Chapter XIX: Introduction (13)

After the capture, in July, 1775, of the British armed vessels “Diligence” and “Tapnaquish,” near Buck’s harbor, in which captures John O’Brien, on his brother Jeremiah’s vessel took part, the former vessel was refitted as an American cruiser. Of the “Machias Liberty” (or “O’Brien”), Jeremiah O’Brien was continued as commander; and his younger brother, William, was appointed First Lieutenant. John Lambert was appointed to the command of the “Diligence,” and John O’Brien was appointed as First Lieutenant. The “Diligence” had a crew of forty men, and carried eight guns and twenty swivels.

For nearly a year, the “Machias Liberty” and the “Diligence,” by order of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, cruised, chiefly up and down the eastern coast, protecting American shipping, and capturing British prizes. John O’Brien contributed in no small measure to the success of the cruise. Sometime in the early part of 1776 the “Diligence” was laid up; but the “Machias Liberty” was continued a few months longer in the Provincial service.

During the night following its capture, the “Margaretta” was taken up Middle River, a branch of the Machias River, a few miles, and there beached.[25] “We cut down trees and bushes and enclosed her from view so much as we could and returned to Machias in season for a late breakfast,” said one who took an active part in the disposal of the captured British schooner.

Early in the autumn of 1776, John O’Brien, and a few others, uncovered and floated the “Margaretta,” and brought her down the Middle River and fitted her out as a privateer. New sails were made, a few five-pounders were placed on board; and with a crew of about twenty men she set sail, under the command of Captain John O’Brien, in search of British prizes, of which he brought several into Machias.

It was late in September or early in October, 1776, that the “Margaretta,” re-named the “Machias Cruiser,” sailed from Machias, going westward. When in the vicinity of Mt. Desert, O’Brien espied in the offing what he supposed was a British merchant vessel, going to the eastward. Upon drawing nearer to the vessel, with a view to giving her battle, O’Brien ascertained that she was a British warship. Crowding on all sail, he turned the prow of the “Machias Cruiser” away from the enemy, for which he well knew his vessel was no match. He hoped to be able to reach Machias Bay, and there find harbor and shelter. The British warship was gaining rapidly on the American vessel; sending a shot now and then after O’Brien, whose vessel, however, remained unharmed. When off Sawyer’s Cove, about forty miles to the eastward of Mt. Desert, O’Brien, who saw that he would be overtaken by his fleet pursuer, ran his vessel into the cove, beached her on the flats, and he and his men jumped into the shallow water and swam and waded ashore. They found shelter in half a dozen dwelling houses in the vicinity. This was the first and the last defeat Captain John O’Brien, in his long career, ever suffered.

As near as can now be ascertained, it was sometime during 1778 or early in 1779, that Captain John O’Brien removed to Newburyport, Massachusetts; and his brothers, Dennis and Joseph, soon after followed him to the same village in Newbury township. In Newburyport, the three brothers jointly engaged in mercantile and commercial pursuits.

On the 21st of September, 1779, Captain John O’Brien and Miss Hannah Tappan, daughter of Richard Tappan, were united in marriage. They had first met during a previous visit of Captain O’Brien to Newburyport. It is said that Miss Tappan was at first attracted to Captain O’Brien because of what she had heard of his highly meritorious connection with the capture of the “Margaretta”; in her eyes he was, therefore, a hero.

In Newburyport, Captain and Mrs. O’Brien moved in the best society of the place; his reputation as a prominent character in connection with the Revolution, and his upright, manly bearing, opening to him the avenues of entrance to society. As a full-dressed gentleman of the period, he is said to have made a very fine appearance. One of Captain John O’Brien’s descendants, a grandson, thus speaks of his ancestor: “In the olden times, when my grandfather was in his prime, his ships visited the Indies, and the rich owners lived in stately mansions and made a great display of style in dress and manner. The gentlemen of fashion almost outdid the ladies in the neatness of their attire. I have in my possession some articles of dress worn by my grandfather when he lived in Newbury; they answer to the description given by the historians of the time of the brilliant appearance which a full-dressed gentleman must have made in a social party. A long blue coat, with ample pockets and silver buttons; a white satin vest, of capacious dimensions; velvet breeches reaching to the knees and fastened there by silver buckles; silk stockings and buckled shoes; ruffles in the bosom, and at the wrists, and a richly embroidered scarf around the neck—all this gorgeous array presents a striking contrast to the studied simplicity of a gentleman’s dress in our day. Later in life, my grandfather laid off some of this finery; but he retained his ‘small clothes’ and knee buckles and silk stockings to the last.

During the summer of 1780, Captain John O’Brien and his brother Joseph built in Newburyport a vessel intended for the privateer service. She was named the “Hannibal,” and was to carry twenty-four guns and have a crew of one hundred and thirty men. On her first cruise, to Port au Prince, San Domingo, she was commanded by Captain John O’Brien; he captured several important British prizes.

After the capture of the “Hannibal,” while in command of Captain Jeremiah O’Brien, by the British,[26] late in 1780 or early in 1781, Captain John O’Brien and a few others built in Newburyport another vessel for the privateer service, which was named the “Hibernia.” She was a small vessel, but a splendid sailer. The “Hibernia” carried six three-pound guns. Of this vessel Captain John O’Brien took command (Captain Jeremiah O’Brien was then on board the prison ship Jersey, at Wallabout Bay). Captain John O’Brien inflicted great damage upon British shipping with the “Hibernia.” On his first cruise, which lasted less than four weeks, he captured three brigs, a ship and two schooners from the enemy. During this cruise O’Brien met with a sixteen-gun British ship of war, with which he engaged in a fight lasting nearly two hours. From this evidently unequal encounter he escaped with the loss of three killed and several wounded. One of the wounded men on board the “Hibernia” had an arm shattered by a cannon-shot from the enemy. The surgeon on board, instead of proceeding to amputate the arm, stood trembling, afraid to undertake the operation. The wounded man was rapidly bleeding to death. Captain O’Brien drew his pistol, and, pointing it at the surgeon, said: “Do your duty, sir, or I’ll blow your brains out!” The arm was speedily amputated, and the man’s life was thereby saved.

As a result of a subsequent cruise in the “Hibernia,” Captain John O’Brien brought into Newburyport eleven British merchant vessels, all richly laden, out of a fleet of twelve with which he had fallen in off the mouth of the Narrows, below New York.

Captain O’Brien, while cruising in the vicinity of New York, espied a large vessel which he supposed was a British merchantman, and he at once “bore down” upon the craft. Upon ascertaining that the vessel was a British man-of-war, O’Brien immediately crowded on all sail, and, suddenly altering the course of the “Hibernia,” ran from the enemy’s vessel. The British man-of-war pursued the “Hibernia,” and as the former was the faster sailer, she was rapidly gaining on the American privateer. It was then nearly dusk. As soon as darkness settled down upon the water, O’Brien ballasted a hogshead, set firmly in one side of it a pole, at the top of which he placed a large, lighted lantern. Lowering the hogshead into the water, O’Brien ordered an anchor cast; the fog, by this time being so dense that the “Hibernia” could not be discerned by the British man-of-war. The heavy muffled sound of booming cannon was soon heard on board the American privateer. It proved to be the enemy furiously bombarding the floating hogshead, which had been taken by the British commander for the “Hibernia.” At length silence reigned. When morning broke, the British man-of-war was nowhere to be seen; the commanding officer no doubt congratulating himself upon the destruction of O’Brien’s vessel.

“It has been said,” remarks a Machias friend of Captain O’Brien, “and is doubtless in the main true, that the proceeds of the sales of the vessels and cargoes captured by Captain John O’Brien during the Revolution, contributed to the foundation of the fortunes of many of the residents of Newburyport, into which they were brought.” Captain O’Brien, upon delivering the captured prizes at the wharves or out in the harbor, would say: “Here, boys, you take care of these, and I’ll go out for more.” He evidently did not care so much for money as he did for the opportunity of seeing the British flag come down.

“He had a heart as big as an ox,” is the estimate of Captain O’Brien given by those well qualified to judge in the matter.

Of the home of Captain John O’Brien, in Newburyport, a granddaughter says, in some papers left by her at her decease:

“Most of my childhood and youth was spent in the house of my maternal
grandfather. I loved my own home, my little flower bed, my dog, my
brothers; I reverenced my father almost to idolatry, and doted on my
sweet, indulgent mother, but I recollect no such expansion of feeling
as I always experienced at my grandfather’s. There was a life and a
movement in the family, a freedom just within the bounds of license,
and an overflowing joyfulness which suited my buoyant and eager
temper. His residence was in a large and pleasant seaport town in
Massachusetts; the dwelling, a handsome three-story house, stood on a
little eminence, withdrawn from the public road, and commanding from
the upper windows a delightful view of the town, the surrounding
country, and the distant sea.

“The house, in front, and at the ends appeared square, but on reaching
the rear it was perceived that the ends projected perhaps twenty feet
beyond the main body, leaving a deep recess which looked a little like
the interior court in eastern dwellings. This was a cool and shady
spot, the grass growing thick and green under foot, and all around the
three enclosed sides of the house, immense bushes of roses, white and
red, rich and fragrant enough for Paradise, climbed almost to the
chamber windows. Through the centre ran a narrow gravel-walk to a door
which opened opposite the large front entrance, and this arrangement
gave in summer a delightful draft, and made this little court one of
the pleasantest of retreats. A wooden platform, perhaps five feet
wide, ran the whole length of the rear, and here, in a sunny day, lay
old Bravo, that wondrous dog, who had gone through almost as many
adventures as his master, basking in the warm beams. Here, too, in a
warm afternoon, sat Uncle Joseph, that pleasantest of granduncles, in
his morning gown, with his pipe in his mouth, ready with his joke for
every passerby. I have good cause to remember him, for I was his pet
and plaything, and was teased and indulged for his amusement more than
was good for my temper.”

After the close of the Revolution, Captain O’Brien continued for several years to reside in Newburyport. In command of his own vessels he visited many ports, American and foreign; including Philadelphia, the West Indies, Liverpool, London, France and Spain. During one of his visits in London, he purchased some long silk stockings, such as were worn by gentlemen at the time. On the voyage home he opened the package only to discover that he had paid for a lot of stocking legs, minus feet. Being in London a few months later, he made a second purchase of silk stockings in the same store where the first lot had been purchased. The English merchant did not recognize his customer. The price asked by the merchant was very low for the quality of stockings offered. Taking advantage of the low price asked, Captain O’Brien made a large purchase, and laid the pay, in gold, on the counter. Upon seeing the merchant about to take the stockings purchased, away, ostensibly to wrap them, Captain O’Brien took the purchase from the counter, remarking, as he did so: “Don’t trouble yourself, I’ll take them as they are”; and, to the great disgust of the tricky Englishman, O’Brien at once left the store with his purchase. The London merchant was outwitted by the Yankee customer; for he intended to repeat the dishonesty of the first transaction.

Captain John O’Brien was once challenged by a Frenchman to fight a duel; the Frenchman having for some reason taken offense. The challenge was accepted, and as the challenged party, Captain O’Brien chose as his weapon, a cannon; and in accordance with the rules of duelling, he was to have the first shot. Upon being informed of the weapon chosen by the visiting Yankee, the Frenchman, hitherto so brave, was terrified, and withdrew his challenge.

Having disposed of his cargo in a foreign port into which he had sailed, Captain O’Brien went on board his vessel with the proceeds of the sale, which was in gold. This he had placed in his capacious satin vest pocket. During his absence on shore the crew of his vessel had formed a plot to kill him when he came on board, and take from him, and divide among themselves, the large amount of money they knew he would have about his person. Captain O’Brien had no sooner stepped upon the deck of his vessel than one of the crew, chosen for the work, struck him on the head with a mauling spike. He fell, stunned, upon the deck. After taking from his vest pockets the gold, several of the mutinous crew threw the unconscious officer overboard. As he struck the water (this he subsequently related), he partially recovered consciousness; but down, down, down he went, until his feet touched bottom, when he gave an energetic spring upward, and soon reached the surface. Having fully recovered consciousness, he swam for his vessel, which was but a short distance away. While Captain O’Brien was in the water the crew had attempted to kill his brother, William, the first mate; but he had escaped from his would-be murderers by seeking shelter behind one of the big guns on board. Unseen by the crew, Captain O’Brien reached the deck of his vessel, and immediately seizing a mauling spike, he rushed into the midst of the mutineers, swinging the heavy instrument to the right and left with tremendous vigor. Supposing Captain O’Brien to be an apparition, as they took it for granted he had been drowned, the mutineers became so thoroughly affrighted that they tumbled almost headlong down the hatchway, hastily closing it after them. Captain O’Brien, with the assistance of the first mate, at once securely fastened the hatchway. He then went on shore and notified the civil authorities of the mutiny of the crew, and of their attempt upon his life, and that of his brother, William. The mutineers, twenty-five in number, were arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Through the intercession of Captain O’Brien, however, the sentence of death was changed to banishment to a desert island. “My grandfather, though so bold, was also tenderhearted,” said one of his descendants, “and could not bear to have so many lives taken, especially as some of the crew had, he believed, been dragged into the mutiny; so he interceded for them with the government, and obtained a commutation of the penalty.”

“One day while in Madrid,” I now quote the words of a descendant, “he (Captain O’Brien) visited a friend at his house; and when leaving, toward evening, to return to the ship (the harbor was several miles from the city), he was presented with a stout cane, an Irish shilelah, with the remark that he might find it useful sometime for self-defense. My grandfather accepted the cane, and, thanking his friend, went out to hire a hack which should take him to the port. He passed along a row of carriages, but no driver was willing to go out of the city at so late an hour, till he reached the very last man of all. When asked whether he would go, he glanced at the sun, now almost down, and intimated that he would. He was a suspicious looking fellow, whom one would not care to meet in a lonely place, but there was no choice. So he mounted the carriage and was driven off. My grandfather was said to have never known fear, and his courage stood him in good stead now. There was a partition between the two men. When they were well out of the city, in the open country, my grandfather observed the driver making a movement as if to get nearer to him. Watching his chance, just as the fellow raised his body, my grandfather planted his feet against the driver and pushed him off the seat on to the ground. Then instantly jumping out, Captain O’Brien stood directly over the prostrate and astonished driver, with his stout cudgel in his hand, and exclaimed: ‘Now, get on that seat, and drive me as I tell you, or I’ll knock your brains out!’ The wretch taken by surprise, and perceiving that he had fallen into formidable hands, dared not disobey. As the driver sprang to his seat, my grandfather instantly followed him, holding over him his shilelah, ready to execute his threat. When they reached the port, the sun was set. My grandfather jumped off the carriage, threw some money upon the ground and went aboard his ship.

“Some years after, he chanced to meet his friend, who expressed great surprise at seeing him. ‘What, are you alive, Captain! When I learned that you had left the city with that villain of a driver, I never expected to see you again. It is notorious that he has killed many persons under similar circumstances.’

“‘Thanks for your shilelah,’ said my grandfather, ‘which through a kind Providence saved me from death. I shall always cherish it as a memento of my friend, and for the good service it did me.’”

In the year 1820, Captain John O’Brien removed to Brunswick, Maine, where he had purchased about twenty acres of land. Upon a portion of this land he built a house, said to have been the finest in the place. Here, Captain O’Brien resolved to spend the remainder of his days in well-earned rest from a long, arduous and highly eventful public career.[27]

Another grandson of Captain O’Brien thus speaks of the latter’s home in Brunswick: “Without the slightest exaggeration I can say, that my grandfather’s place was a ‘glowing rose-garden of rapture,’ a paradise; and when its pearly gates now and then opened to let me in for a few days’ visit, I was perfectly happy. When the time came to leave, though I had a good home to go to, it was, I imagine, with some such feelings as Adam had when he turned his back upon Eden, only that I had this advantage over my unhappy progenitor, that I was not forbidden to return some happy day. What a halo about that spot, to my youthful imagination! There was no place like it in the world; how pleasant it lies in my memory, with a brightness that has never faded.”

During his residence in Brunswick, Captain O’Brien used occasionally to visit Machias, where his parents, and two brothers, Colonel Jeremiah, and Gideon, resided. On one of the visits to Machias a daughter accompanied him. As they were passing through a piece of dense, dark woods, many miles from a human habitation, a man climbed into the rear of the vehicle, for the purpose, evidently, of robbing Captain O’Brien. Doubtless the would-be robber thought an aged man, such as his prospective victim seemed to be, would be an easy case to deal with; but, as he soon ascertained, appearances are often deceiving. Placing the reins in the hands of his daughter, and instructing her to drive the horse at a rapid speed, he stood up in the vehicle, and, reaching round to the rear, he laid the whip on to the intruder with such great vigor that he jumped to the ground, and was soon left far behind.

While a resident of Brunswick, Captain O’Brien, through the intercession of Mr. Joseph Wheaton, a former Machias acquaintance, who then held a position under the Government, at Washington, was appointed postmaster.

Mr. Wheaton, who it should be said, took part in the capture of the “Margaretta,” thus writes Captain O’Brien, from Washington, with regard to his appointment, as postmaster, at Brunswick; the letter was written in 1823:

“I represented to him (Mr. Harris, of the House of Representatives) your ardent zeal for the country in your youth, your manly conduct in the affair you touched upon, relating to the Margaretta schooner and called to his recollection that in that action we became pirates, traitors and rebels, according to the laws of England at that time; that our success (established) the necessity of manly resistance everywhere or the consequences would have been more distressing than death—it would have been universal slavery to all the people; that Captain Moore was the first naval officer that fell in the Revolution; that your services had been uniform and of the highest manly character, and that you were now advanced in years and it would be most grateful to your feelings to receive some token that you were not refused a small favor.”[28]

HON. JAMES M. GRAHAM.

Of Springfield, Ill.

Member of Congress from his state and an earnest member of the
Society.
]

A grandson of the subject of this sketch thus describes the character of his grandfather: “... my maternal grandfather developed a character in which energy and decision were prominent qualities. It was said of him later in life, that he never knew what fear was; but though possessed of a strong will and prompt to exact obedience when in command, he had a calm and reasonable temper and a gentlemanly bearing which gained for him the respect and confidence of the community. He was not a man to trifle with, neither was he a man to stand in dread of. He was just and honorable in his treatment of others, and gentle to the young and helpless.”

A most touching story is related concerning the burial of Mrs. John O’Brien, with whom the captain had lived happily for nearly fifty years. On the day of the funeral, held at his home, he was seen standing at the foot of the flight of stairs, leading from their bedroom down into the front hallway, as if he was waiting for some one to come down. For several years it had been his custom, on Sunday morning, to thus stand, and wait for Mrs. O’Brien to come down, to accompany him to the house of worship in the village. For a moment, on the occasion above referred to, he seemed to have forgotten that his wife was to be buried, and he was watching for her to come down stairs to go with him, as usual, to the village church. When he awoke to the fact that his beloved wife was that day to be buried, he was well nigh overcome with grief. This was in 1826.

About six years later, on the 8th of May, 1832, Captain John O’Brien died. He was then 82 years of age. He was buried in Brunswick, where his remains now rest.

All honor to his memory!

* * * * *

The writer of this sketch wishes hereby to gratefully acknowledge his indebtedness to Heman W. Chaplin, Esq., of Boston, for no inconsiderable portion of the materials drawn from in its preparation.

THE DICKSON LETTERS.

In “The Dickson Letters,” compiled and edited by James O. Carr, Esq., of the Wilmington, N. C., bar, appears a comprehensive sketch of the Dickson family, and “An act to erect and establish an academy in the County of Duplin,” the text of the act being as follows:

Whereas, the establishing an academy in the said County for the
education of Youth, will be attended with great advantages to the
State in general and the County of Duplin in particular:

1. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina,
and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that Thomas
Routledge, James Kenan, Joseph Dickson, Thomas Gray, William Dickson,
David Dodd, John James, Israel Bordeaux and James Gillespie, Esquires,
be and they are hereby constituted and appointed trustees with full
power and authority to receive into their hands and possession all
monies and other property which have been or hereafter may be
subscribed for the purpose of erecting an academy on the lands lately
purchased of Nicholas Hunter in said County, by name of Grove Academy;
and the said trustees and their successors shall be able and capable
in law to ask for and demand, receive and possess of the several
subscribers all sums by them respectively subscribed, and in case of
refusal of any of them to pay the same, to sue for and recover by
action of debt or otherwise, in the name of the trustees, the sum
which such person so refusing shall have subscribed, in any
jurisdiction having cognizance thereof; and the monies when collected
and received, to be applied by the said trustees or a majority of them
towards paying for the lands already contracted for, and erecting
thereon a suitable and convenient house, to contract with and employ a
tutor or tutors, and to perform every act or thing that they or a
majority of them shall think necessary and expedient for the
advancement of the said academy and the promotion of learning therein.

2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the
trustees hereinbefore mentioned, shall, previous to their entering on
the execution of the trust reposed by this Act, give bond to the court
of the County, payable to the Chairman and his successor, in the sum
of One Thousand Pounds specie, with condition that they shall well and
faithfully account for and apply all gifts, donations, bequests and
monies which they may receive of and by virtue of this act for the
purposes aforesaid.

3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any
of the trustees by this Act appointed shall die, refuse to act or
remove away that he cannot attend the duties of his appointment, the
remaining trustees may appoint another in his stead, who shall
exercise the same powers as trustees appointed by this Act: and when
met together within the said County shall have power and authority to
elect and constitute one or more tutor or tutors, and a treasurer, and
also to make and ordain such rules and regulations, not repugnant to
the laws of this State, for the well ordering of the students, their
morals, studies and academical exercises, as to them shall seem meet;
and to give certificates to such students as shall leave said academy,
certifying their literary merit; in general they shall or may do all
such things as are usually done by bodies corporate and politic, or
such as may be necessary for the promotion of learning and virtue; and
the said trustees, or a majority of them are hereby empowered, and
shall have lawful authority to remove the tutor or tutors, treasurer
or any of them if they shall find it necessary, and on the death,
resignation or refusal to act of any of them, to appoint and elect
others in the stead of those displaced, dead or refusing to act.

4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the
trustees by this Act appointed, or a majority of them, and their
successors, shall meet annually on the first Friday of March in each
and every year, or at any other time they may find more convenient,
and elect a proper person out of their own body to preside for the
term of one year, who may convene the trustees at any time he may find
it necessary. Provided always that he shall give ten days previous
notice of such meeting and that the President and Treasurer shall be
chosen on the said first Friday of March unless in cases of
unavoidable accidents.

5. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the
treasurer of the said Board of Trustees shall enter into bond with
sufficient security to the trustees, conditioned for the faithful
discharge of the trust reposed in him by this Act, and that all monies
and chattels that shall be in his hands, at the expiration of his
office, shall be immediately paid into the hands of the succeeding
treasurer; and every treasurer shall receive all monies, donations,
gifts, bequests and charities that may belong or accrue to said
Academy during his office, and at the expiration thereof shall account
with the trustees or a majority of them for the same, and on refusal
or neglect to pay and deliver as aforesaid, the same mode of
recovering may be had against him as is or may be provided for the
recovery of money from sheriffs or other public officers.

In his sketch of the Dickson Family the author says: Simon Dickson was born in England about the year 1607, or 1608. He was a stern English Puritan, an ardent adherent of Oliver Cromwell, and served faithfully as an officer in the Parliamentary army during that fierce struggle between Parliament and the King; his official rank, however, is unknown to us. After the Revolution was over, as a reward for his services, he received a grant of four hundred acres of valuable land within two miles of Dromore, in the county of Down, Ireland. Here he settled and had a numerous offspring, but the exact number of his children is unknown. At the restoration of Charles II, the land grants of the Cromwellian administration were annulled, and Simon Dickson became a tenant on the same land he had previously owned.

“Simon Dickson was the father of Joseph the first, who was the father of Joseph the second, who was the father of Michael, who was the father of John.” Joseph the second lived to be ninety-four years old, and Michael passed his eighty-fourth year.

John Dickson was born in Ireland about the year 1704 and died in Duplin County, North Carolina, on the 25th day of December, 1774, just at the beginning of the American Revolution. He emigrated from Ireland to the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1738 and settled in Chester County, where he resided several years and had two sons born to him, Michael and William. He then moved to Maryland, where he remained only a short while, and leaving there he came to Duplin County between 1740 and 1745. Upon his death in Duplin, in 1774, he left surviving him seven sons and one daughter, whose names are given in order of their age, as follows: Michael, William, Robert, Joseph, Alexander, Edward, James and Mary.

Michael Dickson moved to Georgia just before or after the Revolution, where it is said he has many descendants, though no definite information about them can be obtained.

William Dickson, the second son of John Dickson, and the writer of the Dickson Letters, was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1740, and came to Duplin County with his father when quite a small boy. Upon arriving at manhood he took an active part in public affairs and during Revolutionary times he was the foremost man in his county as a leader in civil affairs, while his compatriot, Colonel James Kenan, was at the head of all military operations. It is probable, almost certain, that he entered the army as a regular militiaman under Colonel Kenan, and served through the entire war. His educational advantages were very limited, and a family tradition tells us that his school days were comprised within a space of three months. Notwithstanding this, he was a man of broad ideas, mature judgment, and profound wisdom; and he discussed political affairs with an intuitive knowledge and foresight that were remarkable. His comments on the American form of government (then an untried theory) in his letter of 1790, his reasons why North Carolina adopted the federal constitution, his prediction that “the southern states will not receive equal benefit in the government with the northern states” and that the North would eventually demand the emancipation of slavery (and this written seventy years before the Civil War)—all these are ideas worthy of a statesman and found conception in no ordinary mind.

He was a man of wonderful native ability; but was modest to a fault, and seldom in his letters to his cousin in Ireland does he even refer to the services he rendered in the Revolution. Tradition has it that he was for forty-four successive years clerk of the court in Duplin County; but the writer has not examined the records for a verification of this tradition further than to find that he served in this capacity for quite a long time. He was a delegate to the first provincial congress, held at Newbern on the 25th of August, 1774; to the second provincial congress, held at Halifax on the 3rd of April, 1775; to the third provincial congress, held at Hillsboro on the 21st day of August, 1775; and to the fourth provincial congress, held at Halifax on the 12th of November, 1776, which framed North Carolina’s first constitution. He also represented Duplin in the House of Commons in 1795. It is told of him that when Cornwallis’ army marched through the county on its way from Wilmington to Virginia he concealed the records of the county in an iron pot in Goshen Swamp to prevent their destruction by the British. He died in 1820, an honored and highly respected citizen.

Robert Dickson, the third son of John Dickson, moved to Virginia at the close of the Revolution, but returned to Duplin about 1784, where he made his permanent home. He has many descendants in North Carolina, chiefly in Cumberland County. He was a justice of the peace for Duplin for a number of years, and served as a member of the House of Commons in 1777, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788.

Joseph Dickson, the fourth son of John Dickson, emigrated west about the close of the Revolution; but, being dissatisfied, soon returned to his native county, where he reared a large family consisting of one daughter, Anne, and eight sons. He served in the capacity of Register of Deeds and also as county surveyor of Duplin, and represented his county in the House of Commons in 1780 and 1797. Anne Dickson, his oldest child and only daughter, married James Pearsall, many of the descendants of whom now reside in Duplin and adjoining counties. Later in life Joseph took his entire family of eight grown sons, together with other Dickson relatives, and moved to Tennessee in quest of large landed estates, a desire for which had become common in the family. Dickson County, Tennessee, takes its name from a member of the Duplin family.

Alexander Dickson, the fifth son of John Dickson, following the dreams of his brothers, and searching for fortunes elsewhere, emigrated to Virginia about 1781, and afterwards to Maryland; but returned in 1784 and took up his permanent abode in Duplin, where he accumulated considerable wealth. He died leaving no family, and bequeathed his property, as an educational fund, to the poor children of his county. This fund has commonly been known as the “Dickson Charity Fund”; but, through years of mismanagement and ill-directed investments, it has almost come to naught, and like most bequests of this kind has not served the high purpose for which it was intended.

Edward Dickson, the sixth son of John Dickson, had no ambition for political honors, but was one of the foremost and most prosperous citizens of Duplin. He married and reared a family in Duplin, and there was no man more highly esteemed and respected. His oldest daughter, Rebecca, married Rev. Jacob Williams, by whom she had a daughter, Ann, who married Dr. Stephen Graham, a noted physician of Duplin County in his day. Sarah Rebecca Graham, daughter of Dr. Stephen Graham and Ann Graham, and sister of the late Stephen Graham of Kenansville, married Owen R. Kenan, and, as a result of this union, left the following children: Thomas S. Kenan, of Raleigh; William R. Kenan, of Wilmington; James G. Kenan, and Annie Dickson Kenan, of Kenansville.

James Dickson, the youngest son of John Dickson, spent his entire life in Duplin County. He married twice and had fifteen children, eight boys and seven girls. We are told that as a reward for military services he received large grants of land in Tennessee from the United States Government; but we have no information as to what services he performed, and William Dickson in one of his letters says none of the brothers except himself actually took up arms and joined the army. He may have rendered some services in the war of 1812, but we have no direct information on this point. However, James Dickson owned large estates in Tennessee and his three oldest sons, Edward, William and Alexander, emigrated there in the early part of this century and took possession of them. Robert Dickson, the youngest son of James, married Mary Catherine Sloan, and was the grandfather of the writer.

Mary Dickson, the only daughter and youngest child of John Dickson, married William McGowan at the age of eighteen, and she has many descendants in this and other states. She was the great grandmother of Benjamin F. Hall of Wilmington.

The first three letters, which are made a part of the publication, and the fourth, which is an extract taken from an old copy of the _Fayetteville Examiner_, were written by William Dickson to his cousin, Rev. Robert Dickson, a Presbyterian clergyman, at Narrow Water, near Newry, Ireland; and are printed for their historical and literary value. The fifth letter was written by William Dickson to Linda Dickson, his niece, who was at the time visiting her older sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, of Charleston, S. C., and is printed to show the character of the writer in his domestic relations.

The originals of the first three letters are still in existence and bear on them the marks of having served their mission as a messenger of good news to a far-away cousin. Years after they were written, two young men, the sons of Rev. Robert Dickson, we think, came to this country, and in order to identify themselves brought the original letters with them. One of the young men was drowned, the other returned to Ireland, and the letters fell into the hands of John Dickson, of Cumberland County; and the family of the late Robert K. Bryan, Sr., of Scott’s Hill, N. C., and the Evans family of Cumberland County, who are descendants of the Dicksons, have carefully preserved them.

The fourth letter, or rather extract, is taken from an old copy of the _Fayetteville Examiner_, and the original cannot be produced, but there is conclusive evidence that it is genuine.

John Dickson, the father of William Dickson, had a brother by the name of William Dickson, who moved from Pennsylvania and settled in the Western part of the State, where he died on the first day of January, 1775. We have no record of his family, but it is reasonable to suppose that he was the father of General Joseph Dickson, of Lincoln County, who rendered valuable service in the Revolution, and was Congressman about 1800.

In editing these letters the writer has preserved intact the wording and phraseology of the original manuscript, but has made some slight changes in regard to capitalization, spelling and punctuation, and this has been done only for the purpose of making them conform to our modern usage in this respect, and where the change would in no way impair the sense or expression of the originals.

GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS, HERO OF THE MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS AND UNITED
STATES SENATOR FROM THREE STATES.—THE FRENCH-IRISH BRIGADES IN THE WAR
OF INDEPENDENCE.—BISHOP BERKELEY AND HIS PLANS FOR A GREAT AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY.

BY HON. WILLIAM J. ONAHAN OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

[Three very interesting articles on widely differing historical
subjects.]

GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS, HERO OF THE MEXICAN AND THE CIVIL WARS; U. S.
SENATOR FROM THREE STATES.

In the Statuary Hall of the National Capitol, Washington, may be seen statues of the distinguished men of the different states of the Union, placed there under authority of a resolution or act of Congress, which provided that each state could place there two figures of its choice.

The State of Illinois, by an act of the General Assembly, determined that the statue of General James Shields should be one of those selected to represent Illinois. An appropriation was accordingly made for the statue of the soldier statesman, and it now stands in the “Hall of Fame” at the Capitol, where it was formally installed with befitting and notable public ceremonies.

Certainly, by this act the State of Illinois gave to the nation and to the world unequivocal testimony of the respect and esteem in which the soldier statesman is held by the people of the state where he first won recognition, and which he served in so many and so various public capacities with fidelity and renown.

A most interesting and unique figure in the history of Illinois is that presented by the career and character of James Shields. Member of the state legislature in early days, he became subsequently auditor, judge of the Supreme Court, general in command of a brigade of Illinois volunteers in the war with Mexico, and finally United States senator. These various offices and distinctions came to him from Illinois; and these, it might reasonably be supposed, would have sufficed to crown and complete the public career of a man so favored by political fortune. But this was not the end.

Failing of re-election to the United States Senate at the expiration of his term, because of changed political conditions, Shields removed to Minnesota, then a territory, and on its subsequent admission as a state he was elected one of the senators, the other being Henry M. Rice. Having drawn lots for the respective terms, Shields drew the short term, which terminated in 1860, and, having again failed of re-election from the same cause that defeated him in Illinois—the growing ascendency of the Republican party—he once more removed to another and more distant state, California, where he was settled at the outbreak of the Civil War. His sympathies and his military experience led him to offer his services to President Lincoln, who promptly commissioned Shields as brigadier general, and he was assigned to service in General Banks’ corps, then operating in West Virginia.

* * * * *

While in detached command he won the celebrated victory over the hitherto invincible Stonewall Jackson. Shortly after this he was nominated by the President as major general, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination, being influenced partly, no doubt, by political considerations—Democrats were not at the time in great favor—and partly, also, no doubt, from misrepresentations regarding General Shields’ conduct in relation to a defeat suffered by a portion of his command at Port Republic. This defeat, as was demonstrated later, was due to the disregard of Shields’ orders; at all events, the hostile action of the Senate caused his withdrawal from the army. He resigned his commission and returned to California.

Shortly again his restless spirit stirred him to another change, and this time he sought a home in Missouri, acquiring a farm near Carrollton in that state. Here in 1877 political fortune once more opened to him the doors of the United States Senate. He was elected to fill an unexpired term, so that he now had the unique distinction of having been chosen to represent three different states of the Union—at, of course, different periods of time. This fact, unexampled, I believe, in his history of the Senate, excited wondering comment at the time, and may justify an inquiry into the circumstances and character of the man who was able to win for himself this remarkable degree of public favor from so many different states.

* * * * *

Born in the County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1806, James Shields came of a fighting stock. His progenitors had fought at the Boyne and Aughrim for the Stuart king and several had followed Sarsfield after the surrender of Limerick, to serve under the banners of King Louis on the continent. So it was that young Shields inherited the warlike tastes and the “rebel” sympathies common to his countrymen. The story of his boyhood shows that he early manifested a taste for military pursuits. He was the drill-master of his boyish companions at school, and headed them in many juvenile skirmishes and exploits.

He never gained the opportunity and advantages of a college or university education, but he made up for this by the industrious and persevering use of his opportunities in later life, so that he came to be recognized as an excellent classical scholar and even linguist.

His youthful attention was early drawn toward America—as indeed, is the case with nearly all Irish boys. In the instance of young Shields he was spurred to emigrate by the counsels of an uncle who had seen service in the revolutionary war, and who had written to the mother telling her that if James did not leave the country he would surely be shot or hung as a rebel! In 1823, when 17 years of age, James Shields set out for America. He first landed at Quebec. The uncle who had counseled his leaving Ireland and from whom he naturally expected aid and counsel, was dead, and he was thus left to his own scanty resources. He made his way to the States, and pushed westward to Illinois, until he reached Kaskaskia, then the capital of the state, and it was there he commenced his career, first as a school teacher, employing his leisure hours in reading law. That he made good use of his time, and had the knack of making friends, may be judged by his early election as a member of the legislature.

Shields had been admitted to the bar in 1832 and was elected to the legislature in 1836. In 1841 he was elected auditor and in 1843 he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois—pretty rapid promotion for the young Irishman.

He quickly entered the arena of national renown. President Polk in 1845 appointed Shields commissioner of the general land office in Washington, and when the war with Mexico was declared Shields offered his services and was appointed brigadier general of volunteers—this in 1846. His military career in the campaign in Mexico I scarcely need recall. It is to be found in the history of that war and in the official reports of the chiefs of the army. His dash and bravery as well as his signal military capacity were shown in every engagement from Cerro Gordo to Chapultepec and the City of Mexico.

He was reported by General Scott in dispatches as fatally wounded at Cerro Gordo, a ball having passed “clean through” his body. Happily the skill and dexterity of a Mexican surgeon—a prisoner—saved him. Some accounts say this surgeon was an Irishman who had seen service in the French army. This brings to mind an incident in the general’s later life. During a visit to Chicago on a lecturing tour I introduced the general to some of the “sights,” among other places to the board of trade, of which I was then a member. When the fact became whispered about that General Shields was on the floor the “pits” were quickly deserted, the operators evidently being eager to testify their respect or gratify their curiosity. As he stood acknowledging the salutations of the throng around him, a member of the board shook hands with him, saying: “General, do you remember me?” The general evidently did not and said so.

“Don’t you remember the soldier who tore off a piece of his shirt to stanch the blood from your wound when you lay on the field of Cerro Gordo?”

Sure enough, it was the very man! He, too, was a veteran of the Mexican war. I regret that I cannot now recall his name, which I heard at the time. Of course, there was a cordial reception and hand-shake between the two old soldiers.

On his return from Mexico at the close of the war, Shields was brevetted major general, and was nominated by the president governor of the territory of Oregon. This appointment Shields declined. In 1849 he was elected United States senator from Illinois, as associate to Senator Stephen A. Douglas.

There was a question raised in the Senate as to the regularity of Shields’ election. My impression is—I have not the data before me as I write—that the irregularity was on the issue of citizenship; at all events, the legislature cured the defect by electing Shields over again.

According to the record, it was Shields who reported the bill making a grant of lands to aid in the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, the credit of which is usually given to Senator Douglas who was no doubt also a warm champion of the measure. It was Shields who likewise introduced and pressed the passage of a bill granting “bounty lands” to the soldiers and sailors who had served in the war with Mexico. When England was threatening with her naval forces the little republic of San Salvador on some pretext, Senator Shields promptly introduced a resolution on the subject, invoking the authority of the Monroe doctrine.

Bills to aid other railroad projects in Illinois were favorably reported by him. At that time the West was clamoring for railroads, which were indispensable to its development. In these days the country seems to forget how much of its progress and prosperity has been due to the much maligned railroads. Space will not admit of even a summary of the important public measures that Shields had part in framing. The files of the Congressional Record bear testimony to his unceasing industry during his senatorial career. It is worthy of note that Shields was consistently opposed to the extension of slavery and his record shows it, although in this regard he was not always in harmony with his party.

* * * * *

The State of Illinois, by vote of the legislature, presented to General Shields a costly sword in recognition of his gallant services on the battlefields of Mexico. The State of South Carolina in like manner voted him a sword, “in testimony of her admiration of his gallantry in the Mexican war, and as a tribute of gratitude for his parental attention to the Palmetto regiment.” This regiment was in Shields’ brigade in several engagements.

At the expiration of his term in the Senate he failed to secure a re-election, Lyman Trumbull being chosen to succeed him. This result was due to dissensions in the party ranks in consequence of the slavery issue, and to the growing power of the incipient Republican party.

Shortly after this Shields removed to Minnesota, gathering about his new home the nucleus of an Irish colony which has since become the populous and prosperous settlement known as “Shieldsville.” In fact, this was the beginning of the colonization movement in that state to which Archbishop Ireland afterward lent his powerful aid.

It was during Shields’ sojourn in Minnesota that the overture was made to him to take the command of the papal army. This was at the time when the revolutionary movement in Italy threatened the invasion and integrity of the papal states during the reign of Pius IX. Shields declined to accept. I had the details of the overture from the general’s own lips at a late period of his life.

When Minnesota was admitted as a state in 1858 Shields was chosen one of the two senators, his colleague being Henry M. Rice. Lots being drawn to determine the respective terms, the short one—two years—fell to Shields. At the end, as in Illinois, and from like cause, he failed of re-election, and soon he was again on the wing—this time for California.

* * * * *

The general opened a law office in San Francisco, and it was there he married. Soon the tumult and agitation of the secession movement, followed by the call for volunteers, stirred his patriotic spirit and martial ardor. He offered his services to President Lincoln, who commissioned him as brigadier general, assigned to General Banks’ corps in the army of West Virginia.