114 JOHN MANLEY. JOHN MANLEY. THE naval operations of the United States during the Revolution were far more extensive and important than is generally supposed, especially in the privateer department. It is asserted, by good authority, that the number of vessels captured by American cruisers, during the war, was eight hundred and three; and that the value of merchandise obtained, amounted to over eleven millions of dollars. Among the earlier and most intrepid of the naval commanders of that period, was John Manley, who received his commission from Washington, at Cambridge, on the 24th of October, 1775,' and was put in command of the schooner LEE, with instructions to cruise in Massachusetts Bay. He made a great many captures, and his services became the theme of eulogium throughout the whole country. Among his prizes was an ordnance brig, which contained heavy guns, mortars, and intrenching tools, of great value to the army then besieging the British, in Boston. When Congress organized a navy, the services of Captain Manley were appreciated, and he was raised to the command of the Hancock, thirty-two guns. He cruised with success, but on the desertion of a colleague, while engaged with the Rainbow (afterward the flag-ship of Admiral Collier, in the Autumn of 1777, when on our coast with a small fleet), he was made a prisoner, on the 8th of July, 1777. Manley suffered a long and rigorous confinement in the Rainbow, and at Halifax, and his services were lost to the country for almost the entire remainder of the war. He was released in 1782, and the frigate, Hague, was placed under his command. While cruising in the West Indies, he was chased by a British seventy-four, and driven on a sand bank. Three other ships of the line attacked him, but after sustaining their heavy fire for four days, he got his vessel off, hoisted the continental flag, fired thirteen guns as a parting salute, and escaped. On his return to Boston, he was tried on some charges made against him by one of his officers, and his reputation was under a partial cloud, for a time. He died in Boston on the 12th of February, 1793, at the age of fifty-nine years, and was buried with military honors. IN GILBERT CHARLES STUART. N the beautiful region of Rhode Island, at a place called Narraganset, the handsome wife of a Scotch snuff-maker gave birth to a son, who became the most distinguished portrait-painter in America. His father's name was Stuart, and his loyalty to the young claimant of the English throne,2 made him add Charles to the name of Gilbert, given to his boy. Gilbert Charles Stuart was born in 1754, and at a very early age manifested great energy of character and a decided talent for art. At the age of thirteen years he practised drawing likenesses with black-lead pencil, and at the age of eighteen he commenced a course of instruction, in painting, under an amateur artist, named Alexander. He was pleased with the lad, took him with him on a tour in the Southern States, 1. Washington caused six vessels to be fitted out for the purpose of cruising on the New England coast. These were very efficient. They made many prizes, from which the American army, early in 1776, was quite well supplied with cannon, mortars, balls, ammunition, and stores. The siege of Boston and expulsion of the British therefrom, could not have been accomplished without those supplies from captured British vessels. Toward the close of 1775, the Continental Congress adopted measures for organizing and employing a navy. 2. Charles Edward Stuart, a grandson of James the Second, who was driven from the throne in 1688. His son made an effort to gain the throne of his father, in 1716. The efforts of his grandson were put forth in 1745, but after the great battle at Culloden, he became a fugitive. ge Stuar and finally invited him to go to Scotland with him. Mr. Alexander died soon after his arrival at Edinburgh, and left his pupil in the care of Sir George Chambers. He, too, died, and young Stuart returned to Newport, as a competent portrait-painter. The late Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse was Stuart's intimate friend, through life; and in the Winter of 1773-4, they practiced the drawing of the human figure from life, by procuring a muscular blacksmith for a model. This was the first "Life School of Design," in America, and Stuart and his friend Waterhouse were the only students. The troubles of the Revolution affected Stuart's business, and in the Autumn of 1775, he went to England. Being a skilful musician, as well as painter, Stuart gained a subsistence by practicing both arts. His friend Waterhouse was then in London, perfecting his medical studies, and he procured Stuart some sitters, but his eccentric habits were a continual bar to permanent prosperity. After two years' residence there, he became acquainted with West, and found in him a friend and benefactor. In the studio of that great artist he bccame an industrious pupil, and there he first became acquainted with Trumbull. In 1781, he set up an easel for himself, had continual and highly-remunerative employment, and might have become the successor of Reynolds, as the first portrait-painter in Great Britain, had not intemperate habits, which were increasing 1. While in extreme poverty, in London, Stuart was attracted by the sound of an organ in an open church. He went in, ascertained that several persons were exhibiting their skill as candidates for organist, and boldly asked permission to enter the lists. It was granted, and the young stranger was chosen at a salary quite sufficient to meet his wants. 116 WILLIAM TENNENT. in proportion to his prosperity, thwarted the aspirations of his genius. He went to Dublin, where he was courted for his wit and conviviality, and finally reHis fame had preceded him, and his studio in New turned to America, in 1793. York was thronged with sitters and admirers. Filled with an ardent desire to paint a portrait of Washington, he visited Philadelphia, and there he produced that great picture of the Patriot, which is regarded as the perfect model for all correct likenesses of the revered Father of his Country. Stuart was so pleased with Pennsylvania, while residing in Philadelphia and at Germantown, that he contemplated purchasing a farm at Pottsgrove, and making that his permanent residence. His irregular habits, as usual, interfered with his plans, and we find him in Washington City, after the removal of the seat of government thither. In 1805, he settled in Boston, where he continued in the practice of his profession, until his death, which occurred in July, 1828, at the age of seventy-four years. The original portrait of Washington, from his pencil, is the property of the Boston Athenæum. His last work is a head of John Quincy Adams, intended for a full-length portrait of that statesman. WILLIAM TENNENT. MEN sometimes become more distinguished by their connection with remark The funeral, how At this day, able circumstances, than for any achievements of their own, and their real fine gold of character is lost in the glitter of extraneous events. that powerful preacher and indefatigable servant of Christ, William Tennent, is as a man who lay in a trance," than as a laborer better known to the world " Under the for the good of his fellow-men. He was born in Ireland, on the 3d of June, 1705, and came to America when in the fourteenth year of his age. care of his brother, Gilbert, he studied theology so ardently, at New Brunswick, in New Jersey, that his health gave way, his body became emaciated, and one morning, while conversing with his brother, in Latin, on the state of his soul, he fainted, and seemed to expire. He was prepared for burial, and the funeral procession was about to move, when his physician, who had been absent, returned, and thought he discovered indications of lingering life. But his body was cold and stiff, and his brother insisted upon his burial. ever, was postponed for awhile, and just as they were about to start again for the grave, Mr. Tennent opened his eyes, gave a groan, and again appeared lifeless. He revived, slowly recovered, but for a long time he was totally ignorant of every past transaction of his life. Suddenly his faculties began to resume their functions, and in 1733, he was ordained a minister of the church at Freehold, New Jersey. That church, and the house in which he lived, are yet [1854] standing. He never forgot the scenes of that cataleptic state in which he lay when his friends thought him dead. He seemed to have been wafted to a region of ineffable glory, where he heard things unutterable. He was accompanied by a heavenly conductor, and on asking permission to join the happy throng of beings before him, the guide tapped him upon the shoulder, and said, That was the moment when he opened his eyes, "You must return to earth." and saw his brother disputing with the doctor. Although he had been insensible for three days, the time did not seem to him more than twenty minutes. After a life of great usefulness as pastor of the flock at Freehold, for forty-three years, the storm of the Revolution disturbed him, and with his family, he went On his journey from Charleston to to reside with his son, in South Carolina. the interior, when about fifty miles from the sea-board, he sickened and died. Elias Boudinot was his executor, but he could never discover any trace of Tennent's papers. His death occurred on the 8th of March, 1777. OF JOEL BARLOW. Barlow, the youngest of the triad of American poets during the struggle for independence, it might have frequently been said, "The Minstrel Boy to the war has gone, for during his vacations at Yale College, he would shoulder his musket, offer himself as a volunteer, at the nearest camp, and fight bravely when opportunity occurred. Joel Barlow was the youngest of the ten children of a respectable farmer, and was born at Reading, in Connecticut, in the year 1755. He was graduated at Yale, in 1778, when he bore a slight scar, received in the battle at White Plains two years before. Four of his brothers were in the Continental army, and his whole being was thoroughly imbued with republican principles. He married a sister of Abraham Baldwin, a distinguished statesman of Connecticut, and in 1783, he settled at Westford, and commenced the publication of a paper, called The Mercury. Although, at the close of his collegiate course, he had studied theology six weeks, and was licensed to preach, he preferred the profession of the law; and in 1785, he was regularly admitted to the bar, as a practitioner. His poetic talents were now widely known and appreciated; and that same year, at the request of several congregational ministers, he prepared and published a revised edition of Watts' poetic version of the Psalms, and added to them a collection of hymns, several of them from his own pen. In 1787, he published his most ambitious poem hitherto attempted, entitled, "Vision of Columbus," which was dedicated to Louis the Sixteenth of France, and was republished in London and Paris, with applause from the critics. With Trumbull, Humphreys, Dwight, and others, he published a satirical poem, called The Anarchiad. Others soon followed; when, becoming enamored with the principles of the French Revolution, he went to Paris, was honored by the gift of citizenship, made France his home for many years, and by successful commercial pursuits, he amassed a large fortune. During the worst of the Revolution (whose horrid scenes disgusted him), he travelled over portions of the Continent, and in Piedmont he wrote his celebrated poem, called Hasty Pudding. On his return to Paris, in 1795, Washington appointed him consul at Algiers, with power to negotiate a treaty with that government, and those of Tunis and Tripoli. After an absence of seventeen years, he returned to America, with his fortune, and built an elegant mansion on the east branch of the Potomac, near Washington city, which he afterward called "Kalorama." He enlarged his original "Vision of Columbus," and i n1808, it was published under the title of The Columbiad, in a splendid quarto volume, richly illustrated, and inscribed to his friend, Robert Fulton. In 1811, he commenced the preparation of a History of the United States, when President Madison appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the French government. The following year, the Duke of Bassano invited him to a conference with Napoleon, at Wilna, in Poland. The call was urgent, and he travelled thither, night and day, without rest. The fatigue and exposure brought on a disease of the lungs, which terminated his life at Zarnowica, near Cracow, on the 2d of December, 1812, when in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 1. John Trumbull, David Humphreys, and Joel Barlow. 2. On one occasion Mr. Barlow met Oliver Arnold, a cousin of the traitor, in a book-store in New Haven, and asked him for a specimen of his talent for making extethpore rhymes. Oliver at once said, in allusion to Barlow's version of the Psalms: "You've proved yourself a sinful cre'tur; You've murdered Watts and spoiled the meter; 118 SAMUEL BARD. SAMUEL BARD. THE medical profession in the United States has included many of our noblest citizens, distinguished alike for their patriotism, learning, and benevolence. Samuel Bard, who adorned the profession by the exercise of all these qualities, was the son of an eminent physician, in Philadelphia, where he was born on the 1st of April, 1742. His early moral and intellectual training was thorough, and the associations of his childhood and youth were favorable to the development of his genius. While residing a short time in the family of Doctor Cadwallader Colden, he acquired a taste for botany, under the teachings of an accomplished daughter of that gentleman. A genius for drawing and painting enabled him to make beautiful copies of plants, some of which are yet in his family. He was graduated at Columbia College, in 1761, and the same year he went to Europe, to obtain a thorough medical education. He was absent in France, England, and Scotland, five years; and such was his skill in botany, that he obtained the annual medal given by Professor Hope, at Edinburgh, for the best collection of plants, in 1765. He there received his degree, returned home, entered into partnership with his father, and in 1768, married his beautiful cousin, Mary Bard. He made New York his residence the same year, and there he formed and executed the plan of founding the Medical School of New York, where degrees were conferred in 1769. He delivered a course of chemical lectures in 1774, but the breaking out of the Revolution deranged all his plans for the improvement of his profession. His father was then residing at Hyde Park, in Dutchess county, New York, and thither he took his family, for safety. By special permission of the British commander, he went to New York, in 1777, and engaged anew in his business. But his old friends, who were chiefly Whigs, had all fled, and he did not obtain practice sufficient to pay his expenses. He returned to the country, and remained there until the British evacuated the city in the Autumn of 1783, when he again resumed his practice there. He did not remain long. Four of his children died by prevailing scarlatina, and at the same time the health of his wife began to fail. He withdrew from business to attend upon her; and at her recovery, in 1784, he again commenced the practice of his profession, in New York. He was very successful, and with his own means, he liquidated all the debts of his father, which misfortune had burdened him with. Having acquired a competency, he resolved to retire from active business, and for that purpose he formed a partnership with the late Dr. David Hosack, on the 1st of January, 1796. This connection continued four years, when Dr. Bard withdrew wholly from the practice of his profession, and left the extensive business in the hands of his skilful young partner. At his beautiful seat, near the residence of his father at Hyde Park, he sat down in the retirement of private life; but when, three years afterward, the yellow fever appeared in New York, he yielded to the calls of duty, and was "the beloved physician" of the rich and poor during that trying time. He finally took the disease himself, but the careful nursing of his wife, and his own skilful prescriptions, carried him safely through. Then again he left the field of active duty as a physician, never to return to it. In 1813, he was elected president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York, and held that office until his death, which occurred on the 24th of March, 1821, at the age of seventy-nine years. His disease was pleurisy. He and his wife had often expressed a desire to both die at the same time. The privilege was vouchsafed to them. The faithful wife died the day preceding the death of her husband, of the same disease, and they were buried in one grave. |