The Irish Revolutionary Speaking in Seattle
A profile of Captain John McCafferty, a former Confederate soldier turned Irish republican militant, ahead of his local political rally.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Captain John McCafferty, an Irish Republican orator, is scheduled to speak at South Seattle tonight and at the Seattle Opera House next Saturday evening. Born in Kentucky, he served in the Confederate army before joining the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood to plan a military uprising. He famously orchestrated the Chester raid and was subsequently arrested in Ireland, sentenced to be hanged, beheaded, and quartered in 1867. His sentence was commuted, and after years of confinement in British prison pens, he was banished for life. Despite the ban, he visited Great Britain and Ireland five times to support the national cause, with rewards up to £10,000 for his capture. Upon returning to the United States, he became a proponent of Republican protectionist policy.
“I removed my top shirt, ripped open the collar and cuffs, took out the papers, and then, bit by bit, swallowed them.”
The global reach of Seattle politics is not new. In the late 19th century, the city was a hub for international revolutionaries and organizers seeking to bridge labor concerns with the struggles of their homelands.
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