Fiore, Jordan D.

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Bridgewater ReviewVolume 3 | Issue 3 Article 10Dec-1985Historical Commentary: "When General Grant toIreland Came"Jordan D. FioreBridgewater State CollegeThis item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts.Recommended CitationFiore, Jordan D. (1985). Historical Commentary: "When General Grant to Ireland Came". Bridgewater Review, 3(3), 18-20.Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol3/iss3/10Historical CommentarY.."When General Grant to Ireland Came..."A Discordant Note in an Harmonious Journey.Jordan D. Fiore18I n the spring of 1984 President RonaldReagan visited the Republic of Ireland,the home of his paternal ancestors. Every-where he drew large and friendly crowds,but at almost every point, there weregroups of protesters who opposed hisposition on a variety of political and mili-tary subjects and were eager to demon-strate their opposition.Some American reporters on the sceneprofessed to be upset by this show ofunfriendliness toward a popular politicalfigure, and several correspondents spentalmost as much time in dealing with thisopposition as they did with the positiveaspect of the trip. In reality, protest hasalmost always been a fact of life in Ireland,and indeed the opposition to Reagan wasmild when compared with the insult toformer President Ulysses S. Grant morethan one hundred years ago.After the completion of his second termas President, Grant decided to make aEuropean trip, which eventually was ex-tended to Asia and then across the Pacificto San Francisco. Wherever he went, therewere parades, receptions, banquets, re-views, balls, a nd fireworks as crowds ga th-ered to see the victorious general andformer head of state, the first President ofthe United States to travel extensivelyabroad after leaving the White House.Grant, his wife, one of his sons, and alarge entourage of reporters and otherssailed from Philadelphia on May 17, 1877,on the American line steamer Indiana.Their first landing place in Ireland wasQueenstown (present-day Cobh), onMarch 27. A number of prominent localofficials, mindful of the large number oftheir countrymen who had moved to theUnited States and of the many Irish-Amer-ican soldiers who had served in Grant'sarmy in the Civil War, assured him that hewas loved and respected in Ireland and thatthe Irish people would welcome him "withall warmth and candor."Grant accepted the accolades, but heregretfully informed the Irish leaders thathe could not accept their hospitality immed-iately. He was expected in England at once,but he promised them that he planned toreturn to Ireland and to spend some timethere before returning to the United States.Nineteen months passed before Grantreturned to Ireland. He traveled to Eng-land, where he m'et Queen Victoria, toBelgium, Germany, France, Italy, Egypt,Turkey, the Holy Land, Norway, Sweden,Russia, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands,Spain, and Portugal, and finally, beforeleaving for the Orient, he came to Irelandearly in 1879.He expected an enthusiastic reception inIreland, not only because of the affinity ofthe people there to many of his country-men, but because many of the nationalaspirations of the Irish, particularly in thesouthern part of that country, were anhistoric parallel to those of the Americans.As one reporter who accompanied thegroup wrote, "To an immense proportionof the Irish people General Grant typifiesthe republican form of government whichthey hope for."The General and his wife spent a delight-ful Christmas in Paris, and then, leavingher behind, he went on to Ireland andlanded in Dublin on January 3,1879. TheLord Mayor welcomed him and gave himthe key to the city. Grant expressed hispride at being made an honorary citizen ofDublin, and he reminded his audience:I am by birth the citizen ofa countrywhere there are more Irishmen, na-tive born or by descent in all Ireland.When in office I had the honor n andit was a great one, indeed n ofrepresenting more Irishmen and des-cendants of Irishmen than does herMajesty the Queen of England.Supporters of Irish Home Rule androyal officials joined in honoring Grant,and that evening at a banquet he made oneof the longest speeches in his career, point-ing out to the English and the Irish thatthey had made great profit from Americanpurchases there in the previous twenty ormore years, but that the balance of tradewould soon shift, and the exports of goodsfrom the United States to the British Isleswould soon exceed their imports. Beforehe left Dublin the news came that howeverhappy the people of Dublin were at hisarrival, Grant would be unwelcome in thecity of Cork.The United States Consul in Cork hadwritten to the Cork City Council, an-nouncing that the General planned to be inthat city in a few days, and an IrishNationalist member of the Council movedthat the letter be marked "Read" and filed,and an animated discussion followed. Whyshould the Cork City Council have treatedGrant in this manner and pronounced himobjectionable?I n the fall of 1875, when several statesheld off-year elections, Grant went to St.Louis and then to a reunion of the Army ofthe Tennessee in Des Moines. Here he wasasked to deliver an address, and he injecteda new note in national politics. Concernedwith the plight of the nation's teachers whohad suffered greatly from the panic of1873, he spoke of the destiny of the publicschools, lower pupil attendance due to thedepression, salary cuts, the abandonmentof school buildings, and retrenchment inthe support of public schools by localgovernments. He sought to realign theRepublican party in favor of public educa-tion, since the conservatives of the Demo-cratic party in the South and the largeCatholic following in the North had nevermade full public education an issue.Grant pointed out the need for Federaland State aid to education. "Every state, hesaid, should furnish to every child growingup in the land the means of acquiring agood common school education," and be-yond the common school, Grant thoughtthat every state should do whatever itswealth allowed. He added:Let us labor for security of freethought,jree speech,jree press, puremorals, unfiltered religious senti-ment, and equal rights and the privi-leges ofmen, irrespective ofnational-ity, color, or religion; encouragefreeschools; resolve that not one dollarappropriated to them shall go to thesupport of any sectarian school; re-solve that neither state nor nationshall support any institution savethose where every child may get acommon school education, unmixedwith any atheistic, pagan, or sectar-ian teachings; leave the matter ofreligious teaching to thefamity altar,and keep Church and State separate.Although this statement may seem innoc-uous to us today, some Democrats insistedthat Grant was talking against Catholicschools and injecting an anti-Catholic is-sue into the campaign.In fairness to Grant, it is certain that,although he was probably playing politicswith the issue of education, he was no anti-Catholic. He had served with many Ro-man Catholics in the army, and his closestmilitary associates were William T. Sher-man and Philip H. Sheridan, both RomanCatholics, who owed to Grant their promo-tions to the highest rank. The most lucra-tive public office in his administration, theCollectorship of the Port of New York,was given to Thomas Murphy, a RomanCatholic, whom Grant appointed overmuch Republican opposition and who wascharacterized as a "Tammany Republican"and a "bigoted Roman Catholic." But thecharge of anti-Catholicism did not diecompletely and was carried overseas andbelieved by the Cork City Council.In Cork, one conservative membercalled in vain for the Council to inviteGrant, stating:There can be no antipathy to thegentleman himself; neither was thereanything in the government of theex-President objectionable to theIrish people nor unpleasant to theIrish in America.One of the extreme nationalists, Barry,said that Grant had insulted the Irishpeople in America by raising the "NoPopery" cry there. Another councillornamed Tracy said that it would be unbe-coming to welcome such a man, for Grant"never thought of the Irish race as he hadof others, and he went out of his way toinsult their religion." In this statement hewas supported by one Dwyer, who indi-cated that, since Grant had never given theIrish the same recognition as the otherinhabitants, it "would be an impropriety topay any mark of respect personally toGeneral Grant." One member made aslighting reference to Grant as a leather-man," a reference to his early backgroundas a tanner. Other nationalists in theCouncil spoke in support of the plan toreject Grant's proposal to visit, and thismotion passed unanimously.Officially, Grant had already plannednot to go to Cork, and he does not appear...the firstPresidentofthe United Statesto travel extensively abroadafter leaving theWhite House.to have been disturbed by the Council'smotion. He was reported to have smiledwhen told of the decision of the CorkCouncillors, and he said that he was sorrythat they knew so little of American his-tory. The action of the Council did receivemuch attention in the British Isles and inthe United States.Many persons in Cork particularly theconservatives, were indignant. An ex-Mayor said:The obstructionists who oppose acead mille failthe to General Grantare not worth a decent man rubbingup against. It is a pity that theGeneral has determined to return toParis instead ofvisiting Cork. wherehe would have received such anovationfrom the self-respecting pop-ulation as would prove that the Irishheart beats in sympathy in America.In New York a number of prominentIrish-American citizens met at the IrishVolunteer Armory on Seventh Street "forthe purpose of manifesting their disappro-val of the late slights put upon GeneralGrant, as a representative of America, bythe city council of Cork." Included in thegroup of protesters were several high-rank-ing officers in the New York Militia, promi-nent politicians, mostly Democrats, Irish-American businessmen, and a number ofpriests.The New York Times commented onthis meeting in an editorial entitled "WhyGet Indignant?" in which they asserted thatGrant needed no such action and dismissedthe Council by stating that Grant "thoughthe was doing an act of courtesy, and so hewas, but there are people who do notunderstand acts of courtesy or know howto deal with civility." The writer pointedout that Grant was popularly received inthe rest of Ireland and that Catholic lead-ers in France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal aswell as Dublin saw no anti-Catholic atti-tude in Grant who was supposed to be oneof the most tolerant of men. Even inDublin the fact that Grant was not Catho-lic was known and respected, The writeradded sarcastically:But every where this enemy of theChurch. this pernicious heretic, wastreated with consideration, until theTown Council of Cork heard that hewas coming. It remainedfor them tostand faithful among the faithlessand vindicate the Mother Churchfrom the insults of this redoubtablefoe.The editorialist concluded that the Irish-American defense of Grant was notneeded. The action of the Cork Councilshould not be regarded as an affrontto Gen. Grant, or a slight to adistinguished citizen of the UnitedStates, worthy of resentment. Itwould be undignified to treat it assuch. It is merely an exhibition oftheTown Council of Cork, and if thatbody chose to present itself beforethe world in such an unseemly atti-tude, expostulation should be made,if at all, in its own behalf or that ofthe city that is put to shame thereofThe New York Herald also took issuewith the Cork Council stating that "TheTown Council of Cork has done more toadvertise itself in connection with GeneralGrant than the municipal authority of anycity of Europe" and added that that bodyhas made a discovery which hasescaped the rest of Catholic Europeand of Catholic Ireland. It pro-claims, as a justification of its dis-courtesy, that General Grant wentout of his way to insult its religion.19Historical Commentary continued...protesthas almost always beena fact of lifein Ireland...20The deeds ofGeneral Grant have notbeen done in a corner, and it seemsodd enough that it was reserved forits Town Council of Cork to detectand proclaim a fact which has es-caped the knowledge of Europe andAmerica.Supporting the Times' statement thatGrant had been warmly received in otherCatholic areas, the editorial writer con-cluded that "the Town Council of Corkwould seem to be better Catholics than thePope himself."Alluding to Grant's speech in DesMoines the writer added, "But many Amer-ican Catholics are supporters of anti-sectar-ian free schools," and concluded that "theTown Council of Cork has acted on amisconception and its members have everyreason to be heartily ashamed of theirignorance, as well as of their illiberalityand discourtesy."In Boston The Pilot, which was the arch-diocesan newspaper, took note of theevent. The editor, the famous John BoyleO'Reilly, was a staunch Democrat, but wasalso an admirer of General Grant. OnJanuary 11, 1879, under the heading "TheCity of Cork Adopts a Strange Resolu-tion," the editor statedAt a meeting ofthe Town Council ofCork, after several biller speeches byCatholic members. a motion that theleller ofthe United States Counsel inQueenstown, announcing GeneralGrant 50 coming, be simply marked"read, "was passed without a dissent-ient vote. A previous motion to giveGeneral Grant a reception wasdenied.A week later O'Reilly took up the matteragain in a brief editorial. Although hedisapproved of the Cork Council's action,he noted that if the action had been takenby any second-rate English town, "it wouldscarcely cause a ripple." He also deploredthe fact that Grant had accepted honorarycitizenship from the city of Belfast andreferreu to himself as an "Ulster Irishman,"which O'Reilly thought was uncalled for.The Pilot published a verbatim accountof the Cork meeting on January 25, and thefull measure of the insult was apparent toany reader, for the attack on Grant was apersonal one and several ofihe insults wereobviously calculate9. But the story had runits course and the newspapers dropped allreference to it.General Sherman also wrote a strongdefense of Grant pointing out that Grant'ssister-in-law was a Roman Catholic, andhis son had married a Roman Catholic. Inaddition his son Frederick had visited thePope and the Pontiff had especially senthis blessings to the General.The British and Irish newspapers res-ponded warmly, and Grant should havebeen pleased with their support. Manylocal newspapers castigated the Cork Coun-cil for their action, and they were profusein their apologies and assured the Generalthat this was a unique action. The IrishTimes in Dublin offered an apology stat-ing, "Of all the strange proceedings re-ported by telegraph from Cork, we mustspeak in terms of unmixed regret. Theywere undignified, and altogether out ofplace. "The Cork Examiner although criti-cal of Grant and feeling that he had shownsome anti-Catholic tendencies, stated thatif Grant had decided to visit Cork, hewould have been welcomed by the peoplethere. The editor wroteThe Corporation might determineto abstainfrom anyformal act ofrecog-nition on personal grounds, but weare quite satisfied that the citizens atlarge would see it was their duty toreceive him with respect. eventhough cordiality was impossible.T he tour of Ireland continued and it wascertainly a triumphant one. Grant wentfrom Dublin to Londonderry, where hereceived the key to its city and on to Belfastwhere he was also made an honorary citi-zen. At every stop there were tremendouscrowds, and, although there were occa-sionallrish nationalists who carried a ban-ner or shouted in protest, everywhere therewas much enthusiasm. At Belfast he metwith the Roman Catholic bishop and uponhis return to Dublin he was visited by theRoman Catholic bishop there, BishopRyan of Buffalo, the editor of the CatholicUnion, and by several leading Protestantand Catholic clergymen.All in all, except for the one unharmon-ious note, the trip to Ireland was a success.One reporter who accompanied GrantwroteGeneral Grant's visit to Ireland wasended, and it may befairly said of itthat a public man,jrom afar distantcountry, without official character,known to the worldfor his militaryglory and for services that saved agreat republic from anarchy, wasnever more gently, warmly, earnest-ly and enthusiastically made to feelthat heroism, and, above all, hero-ism in the cause of liberty, has nocountry, but is equally at home inany part of the world, where there isa people with a soul to appreciategreat services and the aspiration tobe free. An event like GeneralGrant's welcome in Ireland does nothappen in the lives of many men.For the people of Ireland GeneralGrant's visit has long been regarded asmemorable. The writer recalls hearing hisIrish-American neighbors discussing thevisit as part of family lore. In 1917, duringWorld War I, a rollicking popular song"Macnamara's Band," published in Lon-don, became an overnight success. It hasbeen sung by Irishmen and others sincethat time and appears in many anthologiesof Irish popular songs. In one of thestanzas are the linesWhen the Prince of Wales to IrelandcameHe shook me by the handAnd said he'd never heard the likeOf Macnamara 50 band.But that was 1917. In the next few yearsthe political situation in the British Isleschanged greatly (to put it mildly), and theIrish Free State was created. The lines ofthe stanza were changed to readWhen General Grant to Ireland cameHe took me by the handSays he, "I never heard the likesOf Macnamara's band,"indicating that the Irish had fully acceptedthe American President into theirtraditions.Jordan D. FioreProfessor of History

Historical Commentary:  When General Grant to Ireland Came

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Historical Commentary: When General Grant to Ireland Came

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