USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The story of the Irish in Boston, together with biographical sketches of representative men and noted women > Part 9
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One of the bravest men of Colonel Stark's command was his major, Andrew McClary, an Irishman, nearly six and one-half feet in height, and of athletic frame. During the action he, like his
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colonel, fought among his men with great bravery. After the action he rode to Medford to procure bandages for the wounded, and on his return went with a few of his comrades to reconnoitre the British, then on Bunker Hill. As he was on his way to rejoin his men, a shot from a frigate lying where Craigie's Bridge now is, passed through his body. He leaped a few feet from the ground, pitched forward, and fell on his face dead.
In 1781 a poem on the battle was published, bearing the signa- ture of John Boyle, the well-known bookseller of Boston. His Irish name adds significance to his words. The following is an extract :-
" Again the conflict glows with rage severe, And fearless ranks in Combat mixt appear. Victory uncertain ! fierce contention reigns, And purple rivers drench the slippery plains. Column to column, host to host oppose, And rush impetuous on their adverse foes. When, lo ! the hero Warren from afar Sought for the battle and the field of war."
Many other Irish names shared the renown of this combat. Laurence Sullivan and John Dillon were among the dead upon the field; Daniel McGrath was taken prisoner, and died in captivity.
The following names are found among those on the rolls of Bunker Hill, as given in the Massachusetts Archives : -
2d-Lieut. Chas. Dougherty, Richard Burk,
Capt. Samuel Dunn,
Michael Berry,
John Bryan, Arthur Collamore,
Col. John Patterson,
William Burk,
Samuel Carr,
Ebenezer Sullivan, Josiah Burk,
John Collins,
Lieut. Joseph Welsh, John Burk,
Edward Burk, Thomas Burn, John Bogan,
Edward Connor, David Collins, Peter Collins,
John Barry,
Joseph Barry,
William Bogan,
Daniel Collins,
Wait Burk,
James Barry,
Sergt. Hugh Cargill,
Tilly Burk, Joseph Burne,
Col. John Nixon,
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William Conner, John Cronyn, John Connor, David Connor,
Daniel Collins,
Mathew Gilligan,
William Carrall,
John Gleason,
James Carrall,
William Gilman,
Caleb Carey,
William Gilmore,
Isaac Collins,
William Casey,
Joseph Griffin, Richard Gilpatrick,
Aaron Carey,
John Connelly,
Joshua Gilpatrick,
Demerel Collins,
Daniel Collins,
James Gilpatrick,
John Coy,
Timothy Carny,
John Gilmor,
Lieut. Daniel Collins,
Patrick Connelly,
Joseph Griffin,
Daniel Callahan,
Francis Crowley, John Cummings,
Daniel Lomasney,
Robert Callaghan,
Charles Doroughty,
William Linnehan,
Lemuel Collins,
John Dougarty,
Daniel Leary,
Josiah Cummings,
Elijah Doyle,
Capt. Timothy Carey, John Laughton,
Ambrose Collins,
Thomas Dougherty,
Capt. Michael Gleason,
David Coye,
Lieut. Charles Dougherty, Bartholomew Lynch,
Richard Collins,
William Dun,
James Milliken,
Henry Collins,
William Dunn,
Joseph Manning,
John Cummings,
John Dougherty,
Peter Martin,
James Conner,
John Dun,
Hugh McCarthy,
John Collins, Arthur Carey,
James Donnell,
James McGraw,
Ambrose Craggin,
Jotham Donnel,
William M'Cleary,
Joshua Carey,
Thomas Doyl,
Richard Murphy,
Josiah Carey,
Patrick Doyle,
Edward Madden,
Edward Casey,
Edwark Finiken,
Michael McDonald,
Jesse Cary,
John Flyn, John Foye,
Daniel Murphy,
Michael Clary,
David McCleary,
Jeremiah Cady,
Thomas Finn,
James McConner,
Jeremiah Collins,
Edward Fogerty,
Morris M'Cleary,
Ebenezer Craggen,
David Fling,
John Manning,
Samuel Craggen,
James Fitzgerald,
William McClure,
John Coner,
John Foy,
Robert McCormick,
Daniel Carmical,
Jacob Flyn,
John McDonald,
John Carrel,
John Fitchjeril,
John McLarty, Daniel Moore,
Caleb Comings, John Calahan,
Thomas Gleason,
William Murphy,
Solomon Collins,
Daniel Griffin,
Daniel Maley,
Edward Conner,
Joseph Griffin,
Hugh Morrison,
Luther Carey,
Nathaniel Griffin,
John Meacham,
Stephen Collins,
Laurence Carrol,
Joseph Gleason,
Joseph Cavenaugh,
Charles Casity,
William Dougherty,
James Dunn,
Capt. Nathaniel Healy,
Kendel Farley,
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John McCartney,
James McCullough,
John Savage,
John McCoy,
Daniel McCarty,
Jeremiah Scanlan,
Thomas Mclaughlin,
Peter Martin,
John Sullivan,
Thomas Mccullough,
Patrick Mahoney,
Timothy Sullivan,
George McCleary,
Eben Sullivan,
Robert Steel, John Shanahan,
Robert McCleary,
John Noonan,
Daniel Maguire,
John O'Conner,
James Shay,
John Morrison,
Dennis O'Brien,
Patrick Scandalin,
Israel Murphy,
Capt. Jeremiah Gilman,
Thomas Savage,
Pierce Murphy,
Bryant Ryan,
Ebenezer Sullivan,
Peter McGee,
Cornelius Ryan,
Daniel Shay,
Terrance McMahon,
John Ryan,
John Shay,
James McCormich,
Thomas Ryan,
Patrick Tracey,
Daniel McNamara,
Martin Rourke,
Thomas Tobin,
Thomas Mahoney,
Dennis Ryan,
Mathew Tobin,
William Murphy,
Daniel Rioden,
Mathias Welch,
Daniel Morrison,
John Rogers,
Benjamin Welch,
John McDonald,
James Ryan,
John Welch,
Joseph McDonnell,
John Roach,
William Welsh,
Joseph McLallin,
Timothy Roach,
Peter Welch,
William McKenney,
Capt. Daniel Gallusha,
James Welch,
James Milliken,
Capt. John Ford,
James Wall,
John McCullough,
James Ryan,
Jonas Welch,
John McGrath,
Thomas Roach,
Silas Welch,
John McGuire,
James Richey,
John Wolley,
John Mitchell,
Fred Roach,
Joseph Welch,
James M'Fadden,
John Rannor,
Walter Welch,
John Madden,
John Rickey,
Isaac Welch,
Michael Minihan,
Augustus Ryan,
Richard Welch,
Lawrence Mclaughlin,
Oliver Sullivan,
John Welch,
David McElroy,
Patrick Shea,
William Welch,
William McCleary,
Richard Shea,
Edmund Welch,
James McCoy,
Michael Stewart,
Joseph Welch,
Edward Manning,
John Shield,
William Welch.
III. - The Siege of Boston.
After the battle of Bunker Hill the Americans settled down to drive the English out of Boston. The town was surrounded and placed in a state of siege. The battle of Bunker Hill had inspired
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the whole country, and daily reinforcements came from the other colonies to join the men of New England. Washington came from Virginia and made an army out of what had been merely armed bands. At the head of one of his brigades, in which was Stark's regiment, he placed Gen. John Sullivan.
Many of the settlements along the South Atlantic coast had been made by emigrants from Ireland, and those settlements sent forth their men as patriotically as Puritan New England. The reports of the fight of that June day had not ceased to travel when Daniel Morgan, the son of a County Derry man, marched into Cambridge at the head of five hundred sharpshooters. These men were dressed in buckskin uniforms, and their unerring aim became a terror to the English.
The American army wanted artillery to enforce the siege. Under date of Dec. 17, 1775, Washington received from Col. Henry Knox, who had been sent on a mission to Ethan Allen, at Crown Point, Ticonderoga, a letter, saying, " I hope in sixteen or seventeen days to present to your Excellency a noble train of artillery, the inventory of which I have enclosed." Colonel Knox kept his word. With an enterprise and perseverance that elicited the warmest com- mendations, he brought, over frozen lakes and almost impassable snows, more than fifty cannon, mortars, and howitzers. With this train Washington was enabled to strengthen his position, and to make a more decisive move against the enemy. Colonel Knox was of a family that originally came from near Belfast. His career was a brilliant one. He commanded the artillery corps, and the effective work of his guns at Trenton, Princeton, Germantown, and Monmouth made him distinguished among the American generals. He was born in Boston, July 25, 1750. His wife was the daughter of a British official. She forsook her relatives, however, and ac- companied him in his flight, concealing on her person the sword which he used at Bunker Hill. Washington made him a major- general after the surrender of Cornwallis. From 1785 to 1794 he was Secretary of War. He died in 1806.
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Gen. William Sullivan has left the following reminiscence of our dashing artilleryman : -
" Generals Knox, Lincoln, and Jackson had been companions in the Revolution, - had laughed, eaten and drunk, fought and lived together, and were on the most intimate terms. They loved each other to a degree but little known among the men of the present day. After the struggle of the war they retired to their homes, and were all comfortable in their worldly circumstances, if not rich; but Knox possessed large tracts of land in the State of Maine, upon the rapid sales of which he confidently relied; imagined himself more wealthy than he was; and lived in luxurious style. He built himself a superb mansion at Thomaston, Me., where all his friends met with a cordial welcome and enjoyed the most liberal hospitality. It was not an unusual thing for Knox to kill, in summer, when great num- bers of friends visited him, an ox and twenty sheep on every Monday morning, and to make up one hundred beds daily in his house. He kept for his own use and that of his friends twenty saddle-horses and several carriages in his stables. This expensive style of living was too much for his means, as he was disappointed in the sale of his lands, and he was forced to borrow sums of money on the credit of his friends, Generals Lincoln and Jackson. He soon found himself involved to a large amount, and was obliged to acquaint his friends of the embarrassments into which he had unfortunately drawn them. Lincoln was at that time Collector of the port of Boston, and occupied a house in State street, now torn down, part of which he used for the Custom House and part he occupied as his dwelling. It was agreed that the three should meet there, and a full exposition of Knox's affairs be made known. I was applied to as counsel on the occasion, and was the first one who came at the time appointed. Jackson soon entered; after him, Knox; and almost immediately Lincoln came in. They seated . themselves in a semicircle, whilst I took my place at the table for the purpose of drawing up the necessary papers and taking the notes of this melan- choly disclosure. These men had often met before, but never in a moment of such sorrow. Both Lincoln and Jackson knew and felt
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that Knox, the kindest heart in the world, had unwittingly involved them. They were all too full to speak, and maintained for some minutes a sorrowful silence. At last, as if moved by the same im- pulse, they raised their eyes. Their glances met, and Knox burst into tears. Soon, however, Lincoln rose, brushed a tear from his eye, and exclaimed, ' Gentlemen, this will never do! We come hither to transact business; let us attend to it.' This aroused the others, and Knox made a full disclosure of his affairs. Although Lincoln and Jackson suffered severe losses, it never disturbed the feelings of friendship and intimacy which had existed between these generous- hearted men."1 Such thoughtless extravagance is one of the well- known characteristics of our race, and was especially noticeable in Irish society of the eighteenth century. Extravagance ran riot, and excess in hospitality was the principal virtue of the host. "Nine gentlemen in ten in Ireland are impoverished by the great quantity of claret which, from mistaken notions of hospitality and dignity, they think it necessary should be drunk in their houses." It is natural that traces of this tendency should occasionally appear among the Irish in America.
Another distinguished officer of those gathered about Washing- ton during the siege of Boston was Stephen Moylan, colonel of Moylan's dragoons. He was born in Cork, and was the brother of the Roman Catholic bishop of that city. From the American camp in January, 1776, he writes: "Everything thaws here except old Put. He is still as hard as ever crying out for powder - powder - ye gods, give us powder ! " Moylan street at the Highlands obscurely keeps his memory among us.
General Sullivan was the son of John Sullivan, the emigrant, who settled in Maine in 1730. He was born in Berwick, Me., in 1741; at the outset of the war he at once rose into prominence. The fortifi- cations on Ploughed Hill, upon which afterwards the Benedictine con- vent stood, that was burnt in 1837, were his work. He commanded with distinction at Germantown and Brandywine, finally retiring from
1 William Sullivan's "Public Men of the Revolution."
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the army on account of disabilities. Afterwards he was a member of Congress, and was made a judge in New Hampshire. He died in 1795. Sullivan, Morgan, Knox, Stark, and Moylan were instant in well-doing during the entire eight months of the siege, until Howe with his troops and his toadies was driven from the town. The evacuation occurred on St. Patrick's day, 1776. Gen. John Sullivan was made officer of the day, and it is said that the countersign, authorized by Washington's order, was "St. Patrick." Thus, on the most eventful day in the history of our city did the Commander-in-Chief of the American army pay a graceful compliment to the Irish people.
We hear of Irish Tories that showed their heads from time to time during the siege. Thus "Draper's Gazette," Sept. 21, 1775, had the following : -
Tuesday a snow arrived from Cork laden with Claret, pork, and butter. She brings advices of great armaments fitting out in England which may be expected here in the course of next month. A brigade of Irish Roman Catholics is forming in Munster and Connaught in order to be sent to Boston to act against the rebels.
Whether the editor of the " Gazette " had positive information when he wrote as above, or whether his intention was to furnish un- pleasant news for the " rebels " to read, has never been ascertained. It is known, however, that neither the great armament nor the Roman Catholic brigade ever arrived in Boston. In fact, the English gov- ernment found the greatest difficulties in enlisting Irishmen to fight against the Americans. The sympathies of the Irish people were with the cause. Arthur Lee, among others, vouches for this. In a letter written to General Washington he said: -
The resources of the country - that is to say, England -are almost annihilated in Germany, and their last resource is to the Roman Catholics of Ireland ; and they have already experienced their unwillingness to go, every man of a regiment raised there last year having obliged them to ship him off tied and bound. And most certainly the Irish Catholics will desert more than any other troops whatever.
Again, we are told that General Howe, in an order issued Dec. 7, 1775, said: " Some Irish merchants residing in town, with
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their adherents, having offered their services for the defence of the place, they have armed and formed into a company called the Loyal Irish Volunteers, and distinguished by a white cockade." James Forrest was appointed captain of this company, and the duty of its members was to mount guard every evening. Forrest was a member of the Charitable Irish Society, and in 1772 and 1773 he was " keeper of the silver key."
Among the most notorious characters of the time was an Irishman by the name of Crean Brush. He was a scoundrel, apparently without a single redeeming quality. His career, as found in history, is the career of a thief and most mercenary vil- lain. He seemed to have great influence with the rulers of the town of Boston. They invested him with extraordinary power, and winked at his crimes. He was a terror to both loyalists and patriots, and his thievings amounted to thousands of dollars. He may be traced in Dr. O'Callaghan's Documentary History of New York. He was born in Dublin, trained to the law, and admitted to practice in New York, where he held office under the Provincial Secretary. He appears as a violent actor in the controversies and hostilities between the authorities of New York and the settlers in the so-called " Hampshire grants" (now Vermont), who held titles from the Governor of New Hampshire that were disputed by New York. In those controversies the famous Ethan Allen appears conspicuously as one of the settlers. His wife was a step-daughter of Crean Brush. The exciting events in Boston had an attraction for the adventurous spirit of Brush, and he found his way to the town in the autumn of 1775. He came highly recommended by the English authorities of New York, and jumped into favor immediately with General Gage. The closing-in of the town by the patriots led many Tories to seek flight cither to England or Canada to await the cessation of hostilities. They had many valuables which they were unable to take with them. In October, 1775, Brush was delegated by Gage to receive such goods for safe-keeping. In the following March he was authorized by General Howe to secure all woollen and linen goods, to keep them from the " rebels." General Howe proclaimed : " If, after this
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notice, any person secretes or keeps in his possession such articles, he will be treated as favoring the rebels." General Howe's commission to Brush went further. It stated that there was in the town a large quantity of goods which, "in the possession of the rebels, would enable them to carry on the war; " and authorized him to take possession of all such goods as answered this description, and put them on board the ship " Minerva" and the brigantine " Elizabeth." This was a sweeping permission for Brush to rob, and he immediately took advantage of it. Early in the year 1776 he had secured permission from General Howe to raise a body of three hundred " loyal volunteers," who were to serve like the corps of Royal Fencible Americans, already organized. Under cover of his commission, and with the aid of his three hundred loyal brigands, he broke open stores, stripped them of their goods, and carried them on board the ships. Thieves and cut-throats, seeing him at this work, assumed authority to do likewise, and despoiled all those whom Brush permitted to escape while hunting for better prey. On the day of the evacuation he put off in the brigantine "Elizabeth," which was heavily laden with goods valued at one hundred thousand dollars at least. He had, however, delayed his departure too long. The fleet was down at the roads when the "Elizabeth " was trying to get out of the harbor. She was captured and brought back to Boston. The goods were confiscated, and Brush was put in the Boston jail heavily ironed. He was kept under rigid restrictions marked by merited indignities, though, it would seem, he found opportunity for gross intemperance. In 1777 he was joined by his wife, who contrived, after he had been in prison more than nineteen months, to disguise him in her own clothing, so as to enable him, on the night of Nov. 5, 1777, to get out of jail and away to New York. He went afterwards to Vermont, to look after his fifty thousand acres of land, which he had seized upon as his share during the land controversy. He fell into further trouble, and his estate was, for the most part, confiscated. In May, 1778, weighed down by grief and remorse, he blew out his brains with a pistol.
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Turning from this Firbolg1 to the more deserving of our race, we find in the Continental army besieging Boston the following significant names : -
Henry Adams (enrolled as an Irishman),
Solomon Hurley,
Michael Neagles,
John Kneeland,
James Neil,
Patrick Brezland,
David Kelley,
John Noonan,
Charles Briant,
Matthew Casey,
James Newland,
Michael Bailey,
Elijah Kelley,
Thomas O'Bryan,
Charles O'Brien,
Michael Kirland,
John O'Brian,
William Boyed,
William Kelly,
Charles O'Brian,
Richard Burk,
William Lackey,
Gregory O'Brian,
John McClary,
Philip Laraway,
Thomas O'Brian,
Maurice Conner,
Wm. Love (entered from Ireland),
John O'Hara, John Ray,
John Conway,
Robt. Morrison,
James Riley,
Richard Colbert,
Daniel McCarty,
Michael Rockford,
William Connelly,
Dominick Murray,
Thomas Riley,
Timothy Dwyer, Daniel Driskill,
Hugh McKowen,
Thomas Sharidan,
John Dorin,
Wm. Murphy,
Wm. Doyle,
John McDonald,
Edmund Sculley, Jeremiah Shea, William Sullivan,
Michael Edwards,
John McGee,
Elijah T. Tinvey,
John Flynn,
John McClarry,
Cornelius Teigh, James Welsh, Samuel Welsh,
John Gillen, Robert Hughes,
Andrew Meguire, Phil Mahone,
William Ryan,
William Hurly,
Barney McCormick,
John Welch,
John Houlding,
John O'Connel,
Morris Welsh,
Dennis Hogan,
James Magee,
Barnabus Ryan,
Bartholomew Hurley,
James Nagle,
Simeon Riley.
Thom. Gurney,
Francis McNeal,
Michael Grant,
John Maloney,
James Kennedy,
Thomas Eagin,
Jeremiah Mahoney,
John Mitchell,
Maurice Shehay,
Cornelius Corbitt,
1 Every one who is black-haired, who is a tattler, guileful, tale-bearing, noisy, con- temptible; every wretched, mean, strolling, unsteady, harsh, and inhospitable person; every slave, every mean thief, every churl, every one who loves not to listen to music and enter- tainment, the disturbers of every council and every assembly, and the promoters of discord among people, - these are the descendants of the Firbolgs in Erinn. - Charles De Kay, in The Century, January, 1889.
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IV. - The War of 1812 and the Mexican War.
The War of 1812 contains very little that concerns us. It was not popular in the East. The Federal party, that at that time domi- nated nearly all the New England States, was opposed to the war. When the news was received in Massachusetts that President Madi- son had declared war on the British, there was intense opposition. The feeling of opposition to the war was especially bitter in Boston. Boston people were largely engaged in commerce, and feared the prowling war-ships of Great Britain. President Madison and his administration were loudly denounced. The Federalists charged that the war was simply a political move to retain the Democracy in power. The English spirit seemed to have revived with new strength among the Eastern traders. They refused assistance to the general government, and did nothing whatever to promote the success of the war.
Probably it was on the war issue that the Democracy of the State swung into power, for in 1812 their candidate for governor was elected. Both branches of the Legislature were also Democratic. Gover- nor Gerry openly accused the Federal party " of being anti-repub- lican in its principles, and opposed to the measures of the general government. Are we not called upon," said he, "to decide whether we will commit the liberty and independence of ourselves and pos- terity to the fidelity and protection of a national administration, at the head of which is a Madison, supported by an Executive Depart- ment, a Senate and House of Representatives abounding with Revolu- tionary and other meritorious patriots, or to a British administration, the disciples of Bute, who was the author of a plan to enslave these States, and to American royalists who cooperated with that govern- ment to bind us in chains while colonists? Is it not morally and politically impossible that a doubt can exist in regard to the choice?"
The Federalists succeeded in electing Caleb Strong as Governor Gerry's successor. Boston was the seat of discontent and turbulence. Public passion was inflamed ; and from the moment war was declared,
HENRY A, McGLENEN
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Boston clamored for peace and reprobated the war as wicked and unjust.
The State Senate was Democratic, while the House was controlled by the Federalists. The House issued an address containing these words : " If your sons must be torn from you by conscription, con- sign them to the care of God, but let there be no volunteers except for defensive war."
The address issued by the Senate contained the following: "Let your young men who compose the militia be ready to march at a moment's warning to any part of our shores in defence of our coast."
Notwithstanding the English spirit which seemed to dominate the majority of Massachusetts citizens, and which led to acts border- ing on secession, there were still several companies raised in the State for its defence. The records of these companies are in the archives at Washington, and consequently not available for this work. There were the New England Guards, the Rangers, and the Boston and Charlestown Sea Fencibles, all Boston companies, and containing on their rolls many Irish names.
New England was opposed to the Mexican War also. The Whig party of Massachusetts deemed it a war to extend the Southern slave power, and were inclined to refuse all assistance to it. The third party, which was destined to supplant the Whig party, and which was to be known as the Republican, was at that time making itself felt, and its members were unalterably opposed to the war. At the request of the Secretary of War, Governor Briggs called upon the citizen soldiery to enlist. This was in May, 1846, and in November of the same year a regiment was raised, with Caleb Cushing of New- buryport as colonel, Isaac H. Wright of Roxbury, lieutenant-colonel, and Edward W. Abbott of Andover as major. It is understood that this regiment never went into action in whole or in part. They left Boston in February, 1847; and June 21, 1848, they departed from Vera Cruz for home. The rolls of this regiment, preserved in the Adjutant-General's office, show that at least two-fifths of the en- listed men in the regiment were Irish-Americans, among them being Henry A. McGlenen, the popular manager of the Boston Theatre.
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