Book: Ridgeway

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'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."




CHAPTER VIII.


Early as Barry was up on the morning following his introduction to the
reader, he found Tom and Greaves in the bar-room, discussing one of
O'Brien's favorite decoctions, which was averred to possess the virtue
of giving a "fillip" to the lagging appetite, and attuning it to the
healthiest possible breakfast pitch. Nicholas, although not addicted
to early potations, was prevailed upon to join the party. During, the
friendly conversation which accompanied this faithless libation to the
Goddess of Health, Greaves observed that while he did not feel himself
at liberty to speak freely in the mixed company of the preceding
evening, notwithstanding what might have been termed his unfriendly
insinuations in relation to Ireland, he was himself a true friend of
Irish freedom; and, on all befitting occasions, an humble champion of
her total and unequivocal independence of England. Here he produced a
letter, from a secret pocket in the lining of his vest, which he
handed to Tom for hasty perusal; remarking, at the same time, that he
well knew to whom he was submitting it. A hurried glance at the
contents induced O'Brien to open his eyes wider than they had been
opened for some time, and to regard his companion with an almost
bewildered stare!

"Sure enough, it's his handwritin, and it's as thrue as the sun,"
ejaculated Tom, as he folded up the letter and returned it to the
owner, "and it's a different opinion both Nick and myself had of you
last night, although sorry I am for it now; and there's my hand for
you."

"What's up now?" retorted Barry, well knowing that O'Brien would never
have offered his hand to Greaves, unless there were good reasons for
it.

"Nothin' more," returned Tom, "beyond that we had formed a wrong
opinion of our frind here, last night; for, instead of his bein' what
I was half inclined to take him for, he cannot fail to be other than
the right stamp, or he never could have that letther in his pocket."

"That's enough for me, Tom," replied Barry, extending his hand to
Greaves, "for whoever you endorse is sure to pass muster, in this
place, at least."

The conversation here became low and confidential; being interrupted
only by an occasional customer who dropped in to take his "morning;"
until, at last, breakfast was announced, and the soldier and Greaves,
taking the hint, were soon snugly seated side by side in the little
parlor of the preceding night, at a neat and comfortable table,
smoking with some of the good things which so constantly characterized
The Harp. O'Brien, from his other avocations, was unable to join them
at the moment; so they both conversed freely on the topic that had
just commanded their attention in the bar, and which referred to
neither more nor less than the intended invasion of Canada by the army
of the Irish Republic, then said to be preparing for a descent upon
the Provinces, in the neighboring Union. Nicholas was unable to give
any definite information upon the matter; as the authorities of the
organization in the United States were very reticent regarding it, and
Greaves himself appeared but little better informed. Barry, however,
expressed the opinion that, if any man in Canada had thorough
information on the point, it was Tom; although he himself had no very
tangible grounds for making the observation, notwithstanding the
strength of his surmises.

"Do you not belong to the organization yourself, and if you do, ought
you not to be in possession of some facts on this all-important
movement?" rejoined Greaves, "and if you are not a member, surely you
are sufficiently true to Ireland to have been informed, to some extent
at least, in regard to it, by your friend O'Brien, who is, I learn, a
Centre here."

"Well, strange as it may appear," returned the other, "I don't belong
to the Brotherhood, not having, yet had an opportunity to join it; and
as for Tom, whatever my suspicions may be, I really am unable to say
positively that he is in any degree connected with the organization;
although I am sensible that his sympathies, like my own, lie in that
direction."

"How is your regiment situated on this point," remarked Greaves,
leisurely breaking an egg and commencing to chip the shell.

"A good many of my way of thinking," replied the other; "but, as you
know, it is necessary to be cautious, as not only is the commanding
officer a tartar, but most of the swords and sashes are of the same
kidney. The fact of the case is, however, several of our fellows have
deserted, and no doubt will join the organization in the States, and
render good service to the cause there, in a military point of view."

"Why don't you follow their example and do something for your poor,
down-trodden country," said Philip in reply, "seeing that now is the
time she needs the service of all her children?"

"There is no necessity for my deserting," rejoined Barry, "for I have
already applied for my discharge, which I expect to receive this very
day; so that ere the sun sets, in all probability, I shall be a
freeman."

Greaves became silent here for a few moments, as if revolving
something in his mind, when, lifting his head again, he resumed the
conversation by asking:

"Are strangers permitted to visit the Fort? If so, I should be very
glad to take a peep at it this morning, as I shall have a few boars to
spare before I can do any business, or rather before the parties I
have come to see will be prepared to meet me."

"Why, not as a general thing, just now," returned Nicholas, "but I
think you may be able to gain admittance if you are accompanied by me,
who will, of course, vouch to the sentry for you."

"Then if you allow me," said Greaves, "I shall avail myself of your
kind invitation, and cross the bridge with you after we have
breakfasted, for I can well imagine that during a period when such
rumors are afloat, the Commandant as rather chary of permitting
strangers to enter his gates."

In this strain the conversation flowed until breakfast was ended, when
the friends proposed to sally forth from the Harp, and wend their way
to the point already mentioned. As Barry was leaving the bar-room,
however, Tom whispered something in his ear, which appeared to puzzle
him for a moment, but returning a keen glance of recognition, both he
and Greaves passed out into the cool, fresh morning-air, and began
slowly wending their way to the Fort.

There being as yet no special order about the admission of strangers,
Greaves, with Nicholas by his side, passed the sentry without
question, and proceeded to the canteen, which, early as it was, showed
some signs of life. Here Barry introduced his new acquaintance to many
of his comrades; but in such common place terms, as to attract no
attention whatever on the part of any person. Being for parade,
however, he was obliged to leave his friend in other keeping, for a
short period, and so hastened to the barrack-room to prepare himself
for his morning duties. During the interval of his absence, Greaves
stepped out of the canteen, alone, and learning that the Colonel was
speaking to some of the officers near the parade ground, made his way
towards where the group was standing, and crossing the path of the
Colonel as he was walking towards his quarters, accosted him in a
manner which soon arrested the progress and attention of that officer,
and brought him to a dead halt. The conversation was brief and rapid,
while a slip of paper thrust into the hands of the Colonel, by
Greaves, seemed to place both on a strange footing of recognition. So
brief was the interview, that it was not observed by any individual in
the garrison; and so quickly did Greaves return to the canteen, that
his absence was scarcely noticed. Here Barry found him as he had left
him, making himself agreeable to the soldiers; being more than liberal
in paying for all they drank. As the bugle sounded for parade, he bid
our young hero "good bye for the present," and leaving the Fort,
proceeded to retrace his steps towards the town, or city, as it may be
called.

When he arrived here, instead of returning to The Harp, he bent his
steps in another direction, and entered a hotel that was in every
relation the very antipodes of the establishment in which he had
passed the night. Here, in every direction, were to be found the
traces of an English spirit and blind adhesion to wretched and
exploded traditions. In the office hung the portrait of the cruel
Queen of England, and that of her defunct consort, whose injustice and
pedantry were so snubbed by the illustrious Humboldt. Here, too, were
to be seen the likeness of the--iron-hearted, it should have
been--Duke, presenting a birth-day present, or something of the sort,
to a moonfaced yonker that sat fair and plump upon the knee of its
royal mother. In another corner was to be found a representation of
the Prince of Wales, for whose head and face the engraver had done
infinitely more than nature; while directly opposite stood, in a dark,
heavy frame, the one-armed hero of the Nile, who owed so much of his
fame to poor Emma Harte--the unfortunate Lady Hamilton, who, after
having conferred the most serious benefits upon England, was permitted
to starve, with her daughter, in a garret somewhere in or near Calais;
while some of the spurious offspring of orange and ballet girls filled
many of the highest offices in the land she had so often served.

In this establishment the subject of Fenianism was discussed as a
leading topic, in a manner quite different from the style in which it
was treated at the Harp. Here no voice was raised in its favor--no
word of justification advanced in its behalf. Still, although its
importance was ignored ostensibly, there were a nervousness and
misgiving about some of those who conversed upon it, which showed that
they were ill at ease. There seemed, in addition, to be some vague
sense of insecurity preying upon them, which could only have
originated in their want of confidence in themselves, or in some
person or persons to whom were entrusted the gravest interests of the
Province. This was the more obvious, from the fact, that, from time to
time, mysterious and half-whispered enquiries were made, in reference
to one particular individual, whose state of health or mind seemed at
the moment to engross no ordinary share of the attention of the
numerous guests that filled the bar or office, for the apartment was
used as both.

Greaves listened with open ears to all that transpired, and, after
inspecting the hotel register, took up a morning paper and seated
himself in an arm-chair at his side. While engaged, as he feigned to
be, in perusing the news, although actually endeavoring to catch every
whisper that floated around him, he gathered, that, for the week or
ten days proceeding, one of the most important functionaries in the
Province, who, although a clever man, was sorely addicted to fits of
intemperence, was now, while the country was convulsed with gloomy
forebodings, regarding Fenianism, again passing through one of his
prolonged and fearful drinking bouts, and totally unfit to pay even
the slightest attention to the momentous business of his office.
Already, it was averred, numerous dispatches, of the most vital
moment, were lying unopened upon his table, where they were scattered,
wet and stained with wine and debauch, some of them having, as it was
urged, been obviously disfigured, in part, for the purpose, perhaps,
of lighting cigars; while, pale, wretched and half insane, the
miserable creature to whom they were addressed, reclined on a sofa by
their side, jabbering to a few bloated boon companions, obscene jests
and amusing anecdotes, through which the fire of his own native wit
sometimes shot brilliantly, though but for a single moment. This, we
say. Greaves gathered from the conversation around him, and as in one
or two cases he perceived, on the part of the speakers, scarcely any
desire to preserve a tone of secrecy on the subject, he felt pretty
much assured, that the case was a bad one indeed, and that the
individual who could so far forget his own interests for the sake of
the bottle, and who could be tolerated in any position of high trust
in the State, while addicted to vices of such a character, not to
mention others, thought by the Hamilton _Quarterly Review_ to be of a
graver nature were that possible, must be sustained by the influence
of persons terribly deluded, or creatures vile in their degree in
turn, and who, like himself, were regardless of the trust reposed in
them by the people. And yet, as Greaves afterwards learned, this same
man came to Canada a poor, bare-footed, Scotch lad, with a father
whose only fortune was an old fiddle, and that inexorable but
praiseworthy characteristic of his country--a determination to collect
the bawbees at whatever shrine first presented itself on the shores of
the New World. Be this as it may, the daily press of the Province has
since verified the correctness of the whispers heard by Greaves, and
made public the accusation, that this individual, so recently
distinguished by a mark of royal favor, for three weeks previous to
the invasion of Canada, was so lost in a whirlpool of the most
deplorable intemperance, as to be utterly incapable of opening or
attending to the important dispatches which lay scattered and unheeded
upon his bedroom table.

When Greaves returned to The Harp, he found O'Brien in a state of
great excitement. A soldier, as it appeared, had just arrived from the
Fort, with the information that the Colonel, on second consideration,
did not find it justifiable to apply for Barry's discharge, at a
moment when the country was threatened with danger; and that, as the
regiment should soon be ordered home, as he was assured, he had
determined not to recommend any discharges until it had reached
England. This intelligence had been conveyed to Nicholas by the
Colonel in person, after parade, and in a manner which precluded the
slightest hope of its being reversed by any succeeding alteration of
opinion on the part of the individual who communicated it. A
thunderbolt, had it fallen at the feet of the young soldier, could not
have startled or paralyzed him more. He was actually struck dumb by it
Here was the chalice dashed from his lips at last. He turned away in
despair; but as he was for duty, he was constrained to smother the
tumultuous feelings within his breast. When alone, however, and pacing
his lonely round with his musket on his shoulder, he had time to
measure, with sufficient calmness and accuracy, the length, breadth
and depth of the great misfortunes that had befallen him. There was
but one course left open to him. He had sought to purchase his
discharge and leave the service, without the taint of desertion
attaching to his name amongst any of his comrades, although he felt
that he was not morally bound to remain in the service of England, for
a single moment longer than it served his own private ends. Desertion,
then, was the only course left open to him, and he was determined to
follow it, upon the first fitting opportunity. Another reason why he
would rather have been discharged in the ordinary manner from the
service: if he once deserted he should never again, with any degree of
security, visit any portion of the British dominions; and as Canada
lay so close beside the United States, he would gladly have avoided
the inconvenience of being shut out from it, as O'Brien and more than
one of his friends resided there. However, there was now no help for
it; to England he should never return, and so he disposed of the
matter in his own bosom. When relieved of duty, then, and with his
purpose fixed firmly in his heart, he once again visited The Harp,
where he found Tom and Greaves lamenting over the intelligence of his
misfortune, and to whom, in a moment of anxiety and excitement, he
disclosed his determination to quit the service, and gain the shores
of the neighboring Republic the first favorable moment that presented
itself. Tom appeared somewhat agitated if not alarmed; at so serious a
disclosure, made with such apparent unconcern; and it was only when
Barry remembered the hint of the morning, which O'Brien gave him as he
was about proceeding to the garrison, that he, himself, felt that he
had perhaps been too incautious and precipitate before a person who,
after all, was but a stranger to him, although apparently a kindly
one. The cat being out of the bag, however, there was now no help for
it; and as Greaves seemed to enter warmly into the project, and even
offered to share his purse with Nicholas, if there was any necessity
for it, the matter was allowed to rest as it was, and suspicion of
Greaves, if any remained in the breast of either the soldier or Tom,
was driven into the background, and constrained to remain in abeyance
for the time being.

When Barry again returned to his quarters, he freely discussed his
disappointment among his comrades, and declared his determination to
lay the matter before the Commander-in-Chief, averring, with great
earnestness, that he had always done his duty, and that he was not
accountable for the state of the country, and should not be called
upon to suffer for a condition of things outside and beyond his
control, and which he was in no manner instrumental in bringing about.
His argument seemed plausible enough, but then what, at any time, his
argument, when it ran counter to the desires or intentions of his
commanding officer? Therefore, the matter, after having been subjected
to due discussion, was allowed to fall asleep in the usual stereotyped
style; although as may be supposed, there were one or two breasts, at
least, that were kept alive and active by it. Nicholas, believing that
any intelligence of his embarrassment on the subject would but perplex
and pain Kate, determined not to write to her regarding it, but to be
the first to bear her the news himself. As already observed, she had
written to him to procure his discharge at the earliest possible
moment, and now to learn that his freedom was jeopardized for an
indefinite period, involving, in addition, his return to England
first, would be a renewal of her old agony. This he was determined to
spare her; so, to those of his company in whom he could confide, and
who were themselves ripe for any project that would tend to their
total disseverment from the flag they so detested, he cautiously
communicated his intentions, finding, in return, that more than one of
them were on the eve of trying their fortune in the same manner. Soon,
then, a sturdy little band had determined to leave the Fort, whatever
night Barry should pitch upon; premising, of course, that it should be
some one on which he would be on duty, and at a favorable point.

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