John Halpin to William H. Seward, June 26, 1868

Mr. Halpin to Mr. Seward

Sir: I would respectfully beg to call your attention to the case of my brother, Lieutenant Colonel William G. Halpin, late United States army—sometimes styled “General” Halpin—lately tried in Ireland by the British government on a charge of “treason-felony,” convicted and sentenced to penal servitude for a long term of years.

I also beg to inclose herewith transcripts of my brother’s declarations of intentions, made in the year 1847, as well as his subsequent certificate of naturalization obtained in the year 1852, together with his discharge (original) from the army of the United States about the close of the war. And also two affidavits, from Messrs. Anderson and Breslin, formerly of Dublin, totally disproving the presence of my brother at the place where a certain overt act was alleged to have been committed, and of which it was proven—falsely proven, it now appears—my brother was the perpetator or director, and for which he is now unjustly suffering all the mild treatment of a British convict prison.

For the past 21 years my brother has been a resident of this city, and for 16 of those years has been a naturalized citizen of these United States; having on his arrival in this country gone through the solemn ceremonial of “abjuring and renouncing forever all allegiance to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.” And having subsequently occupied a respectable position in this community, where he followed his profession of civil engineer until the outbreak of the rebellion, when he gave up a lucrative business, together with all the endearments of home, family, and friends, and joined the army. He subsequently raised a company of volunteers, of which he was commissioned captain, and offered his life and services in the cause of his adopted country, in order to aid in saving her from destruction, as well as carrying out in good faith the terms of his oath of allegiance, the price of his position as a citizen of a then great nation. How he served his adopted country during the four years of her dreadful tribulation may, in part, be judged by the rank he held at the termination of the war when mustered out of the United States service. Subsequently my poor brother, in order to recruit his shattered health after a long campaign, visited his native land, Ireland, and while on shipboard off Cork, in the act of returning home to this country, was seized upon, thrown into prison, and tried on a charge of “treason-felony.”

I need hardly say to you, sir, how facile it is for England in such cases, with the aid of partisan judges, packed juries, and subsidized perjured informers, to procure convictions. In vain did my brother protest against the proceedings. In vain did he plead and proclaim his American citizenship. And, I regret to say, equally in vain did he seek the aid of the American consul, Mr. West, at Dublin. Suffice it to say that, not having been allowed proper facilities for his defense, his conviction was secured, and he is now undergoing the sentence passed upon him of 15 years’ penal servitude in a British convict prison.

If the solemn ceremonial of naturalization, with a probation of five years’ residence, through which every foreigner must pass, upon his arrival in this country, before he can consider himself an American citizen, confers no other or more valuable privileges than the permission to vote at elections or the honor (?) of shouldering a musket in the hour of the country’s danger, the candidate for citizenship should, at least, be apprised of the only benefits (?) attached to the position he seeks, ere he divests himself, as far as he can, of his original allegiance. Allegiance, though owing, perhaps, to a despot, who may be exacting in his demands upon the fealty of those whom he claims as subjects, will, nevertheless, protect them with his flag at any cost and at almost any sacrifice.

Perhaps I cannot at this moment cite you to an instance in history, either past or present, more striking in this regard than the course which the British nation—of whose conduct in relation to my brother and other American citizens I would now complain—pursued in the late Abyssinian war. We see her embarking a large army, at an enormous expense, to a distant quarter of the globe to encounter not only a formidable enemy, but a climate almost fatal to her soldiers. And for what? Simply to rescue from captivity some half a dozen persons who, if not absolutely culprits, were, at least, frail meddling fanatics, who transgressed not only the laws of the country, but outraged the liberties extended to them as privileged visitors. But they were British subjects; they felt that they were injured; they claimed the protection of their own flag, and the world now knows that that claim was not made in vain. Shall an American citizen, a name hitherto honored and respected abroad, be less favored or less entitled to the protecting influence of his country’s flag?

I cannot, I will not, believe, sir, that this great country will tacitly permit any nation to treat her citizens, and consequently herself, with outrage or insult.

The confusion occasioned by factious political contentions at home may, for a time, distract the attention of the best government from vital national matters in this relation, in which the honor of the nation and the rights and liberties of her citizens are at stake. But is it too much to expect, sir, that these matters will not be permitted to remain in abeyance, and that now, when this confusion and distraction has, in a measure, passed away, that the honor of this republic will be maintained? That its covenants with its adopted citizens, who may have endured so much for their adopted country as my brother has, may be kept in good faith, and not disregarded, and that the American nation will not suffer itself to be insulted in the person of its most humble citizen, by any nation in the world, whether that citizen be native-born or naturalized?

May I beg to request, sir, that you will place the inclosed documents, affidavits, and statement of facts in relation to my brother’s case, before the President, that so it may be brought under the notice of the congressional Committee on Foreign Relations for such action as may be deemed proper in the premises; and that when used, they (the originals) may be returned to me, lest, perhaps, in other times—if my poor brother should live to return to this his adopted country—they may prove useful—when an American citizen shall be protected and respected abroad—when a certificate of naturalization will be worth more than the paper upon which it is written, and something other than a sure and certain passport to a British dungeon.

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient, humble servant,