accoutrements.”
In the Rhode Island regiments at Yorktown were Dennis Hogan, sergeant; John Butler, sergeant; Michael Kelly, Cornelius Driscoll, William Sullivan, Nicholas Hart, Matthew Hart, Michael Doherty, Peter Burns, James Hayes, Thomas Mitchell, Charles McAfferty, Michael Wright, John Kirby, Matthew Henly, Christopher Moore, Anthony Griffin, Daniel and Peter Collins, William McCall, John Haney, James Mitchell, Thomas Melony, Francis Cavan, Hugh McDonald, John McDonald and many others.
Captain Olney’s company, known throughout the colonies for its many deeds of courage, was the first to scale the walls of Yorktown. It contained many Irish, as shown by its rolls.
Among the men of Irish descent in Lafayette’s army were Count Arthur Dillon, Aide-de-Camp Isidore de Lynch (who afterwards became the commander of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh), Lieutenant-Colonel Barthelemy Dillon. Theobald Dillon also saw service in America and was a member of the Cincinnati. Matthew Dillon also saw service here. M. de McCarty was an officer with the French army at Newport and in the Rhode Island campaign. Edward Stack, another Irishman, was with Rochambeau.
Some of the other Irishmen who served in America with the French were: Commandant O’Neill, wounded at Savannah; Captain James Shee, Captain MacDonnall, Captain Mullens, Lieutenant Taaffe, Lieutenant Farrell, James O’Moran, Lacy and Whalen. Charles Geoghegan, an Irishman in the French army, received the decoration of the Cincinnati at the hands of Washington.
In the navy we find the Irish race well represented. It is, of course, impossible to tell whence these sailors and marines came, but we know that they served.
John Murphy of Rhode Island commanded a privateer. William Malone was captain of the Harbinger. Francis Mulligan was the owner of the Chance. Oliver Reed was master of the privateer General Rochambeau. Peter Day commanded the Molly’s Adventure. M. Mackey was the commander of the Greyhound.
Stephen Ready, John Welch, Edward McGrath, William Kelly, John Murphy and Charles Buckley, all of Rhode Island, were imprisoned in England.
On the sloop Providence we find Patrick McMullen, Matthew McCaffray, Bernard Gallagher; on the Alfred, Patrick McNamara, George O’Hara, armorer’s mate, Patrick O’Brien and William Burns; on the Columbus, Edward Burke, Lieutenant of Marines, Thomas Burns, surgeon’s mate, John McLaughlin, Peter Morris, Charles McDonald, Arthur Nagle and Thomas Murray.
Mr. Field in his work, “Esek Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, 1775 to 1778,” tells us that in Hopkin’s command were many Irishmen, some of them being Anthony Dwyer, Richard Sweeney, Patrick Kaine, Thomas Doyle, John Connor, Andrew Magee, Thomas Dowd, John Roatch and George Kennedy.
We also find Captain Mellaly commanding a privateer and capturing the British sloop Crawford.
These are only a few of the names found in the records, but they show unmistakably the part played by the men and women of our race in our “Little Rhody” to and including the Revolution.
Some reliable writers have stated that the officers of the continental army were twenty-five per cent Irish. Some of them were Generals Stephen Moylan (first president of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Philadelphia), Henry E. Knox (first Secretary of War), John Shee, “Mad Anthony” Wayne, Matthew Irvine, Edward Hand, Richard Butler, Walter Stewart and William Thompson; Colonels John Nixon, Sharp Delaney, Charles Stewart, John Patton, George Lattimer, Thomas Robinson, Barrett, Smith and Davis; Captain Parker and many others. As we have seen, there were many officers of lesser rank, both in the army and the navy.
Among the first sea fights of the Revolution was the capture of the British sloop Margaretta at Machias Bay on the coast of Maine, May 11th, 1775, known as “The Lexington of the Seas.” The Americans were commanded by Captain O’Brien, the son of a native of Ireland.
Captain Parker, killed at Lexington, was an Irishman, as were Colonels Barrett, Smith and Davis, who commanded at Concord. The monument at Bunker Hill is covered with Irish names.
The two most famous women of the Revolution were Molly Pitcher and Nancy Hart, both Irish.
But it was not alone in battle that our race distinguished itself. At Valley Forge the army of Washington was in dire peril. The troops had neither food, clothing, shelter nor equipment. Disaster met them everywhere and failure threatened the patriot cause. Faultfinders and malcontents were urging the giving up of the struggle. The hopes of Washington and his devoted band had almost disappeared, when thirty Irishmen of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Philadelphia subscribed six hundred thousand dollars. When we consider what that amount of money meant in those days, is it not fair to assume that this contribution was the real means by which the power of England was finally driven from this continent? It entailed hardships and sacrifices which we cannot appreciate now. Robert Morris, a banker, and Blair McClenachan gave fifty thousand dollars each. James Mease, a native of Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, and General Matthew Irvine gave twenty-five thousand dollars each and the other members subscribed the remainder.
Among the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence were eleven of Irish birth or descent: John Hancock, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton, John Hart, George Taylor, George Read, James Smith, Thomas McKean, Charles Carroll, Edward Rutledge and Thomas Lynch.
The Declaration of Independence is in the handwriting of Charles Thompson, a native of Londonderry. It was first read to the public in Philadelphia by John Nixon, son of a native of Wexford and a member of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, and was first printed by John Dunlap, a native of Strabane, county Tyrone, Ireland.
When the colonists sought the assistance of France Bishop Carroll accompanied Benjamin Franklin to that country and it was due mainly to the Bishop’s representations that French assistance was obtained.