CATHOLICS IN THE OLD SOUTH

CATHOLICS IN THE OLD SOUTH

A Book Review by J.C. Sullivan

 Randall M. Miller and Jon L. Wakelyn have edited a score of essays dealing with a number of issues that affected Catholic life in the American South, a topic that heretofore has received no historical attention in mainstream literary life. Gathering from a multitude of little-known resources, however, they have pieced together an intellectual masterpiece about this almost unknown subject. Although the Irish influence can be found throughout all resource material and subsequent chapters, Irish America will find the one that is most interesting to us is  “The South’s Irish Catholics:  A Case of Cultural Confinement” by Dennis Clark.

Because of our legacy of exile, Clark points out that our presence is demonstrated with our priests in Florida’s Spanish missions, as officials for the Spanish crown in Louisiana and Texas, convicts in Georgia, settlers in the Carolinas and traders among the Indians. While in Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans we kept our cultural identity through social societies such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Others of us not so fortunate contracted for indentured service that benefited tradesmen and householders.

Clark maintains, rightly so, that it was not only the “Scotch-Irish” from Ulster that peopled the Appalachian, Ozark and Smoky Mountains but also Irish-Catholic fugitives fleeing from indentured service. He quotes “Colonists in Bondage:  White Servitude and Convict Labor in ‘America, 1607-1776.”  Having fled the legalities of servitude we gained security in the impenetrable mountains and, because of the freedom we sought, created the “distrust of strangers, authority and inquisitive influences” that has long been notable among mountain people.

This scholarly piece takes us away from the notion that we only settled in America's large cities. Many of our ancestors did, indeed, settle the cities, but so many, many more moved throughout America where the work was to be found. American actor Tyrone Power, father of the late actor Tyrone Power, encountered them everywhere. He found we were “clannish, strangers to the local population, sharing their own speech and secret morale. Their itinerant work on flatboats, railroads and drainage gangs made them peripheral to the religious and social communities they touched.” It's as if he is describing my own maternal great-grandfather Patrick W. Murphy, who worked the river boats and railroads of Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas.

The myriad of footnote references makes those of us with a historical bent more anxious to see these become part of Irish-American mainstream literary bookshelf collections.  Niehaus The Irish in New Orleans; The Life and Times of John England, First Bishop of Charleston; Catholicity in Washington, Georgia; Catholicism in the Lower South; all beggar the inquisitive mind to seek this nourishment for the Irish soul.

 Other essays that are separate chapters in the book draw our interest by virtue of their titles – “Splendid Poverty”: Jesuit Slaveholding in Maryland, 1805-1838; Catholics and the Church in the Antebellum Upper South and “Catholic Elites in the Slaveholding South are but a few.

For a deeper understanding of American History and our role in shaping it, you will want this one on your coffee table or as a part of your own, personal Irish-American literature library.

Memoirs of the IRISH REBELLION of 1798

Sir Richard Musgrave’s Memories of the IRISH REBELLION of 1798

A book review by J.C. Sullivan

“Who fears to speak of ’98?” Those words sum up the feelings of the Irish Catholics who supported the rebellion and suffered the consequent atrocities against them led by the Protestant ascendancy. An account of the darkness of the era has re-emerged with all its inherent hate and ugliness laid bare.

Irish-America has been described as a Diaspora without real connections to the mother country. 99% of Americans who claim Irish heritage only know this because of oral tradition. Some say this is enough but others, in increasing numbers, are possessed with a quest for historical knowledge of their families and the events that caused them to emigrate. And they're finding out that Irish history has not been what they've been led to believe by American movies that always portrayed the English as good guys. In the process we Irish-Americans are discovering we are more Irish than we ever realized.

     In recent times, a loosening of Anglo and official interpretation bonds have been accomplished with the emergence of the once-forbidden written and spoken word of Irish nationalist leaders such as Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. It wasn’t so long ago that, while his face was shown on television, his words were spoken by someone else. The emergence of newly-freed speech has unleashed a passion for knowledge and awareness. The rising of 1798 provides a background for many exploring their roots. It’s no wonder then that on-line genealogy search programs, such as Ancestry.com, are a growth industry. Data, unfortunately, can only provide so much. Hence we must rely on data from the era, written in the era. Memoirs of the IRISH REBELLION of 1798 provide just that background.

Long neglected by the nation of Ireland herself, it is Irish America that is shedding proper light on the incredibly violent events and subsequent inhuman treatment of the vanquished by the victors. With the incredible rise of interest in the event, this book has re-emerged, shedding seemingly-fresh, first-hand knowledge of both events and attitudes of the period.

 Last published in 1802, Steven W. Myers & Delores E. McKnight have edited the memoirs of Sir Richard Musgrave, a Loyalist. It is resplendent with vivid eyewitness accounts, lists of massacre victims and rebel and loyalist participants. They have included a new index with 10,600 references to people and places, especially for the south Leinster area of Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Kildare and Dublin, for the east Ulster area of Armagh, Antrim and Down, and for the Mayo region.

     A historical treatise, the scholarship of the editors lays out the background of the political/moral/social interworking of the time. Common throughout Musgrave’s writings is an attitude that has been passed into this century – that of superiority. More importantly, it exposes the suffering of Irish Catholics at the hands of Loyalists and makes it perfectly understandable why so many left Ireland before An Gorta Mor, the great hunger of the 1840s and 50s.

The book is available in hardcover. At more than 1,000 pages, it can most probably still be found at globalgenealogy.com/countries/Ireland/resources/239001.htm, Amazon.com or Alibris.com.

Sullivan is an Irish-American writer residing in northeast Ohio. His publishing credits are numerous, including the Irish Echo newspaper, Mayo News, Western People, Irish-America Magazine and National Hibernian Digest.

Shamrock and Sword by Robert Ryal Miller

Shamrock and Sword – Robert Ryal Miller

 

 A part of Irish-American, or perhaps Irish-North American history, is little known in the U.S. but rather well-known in Mexico. The history of the San Patricio Battalion of the Mexican Army is mythological to many Mexicans and unknown to most American-Irish.

In the 1840s, conflict was occurring when the governments of Mexico and the United States could not agree on peaceful terms to resolve their dispute over land. President Polk moved troops opposite the Mexican border along the Rio Grande River. Amongst these troops were many foreign born soldiers. 25% of them, to be exact, were Irish. War with Mexico was begun in 1846.

Conditions in the American Army were crude – discipline was meted out horrifically when compared to today’s modern Army. Living in tents in the southern Texas’ environment was brutal. Food was ill-prepared and water was brackish. Given these conditions, when soldiers did get some time off in town, alcohol, handsome women and the promise of land in Mexico lured many Irishmen to desert the American Army and cross over to Mexico. Some were enticed to join the Mexican Army and ended up fighting against the American Army. With the latter victorious in the war, military court martials settled the fate of the San Patricios.

Robert Ryan Miller’s Shamrock and Sword (Oklahoma University Press, Norman, OK) book is a masterpiece of scholarly research gleaned from American and Mexican newspaper accounts. Mexican government records were not made available to him in his research. Unfortunately, bribery is a way of life south of our border. For Mexican readers, Miller, Professor Emeritus of History in California State University, sets the story straight, correcting their popular myths. At the same time he educates Americans about what really happened. More importantly, in this reviewer’s opinion, he devotes a chapter to Why They Defected. The American War with Mexico produced the highest rate of desertion in American military history.

A key figure in the San Patricio story is artillerist John Riley (Reilly), who said he was Galway-born.  According to Miller his home parish might have been Clifden. In 1845, when he joined the American Army, he stated he was thirty-five years old. This would give him a birth date of 1817. Miller indicates that by Riley’s own testimony he was a veteran of the British Army. He surmises that he might have deserted in Canada. Riley had demonstrated previous artillery experience.

After hostilities between the two nations ceased, the deserters were sentenced to death. Riley and others were eventually spared. However, in San Angel, sixteen San Patricos were hung.  Two days later the remaining thirty convicted deserters were hung when the American flag was raised over Churubusco, signaling the American victory.

Most American soldiers in Mexico approved of the hangings. As far as they were concerned these men were traitors.  But Why They Defected is ably demonstrated and brought to light by Miller.

 Irish men have long jumped into the military uniform of other nations to escape poverty, for adventure or for what they perceive to be righteous causes. The same reasons Miller postulates are applicable to Irish men throughout history.  One can conclude many things from Shamrock and Sword. This writer believes Irish men, and men the world over, are perhaps a bit too keen to put on the uniform of another nation for whatever reason. Throughout history we have done so gallantly and honorably. However, in the process, we have created many widows and grieving family. And wars go on and on and on.

 My final conclusion in reading Miller’s story is that war is the natural state, peace is unnatural. Irish men, men everywhere, need to think differently about matters and not take matters at face value, i.e. popular thought.

Miller’s work should be taught in military academies. Why They Defect should be coupled with Why They Fight. Maybe in the process all men will be less apt to stand up for others when they should be standing up for their own nation and write another story, Why Aren’t We Being Friends?

-30-

Sullivan is a military veteran and an internationally-published writer residing in northeast Ohio.  He is fifth-generation America-Irish on his maternal side and 4^th generation on his paternal side.

"Thunder Below" by Admiral Eugene Fluckey

"Military historians and others will find the story of the USS Barb and her commander, Eugene Fluckey, to be a one of both warfare and leadership. Captain Fluckey was a natural leader and a brilliant submarine commander who earned the undying loyalty of his shipmates and peers in the U.S. Navy.

A recepient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, his risks were calculated. His crew were the only American military men to land on Japanese soil during WWII. The exploits of the Barb's war patrols are unparalelled."

The following was sent by Brad May, author unknown.

S.S. Barb: The Sub That Sank A Train.

In 1973 an Italian submarine named Enrique Tazzoli was sold for a paltry $100,000 as scrap metal. The submarine, given to the Italian Navy in 1953 was actually an incredible veteran of World War II service with a heritage that never should have passed so unnoticed into the graveyards ofthe metal recyclers. The U.S.S. Barb was a pioneer, paving the way for the first submarine launched missiles and flying a battle flag unlike that of any other ship. In addition to the Medal of Honor ribbon at the top of the flag identifying the heroism of its captain, Commander Eugene "Lucky"Fluckey, the bottom border of the flag bore the image of a Japanese locomotive. The U.S.S. Barb was indeed, the submarine that "SANK A TRAIN".

July, 1945 (Guam) Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz looked across the desk at Admiral Lockwood as he finished the personal briefing on U.S. war ships in the vicinity of the northern coastal areas of Hokkaido, Japan. "Well, Chester, there's only the Barb there, and probably no word until thepatrol is finished. You remember Gene Fluckey?" "Of course. I recommended him for the Medal of Honor," Admiral Nimitz replied. "You surely pulled him from command after he received it?"

July 18, 1945 (Patience Bay, Off the coast of Karafuto,Japan) It was after 4 A.M. and Commander Fluckey rubbed his eyes as he peered over the map spread before him. It was the twelfth war patrol of the Barb, the fifth under Commander Fluckey. He should have turned command over to another skipper after four patrols, but had managed to strike a deal with Admiral Lockwood to make one more trip with the men he cared for like a father, should his fourth patrol be successful. Of course, no one suspected when he had struck that deal prior to his fourth and whatshould have been his final war patrol on the Barb, that Commander Fluckey's success would be so great he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Commander Fluckey smiled as he remembered that patrol. "Lucky" Fluckey they called him. On January 8th the Barb had emerged victorious from a running two-hour night battle after sinking a large enemy ammunition ship. Two weeks later in Mamkwan Harbor he found the "motherlode".. more than 30 enemy ships. In only 5 fathoms (30 feet) of water his crew had unleashed the sub's forward torpedoes, then turned and fired four from the stern. As he pushed the Barb to the full limit of its speed through the dangerous waters in a daring withdrawal to the open sea, he recorded eight direct hits on six enemy ships. Then, on the return home he added yet another Japanese freighter to the tally for the Barb's eleventh patrol, a score that exceeded even the number of that patrol.

What could possibly be left for the Commander to accomplish who, just three months earlier had been inWashington, DC to receive the Medal of Honor? He smiled to himself as he looked again at the map showing the rail line that ran along the enemy coastline. This final patrol had been promised as the Barb's "graduation patrol" and he and his crew had cooked up an unusual finale. Since the 8th of June they had harassed the enemy,
destroying the enemy supplies and coastal fortifications with the first submarine launched rocket attacks. Now his crew was buzzing excitedly about bagging a train.

The rail line itself wouldn't be a problem. A shore patrol could go ashore under cover of darkness to plant the explosives...one of the sub's 55-pound scuttling charges. But this early morning Lucky Fluckey and his officers were puzzling over how they could blow not only the rails, butalso one of the frequent trains that shuttled supplies to equip the Japanese war machine. Such a daring feat could handicap the enemy's war effort for several days, a week, perhaps even longer. It was a crazy idea, just the kind of operation "Lucky" Fluckey had become famous... orinfamous...for. But no matter how crazy the idea might have sounded, the Barb's skipper would not risk the lives of his men. Thus the problem..how to detonate the charge at the moment the train passed without endangering the life of a shore party. PROBLEM? Not on CommanderFluckey's ship. His philosophy had always been "We don't have problems, only solutions".

11:27 AM "Battle Stations!" No more time to seek solutions or to ponder blowing up a train. The approach of a Japanese freighter with a frigate escort demands traditional submarine warfare. By noon the frigate is layingon the ocean floor in pieces and the Barb is in danger of becoming the hunted.

6:07 PM Solutions! If you don't look for them, you'll never find them. And even then, sometimes they arrive in the most unusual fashion. Cruising slowly beneath the surface to evade the enemy plane now circling overhead,the monotony is broken with an exciting new idea. Instead of having a crewman on shore to trigger explosives to blow both rail and a passing train, why not let the train BLOW ITSELF up. Billy Hatfield was excitedly explaining how he had cracked nuts on the railroad tracks as a kid, placing the nuts between two ties so the sagging of the rail under the weight of a train would break them open. "Just like cracking walnuts," he explained. "To complete the circuit (detonating the 55-pound charge) we hook in a micro switch ...between two ties. We don't set it off, the TRAIN does." Not only did Hatfield have the plan, he wanted to be part of the volunteer shore party.

The solution found, there was no shortage of volunteers, all that was needed was the proper weather...a little cloud cover to darken the moon for the mission ashore. Lucky Fluckey established his own criteria for the volunteerparty: ...No married men would be included, except for Hatfield, ...The party would include members from each department, ...The opportunity would be split between regular Navy and Navy Reserve sailors, ...At least half of the men had to have been Boy Scouts, experienced in how to handle themselves in medical emergencies and in the woods. FINALLY, "Lucky " Fluckey would lead the saboteurs himself.

When the names of the 8 selected sailors was announced it was greeted with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. Among the disappointed was Commander Fluckey who surrendered his opportunity at the insistence of his officers that "as commander he belonged with the Barb," coupled with the threat from one that "I swear I'll send a message to ComSubPac if you attempt this (joining the shore party himself)." Even a Japanese POW beingheld on the Barb wanted to go, promising not to try to escape.

In the meantime, there would be no more harassment of Japanese shipping or shore operations by the Barb until the train mission had been accomplished.The crew would "lay low", prepare their equipment, train, and wait for theweather.

July 22, 1945 (Patience Bay, Off the coast of Karafuto,Japan) Patience Bay was wearing thin the patience of Commander Fluckey and his innovative crew. Everything was ready. In the four days the saboteurs had anxiously watched the skies for cloud cover, the inventive crew of the Barb had built their micro switch. When the need was posed for a pick and shovel to bury the explosive charge and batteries, the Barb's engineers had cut up steel platesin the lower flats of an engine room, then bent and welded them to create the needed tools. The only things beyond their control were the weather....and time. Only five days remained in the Barb's patrol.

Anxiously watching the skies, Commander Fluckey noticed plumes of cirrus clouds, then white stratus capping the mountain peaks ashore. A cloud cover was building to hide the three-quarters moon. This would be the night.

MIDNIGHT, July 23, 1945 The Barb had crept within 950 yards of the shoreline. If it was somehow seen from the shore it would probably be mistaken for a schooner or Japanese patrol boat. No one would suspect an American submarine so close to shore or in such shallow water. Slowly the small boats were lowered to the water and the 8 saboteurs began paddling toward the enemy beach. Twenty-five minutes later they pulled the boats ashore and walked on the surface of the Japanese homeland. Having lost their points of navigation, the saboteurs landed near the backyard of a house. Fortunately the residents had no dogs, though the sight of human AND dog's tracks in the sand along the beach alerted the brave sailors to the potential for unexpected danger.

Stumbling through noisy waist-high grasses, crossing a highway and then stumbling into a 4-foot drainage ditch, the saboteurs made their way to the railroad tracks. Three men were posted as guards, Markuson assigned toexamine a nearby water tower. The Barb's auxiliary man climbed the ladder, then stopped in shock as he realized it was an enemy lookout tower....an OCCUPIED tower. Fortunately the Japanese sentry was peacefully sleepingand Markuson was able to quietly withdraw and warn his raiding party.

The news from Markuson caused the men digging the placement for the explosive charge to continue their work more slowly and quietly. Suddenly, from less than 80 yards away, an express train was bearing down on them. Theappearance was a surprise, it hadn't occurred to the crew during the planning for the mission that there might be a night train. When at last it passed, the brave but nervous sailors extracted themselves from the brush into which they had leapt, to continue their task. Twenty minutes later the holes had been dug and the explosives and batteries hidden beneath fresh soil.

During planning for the mission the saboteurs had been told that, with the explosives in place, all would retreat a safe distance while Hatfield made the final connection. If the sailor who had once cracked walnuts on the railroad tracks slipped during this final, dangerous procedure, his would be the only life lost. On this night it was the only order the saboteurs refused to obey, all of them peering anxiously over Hatfield's shoulder to make sure he did it right. The men had come too far to be disappointed by a switch failure.

1:32 A.M. Watching from the deck of the Barb, Commander Fluckey allowed himself a sigh of relief as he noticed the flashlight signal from the beach announcing the departure of the shore party. He had skillfully, and daringly, guided the Barb within 600 yards of the enemy beach. There wasless than 6 feet of water beneath the sub's keel, but Fluckey wanted to be close in case trouble arose and a daring rescue of his saboteurs became necessary.

1:45 A.M. The two boats carrying his saboteurs were only halfway back to the Barb when the sub's machine gunner yelled, "CAPTAIN! Another train coming up the tracks!" The Commander grabbed a megaphone and yelled through the night, "Paddle like the devil!", knowing full well that theywouldn't reach the Barb before the train hit the micro switch.

1:47 A.M. The darkness was shattered by brilliant light and the roar of the explosion. The boilers of the locomotive blew, shattered pieces of the engine blowing 200 feet into the air. Behind it the cars began to accordion into each other, bursting into flame and adding to the magnificent fireworks display. Five minutes later the saboteurs werelifted to the deck by their exuberant comrades as the Barb turned to slip back to safer waters. Moving at only two knots, it would be a while before the Barb was into waters deep enough to allow it to submerge. It was a moment to savor,the culmination of teamwork, ingenuity and daringby the Commander and all his crew. "Lucky" Fluckey's voice came over the intercom. "All hands below deck not absolutely needed to maneuver the ship have permission to come topside." He didn't have to repeat the invitation. Hatches sprang open as the proud sailors of the Barb gathered on her decks to proudly watch the distant fireworks display. The Barb had " SUNK " a Japanese TRAIN!

On August 2, 1945 the Barb arrived at Midway, her twelfth war patrol concluded. Meanwhile United States military commanders had pondered the prospect of an armed assault on the Japanese homeland.

"I Could Never Be So Lucky Again" by Carroll V. Glines

The autobiography of aviation pioneer and US Army Air Force General James "Jimmy" Doolittle. The story chronicles his life from his youth in Alaska and eventual development into an aviation engineer. His contributions to instrument flying, fuel development and instrumentation are drawfed by his leading his squadron in the first American attack on Japan.

That America had such men.....

Four Came Home by Carroll V. Glines

As a veteran and military historian, I am a lifelong admirer of the courage of General James Doolittle and his Tokyo raiders. 'Four Came Home' is an epic from another era, a time when our nation openly honored such men as these. The bombing of Tokyo, lead by then-Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle, did scant damage but was an enormous boost to American morale just months after we were attacked at Pearl Harbor.

The planning, the mission and the aftermath of what came to be known as "Doolitle's Raid", their captivity, torture and eventual release at the end of the war, is a tribute to their faith and tremendous courage. In addition, I also learned of the incredible bravery of their rescuers, the men who parachuted into Japan at the immediate end of hostilities. They risked being shot by still-hostile Japanese armed forces.

A life-long student, I am delighted to have learned more about these men and recommend their true story to other Americans and military historians. This book has been added to my militaria library.