Channelling George Washington: The Irish in the American Revolution
“Did you ever hear of Michael Joseph O’Brien?”
“He sounds formidable. Who is he?”
“He wrote a book that every Irish-American should reread on St. Patrick’s Day—A Hidden Phase of American History. Mike, as I call him, drops by to see me now and then. We have a great time discussing how stuffed shirts like Senator Henry Cabot Lodge kept trying to deny the number of Irish in our Revolution.”
“What year was Senator Lodge saying that?”
“He said it in a book he wrote in 1898, The Story of the Revolution. And he kept saying it in numerous speeches. Michael Joseph O’Brien had come to America in 1889, one jump ahead of Queen Victoria’s police. He was a fighter for Ireland’s independence. Mike’s ire caught fire when he heard Senator Lodge pushing this idea in a speech about the Battle of Bunker Hill. Lodge claimed everyone on the American side was of pure English stock, except for a sprinkling of Scotch-Irish.”
“What did O’Brien say?”
“He said the esteemed senator, who was one of the leaders of the Republican Party, didn’t know what he was talking about. In 1775, there was no such thing as Scotch-Irish. The term was invented in the nineteenth century, when Irish Catholics flooded into America after the terrible famine of 1847. O’Brien declared that in 1775 every man who came from Ireland was Irish. It didn’t matter whether he was Protestant or Catholic. They all had scores to settle with the British for centuries of exploitation and abuse.”
“Would you say that’s true?
“I checked with Charlie Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress, who’s a walking encyclopedia on such things. He said O’Brien had it exactly right. Lodge was an ignoramus about the Irish.”
“Was Thomson Irish?”
“He was born in Ireland. A more ferocious foe of British imperialism never existed. He was known as the Sam Adams of Philadelphia.”
“Let’s get back to O’Brien and Senator Lodge. What happened next?”
“The senator challenged Mike to prove his contentions or apologize for his insulting tone. O’Brien came back a few years later with A Hidden Phase of American History.”
“Could you sum it up?”
“It was a stunning compendium, from what you historians call original sources, about the things the Irish did during the Revolution. At Bunker Hill, O’Brien made it clear that the battle was won by an Irishman from New Hampshire, Colonel John Stark. Both his parents were born in Ireland. He led eight hundred men into the fight as the shooting was about to start. A lot of them were Irish. His second in command was a six foot four giant, Major Andrew McClary. Stark took one look at the situation and saw a fatal flaw in the American defenses.”
“What was it?”
“On the Mystic River side of the peninsula on which Bunker Hill stood, a wide beach ran along the river. There was no one guarding it. Stark ordered two hundred men to get down there and throw up a stone wall. A half hour later, six hundred British light infantrymen charged up that beach. They were planning to race past the defending Americans and attack them from the rear. Instead they collided with Stark’s men, firing with an accuracy that no one in the British army had ever seen.”
“Amazing stuff. Were you there?”
“I was on my way from Philadelphia to take command of the army around Boston. When I arrived, I heard all about it from the men who did the fighting. They gave Stark and his New Hampshiremen credit for saving them—and the country—from disaster.”
“Do you have any idea how many Irish were in the battle, including the New Hampshiremen and men from other regiments?”
“All told, at least six hundred, according to Mike O’Brien. He also scoured the records of all the Massachusetts regiments who fought in the entire Revolutionary War. He found over 3,000 unmistakably Irish names. And guess what else?”
“What?”
“Not a single Lodge.”
“I’m starting to feel sorry for the senator.”
“He was typical of many Americans of his era. A lot of people still think the Irish didn’t get to this country until the middle of the nineteenth century. There were at least 300,000 Celts in America before 1776. They were fleeing British oppression in Ireland. Ben Franklin says when he visited Ireland in 1771, he was so appalled by the poverty and humiliation the Irish endured, he decided then and there maybe America should consider independence.”
“Did you have many Irish in your army?”
“At Valley Forge, almost half the army was Irish. Large numbers came from Pennsylvania. There were so many Irish in their state’s line, the term we used for a state’s brigade—it was called ‘The Line of Ireland.’”
“How did they get along with rest of the army?”
“Fine, as long as no one did anything to rile them. On March 17, 1778, some New England men did exactly that. They started marching around the camp with a stuffed paddy. Before anyone could do more than blink, a riot was in the making.”
“What is a stuffed paddy?”
“It’s a scarecrow covered with flecks of green cloth and a bishop’s mitre on its head. Basically, it’s a Protestant insult to St. Patrick and the Irish.”
“What happened?”
“Irish soldiers came running from all directions. One of my officers rushed to headquarters and told me what was about to happen. I leaped on my horse and rode to the scene. I arrived just in time. The rioters on both sides were waving clubbed muskets. I roared: ‘ATTENTION!’”
“What did they do?”
“Everyone glared at me. But they stopped screaming insults. I ordered the paddy thrown into the nearest fire. Then I announced I had always been a friend of St. Patrick, and was delighted to have a chance to celebrate his birthday. I told everyone they could have an extra ration of rum to help things along.”
“Did it work?”
“The rest of the day went beautifully. It’s one of my few pleasant memories from Valley Forge.”
“Erin Go Bragh!
What does that mean exactly?
“Ireland forever!”
“A sentiment I’ll always be ready to endorse!”