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Show ENTITLED TO CREDIT ' FOR INDEPENDENCE OF UNITED STATES The great majority of the Deople of this country are educated in the public schools and study the history of the United States from the text books prescribed pre-scribed by the state boards of education. educa-tion. We have often demonstrated that these histories do not give credit to Catholics for the important part they played in the war of the revolution. revolu-tion. We now assert, without the fear of successful contradiction, that without Catholic money and Catholic soldiers there would have been no United States and we would still most probably prob-ably be a colony of Great Britain, ruled by a governor general like the Dominion of Canada. Children in the public schools are taught that France gave great assistance assist-ance to the patriotic cause, but .it is carefully and studiously kept out of view that it was the Catholic Lou's XVI of France that sent his troops and his powerful fleets and abundance of treasure to aid Washington in achieving achiev-ing the independence of the United States. In the winter of 1779 and 17S0 the sufferings of the American armies in the field, in the' northern parts of the country, were said to have been worse even than the hardships endured in the memorable winter spent at alley Forge, for the weather was so cold thy the British troops crossed over New York bay on the ice of Staten Island. American money was so much depre- elated in value that forty dollars were worth only one in coin. The troops were sometimes five or six days without with-out tasting bread, and their clothing was of the scantiest. In this contingency an appeal was made to the Catholic king of France, with such success that a gift of six millions of livres was sent to the American treasury. In July of the yeai 1780 the French and Catholic Rocham-beau Rocham-beau arrived at Newport with a squadron squad-ron of 6,000 men. This gave the Americans Amer-icans fresh courage, and nerved them to continue the war. As a powerful French fleet under DeGrasse entered the Chesapeake. Washington determnied to strike a final blow at the British occupation of Virginia. Accordingly the Americans with troops under Rochambeau and Lafayette. Cornwallis was compelled to surrender his whole army at York-town, York-town, his retreat by sea having been cut off by the n.Tval armament of Count DeGrasse. This grand and glorious glo-rious victory was tho prelude to the termination of the war of the revolution. revolu-tion. Had the Catholic solders of the ! French king, under the command of Lafayette and Rochambeau not been present, assisting the patriots under Washington, and -had the escape by sea been left open to Cornwallis. as would have been the case if the Catholic DeGrasse De-Grasse had not been stationed in the Chesapeake with his formidable men-of-war. manned by Catholic sailors. 1here would have been no victory of Yorktown with all that resulted therefrom, there-from, in tho way of a treaty of peace by which Great Britain asknowledged the independence of the colonies that had revolted against her rule. Were we not right, therefore in claiming claim-ing that Catholic men and means were the most important factor in freeing our country from the yoke of the oppressor.? op-pressor.? Bigotry alone is responsible for the fact that the children who attend at-tend the pulic schools do not know the very important, nay, necessary, part played by Catholics in the direst crisis of our history as a nation. It is time taht Catholics should be given the credit cred-it to which they are entitled, in order to put to shame the anti-Catholic, unfair un-fair and unjust accusations often made by our enemies, to the effect that a Catholic cannot be a good American citizen. Catholic children, when studying the history of their country, should be made aware that when the news of the fall of Yorktown became known, the people went wild with delight and that alongside of the name of the illustrous Washington the Catholic heroes. La- . fayette and Rochambeau were acclaimed ac-claimed asequally worthy of praise, and that congress voted the greatest honors on these grand leaders of the patriot forces In the culminating and decisive battle of the war. It should be known also that when the generals jifst mentioned reached Philadelphia they attended a solemn mass of thanksgiving thanks-giving at St. Joseph's church, this fact indicating that the Catholic church truly and sincerely rejoiced over the' success of the American cause, and also that the father of his country was not ashamed to appear in a Catholic house of worship to participate in a service that was celebrated for the express purpose pur-pose of glorifying God, for the magnificent magnifi-cent victory that had perched upon the American arms. I That Washington appreciated the patriotism pa-triotism of his Catholic fellow citizens may be inferred from the fact that his life guard .was composed largely of Catholics, and that his dearest friend and companion was the Catholic Lafayette. La-fayette. The address that he delivered to the Catholics; after the revolution is worthy of being reproduced for the information in-formation of Catholics and the enlightenment enlight-enment of our fellow citizens who are so blinded by religious prejudice that they cannot concede that we are sin cere in professing to be attached to-our to-our republican' form of government.' After reading the following words of the great Washington, such bigots should hold their heads down with shame that they have slandered their fellow citizens of the Catholic faith, if Indeed they have a sense of shame. "I hope," said Washington, "ever to see America among the foremost nations na-tions in examples of justice and liberality; liber-ality; and I presume that your fellow citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment accomplish-ment of their revolution and the establishment estab-lishment of their government, or the important assistance they receive from a nation in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed. May the members of your society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, Christian-ity, and still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of a free government, govern-ment, enjoy every temporal and spirit-I spirit-I ual felicity." T. A. B. in Morning Star. |