The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. III, 1900

by Various

THE ANNIVERSARY IS DULY OBSERVED BY THE SOCIETY—A WREATH PLACED.

On June 18, 1900, the Society celebrated the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, the following being a copy of the notice sent out in connection therewith:

AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

(Founded, 1897. First President-General, Rear Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.)

CELEBRATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.

Brothers: You are hereby notified that the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill will be observed by our Society on Monday, June 18, 1900 (the anniversary itself falling on Sunday, June 17).

Our programme will include the placing of a wreath on the memorial tablets in Winthrop Square, Charlestown, at noon, an address by Mr. Thomas F. O’Malley, of Somerville, Mass., a visit to and ascension of the battle monument, and in the evening a dinner at 8 o’clock at the United States Hotel, city proper.

Members and guests wishing to participate in the exercises at the tablets will assemble there at the hour mentioned.

The after-dinner exercises at the United States Hotel in the evening will include an historical address by Hon. John C. Linehan, state insurance commissioner of New Hampshire, on: “The Irish in the Patriot ranks at the Battle of Bunker Hill.”

There will also be addresses by members of the Society from Worcester, Springfield, Providence, Hartford, New York and other cities. Dinner tickets will be three dollars each, and are now ready. Please notify the secretary as soon as possible if you intend to be present at the dinner.

Fraternally,

Thomas J. Gargan,

President-General.

Thomas Hamilton Murray,

Secretary-General (77 Main Street, Woonsocket, R. I.)

June 1, 1900.

In accordance with the foregoing notice, a number of members of the Society assembled at the memorial tablets, in Charlestown, at noon, and witnessed the placing of a laurel wreath to the memory of the patriots of June 17.

Upon the wreath being placed in position, a card bearing the following inscription was attached thereto:

THIS WREATH

IS HERE PLACED BY THE

AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

AS A TRIBUTE TO THE PATRIOTS

Who, on this Hill,

JUNE 17, 1775,

Nobly gave battle, in the cause of liberty, to the forces of the British King.

-------------

Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori.

Thomas F. O’Malley then addressed the gathering substantially as follows:

To-day we meet in pious and patriotic commemoration of a great deed, performed here 125 years ago. To-day we stand in the midst of a great nation which is proud, strong and free. All is joy around us. But let us turn back a century and a quarter in the book of time. What a scene was enacted here! The hill crowned with a hastily constructed redoubt and held by an undisciplined and untrained yeomanry—farmers, with their fowling pieces and but little ammunition.

A brilliantly appointed army advancing to the attack and storming the works, supported by coöperating ships and batteries; the blaze of the burning town, coursing whole streets or curling up the spires of public edifices; the air above filled with clouds of dense black smoke, and the surrounding hills, fields, roofs and steeples occupied by crowds of spectators. What strange sounds came to the ear—the shouts of the contending armies, the crash of falling buildings, the roar of ship guns and mortars and the rattle of musketry.

On one side we find the high courage of men staking their lives and reputations on the uncertain issue of a civil war; and on the other, the reflection that defeat meant the final loss to Britain of her American empire.

You know the story of that battle—how the flower of England’s army were repeatedly repulsed; how in the moment of desperation the regulars laid aside their knapsacks, moved forward, relying on the bayonet and their artillery to carry the day. The American fire slackened, the ammunition was expended, there were no bayonets, and the oncoming regulars were met with clubbed muskets and stones. The fortunes of the day were reversed, and, technically speaking, it was a British victory.

After speaking of the men of Irish blood who fought in the patriot ranks that day, Mr. O’Malley continued:

The Americans are estimated to have lost in killed 140, and in wounded 271; loss by capture 30. In all, 441. The English loss was 226 killed, 828 wounded. Total—1,054.

In comparison with other battles, so far as numbers go, Bunker Hill was but a skirmish. But in results it was of the utmost importance. Before the engagement there was some hope, perhaps some chance, for a peaceful settlement of existing difficulties; but after that memorable day, all were for war and independence. Bunker Hill was the beginning of the end of British domination on the Western continent.

Mr. O’Malley was frequently applauded and upon the conclusion of his address was warmly congratulated. The banquet at the United States Hotel in the evening was a most enjoyable affair.

President-General Gargan occupied the chair. Among those present were Hon. John C. Linehan, treasurer-general of the Society, Concord, N. H.; Secretary-General T. H. Murray, Woonsocket, R. I.; William Doogue, city forester of Boston; Thomas F. O’Malley, the orator at the memorial tablets; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston; William P. Connery, Lynn, Mass.; M. E. Hennessy, Boston; Capt. Samuel McKeever, U. S. A. (retired), Somerville, Mass.; E. O’Meagher Condon, New York city; John T. F. MacDonnell, Holyoke, Mass., and others.

President-General Gargan said in his after-dinner address:

One hundred and twenty-five years have passed since the memorable battle of Bunker Hill, commemorated by yonder tall gray shaft at Charlestown, familiar to us all from early boyhood. We knew the story of that fight before we knew the multiplication table. Nominally a British victory, yet a victory purchased at such fearful cost to the victors as to inspire the colonists to believe that ultimately the triumph would be theirs.

We all know the story from the American standpoint; few read the British accounts of that battle. I was interested to read, a few days ago, some of the English accounts; one of them concludes in these words:

“The action has shown the bravery of the king’s troops, who, under every disadvantage, gained a complete victory over three times their number strongly posted and covered by breastworks, but they fought for their king, their law and constitution.”

That sounds like the account some of the emasculated Americans in our day would give of the fight. But Gage wrote to Lord Dartmouth, then minister for the colonies:

“The number of killed and wounded is greater than we could afford to lose. The trials we have had show that the rebels are not the despicable rabble too many may have supposed them to be.”

Burgoyne and Clinton, who saw the battle from Copp’s Hill, have also written their impressions of the battle in 1775. There were two English accounts, historical in their nature. One of these, it is thought, was written by Edmund Burke, and was published in the Annual Register of that year.

To all Americans, Bunker Hill was a battle cry and an inspiration during the seven long years of war necessary to obtain our independence. To-day its memories should rekindle our patriotism and prompt us to recall the story of the men who there died that a new republic might be born. We know that they believed in God and had high ideals.

The historical paper of the evening was by Hon. John C. Linehan and was of a high order of merit.

Brief addresses were made by Capt. Samuel McKeever, U. S. A., and by several other gentlemen present, and the company adjourned, well pleased with the celebration of the day and evening.