aPersonal and military history of Philip Kearny, major-general United States volunteers

Front matter

chiefly of ludian women. "TlV .

PHIL KEARNY. ^^^ ^

The Comte de Paris Pays a Tribute to His Fellow-Soldiei'.

CHAPTER I 13 to 26

A glorious Retrospect ; Origin of the Kbaknt Family ; Their Relatlon« and Connections in this Country, and their Military Affiliations.

CHAPTER n 27to35

The Kearny and Watts Pamilies and their Connections ; their Civil and Military services.

CHAPTER m 36t046

The Springtide of Youth; Childhood, boyhood, youth and education of Philip Kearny. The child Father to the Man.

CHAPTER IV 47to51

In the Saddle at last — Lieutenant Philip Kearny's first military service at the Far West in 1837—1839, with Notices of the frontier Settlements about that period.

CHAPTER V 53to92

A representative American— Lieutenant Kearny at the French Military School of Saumur. The Feast of Kings ; Twelfth Night Festivities — A Ball given by an American Officer in France worthy of commemoration.

CHAPTER YI 63 to 74

El Tell and El Sersous ; France in Africa— A description of the theatre of hostilities between the French and Natives in Algiers ; its climate, physical appearance, and a consideration of the principal historical events which preceded Lieutenant Kearny's service in that region.

CHAPTER VII 75to86

Through El Bibau — The passage of the Atlas Mountains, through the Gates of Iron, by Marshal Val£b and the Duke of Orleans, one of the most remarkable military excursions on record.

CHAPTER Vin 87toll0

. Over the Mousaia to Medeah and Milianah — The African Battle above the Clouds ; Campaign of 1839, and Campaign of 1840 ; Lieutenant Philip Kearny's " Baptism of Fire " on the Plains of Metidjah and of the \ Cheliff, at the Siege of Milianah and Passage of the Mousaia.

CHAPTER IX 11110 122

From the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains — The Expedition of 1845, from Fort Leavenworth, along the " Oregon Trace," to the South Pass, thence to Bent's Fort, and homewards along the "Santa Pe Trace " to the starting place ; with beautiful notices of remarkable natural objects from the Correspondence of a distinguished Army Officer.

11 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X 123tol35

The Mexican War — Captain Philip Kearny in Mexico and his famous company, mounted on Iron Greys ; his service along the Rio Grande in 1846; selection of his company as the body-guard of Major-General Scott at Yera-Cmz : the Dinner at Puebla ; " An arm for a brevet ; " the pursuit to Rio Frio ; the first Americans in arms on the Rim of the Basin of Mexico ; the Crossing of the Pedregal.

CHAPTER XI 136 to 151

he Gnrita San Antonio: Charge of the One Hundred — The battle of Churnbusco ; Keabny's famous charge of two miles with 100 American dragoons, through 5,000 Mexican Infantry and Cavalry — Captain Philip Kearny the first man, sword in hand, to enter Mexico — one of the most audacious feats recorded in military history, which " has no parallel in modem warfare."

CHAPTER XII 152 to 153

Home, sweet home — Sword presentation to Brevet-Major Philip Kearny,

CHAPTER XIII 154 to 157

The Golden Gate and Victory of the Rogue River — One of the most brilliant feats of Indian fighting performed by our old Army.

CHAPTER XIV 158 to 166

Kearny a Wanderer: "Round the world" — "Kearny, in Paris, rendered important service to the Loyal North, in 1859— '60."

CHAPTER XV 167 to 183

The Italian Campaign of 1859 ; Kearny, a Volunteer at Solferino ; decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor.

CHAPTER XVI .' 184 to 200

'•The Type Volunteer General of the War: " Kearny's return to America in search of a military command ; Bull Run ; a Sufticiency of Parallels from European History.

CHAPTER XVII 201 to 218

A Model Brigadier and Pattern Brigade Commander, Philip Kearny, " the 12th Brigadier U. S. V., on the Original List of Generals of that Rank," at work, making his famous 1st New Jersey Brigade ; Kearny's Views in regard to carrying on War.

CHAPTER XVIII 219 to 227

Plans and Correspondence; Kearny foretells the Greatness of Grant.

CHAPTER XIX 228 to 251

The Second Advance to Manasses, occupation of the Rebel camps and works ; Hidden's glorious charge and death ; Kearny's brilliant initiative of active operations ; Reports with Lists of those who distinguished themselves.

CHAPTER XX 252 to 256

Irritants and Assuasives ; Poison and Antidote ; Kearny thanked by the New Jersey Legislature.

CHAPTER XXI 257 to 262

From Alexandria through Yorktown to Williamsburg ; Kearny in command of the 3d (afterwards 1st) Division, 3d Corps, Army of the Potomac, Composition of Kearny's Fighting Division.

CONTENTS. Ill

CHAPTER XXII ... 263to298

The Battle of Williamsburg, Monday, May 5, 1862 ; " Kearnt, the last to leave Yorktown, the first up to save Hooker;" Kearny's first magnificent apgearance on the battle field; Repulse converted into victory; His glorious aspect and influence in a fight ; Anecdotes, Incidents, Correspondence and Reports.

CHAPTER XXIII 299to307

CHAPTER XXIV 308 to 32)

The Peninsula Campaign No. 1 ; Seven Pines and Fair Oaks ; Kearny a prophet as well as a General and a Soldier ; Letters, Anecdotes, Incidents, and Reports.

CHAPTER XXV 330 to 359

Peninsula Campaign No. 2 ; Fair Oaks to Oak Grove to Malvern Hill ; The Seven Days' Battles : Oak Grove, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mills, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Malvern Hill ; Correspondence, Parallels, Remarkable Occurrences and Reports.

CHAPTER XXVI 360 to 371

Companion and Supplementary, a partial review of the Peninsula Operations on the Left : Popular pronencss to exaggeration ; Kearny's practical foresight and ability ; The Kearny Patch, Diamond and Cross, and Badge or Medal.

CHAPTER XXVII 372 to 385

Harrison's Landing, Chafing on the Bit — Interesting Correspondence and Revelations of the Truth.

CHAPTER XXVIII '. 386 to 403

Pope and the "Army of Virginia ;" From the Rapidan to Warrenton ; Kearny again in the field ; Kearny's division the first, of the Army of the Potomac, up, in line, for the relief of Pope ; Pope vindicated.

CHAPTER XXIX 404 to 406

Pope and the "Army of Virginia ;" Something on the ever ready, fighting, 3d Corps ; Kearny's final Correspondence and last Report ; Kearny's little Bugler.

CHAPTER XXX '. 407 to 4,33

Chantilly — A striking example of a second-class decisive battle ; Stonewall Jaokson defeated ; The Army of Virginia saved ; Redeeming Victory of the Union Troops, and startling Death of Kearny.

CHAPTER XXXI 434 to 481

Death and Burial of " the bravest man I (Scott) ever knew, and the most perfect soldier;" Charming Reminiscences from Kearny's Comrades inarms.

CHAPTER XXXII 482 to 512

The Epilogne — A summing up of the characteristics of Major-General Philip Kbaeny, with interesting anecdotes throughout his career.

Preface

**That elegant force in history, which characterized Tacitus and Plittabch, seems to have disappeared in our time; certainly in biographies. * * * When I compare the present Sketch with the Ideal which I had conceived, it is with actual timidity that I venture to publish it. A perfect biography I cannot indeed prepare, since the Count (Schaumbuko-Lippe) carfefuUy kept secret the majority of his greatest deeds. * ♦ * It was my simple Intention to portray even his character as a commander and a ruler (organizer) from the stand-point of his magnanimity, and establish every trait of this picture with anecdotes. Yet even such a sketch, at least with my powers, can be nothing more than a fragment. Perhaps I may claim that no one at a previous time could have produced comparatively as complete a history of the Count's career as this one. Lest any one should find fault, or occasion for it should appear, I did not embody much information which I actually possessed. I do not urge this as a satisfactory excuse for the faults of my work, but simply as a reason why they merit pardon, and on that account I pray the indulgence of the public."

Theodob Schmalz's ^' Denkwiirdigkeiten des Graf en.

The preparation of tliis Biography, or rather Biographical Sketch of the Military Career of Major-General Phiup Keakny has been looked forward to for six years, not only as a sincere pleasure, but as a solemn duty. Almost all the notices of this distinguished General, which have appeared in the different papers and periodicals, were little more than the amplifications of the sketch of him prepared by the writer for the New York Times in 1861. This sketch grew into one more worthy of the subject in the columns of the New York Citizen of January 25th, 1867, and February 1st and 8th, 1868. On the 17th of January, 1868, Cortlandt Pakker, Esq., counsel, and intimate friend of the deceased General, delivered an Addi-ess before the New Jersey Historical Society. This noble tribute of friendship was afterwards furnished to the editors of the N'orihern Monthly Magazine^ and appeared in the three numbers of that periodical for November and December, 1867, and February, 1868. It was subsequently pubhshed, by request, as a pamphlet of forty-nine pages. Mr. Parker had fi-ee access to all the papers in the possession of the immediate family of the General, and the results

VI PREFACE.

of his labors are equally interesting as a charming composition and as a valuable contribution to history. To it the writer of the present work is indebted for much connected with the last year of the hero's life, especially extracts from letters, etc. Otherwise the facts herein presented are altogether new, and the views of General Keakny are derived from personal and confidential intercom-se from boyhood to middle-age.

The writer hesitated for a long time before resuming the pen, feeling that nothing could be done which deserved the name of a biography until certain letters, documents, and books could be obtained and examined. Manuscripts, etc., etc., are known to have existed which have eluded the anxious search of the historian. The kindness of friends, and an examination of correspondence, has filled some of the minor gaps, but others still exist, one of which is General Kearny's Algerian experience, as glorious to himself as interesting to the pubhc. On his return to the United States he wi'ote an account of his African campaign, which was "privately printed." Not a copy of this, however, is to be found, although diligent search has been made in every quarter, where an exemplar ought to have been preserved. Most of his correspondence was, doubtless, among the papers of an aged relative, his mother's sister, one of the most loyal, noble, and generous of women, deceased in June, 1866. This was either committed to the flames by her, or burned after her decease as a sacred trust not to be violated when the grave had closed over both; the one who wrote as a son to a mother, and the other to whom the confidential letters were addi-essed. A valuable letter, which was in hand last fall, has likewise disappeared, whether destroyed or stolen for the autogi'aph, since it possessed a signatm*e in full, a very rare thing with Kearny's letters, who generally signed "Phil," or"K."

The author of these pages was the only cousin of General Kearny, on his mother's side, brought up with him in the house of then* maternal grandfather, Hon. John Watts. This excellent man. General Kearny's grandfather, was ennobled by his benevolence. His best memorial is a grand charitable institution which he endowed in the city of New York. Mr. Watts was a monument of affliction, in that he had seen his wife, six handsome, gifted, and gallant sons, and four daughters precede him to the grave. One childless daughter sm'vived him and three grandcluldi'en. General Kearny, his sister, Mrs. Macomb, who died in Em-ope 30th April, 1852, and the wiiter.

PREFACE. Vll

Peculiar associations intensified the ties which united the survivors, sole representatives of a race which had occupied so prominent a position in the annals of their native State for nearly a centuiy " in troublous, times." In youth the pm-suits of General Keaeny and the wiiter of these pages were identical, and it was to the house of the latter that the former retm'ned from time to time to talk over the strange adventures experienced in a remarkably checkered career. Together in 1834 they visited Europe, and the majority of the opinions expressed herein are founded on personal recollections. If affection, admiration, studies, in common, interchange of thoughts, intercom-se without reserve, and a memory remarkable for its tenacity can enable any one to produce a reliable biography, the following may be considered authentic. As a patriot, as a pubHc officer, and as a soldier, Philip Kearny was a grand example, worthy of study, imitation, and commemoration. As an officer in the service of om' country, his glory belongs, particularly, to his native State, from' which he was appointed to the United States Ai'my. As a General, unsurpassed, wherever and whenever he was tried for courage, fidelity, self-sacrificing, energy, and ability, his glory is equally the property of the whole country. As West Point had nothing to do with his achievements, as he owed nothing to its training, to its cast influence, to its academic line of thought, or to its terrible prejudices, he may be considered a magnificent tyj^e of a Volunteer soldier, for from private life was he appointed to his first commission ; from private life it might be said he agam sprang into the saddle in 1846 — since he recalled his resignation to partake in the glories of the Mexican war — and from private life abroad he retm-ned home to reassume his uniform and assist in saving his country. As a Volunteer, he participated in the dangers and fatigues of ^ campaign in Afi'ica which carried the tricolor tln*ough the "Gates of Iron " and over the Atlas into the strongholds of Abd-el-Kader. He partook in the operations of that campaign which laid the basis of the present Kingdom of Italy, and a Major-General of American volunteers, he died on the field of battle. Therefore to the Volunteer Armies of the United States, and more particularly to the officers and soldiers of his immediate commands — especially that nonpareil New Jersey Brigade which he created, and that glorious First Division of the Third Corps of the Army of the Potomac at whose head he fell — are these pages dedicated, with the deepest and warmest gratitude of the author.

mTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

" Truth is to History what Eyes are to animals ; If their eyes are torn out, they become useless. Just so deprive History of Truth, and it is no longer of any value or utility."— PoiiTBros.

Field-Marshal Mebcy's epitaph on the battle-field of Nordlingen, where he fell, 1645.

A WONDERFUL epoch has closed. Thi? generation stands like spectators around the upheaved ruins — not yet settled — of an unparalleled moral as well as physical earthquake. Even as at the period of the great French Revolution of 1789 (1793), humanity has made one of its gigantic strides, in advance, which compensate for the inaction of ages. Not that human progress ever stands still, but at times it almost seems to do so, groping its way along like one still half asleep, or like one just awakened from a lethargic or drugged slumber. Happy he who has enjoyed the advantages of occupying a stand-point whence to observe, with a philosophic view, the phases and the marvels of the convulsions ; more fortunate he who has associated with the heroes, the martyrs, or the victims of the catastrophe, and has the ability and leisure to collect and prepare for gi-ander histories the details of the tempest he has witnessed, and the words, the gestures, the deeds of those who towered, like peaks irradiated with the sun of glory, amid the colliding storm-clouds, freighted with thunder and devastation.

In a reth-ed quarter of the metropoHs of the " Babylonish Captivity of the Papacy" stood an old building, once the convent of St Marcel, since the first Empu-e transmuted into a " Succm-sale " of the " Grand Hotel" at Paris, devoted to the reception of the invalids of that army which had borne the tricolor, the emblem of popu-

X INTRODUCTION.

lar triumph, through conquered capitals, east and south, to the remotest bounds of civilization. In its cool garden and along its corridors had grouped and walked, fighting then* battles oVer again in interchange of recollections, heroes who had marched and comljatted over the fiery sands of Egypt, the classic soil of Italy, the castlecrowned mountains of Germany, the di'eary bogs reclaimed by Teutonic feudalism, the rugged ranges of the Iberian sierras, and the snowy steppes of Russia. Around this garden, shutting them in from the industry of social life, whose blessings and comforts they had renounced for the fascinating career of arms, rose high walls, which formerly closed in the members of the church militant, the monkdom of the cloister, scarcely gi-eater strangers than the monkdom of the flag to the busy and comparatively happier world of every-day life. But unlike the dispossessed friars, the vision of these invaUds was not bounded by bare walls, suggestive of no thoughts save those connected with the dull monotony of monastic life. Thickly strung together, like a zone of jewels, from the rich mine of the military annals of France, close side by side, a series of MURAL TABLETS extended around the garden, devoted to the immortalization of glorious deeds and of heroic souls, that recalled the triumphs in which the veterans had participated — triumphs whose narration had made their watch-fires the centres of epopees as gi-and as the strophes of Ossian. What a glorious seclusion, redolent with the perfume of patriotic devotion, brilHant mth the lustre of militaiy achievements, musical with the eulogies of the heroic dead !

What a contrast to these tablets, those tablets set in the walls of the old ducal palace which commemorate the Arnolds, the Da vises, the Stephenses of that Republic which once contested the empire of the Mediterranean with the twin sister of the Adi-iatic, and left memorials of its commercial daring in lands which are scarcely now accessible to Em-opean enterprise.

Yet both these classes of monuments should be preserved with equal care, for they estabHsh the truths of History, and maintain them against the flattery of sycophants, the changes of political opinion, or the venial pens of prejudiced or political writers, changing, as one we have seen, with the horn* and with personal interest.

This little book seeks to erect a memorial to one of the most striking figures in the gi-eat American Conflict to crush the " Slaveholders' Rebellion." Its pages present a sketch of the

INTRODUCTION. XI

career of one of the men most prominent for their ability, then' influence, then* prowess, and then- genius for war.

The student of American History, in his quiet Hbrary, surrounded by such works, whether rude or pohshed in their language, still careful in their presentation of truths, is like the visitor in the garden of the "Succursale" (at Avignon), of the "Hotel des Invalides" at Paris. He can abandon himself to the reflections engendered by the stories of the Rebellion, and as he tm-ns from shelf to shelf, and saunters thi'ough the historic pages, the eyes of his mind can contemplate COMMEMORATIVE TABLETS, sct up ou the walls of liis imagination, some, like those of Keaeny and of Lyon, presenting examples of patriotism and self-sacrifice ; others, such as those of Lee and Davis, recalling evil men, prominent in the leadership of treason and of sin, but none the less remarkable or worthy of consideration as beacons on that reef of crime on which a confiding section went to wi'eck and ruin.

Contemplating and reflecting, before him will pass a panoramic series of the actions of the Rebellion. Each Biographical Sketch will serve as a portrait in the gallery of word-pictures, and ever and anon a prominent figure will start into life, if the pen of the biographer is equal in its power to the part played by his hero in the magnificent procession of the war pageant.

To futm*e students of history such biographies, however imperfectly "svritten or faulty in their style, will prove of incalculable interest; to futm-e wi'iters of history, of inestimable value. To every one who contemplates, Jike a pliilosopher, the changes which our national organization underwent in five years (1860-'65), every work connected mth the cataclysm will be of value, as a record and a memento of what human will, single ojI combined, erring but energetic, can accomplish to injure or to preserve ; while the general story and its results will serve and operate as a warning against the misdu-ection of human efforts in the futm*e to deface or destroy a national structure, faulty in some of its details, but sublime in its general conception ; an edifice purified fi'om the stains of slavery, and renovated through the patriotism of the loyal men of all sections, destined to stand, with open doors, a refuge and an asylum to the oppressed and suffering throughout the world.

The history of the " Slaveholders' Rebellion " is the record of a treason without a parallel in its criminality ; a treason against God's best gifts, against Free thought, Free action, a Free land — •

Xll INTRODUCTION.

a treason against the People — whose voice, when it utters its will with determination, but without violence, is the voice of God. Those who, like Kearny, led the van for the People ; who, without ambitious purposes, laid down their lives for the People ; who bore the burden and heat of the day, and " paid the last full measure of devotion " that then- country might live ; soldiers, patriots, mai'tyrs — such indeed were champions of Liberty. One of the grandest of these was Kearny, and this book is a memorial of him. He deserves the best monument of which the pen, pencU, or chisel is susceptible. But the hero will not despise any memento, however humble, which is the result of the best efforts of the author and a tribute of his affection.

MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY, U. S. V.

From the original grand equestrian portrait in tlie possession of the Author, Indorsed

as the best liliencas by the General's family.

PERSONAL AND MILITARY HISTORY

OF

MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY.

CHAPTER I.

" Through the shadowy past, Like a tomb-searcher, memory ran, • Lifting each fjhroud." MOOBB.

•* The hand of the reaper

Takes the years that are hoary, But the voice of the weeper Wails manhood in glory."

" This cliivalric figure looks as though it had just leaped from the centre of a medieval battle-piece."

Though living in these modern and prosaic days, his bearing is essentially romantic ; he looks the knight-errant. Such a rider on such a steed takes the mind back to the days when the badge of nobiUty was skill with the sword and grace in horsemanship ; when to be a gentleman was to follow the profession of arms ; when the jcmst and the tom-nament assembled all the beauty and all the valor of feudal monarchies ; when

" Nine and twenty knights of fame Hung their shields in Branksome Hall, And quitted not their harness bright, Neither by day, nor yet by night ; But carved at the meal • With gloves of steel,

■ And drank the red wine through the helmet barred."

These words are full of truth, suggestive.

There is scarcely an individual endowed with the power of observation, who, while examining a collection of modern or recent portraits, has not been struck with the peculiar face and bearing of some one or other of the individuals presented, who, notwithstanding the costumes and accessories, seems out of place among the pictures of cotemporaries. Certain striking peculiarities of feature or expression , suggest the idea that a mistake has occurred ; that the likeness of

BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY.

one distinguislied in the days of chivalry has fallen into the hands of a Vandal, to whose purse or whim the painter has sacrificed his art^ as well as the truth, and concealed the armor, dinted by cimeter or falchion, beneath the stiff and ungraceful costume of this century. No one who has has ever studied the lineaments and expression of Philip Kearny, his carriage, his bearing on foot or seat in the sad. die, but must appreciate this, and acknowledge in their hearts that his soldierly face and knightly person would look more appropriate Under the morion and the mail of Fra Moreale, of DtJ Guesclin, or of Bayard, or in the plumed hat lined with steel, and polished breastplate of a Rupert, a Montrose, or a Dundee ; nor deem him in the saddle unworthy of Su- Richard Vernon's glowing description of that " Imp of Faine," who, on the field of Agincourt, so glorious to his manhood, declared :

" And be it death proclaimed throughout our host To boast of this, or take that praise from God Which is His only "

Thus spake Sir Richard :

" I saw young Harry — ^with his beaver on, His cuisses on his thighs, gallantly arm'd, — Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury, And vaulted with such ease into his* seat As if an angel dropp'd down from the clouds.

To turn and wind a fiery ^egasus.

And witch the world with noble horsemanship."

Wandering through the galleries of Em'ope, the writer has more than once been startled at recognizing in a grand equestrian picture, or an exquisite military portrait, something which recalled a friend or relative distinguished for those qualities which indicate the natural soldier. Any one who was intimately acquainted with Major-General Philip Kearny, and the race from which he sprang, or with which he was connected, can understand this feeling.

In the Palazzo Spinola, in Genoa, there is a magnificent painting by Van Dyke, hung on hinges, which, when swung out from the wall in order to present its beauties in the most advantageous light, both horse and rider, nearly natural size, seem to stand out fi-om the canvass and become instinct with life. It is one of those incompara^ ble equestrian portraits, regarded as almost priceless gems of ai't, in which the rival of Rubens and of Titian pecuharly excelled. Such f BIOGRAPHY OP MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 15

a portrait, in fact, to one who knew Hm well, would at once recall General Kearny. In him, mounted on his favorite gray charger, Moscow, the great painter would have welcomed a subject worthy of his genius, and have handed him down to posterity in all the brilliancy of his design and coloring ; and fiction would have seized upon him as its hero, and have commemorated his career in verse like the " Max Piccolomini " of Schiller, or in romance like the Claverhouse of "Old Mortality."

This is no over-drawn picture. On some public occasion, at a ball in the Grand-Ducal (Pitti) Palace, in Florence, Kearny appeared as a Knight Templar, clothed from head to foot in chain armor. To dance gracefully — and gracefully he did dance — ^under such a weight of steel, proved what immense physical power he possessed. The writer has a sleeve of chain mail, taken from one of the catacombs of Egypt, which belonged to a Crusader. Each link is rivetted separately, and the whole suit was worth a prince's ransom. This sleeve weighs four and a half pounds. The whole tunic must have weighed over eighteen pounds ; the entire suit over four times that number. Under this w^eight Kearny waltzed as lightly as if clad in silk, and wore it so aptly that the illusion was perfect. To the company it seemed as if one of those haughty chevaliers had risen from his tomb to grace the festival, or as if one of their effigies had started into life.

Again, at a fancy ball — unequalled ever in the city of New York — given by Commodore John C. Stevens, Kearny was conspicuous as a Kabyle chieftain, in a perfect costume, which he had probably captm-ed in Algiers. So correct was it in every detail, that from his belt swimg a severed head imitated to the life, or rather death, in sugar, but nevertheless so corpse-like that he was compelled to lay it aside from the horror it excited. On this occasion likewise, had one of Abd-el-Kader's kalifas or beys appeared in the ball-room, he could not have looked and played his part with greater grace and tact than did the American Volunteer, who may have crossed steel with the original under the shadow of the Atlas.

" Though an American by birth, and intensely American in his sympathies, General Philip Kearny carried in his veins blood that distinguishes the leading nations of Europe.

" On his father's side he was Irish, and thfence he derived his impulsive, roving, danger-courting blood, the temper that never stops to count odds nor calculate chances.

t 16 BIOGRAPHY OF MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY.

" On his mother's side there were two diverse elements not often combined in one person — ^the strong native sense, and the shrewd common sense of the canny Scot, and the fiery nature, the love of pomp, splendor and beauty, the ardent soul and the chivahic bearing of the Gaul."

Close investigation, however, would lead to the conviction that the Kearnys are Scotch-Irish, for the name is certainly Gaelic. The cousin and executor of our hero has a family tree, showing all the marriages as far back as 1506, and traces back the family long anterior to that date, to two brothei-i who fii-st settled in Ireland. The name was originally O'Cleaeman, which, he says, meant " soldier." Kearny, in its original spelling, Cearnach, in Gaelic or Celtic, does signify " soldier. "* The name must have been derived from some deed of note in war, for all private names are in one sense derivatives. Kearny was thus not only a soldier by name but by nature, and a true inheritor not only of the designation . but of the spirit of his race.