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Q. Who were the worst commanders in the American Civil War?Top 10 Worst American Civil War Generals - Toptenz.netBY SHELL HARRIS ON MAY 24, 2009 HISTORYAmerican Civil War History controversial subject.10. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (USA) - WikipediaGeneral Kilpatrick was known for his reckless disregard for the lives of those soldiers under his command and his performance at Gettysburg bordered on criminal behavior with Elon Farnsworth paying the price. His “raid” on Richmond under the pretext of freeing Union prisoners was a joke that cost the life of COL Ulric Dahlgren. When General Kilpatrick commanded his cavalry in parades or battle and they looked quite professional. However, his camp was another story. Kilpatrick’s lack of proper discipline resulted in his camps being unkempt, disorderly, and embedded with prostitutes.In July of 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Kilpatrick, in command of his cavalry, was later accused of using poor judgment when he ordered a devastating charge on July 3. In an effort to repair the damage to his reputation caused this day, and in anticipation of post war political aspirations, he planned a raid on Richmond, Virginia in 1864. His plan was to attack the Confederate capital, cause as much devastation as possible, and free the Union soldiers held prisoner there. On March 1, while en route to implement this plan, he lost his nerve at the gates of Richmond, and retreated.Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (January 14, 1836 – December 4, 1881) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major general. He was later the United States Minister to Chile, and a failed political candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.Nicknamed "Kilcavalry" (or "Kill-Cavalry") for using tactics in battle that were considered as recklessly disregarding the lives of soldiers under his command, Kilpatrick was both praised for the victories he achieved, and despised by southerners whose homes and towns he devastated.9. William Starke Rosecrans (USA) - WikipediaAppointed commander of the Army of the Cumberland in October 1862, General Rosecrans almost lost the battle of Stone’s River and then waited almost six months to engage an enemy of a much smaller force. Referred to by General McClellan as “a silly fussy goose,” it did seem to accurately predict General Rosecrans military future as a commanding officer.His flawed strategy during the Tullahoma Campaign only succeeded due to the drastic mistakes of his opponent. Rather than consolidate his position in Chattanooga, he opted to move through the passes in Lookout Mountain. When he came out, with the mountain to his back, he fought the battle of Chickamauga, the worst Union loss in the Civil War. Trapped in Chattanooga he did little to relieve the suffering of his men. When General Grant relieved him of duty, he had fewer than five days of rations remaining with his troops already being on half-rations.Also problematic was his propensity to micro-manage the movements of units instead of relying on his chain of command. Finally, he was accused of disgracefully leaving the battlefield at Chickamauga and he was relieved of duty.William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819 – March 11, 1898) was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was the victor at prominent Western Theater battles, but his military career was effectively ended following his disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863.Rosecrans graduated in 1842 from the West Point Military Academy where he served in engineering assignments as well as a professor before leaving the Army to pursue a career in civil engineering. At the start of the Civil War, leading troops from Ohio, he achieved early combat success in western Virginia. In 1862 in the Western Theater, he won the battles of Iukaand Corinth while under the command of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. His brusque, outspoken manner and willingness to quarrel openly with superiors caused a professional rivalry with Grant (as well as with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton) that would adversely affect Rosecrans' career.Given command of the Army of the Cumberland, he fought against Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg at Stones River, and later outmaneuvered him in the brilliant Tullahoma Campaign, driving the Confederates from Middle Tennessee. His strategic movements then caused Bragg to abandon the critical city of Chattanooga, but Rosecrans' pursuit of Bragg ended during the bloody Battle of Chickamauga, where his unfortunately worded order mistakenly opened a gap in the Union line and Rosecrans and a third of his army were swept from the field. Besieged in Chattanooga, Rosecrans was relieved of command by Grant.Following his humiliating defeat, Rosecrans was reassigned to command the Department of Missouri, where he opposed Price's Raid. He was briefly considered as a vice presidential running mate for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. After the war, he served in diplomatic and appointed political positions and in 1880 was elected to Congress, representing California.8. Don Carlos Buell (USA) - WikipediaGeneral Buell led four divisions along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad towards Chattanooga while repairing the line. With his supply line destroyed by Confederate cavalry, his movement came to a halt. With Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky, General Buell was forced to fall back north to protect the line of the Ohio River. Dissatisfied with his progress, the authorities ordered him to turn over command to George H. Thomas on September 30, 1862, but the next day this order was revoked. On October 8 he fought the indecisive battle of Perryville, which halted a Confederate invasion that was already faltering. He failed, however, to pursue the retreating enemy and for this was relieved of his command on October 24, 1862.Don Carlos Buell (March 23, 1818 – November 19, 1898) was a United States Armyofficer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered Confederates after Perryville, or to secure East Tennessee. Historians generally concur that he was a brave and industrious master of logistics, but was too cautious and too rigid to meet the great challenges he faced in 1862. Buell was relieved of field command in late 1862 and made no more significant military contributions.7. Gideon Johnson Pillow (CSA) - WikipediaSuspended from command by order of Jefferson Davis for “grave errors in judgment in the military operations which resulted in the surrender of the army” at Fort Donelson. Despite his advantages at Fort Donelson , General Pillow’s inexplicable decisions led him to an embarrassing defeat. In his memoirs regarding the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862, General Grant wrote of his Confederate foe, “I had known General Pillow in Mexico, and judged that with any force, no matter how small, I could march up to within gunshot of any entrenchments he was given to hold.” His decision to flee the fort, leaving the onerous task of capitulation to General Buckner would tarnish is reputation beyond repair and for the rest of his life he would carry the taint of a failure made worse by the abandonment of his own men.Gideon Johnson Pillow (June 8, 1806 – October 8, 1878) was an American lawyer, politician, speculator, slaveowner, United States Army major general of volunteers during the Mexican-American War and Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War.Before his military career, Pillow practiced law and was active in Democratic Partypolitics. He was a floor leader in support of the nomination of fellow-Tennessean James K. Polk at the 1844 Democratic National Convention. In 1847, Pillow was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers to serve in the Mexican-American War, and was later promoted to major general. He performed reasonably well, and was wounded that year at Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec.However, controversy arose when, in a series of letters, Pillow tried to take what was perceived by some as undue credit for American victories at the expense of his commander, Major General Winfield Scott.Pillow was court-martialed for insubordination, but with President Polk's assistance, the court-martial was reduced to a court of inquiry, which in 1848 exonerated Pillow of any wrongdoing.After the war, Pillow served as a delegate from Alabama the Nashville Convention of 1850, where he supported compromise. He remained active in supporting the Democratic Party.At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Pillow supported secession, and was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army in July. Pillow received the thanks of the Confederate Congress for driving off the Union force at the Battle of Belmont, Missouri.Pillow controversially failed to exploit a temporary break through of Union lines by his troops which might have allowed the Confederate garrison of Fort Donelson to escape at the Battle of Fort Donelson on February 15, 1862. The next night, before the surrender of the fort, Brigadier General John B. Floyd passed overall command of the fort to Pillow, who in turn passed it to Brigadier General Simon Buckner.Floyd and Pillow managed to personally escape with a few aides before Buckner surrendered the remaining garrison to the Union Army of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. These actions sent his military career and reputation into eclipse.Pillow commanded a brigade at the Battle of Stones River in 1863, where he performed poorly, and was among the few generals in the army to praise the leadership of commanding General Braxton Bragg.Removed from combat duty, he worked mainly in recruiting assignments through the remainder of the war. Bankrupt after the war, Pillow resumed a successful legal career.6. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (USA) - WikipediaIn the Shenandoah Valley, General Banks lost 30 percent of his troops when he was routed by Stonewall Jackson and due to his tremendous loss of supplies was dubbed “Commissary Banks” by the Confederates. As part of Pope’s army, he was defeated at Cedar Mountain again by Jackson in the disastrous Red River Campaign as well as the Second Battle Bull Run. After a brief stint in the capital’s defenses he went to New Orleans to replace Benjamin F. Butler. His operations against Port Hudson were met with several bloody repulses eventually falling only after the surrender of Vicksburg made it untenable.Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th districtNathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union general during the Civil War.A millworker by background, Banks was prominent in local debating societies, and his oratorical skills were noted by the Democratic Party. But his abolitionist views fitted him better for the nascent Republican Party, through which he became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Governor of Massachusetts in the 1850s. Always a political chameleon (for which he was criticized by contemporaries), Banks was the first professional politician (with no outside business or other interests) to serve as Massachusetts Governor.At the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed Banks as one of the first 'political' major generals, over the heads of West Point regulars, who initially resented him, but came to acknowledge his influence on the administration of the war. After suffering a series of inglorious setbacks in the Shenandoah River Valley at the hands of Stonewall Jackson, Banks replaced Benjamin Butler at New Orleans as commander of the Department of the Gulf, charged with administration of Louisiana and gaining control of the Mississippi River. But he failed to reinforce Grant at Vicksburg, and badly handled the Siege of Port Hudson, taking its surrender only after Vicksburg had fallen. He then launched the Red River Campaign, a failed attempt to occupy eastern Texas that prompted his recall. Banks was regularly criticized for the failures of his campaigns, notably in tactically important tasks including reconnaissance. Banks was also instrumental in early reconstruction efforts in Louisiana, intended by Lincoln as a model for later such activities.After the war, Banks returned to the Massachusetts political scene, serving in Congress, where he supported Manifest Destiny, influenced the Alaska Purchase legislation, and supported women's suffrage. In his later years he adopted more liberal progressive causes, and served as a United States marshal for Massachusetts before suffering a decline in his mental faculties.5. Franz Sigel (USA)- WikipediaGeneral Sigel opened the Valley Campaigns of 1864, launching an invasion of the Shenandoah Valley in which he was severely defeated by General Breckenridge at the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864. This battle was particularly embarrassing due to the prominent role young cadets from the Virginia Military Institute played and was his relieved of his command for “lack of aggression” and replaced by General David Hunter. He was unable to shake the reality that he was defeated by a charge of young Virginia Military Institute cadets and his military aspirations ended abruptly serving the rest of the war without any active commands.Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German military officer, revolutionist and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil War. His ability to recruit German-speaking immigrants to the Union armies received the approval of President Abraham Lincoln, but he was strongly disliked by General-in-Chief Henry Halleck.4. Braxton Bragg (CSA) - WikipediaGeneral Bragg’s problems were legendary on the battlefield. He lacked the ability to communicate with his generals. This problem was magnified by his chronic indecisiveness. His march to Kentucky, touted by some as a strategic masterpiece was little more than a pathetic attempt to protect General Smith’s flank from General Buell. He simply assumed William S. Rosecrans would not attack once his force had been routed at Stone’s River. It took him two days to discover the enemy was advancing on his position at Tullahoma, then chose to obey an order over six months old, retreating to Chattanooga. There it only took a brigade of men to fool him into a full retreat from that city. After Chickamauga, he refused to destroy the Army of the Cumberland in spite of the sound advice of Generals Forrest and Longstreet. At Missionary Ridge, he grossly misplaced his line then blamed his men for the loss.General Braxton BraggBraxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who was assigned to duty at Richmond, under direction of the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, and charged with the conduct of military operations of the armies of the Confederate States from February 24, 1864 until January 13, 1865, when he was charged with command and defense of Wilmington, North Carolina. He previously had command of an army in the Western Theater.Bragg, a native of Warrenton, North Carolina, was educated at West Point and became an artillery officer. He served in Florida and then received three brevet promotions for distinguished service in the Mexican–American War, most notably the Battle of Buena Vista.He established a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, but also as a junior officer willing to publicly argue with and criticize his superior officers, including those at the highest levels of the Army. After a series of posts in the Indian Territory, he resigned from the U.S. Army in 1856 to become a sugar plantation slave owner in Louisiana.During the Civil War, Bragg trained soldiers in the Gulf Coast region. He was a corps commander at the Battle of Shiloh and subsequently was named to command the Army of Mississippi (later known as the Army of Tennessee).He and Edmund Kirby Smith attempted an invasion of Kentucky in 1862, but Bragg retreated following the inconclusive Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in October. In December, he fought another inconclusive battle at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Battle of Stones River, but once again withdrew his army. In 1863, he fought a series of battles against Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans and the Union Army of the Cumberland.In June, he was outmaneuvered in the Tullahoma Campaign and retreated into Chattanooga. In September, he was forced to evacuate Chattanooga, but counterattacked Rosecrans and defeated him at the Battle of Chickamauga, the bloodiest battle in the Western Theater, and the only major Confederate victory therein. In November, Bragg's army was routed in turn by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Battles for Chattanooga.Throughout these campaigns, Bragg fought almost as bitterly against some of his uncooperative subordinates as he did against the enemy, and they made multiple attempts to have him replaced as army commander. The defeat at Chattanooga was the last straw, and Bragg was recalled in early 1864 to Richmond, where he became the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Near the end of the war, he defended Wilmington, North Carolina, and served as a corps commander in the Carolinas Campaign. After the war Bragg worked as the superintendent of the New Orleans waterworks, a supervisor of harbor improvements at Mobile, Alabama, and as a railroad engineer and inspector in Texas.Bragg is generally considered among the worst generals of the Civil War. Although his commands often outnumbered those he fought against, most of the battles in which he engaged ended in defeats. The only exception was Chickamauga, which was largely due to the timely arrival of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps.Some historians fault Bragg as a commander for impatience and poor treatment of others. Some however point towards the failures of Bragg's subordinates, especially Leonidas Polk, a close ally of Davis and known enemy of Bragg, as the more significant factors in the many Confederate defeats at which Bragg commanded.3. Ambrose Everett Burnside (USA) - WikipediaGeneral Burnside’s leadership fiasco at Antietam allowed General A. P. Hill’s Confederate division to come up from Harpers Ferry and contain the Union breakthrough. He is also the chief architect of the futile, murderous assaults at Fredericksburg; leader of the ill-fated Mud March; and his obvious failure at Petersburg where he bungled the follow-up to the explosion of the mine. In reaction to this failure he was sent on leave and never recalled. He finally resigned on April 15, 1865. He also fought at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania where his poor leadership continued to be exemplified, appearing reluctant to commit his troops after the Fredericksburg experience.United States Senator from Rhode Island30th Governor of Rhode IslandAmbrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governorand a United States Senator. As a Union Army general in the American Civil War, he conducted successful campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee, as well as countering the raids of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, but suffered disastrous defeats at the Battle of Fredericksburg and Battle of the Crater. His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns, derived from his last name. He was also the first president of the National Rifle Association.2. George Brinton McClellan (USA) - WikipediaThe master of over-estimation and slow movement, he constantly proclaimed himself the Savior of the Union, yet seemed unwilling to fight. At Antietam, he had his opponent’s battle plans and still could not win. Tommy Franks [speaking to U.S. soldiers], “I will avoid the McClellan strategy of sit and wait here and will employ those tactics of Cleburne repulsing the enemy from the heart of Iraq [Baghdad]. Safely entrenched at Harrison’s Landing General McClellan began condemning the War Department, Lincoln, and Stanton, blaming them for the defeat. Finally it was decided in Washington to abandon the campaign and transfer most of his men to John Pope’s army in northern Virginia. There were charges that McClellan-now called by the press “Mac the Unready” and “The Little Corporal of Unsought Fields” was especially slow in cooperating.24th Governor of New Jersey4th Commanding General of the United States ArmyGeorge Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and later left the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Early in the war, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army, which would become the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater; he served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as general-in-chief of the United States Army / Union Army. Although McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations, these very characteristics hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast-moving battlefield environment. He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass, frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points.McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate States Army in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the James and York Rivers landing from the Chesapeake Bay, with the Confederate capital, Richmond, as their objective. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against the equally cautious General Joseph E. Johnston, but the military emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a partial Union defeat.General McClellan failed to maintain the trust of 16th President Abraham Lincoln. He did not trust his commander-in-chief and was privately derisive of him. He was removed from command in November after failing to decisively pursue Lee's Army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the Battle of Antietam outside Sharpsburg, Maryland and never received another field command. McClellan went on to become the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 1864 presidential election against Lincoln's reelection. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when he repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war and negotiations with the southern Confederacy. He served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. He eventually became a writer, and vigorously defended his Civil War conduct.Most modern authorities have assessed McClellan as a poor battlefield general. Some historians view him as a highly capable commander whose reputation suffered unfairly at the hands of pro-Lincoln partisans who made him a scapegoat for the Union's military setbacks. After the war, subsequent commanding general and 18th President Ulysses S. Grant was asked for his opinion of McClellan as a general; he replied, "McClellan is to me one of the mysteries of the war."1. Benjamin Franklin Butler (USA) - WikipediaThe nickname “Beast of New Orleans” was bestowed on the general, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis declared him to be an outlaw to be executed when caught. General Butler was so detested in the South that long after the war, chamber pots with Butler’s portrait in the bottom were found in many Southern homes.In the conduct of tactical operations in Virginia, Butler was almost uniformly unsuccessful. His first action at Battle of Big Bethel was a humiliating defeat. Furthermore, at Petersburg rather than immediately striking as ordered, General Butler’s offensive bogged down east of Richmond in the area called the Bermuda Hundred, immobilized by the greatly inferior force of Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, and he was unable to accomplish any of his assigned objectives. But it was his mismanagement of the expedition against Fort Fisher in North Carolina that finally led to his recall by General Grant in December.He resigned his commission on November 30, 1865. The man’s face found a home at the bottom of urinals in New Orleans; he was a failure at Big Bethel; a fascist, a militaristic governor in New Orleans who made the Nazi Gestapo look like a Catholic school girl’s choir. Laughable at Bermuda Hundred; a failure as both a politician and general officer; and considered by many as the ugliest general officer on both sides, General Butler tops the list as the worse general officer of the American Civil War.Benjamin Franklin Butler Honorable Senator from Massachusetts, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Forms part of Brady-Handy Photograph CollectionBenjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was a major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshireand raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best known as a political major general of the Union Army during the American Civil War, and for his leadership role in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. He was a colorful and often controversial figure on the national stage and in the Massachusetts political scene, during his one term as Governor.Butler, a successful trial lawyer, served in the Massachusetts legislature as an antiwar Democrat and as an officer in the state militia. Early in the Civil War he joined the Union Army, where he was noted for his lack of military skill, and his controversial command of New Orleans, which brought him wide dislike in the South and the "Beast" epithet. He helped create the legal idea of effectively freeing fugitive slaves by designating them as contraband of war in service of military objectives, which led to a political groundswell in the North which included general emancipation and the end of slavery as official war goals. His commands were marred by financial and logistical dealings across enemy lines, some of which probably took place with his knowledge and to his financial benefit.Butler was dismissed from the Union Army after his failures in the First Battle of Fort Fisher, but soon won election to the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a Radical Republican he opposed President Johnson's Reconstruction agenda, and was the House's lead manager in the Johnson impeachment proceedings. As Chairman of the House Committee on Reconstruction, Butler authored the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and coauthored the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1875.In Massachusetts, Butler was often at odds with more conservative members of the political establishment over matters of both style and substance. Feuds with Republican politicians led to his being denied several nominations for the governorship between 1858 and 1880. Returning to the Democratic fold, he won the governship in the 1882 election with Democratic and Greenback Party support. He ran for President on the Greenback ticket in 1884.David Hurlbert, Ph.D.

Here is a timeline of British history covering the 18th century. If you are studying British history this is one century out of the 2,000 years you will need to study.Without being dismissive I am sure you will appreciate that the “troubles” in the Southern Colonies of North America, form only one small part of the history you will need to study, and must be placed into the larger context of World affairs.British History Timeline“September 1715 - February 1716First major 'Jacobite' rising beginsIn September 1715, John Erskine, Earl of Mar, raised the standard for a 'Jacobite' rising, intended to restore the exiled Stuart monarchy to the throne, and proclaimed James Francis Edward Stuart (James II's son) king of Scotland. The Jacobites were defeated by government forces at the battles of Sheriffmuir and Preston in November 1715. Three months later the rebellion had been quashed. The Jacobite leaders were impeached and some were executed.1718British convicts start being transported to penal colonies overseasIn 1718, the Transportation Act introduced penal transportation. People convicted of capital crimes had their sentences 'commuted' to 14 years or life in the Americas. Convicts found guilty of non-capital crimes received seven-year sentences. Between 1718 and 1776, over 50,000 convicts were transported to Virginia and Maryland in the modern United States. The American Revolution made further transportation impossible.October - November 1720'South Sea Bubble' bursts and triggers a financial panicThe South Sea Company was a financial and trading organisation mainly dealing with Spanish America. It received trading rights to the South Seas in return for financing the British government's debt. Shares were issued and unrealistic expectations cultivated. A monopoly of the slave trade was envisaged. When it was discovered that the directors of the profitless company had sold out, it sparked a massive panic and a major financial crash occurred in the City of London. Huge fortunes were lost.April 1721Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first prime ministerIn April 1721, Sir Robert Walpole became first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, in the wake of the South Sea Bubble financial crash of 1720. He confirmed the Whig party's allegiance to the Hanoverian monarchy. He never held the actual title of 'prime minister', but was given the powers that came to be associated with the office. George I also gave him 10 Downing Street, still the official residence of the prime minister.1723Poaching becomes a capital offencePoaching disturbances in Windsor Forest and Park led to clashes between 'blacks' (gangs of bandits and poachers who blackened their faces) hoping to maintain common rights and wardens and gamekeepers. The government issued the Black Act to handle the situation. This made various poaching misdemeanours into capital crimes.11 January 1727George I dies and is succeeded by the second Hanoverian king, George IIThe threat of a Jacobite rebellion (aimed at re-establishing the Stuart dynasty) continued into George II's reign. It continued to be a source of alarm until its final defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. As the country prospered, the king's early unpopularity - partially caused by his preference for Hanover over England - changed into a general respect.March - April 1733Excise crisis shakes Sir Robert Walpole's administrationIn 1733, British prime minister Robert Walpole tried to shift the burden of taxation on imports away from collection at customs. He devised an 'excise' scheme - a system of bonded warehouses for tobacco, wine and brandy, where imported goods could be lodged until the proper duty, or tax, had been paid. The project was abandoned after widespread political opposition.1739Methodist preachers begin their mission to the poorJohn Wesley, George Whitefield and other early adherents to Wesleyan views began preaching in fields. Their aim was to spread the gospels and save souls. They attracted large audiences and many converts to evangelical Christianity. Called 'Methodists' for their focus of rules, this marked the beginning of their mission to the poor.19 October 1739Britain declares war on Spain and the 'War of Jenkins's Ear' beginsBritain declared war on Spain after repeated depredations on British ships by Spanish 'guarda costas'. This was mainly a colonial war in Caribbean waters. It was named after a Captain Robert Jenkins, whose ear had been severed by the Spanish. The War of Jenkins's Ear lasted until 1748, but from 1742 effectively merged into the larger War of the Austrian Succession, which took place from October 1740 until October 1748.1740 - 1744George Anson sails around the worldBetween 1740 and 1744 the British naval commander George Anson sailed around the world in HMS 'Centurion'. Anson returned to England with nearly £500,000 of Spanish treasure. His account of the voyage became a bestseller.11 February 1742Sir Robert Walpole resigns as prime ministerAt the 1741 general election, Sir Robert Walpole's majority in the House of Commons numbered fewer than 20 seats. When parliament reassembled in December 1741, he suffered defeats in seven divisions. On 11 February 1742, Walpole resigned as first lord of the treasury after 21 years in power. Although he had effectively been prime minister, that was never his title. He died in 1745.13 April 1742Handel's 'Messiah' gets its first performance, in DublinGeorge Frideric Handel was one of the foremost baroque composers. Born in Germany, he lived most of his adult life in England and received a number of royal commissions, including 'Water Music' and 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'.27 June 1743George II becomes the last British monarch to lead his army into battleThe Battle of Dettingen, at which the British allies defeated the French, was just one engagement in the War of the Austrian Succession. The war began in 1740, when Prussia invaded the Austrian region of Silesia, but its underlying causes were rival claims for the hereditary lands of the Austrian monarchy, the Habsburgs. Prussia allied with France against Austria, Britain and the Netherlands. The war ended in 1748 with all seized lands returned, except Silesia, which Austria ceded to Prussia.23 July 1745'Bonnie Prince Charlie' lands in Scotland to claim the British throneCharles Edward Stuart, or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', was the grandson of the deposed James II. He landed at Eriskay, Scotland, and quickly gathered an army, who proclaimed him 'Charles III'. On 21 September, he defeated the government army in Scotland at the Battle of Prestonpans. He then marched south16 April 1746Jacobites are defeated at Culloden, the last battle on British soilCulloden, the last battle fought on British soil, marked the defeat of the Jacobite revolt of 1745-1746, also known as the '45 Rebellion. Led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' - Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of the deposed king James II - the Jacobites were fighting to restore the exiled Stuarts to the throne. They reached as far south as Derby before being chased back to Scotland, where they were routed by an army under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and second son of George II.1747Liverpool overtakes Bristol as Britain's busiest slave trading portIn the mid-18th century, Liverpool slave ships made around 49 voyages a year against Bristol's average of 20. Bristol had itself overtaken London as the main slave trading port in 1737. Slave ship owners and the owners of Caribbean plantations, most of whom lived in Britain, became very wealthy and influential in government and society.1750Scottish landlords start evicting tenants in the Highland ClearancesFrom the 1750s, landlords in the Scottish Highlands began to forcibly remove tenants from their land, usually to replace them with more profitable sheep farming. The clearances resulted in whole Highland communities leaving Scotland and emigrating, most of them to North America. Many others moved to growing urban industrial centres such as Glasgow. This was part of a broader process of agricultural change in Britain, but in the Highlands it was marked by particular abruptness and brutality.May 1756Seven Years' War between Britain and France beginsThe war between Britain and France that began in May 1756 is arguably the first global war in modern history. Britain and her allies fought France in America, India and Europe. France forged alliances with Austria and Russia against Prussia. In 1762, Spain entered the war on the side of France. Britain emerged from the war victorious in 1763, and under the Treaty of Paris acquired Quebec, Florida, Minorca, large parts of India and the West Indies.23 June 1757Indian province of Bengal passes into British control after the Battle of PlasseyThe Battle of Plassey took place between Siraj Ud Daulah, the last independent ruler of Bengal, and the forces of the British East India Company led by Colonel Robert Clive. The defeat of Daulah, who was backed by the French, led to the entire province of Bengal passing into Company control. This victory, and the enormous wealth of Bengal, are often seen as important factors in establishing eventual British control over all of India.April 1760Tacky leads a slave rebellion in JamaicaTacky's Revolt was the largest of many slave uprisings in the British West Indies in the 18th century, caused by the dreadful conditions enslaved people had to endure on the sugar plantations. Hundreds of slaves attacked plantations, killing about 60 whites and setting crops and sugar works alight. Tacky was captured and beheaded, and 400 other rebels died or were executed, but skirmishes continued for many months.25 October 1760George III succeeds his grandfather George IIGeorge III was the first of the Hanoverian kings to be born and brought up in Britain. He was nicknamed 'Farmer George' because of his passion for agriculture. During his reign, Britain lost its American colonies but emerged as a leading European power. From 1788, George suffered recurrent mental illness and in 1811 his son was appointed regent.April 1763Radical journalist John Wilkes is arrested for criticising the kingJohn Wilkes, a member of parliament and journalist, was charged with seditious libel for criticism of George III his paper 'The North Briton'. He was released and for the next 15 years campaigned for parliamentary reform. He was frequently in trouble with the authorities, and was expelled from the Commons a number of times, only to be re-elected. After his arrest in 1768, seven were killed in the 'Massacre of St George's Fields' when a crowd demanding his release was fired on by troops.March 1765Riots erupt in American colonies after parliament levies 'stamp' taxesIn 1765, British Prime Minister George Grenville's administration passed the Stamp Act to raise extra taxes from the North American colonists. The money was intended to pay for the colonists' own military defence against possible future French incursions. Stamp duties were levied on newspapers and legal documents. Six of the 13 American colonies petitioned against the act and riots broke out. The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.June 1767American colonists are taxed on importsIn 1767, Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer, drew up legislation to raise taxes from North American colonists on selected imports, including glass, paint, lead and tea. As with the repealed Stamp Act of 1765, the intention was to make colonists contribute towards their own defence against French incursions. Colonial protests led to the Revenue Act being repealed in 1770, except for the duty on imported tea.1768 - 1771Captain James Cook leads his first expedition to the PacificIn 1768, James Cook led an expedition on HMS 'Endeavour' to observe the astrological phenomenon of the transit of Venus from Tahiti. The voyage continued into the South Pacific Ocean, where Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and charted the east coast of Australia. His team of botanists and scientists brought back to England many important specimens and much scientific information. Cook made two further Pacific voyages. He was killed on the second of these in 1779 by warriors in Hawaii.January 1770Lord North becomes prime ministerFrederick, Lord North (an honorary title), became prime minister at the end of a decade that had seen six administrations come and go. George III hoped that his friend North could provide political stability. Lord North remained prime minister until 1782.1771'Factory Age' begins with the opening of Britain's first cotton millThe weaving of cotton cloth had become a major industry by the 1760s, with most of the labour being done by people in their homes. In 1771, inventor Richard Arkwright opened the first cotton mill at Cromford, Derbyshire. The spinning of yarn was carried out by his own patented machine, known as a water frame. This was a significant step towards the automation of labour-intensive industries and heralded the beginning of the 'Factory Age' in Britain.12 June 1772Slavery is effectively outlawed in EnglandWhen the enslaved James Somerset escaped from his owner in London, he was captured and forced on to a ship bound for Jamaica. With the help of abolitionist Granville Sharpe, Somerset's case was taken to court and Lord William Mansfield, the lord chief justice, ruled that Somerset should be freed. This was widely, and mistakenly, believed to mean that slavery was outlawed in England. Slave owners continued to capture their runaway slaves and take them back to the Caribbean, but the case marked a milestone in the struggle to abolish slavery.16 December 1773'Boston Tea Party' heightens tensions in North American coloniesIn 1770, taxes on imports to the American Colonies had been repealed on all goods except tea. In 1773, colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped chests of tea from East India Company vessels into Boston harbour in protest against this remaining levy. Political tensions between the American colonists and the British government escalated as a result.1774Methodist John Wesley publishes 'Thoughts Upon Slavery'John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, was a lifelong opponent of slavery. In 1774 he published a pamphlet entitled 'Thoughts Upon Slavery', which examined how Africans were captured and transported, and proposed legal and moral arguments against slavery and the slave trade. In 1788, at considerable personal risk, he preached a sermon against slavery in Bristol, one of the leading slave trading ports. Nonconformists, particularly Quakers, were very active in the abolition movement, and included other well known individuals such as Joseph Priestley and Josiah Wedgwood.18 April 1775American War of Independence beginsOn 18 April 1775, a skirmish between British redcoats and the local militia at Lexington, Massachusetts, led to the fighting that began the American War of Independence. No one knows which side fired the first 'shot heard around the world'. About 15 months after the outbreak of war, colonial leader Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, which argued that the goals of the United States of America were 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'. In September 1783, the Treaty of Paris formally ended the war.1779Penitentiary Act authorises state prisonsAn investigation into the state of English and Welsh prisons in the mid-1770s by penal reformer John Howard revealed the dreadful conditions, inadequate diet and corrupt administration of many jails. The Penitentiary Act was introduced with the intention of remedying the situation. This was the first British law to authorise state prisons.2 - 11 June 1780'Gordon Riots' break out in protest against the Catholic Relief ActIn 1778, parliament passed the Catholic Relief Act, which removed many of the traditional restrictions on Catholics in Britain. George Gordon, leader of the Protestant Association, was leading a huge crowd to parliament with a petition calling for repeal of the act when anti-Catholic violence erupted. The ensuing orgy of property destruction and disorder lasted a week. Hundreds died in fighting between protestors and troops. These were amongst the worst riots in English history.19 October 1781Americans defeat the British army at Yorktown, VirginiaBritish forces were besieged on the Yorktown peninsula, Virginia, by the American continental army in the west and the French fleet closing on Chesapeake Bay. Left in a hopeless situation, General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to American general George Washington, effectively ending the American War of Independence. The victory demonstrated beyond doubt that Britain could not hope to win a war so far from its own shores. The British government was forced into negotiations to end the conflict.29 November 1781133 Africans are thrown overboard the slave ship 'Zong'During a voyage from Africa to Jamaica, the captain of the slave ship 'Zong' ordered 133 slaves to be thrown overboard alive. The ship's owners then filed a fraudulent insurance claim for the value of the dead slaves. In March 1783 the case was heard in London as an insurance dispute rather than a murder trial. The case was widely publicised by outraged abolitionists, particularly Olaudah Equiano and Granville Sharp, and helped to attract new supporters to the abolition cause.1783Britain begins to evacuate loyalists from American coloniesWhen it became evident that the American colonists were winning their war of independence, those who had fought for the British faced an uncertain future. These included former slaves who had fought on the understanding that they would gain their freedom at the end of the conflict. Around 75,000 loyalists decided to leave, most of them going to the British North American colonies in what is now Canada, others to the West Indies and some to Britain. In 1792, more than 1,100 freed slaves and their families who had gone to Nova Scotia left Canada to settle in Sierra Leone, West Africa.December 1783William Pitt the Younger becomes prime ministerAfter three brief ministries had failed, the William Pitt the Younger became Britain's prime minister at the age of 23. (His father, William Pitt the Elder had held the office twice, in the 1750-1760s). His critics said that the nation had been 'entrusted to a schoolboy's care'. He successfully curbed the national debt, fought revolutionary France, restructured the government of India and passed the Act of Union with Ireland in 1801. Exhausted and in poor health, he died in 1806.13 May 1787First fleet of convicts sails to AustraliaSince 1718, Britain had transported convicts to its North American colonies, until this was ended by the American War of Independence. On 13 May 1787, penal transportation resumed with a fleet of convict ships setting out from Portsmouth for Botany Bay. This marked the beginning of transportation to Australia. Between 1787 and 1868, when transportation was abolished, over 150,000 felons were exiled to New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia.22 May 1787Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade is formedThe committee was formed by 12 men, the majority of them Quakers. The two non-Quakers, Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson, devoted their lives to the cause of abolishing slavery. These men provided MP William Wilberforce with material to assist his parliamentary efforts to abolish the slave trade. They wrote books and pamphlets and produced prints and posters to publicise the cause. Clarkson travelled tirelessly through England, organising local abolition committees, rallies and petitions and collecting information on slavery from sailors and others who had been involved in the slave trade.1788Under pressure from abolitionists, parliament investigates the slave tradePressure from abolitionists and detailed information gathered on the transatlantic slave trade resulted in the first parliamentary investigation of the trade. Abolitionist Thomas Clarkson led the fact-finding mission, while member of parliament William Wilberforce became the parliamentary spokesman. There was mass public support for the abolition of the slave trade - in 1788 alone, 103 pro-abolition petitions were sent to Parliament, signed by between 60,000 and 100,000 people.1 January 1788First edition of 'The Times' of London is publishedOriginally founded in 1785 as the 'Daily Universal Register', the publication was re-named 'The Times' three years later. It is Britain's oldest surviving newspaper with continuous daily publication, and for much of its history has been regarded as the newspaper of record. Newspapers have been published in Britain since the early 16th century, but it was not until the early 18th century that regular daily newspapers were produced.November 1788 - February 1789George III's illness sparks a regency crisisGeorge III probably suffered from porphyria, a rare hereditary disease marked by severe attacks of pain and mental instability. For four months in 1788-1789 he was incapacitated by his illness, raising the possibility a 'regent' having to rule on his behalf. This regency crisis was averted by the George's sudden recovery.14 July 1789French Revolution begins with the storming of the BastilleThe storming of the Bastille prison in Paris is generally held to mark the beginning of the French Revolution. This was a world-shattering event, in which the French monarchy was overthrown, the king, Louis XVI, executed and a republic established. It stimulated political debate in Britain between British Jacobins (pro-revolutionaries, named after the Jacobin Club in Paris), some of whom were republicans, and loyalists, who stressed the virtues of the existing British constitution.19 April 1791Parliament rejects William Wilberforce's bill to abolish the slave tradeMP William Wilberforce introduced a bill to abolish the slave trade in May 1789. The bill was stalled and eventually consideration of the question was moved to a select committee. A general election again delayed progress and when the bill eventually came to a vote, it was passed by the Commons but defeated by the Lords. Between 1792 and 1806 a number of further unsuccessful attempts were made to enact parliamentary legislation which would either control or abolish the slave trade.1792 - 1794Radical artisans form the London Corresponding SocietyThe spirit of 'liberty, equality and fraternity' that stemmed from the French Revolution of 1789 had inspired the establishment of radical societies in Britain. In January 1792, the 'London Corresponding Society', the most prominent of these organisations, was formed under the leadership of Thomas Hardy, a Scottish shoemaker. The LCS debated the need for parliamentary reform. It advocated universal male suffrage, a secret ballot and annual parliaments. The government banned the LCS in 1794.7 March 1792Sierra Leone is established under British rule as a home for former slavesA British settlement had been established in the area of West Africa now known as Sierra Leone in 1787, but the community was almost entirely wiped out due to failed crops and disease. In 1792 a group of 1,100 people left Nova Scotia to establish a community of free black people in Sierra Leone. Many of these settlers were black men and women who had fought for the British in the American War of Independence.1 February 1793Britain goes to war with FranceThe French had been at war in Europe since 1792, but it was not until the execution of Louis XVI, king of France, that Britain joined the anti-French coalition. In 1805, Britain attained complete mastery of the seas at the Battle of Trafalgar, but by 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France, was master of continental Europe. War continued until the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.1793British troops attempt to suppress Toussaint L'Ouverture's rebellion in HaitiSt Domingue had the largest slave population and was the wealthiest colony in the Caribbean. When a slave rebellion broke out, panic spread among slave owners all over the region. British troops were ordered to invade St Domingue, but disease and Toussaint L'Ouverture's irregular army forced them to withdraw. In 1802 Napoleon sent a French army to crush the rebellion. Toussaint was captured and imprisoned in France, where he died, but his army triumphed and on 1 January 1804 declared the Republic of Haiti.April - June 1797Naval mutinies occur at Spithead and the NoreTwo mutinies broke out in the Royal Navy after clashes between seamen and officers over pay and conditions. There were fears in that such disturbances might be the trigger for a French-style revolution. The Spithead mutiny (near Portsmouth) ended in a royal pardon for the crew. At the Nore (on the Thames Estuary), the mutiny was starved out and one of the ringleaders, Richard Parker, was hanged. Mutinies occurred in several European navies in the 1790s.26 May 1798Society of United Irishmen rebel against British rule in IrelandIn 1798, Wolfe Tone, a Protestant lawyer, led the Society of United Irishmen in a rebellion against British rule in Ireland. The SUI recruited supporters among Catholics and Presbyterians, but was beset by internal divisions. After failing to secure French assistance, the rebellion was ruthlessly crushed by British forces. It effectively ended with the capture of Tone in October of the same year. He was sentenced to hang, but took his own life first.1799 - 1800Trade unions are outlawedWilliam Pitt the Younger's government passed two acts making it illegal for working men to form combinations in which their political rights were discussed. They were among several repressive measures designed to stifle any catalysts for a French-style revolution in Britain. The Combination Acts were repealed in 1824 and 1825.1 January 1801Act of Union creates the United KingdomGreat Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Ireland were formally joined under the Act of Union to create the United Kingdom in 1801. The Irish parliament in Dublin was dissolved. Despite the Union, Catholics were still unable to vote at general elections or to hold parliamentary and most public offices.”

Re·demp·tor·ist(rĭ-dĕmp′tər-ĭst)n.A member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Roman Catholic order founded in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787).[French rédemptoriste, from Late Latin redēmptor, redeemer, from Latin, contractor, from redēmptus, past participle of redimere, to buy back; see redeem.]Redemptorist(rɪˈdɛmptərɪst)n(Roman Catholic Church) RC Church a member of a religious congregation founded in 1732 to do missionary work among the poor[C19: from French redemptoriste, from Old French or Latin redemptor, from Latin redimere, see redeem]Redemptoristreligious orderAlternative Title: C.SS.R.Redemptorist, member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (C.SS.R.), a community of Roman Catholic priests and lay brothers founded bySt. Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, Italy, a small town near Naples, in 1732. The infant community met an obstacle in the royal court of Naples, which tried to exercise complete control over the order. Only after steps were taken to settle in the Papal States and after papal approval was granted by PopeBenedict XIV in 1749 was the success of the congregation assured.St. Clement Mary Hofbauer extended the congregation into northern Europe in 1785, and in 1832 Redemptorists came to the United States, principally to undertake the care of German Catholic immigrants. The congregation has since become established throughout the world.The community’s special concern is the preaching of the word of God, especially to the poor, through various means, but particularly parish missions and retreats. The Redemptorists also administer parishes and foreign missions, serve as chaplains in military forces, and foster scholarship in the field of moral theology. They administer several shrines for pilgrimage worldwide and are the special caretakers of the Byzantine icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Rome.Redemptorists(CONGREGATION OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER)A society of missionary priests founded by St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, 9 Nov., 1732, at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy, for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.The Redemptorists are essentially and by their specific vocation a missionary society. According to their rule they are "to strive to imitate the virtues and examples of Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, consecrating themselves especially to the preaching of the word of God to the poor". They take the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and by the vows of poverty they are bound to refuse all ecclesiastical dignities outside of the congregation. To these vows they add the vow and oath of perseverance to live in the congregation until death. Their labours consist principally in missions, retreats, and similar exercises. In order to render these labours most effective, all their sermons and instructions should be solid, simple, and persuasive. On all their missions they are obliged to preach a sermon on prayer and one on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In order to secure the salutary effects of their missions, they should, after four or five months, return to the places where they have given missions, and preach another, shorter course of sermons. On missions proper the rule obliges them to hear all the confessions themselves. Wherever the Redemptorists have parishes they labour in the same spirit, both in the pulpit and in the confessional. One of the great means of preserving truly religious fervour among all classes of the faithful is the Archconfraternity of the Holy Family, which they establish in all their parishes. They are also most solicitous in providing well-equipped parochial schools, and they take special care of growing youth.Within ten years of the order's foundation, permanent establishments were made at Nocera, Ciorani, Iliceto, and Caposele. In 1749 Benedict XIV canonically approved the work, under the title of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Royalism, however, caused the greatest obstacle to the development of the new congregation. An effort to obtain the royal exequatur to the papal approbation proved disastrous, and brought about a temporary separation of the Neapolitan houses and those which had been founded in the Papal States. In 1793 a reunion was at last effected under the new superior general, Pietro Paulo Blasucci, who governed the congregation until 1817. In the next six years several houses were opened in different parts of Southern Italy and Sicily, and the society flourished, though subjected to many grave trials. It was destined, however, to take on an international character. In 1785 a young Austrian, Clemens Maria Hofbauer, journeyed to Rome with a companion, Thaddeus Hübl. There they were deeply impressed by the fervour of the Fathers of the church of St. Julian, and applied for admission into the community. After profession and ordination, their chief desire was to transplant the congregation to northern countries. They received permission from the general to establish a house in Vienna or in any other Austrian city. But the Government was unfriendly, and Father Hofbauer offered his services to the Congregation of the Propaganda at Rome. He was sent to labour for a time in Courland Russia. In 1786, with his former companion, Father Hübl, he arrived at Warsaw, where the papal nuncio Saluzzo gave them charge of St. Benno's church, whence they were known in Poland as "Bennonites". Their apostolic zeal and untiring efforts procured the salvation of many souls, and effected the conversion of many heretics and Jews, while their church presented the spectacle of an uninterrupted mission.In 1793 Father Blasucci, the rector major, then residing at Nocera, appointed Father Hofbauer his vicar-general with all necessary authority. His first thoughts turned to Germany, though the time seemed inopportune, since Febronianism, Josephinism, Freemasonry, and infidelity held sway all over Europe. He succeeded, however, in establishing three foundations in Southern Germany, at Jestetten, Triberg, and Babenhausen, which he confided to the care of his favourite disciple, Father Passerat. These foundations were eventually suppressed, and the members banished. Father Passerat then betook himself to Switzerland, where in 1818 he organized a community at Valsainte in a dilapidated Carthusian monastery. In the meantime, owing to opposition, the house at Warsaw was suppressed. In 1808 the Fathers were expelled from St. Benno's and deported to the fortress of Küstrin Prussia, where they were disbanded. Father Hofbauer, after directing his companions to work for God's glory whenever and wherever they could, proceeded alone to Vienna, where he became an assistant chaplain and confessor of nuns. His influence was soon felt on all sides, even in the Congress of Vienna (1815), where the destinies of the Church in Germany were then being shaped. He was styled by Pius VII the "Apostle of Vienna". In the meantime he kept up a constant correspondence with his former companions, did all in his power to find for them suitable fields of labour, and predicted that after his death a brighter future was in store for the congregation, a prophecy that was soon fulfilled. He died 15 March, 1820. In accordance with the request of the Emperor Francis I, the first house of the Redemptorists was canonically established in Vienna on Christmas Day, 1820. In May several prominent young men, former disciples of Father Hofbauer, had already received the religious habit.Father Passerat succeeded Hofbauer as vicar-general; the onerous and trying duties of his office were rendered more difficult by the prevalent spirit of Josephinism. The years intervening between 1815 and 1821 found some of the Fathers labouring in Bulgaria, but, owing to the hostility of the schismatics, they were compelled to abandon this field. A number of flourishing foundations were established between 1820 and 1848. In 1826, at the request of the Austrian Government, a foundation was started at Lisbon, Portugal, for the benefit of German Catholics, but it did not last long. In 1820 the Redemptorists acquired the convent of Bischenberg, Alsace. The new community was sent from Valsainte. In 1828 the Fathers exchanged their poorly furnished home at Valsainte for the commodious Convent of Fribourg, which proved to be a fruitful nursery for the congregation until the Revolution of 1848. Prior to 1848 six houses had been established in Austria: Frohnleiten in 1826; Mautern in 1827, the present house of studies; Innsbruck in 1828; Marburg and Eggenburg in 1833; and Leoben in 1834. During Passerat's administration the congregation was introduced into Belgium by Father de Held, and in the course of the next ten years four houses were established: Tournai in 1831, St-Trond in 1833, Liège in 1833, and Brussels in 1849. A foundation was also opened at Wittem, Holland, where, in 1836, an old Capuchin monastery became the house of studies. During the same period another important mission was begun in North America. In 1828 Mgr Résé, Vicar-General of Cincinnati, visited Europe to solicit pecuniary aid and to obtain evangelical labourers. While at Vienna he applied to Passerat, from whom he secured three priests and three lay brothers; they arrived in New York 20 June, 1832. Two other Fathers followed in 1835. For seven years they laboured heroically among the whites and the Indians of northern Michigan and northern Ohio. Though they took charge of many stations in both states, they did not secure a permanent footing in any of these places, with the exception of Detroit. In 1839 the Fathers were called to Pittsburg to assume charge of the German congregation, which was then without a priest, and torn with party strife. In a short time they made it a model congregation. Scattered throughout the surrounding country were many Catholic settlers, to whom they preached the Word of God and administered the sacraments. This species of mission inaugurated by them wherever they were established was the beginning of many a well-organized parish of today. From this time the care of German congregations, often in a deplorable condition on account of factions, became a prominent element of the apostolate of the Redemptorists in North America. Their first concern, however, was to establish, wherever feasible, parochial schools, which are in a flourishing condition to this day. When the success of the Fathers at Pittsburg became known, applications were made to them for other foundations. They were called to Baltimore in 1840; to New York in 1842; to Philadelphia in 1843; to Buffalo in 1845; to Detroit and New Orleans in 1847; and to Cumberland in 1849. In 1837 a German congregation had been organized at Rochester by Father Prost, but the Fathers did not take permanent charge until 1841.Meanwhile the congregation gained a permanent footing in new countries of Europe. In 1841 King Louis I of Bavaria invited the Fathers to the celebrated shrine of Our Lady at Altötting. During this period four houses were founded in France: Landser in Alsace, in 1842; St-Nicolas-du-Port, in 1845; Teterchen in Lorraine and Contamine in Savoy, in 1847. The congregation suffered great losses through the revolution that swept over Europe in 1848. In 1847 the Fathers were expelled from Switzerland and in 1848 from Austria, to which, however, they returned. Important developments were now taking place within the congregation itself. Although the Transalpine portion of the congregation was subject to the rector major at Nocera in Italy, this superior left its government almost exclusively in the hands of a vicar-general resident at Vienna. As the congregation had spread far beyond its original boundaries, it was deemed necessary to create the office of provincial between the rector major and the local superiors. Father Passerat, weighed down by age and infirmities, resigned his office in 1848. After a series of deliberations conducted by the Holy See with the superior general and the Fathers of the Transalpine provinces, Father Rudolph Smetana was appointed vicar-general in 1850. Pius IX was now persuaded that it would be advantageous to have the superior general resident in Rome. Fearing the opposition of the King of Naples, he did all in his power to convince him of the benefits arising from this step, but in vain; thereupon he decided. that the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, to the exclusion of the Neapolitan and the Sicilian houses, should be placed under a general superior, who was henceforth to reside at Rome. At the same time he made special regulations for the Redemptorists in the Kingdom of Naples. On the disappearance of the latter, the Neapolitan houses were united to the body of the congregation in 1869.In pursuance of orders from the Holy See, Father Smetana convoked a general chapter. It was opened 26 April, 1855. The result of this chapter was the election of Father Nicholas Mauron, a native of Switzerland, as superior general. He was the first rector major to take up his abode at Rome. During Smetana's administration, and particularly during that of Mauron, the congregation made rapid progress. The number of provinces in 1852 — not including Naples and Sicily — was four; in 1890 they had increased to twelve. The French-Swiss province, presided over by Father Desurmont for twenty-two years (1865-87), gained admission into Spain and South America. During the presidency of García Moreno two houses were established in the Republic of Ecuador. A few years later the congregation gained a foothold in Peru, Chile, and Colombia. The original Belgian province, having grown very rapidly, was divided into the provinces of Belgium and Holland. The Lower German province found a new field of labour in the eastern part of South America. The province of Holland received charge of the mission at Surinam; South America, a settlement colonized partly by lepers.The American province of the congregation, erected in 1850, has had a striking development. Its first provincial was the Rev. Bernard Hafkenscheid, a fellow-student of Leo XIII. One of his first cares was the establishment of a seminary and the selection of a suitable place for a novitiate. He chose Cumberland, Maryland, for the future house of studies. From this nursery of study and piety many able and zealous missionaries went forth. In 1853 the novitiate, which had been located since 1849 at Baltimore, was removed to Annapolis, Maryland. Here the heirs of Charles Carroll of Carrollton had donated their entire estate to the Redemptorist Fathers. This house remained the novitiate until 1907, with the exception of the years 1862-66, when it was at Cumberland, and the students at Annapolis. In 1858-59 the present church and convent were built at Annapolis. In 1868 the students were transferred to the new house of studies at Ilchester, Maryland, which remained the Alma Mater of the Redemptorists until 1907. In that year the faculty and the students, forty-eight in number, took up their abode at Esopus, on the Hudson, where a more spacious scholasticate had been erected. From the first house of St. Alphonsus in Baltimore sprang other communities: St. Michael's in 1859, St. James's in 1867, and the Sacred Heart in 1878. In 1882, owing to difficulties in the Bohemian parish, the Fathers, at the earnest request of Cardinal, then Archbishop, Gibbons, assumed charge of the Bohemians. In this diocese five other parishes, one in the city of Washington, were originally founded by the Redemptorists. In 1861 the congregation was called to Chicago, Illinois, to take charge of St. Michael's parish. It was not long before a large church and a commodious school and convent were built. The great fire of 1871 destroyed all these structures, but, thanks to the faith and generosity of the people, they were rebuilt.The many successful missions which the Redemptorists had given in the Diocese of St. Louis induced Archbishop Kenrick to ask for a foundation of the congregation in his episcopal city, and in 1866 a mission house was opened at St. Louis. In the same year (1866) another mission house was established in New York, near the little church of St. Alphonsus, which had been erected in 1845 for the convenience of the Germans in that section of the city; it had been served by Fathers of the Third Street community. Though now a mission church, St. Alphonsus's continued to be a parish church for the Germans. Subsequently, two more foundations were made in New York, one for Bohemian Catholics, and the other for the German Catholics in the northern part of the city. In 1871 an important mission house was opened at Roxbury, Boston. It was dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Its first rector, the Rev. William H. Gross, was succeeded by the Rev. Leopold Petsch, when the former became Bishop of Savannah in 1873. In 1883, when a new parish was formed in that district, the Fathers of the mission church took charge of it. As early as 1874 the Redemptorists of the American province were called to St. Patrick's Church, Quebec, Canada, the only parish church in that city for English-speaking Catholics. Four years later the American Fathers became the custodians of the miraculous shrine of Ste-Anne de Beaupré, near Quebec; it was eventually transferred to the Fathers of the Belgian province. The same Fathers assumed charge of St. Anne's, Montreal, a large parish in a very poor district of the city. The Baltimore province in the meantime established two other foundations in Canada: St. Patrick's, Toronto, in 1881, and St. Peter's, St. John, N. B., in 1884. In 1876 the congregation was invited to take a second church in Philadelphia, that of St. Boniface. Besides these houses the province of Baltimore founded in 1881 a separate house for its juvenate, or junior house of studies, at Northeast, Pennsylvania. Another house, to be used as a primary juvenate, was purchased in 1886 at Saratoga, New York; this is at present a mission house. In 1893 a new house was opened at Brooklyn, New York.In 1875 the original American province was divided, the eastern under the name of the province of Baltimore, and the western as the province of St. Louis. This latter province embraced the houses of St. Louis, New Orleans, Chicago, and Chatawa. This last-named place was selected for the novitiate and house of studies for the province of St. Louis, but was subsequently abandoned. Since 1875 several new foundations have been established. In 1878 Kansas City, Missouri, was selected for an educational institution. The old house of St. Mary's at Detroit was abandoned in 1872, but in 1880 another house was established in the suburbs of the same city; this is now a flourishing mission and parish church. Two years later the Redemptorists began a second foundation at Chicago. In 1887 a juvenate was erected at Kirkwood, near St. Louis, and in 1888 the Fathers settled at Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1891 a foundation was made at Seattle, Washington, in 1897 a new house of studies was erected at De Soto, Missouri. In 1894 the Fathers went to Denver, Colorado, and took charge of St. Joseph's Church; in 1906 to Portland, Oregon; in 1908 to Davenport, Iowa, and to Fresno, California. In 1910 a new house was founded at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, which will be the future house of studies of the province of St. Louis.Despite the manifold labours and the limited number of Fathers, the preaching of missions, the special work of the sons of St. Alphonsus, was never neglected. In 1850, however, it received a powerful impetus under the first provincial, Father Bernard. Shortly after his arrival in America he organized and trained what may be called the first band of regular missionaries, among whom were the eminent converts, Fathers Hecker, Hewit, and Walworth; these distinguished missionaries afterwards established the Congregation of the Paulists. Since then the work of the missions has increased rapidly from year to year; thus a double activity, parish work and mission work, has become a special feature of the congregation in North America. Some idea of the work of the Baltimore province during the ten years from 1890 to 1899 is conveyed by the following figures: missions and renewals, 1889; retreats, 1071; other exercises, 75; confessions, 2,418,758; converts, 1252. Parish work: baptisms, 54,608; communions, 6,827,000; first communions, 19,077; marriages, 8311; average number of school children, 13,000; converts, 1922.The administration of Father Mauron was rendered memorable by several important events. In 1866 Pius IX caused the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to be placed in the Redemptorist Church at Rome. The devotion to the Blessed Virgin under this attractive title has since then spread far and wide. In 1871 the pope, moved by the urgent and repeated petitions of bishops and heads of religious orders, bestowed the title of Doctor of the Universal Church upon St. Alphonsus, known the world over by his theological and devotional writings. Father Hofbauer, the Apostle of Vienna, was beatified in 1889, and Brother Gerard Majella, the thaumaturgus of the congregation, in 1893. The latter was canonized by Pius X, 11 Dec., 1904. The eventful administration of Father Mauron ended in 1893. In 1882 he was stricken with apoplexy, and, though he rallied from the shock, a slow decline set in, and he died 13 July, 1893. On 1 March, 1894, Very Rev. Mathias Raus was elected superior general. He was born 9 Aug., 1829, in the Duchy of Luxemburg; made his profession 1 Nov., 1853, and was ordained priest 8 Aug., 1858. After filling various important offices in the order, he was called to Rome by his predecessor to be one of the general consultors. Father Raus's administration is remarkable for the number of Redemptorist causes of beatification introduced, or about to be introduced, in Rome, thirteen in all. Among them are: Ven. John Nepomucene Neumann, superior of the American Province, who died as Bishop of Philadelphia, 5 Jan., 1860; Father Francis X. Seelos, of the American province, who died a victim of yellow fever at New Orleans, 4 Oct., 1867; and Father Peter Donders, the Apostle of the Lepers in Surinam, who died in the leper colony at Batavia, in Dutch Guiana, 14 Jan., 1887. To these may be added Father Alfred Pampelon, who died at Ste-Anne de Beaupré in Canada, 30 Sept., 1896. Father Raus's administration was closed by the happy issue of the cause of Blessed Clement M. Hofbauer's canonization, which took place on 20 May, 1909. In that year the venerable superior, having attained his eighty-second year, deemed it wise to resign his responsible office, and in the general chapter opened on 26 April, 1909, the Very Rev. Father Patrick Murray, superior of the Irish province, was elected superior general of the congregation. He was born 24 Nov., 1865, made his profession 23 Oct., 1889, and was ordained priest 10 Sept., 1890.During the past twelve years the development of the congregation has been very marked. The Roman province was particularly honoured by Leo XIII, when he confided to the Fathers the magnificent new church of St. Joachim in Rome. The French province was divided into three provinces and two vice-provinces in 1900. Spain became a province, having eight houses, to which recently two more communities were added. The French province proper was divided into two provinces, Lyons and Paris. To the former now belong the Southern Pacific vice-province, embracing Chile and Peru, and to the latter the Northern vice-province of Ecuador and Colombia. Since the suppression of the religious orders in France in 1904, some of the Redemptorist communities have undertaken new foundations in Belgium, and others in South America. In 1900 the Austrian province was also divided into two provinces, Vienna and Prague, with a Polish vice-province. The latter was made a province in 1909. Since the division the Viennese opened two houses in Denmark, one in Prussian Silesia, and a fourth at Linz. In 1899 the Belgian Fathers were requested by the Government to take charge of a number of missions in the Congo State; these missions have now increased to six, Matadi, Tumba, Kionzo, Kinkanda, Kimpesse, and Sonagongo. The Fathers are deeply indebted to the paternal Government of the Congo State for the progress they have made since their arrival in 1899. Several valuable missionaries have already fallen victims to the treacherous climate.In Canada, which was made a vice-province in 1894, four more houses were opened. This vice-province, depending on the Belgian province, numbers six houses. In the West Indies, which were also made a vice-province in 1904, there are now six houses. The province of Baltimore opened in 1902 a foundation at Mayagüez in Porto Rico. Before the occupation of the island by the United States the Spanish Redemptorists had settled at San Juan, but at the close of the Cuban War returned to Spain. The American Fathers are now there as missionaries and pastors. A parish comprising some 30,000 souls is confided to their care. Despite all their labours for the benefit of the natives their progress is very slow. On 26 July, 1911, the Belgian houses of Canada were erected into a new province.The Upper German or Bavarian province, which was under the ban of the Kulturkampf, has recovered some of its lost ground. Since its readmittance, it has added another very important foundation. But the historic convent of Altötting has passed into other hands. In 1894 this province opened in Brazil a mission of two houses forming a vice-province. The province of Holland has added to its mission in Surinam a mission in Brazil, forming another vice-province, having under its jurisdiction three houses.A more detailed account of the English and Irish provinces claims our attention.The English province, begun from Belgium in 1843, owes its great progress to the Rev. Robert A. Coffin, one of the band of converts associated with Newman, Manning, and Faber in the Oxford Movement. After his ordination to the priesthood he joined the Redemptorists, and gave missions throughout England and Ireland, until he was appointed first provincial of the English province in 1865. During his administration of seventeen years new houses were founded in various parts of the United Kingdom, the house at Perth being the first convent opened in Scotland since the Reformation. Leo XIII appointed the Rev. Robert A. Coffin Bishop of Southwark. His successor as provincial, the Rev. Hugh McDonald, died Bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland. The activity of the English Fathers is evidenced by their literary labours and their success on the missions, which resulted in more than 16,000 converts. At present the province has eight houses: Clapham, Bishop-Eton, Monkwearmouth, Bishop's Stortford, Kingswood, Edmonton, and the novitiate and house of studies at Perth, Scotland, with a total membership of one hundred and twenty-three. Besides the Rev. Robert A. Coffin, a number of noted converts have joined the congregation, among them Bridgett, Livius, and Douglas.In 1898 the houses in Ireland and Australia, hitherto subject to the English province, were constituted an Irish province, and Australia, a vice-province, as its dependency. The Rev. Andrew Boylan was appointed the first provincial, with his residence at Limerick. On 25 March, 1901, the foundation of the present new juvenate house at Limerick was laid. The province of Ireland comprises four houses: Limerick, Dundalk, Belfast, and Esker; the vice-province of Australia, three houses: Waratah in New South Wales, Ballarat in Victoria, and Perth in Western Australia. The total membership is one hundred and forty-seven. In 1906 the Rev. Andrew Boylan was commissioned to visit the Philippine Islands, and to establish there a colony of Irish Redemptorists. At present there are two Redemptorist Houses on these Islands and one in Wellington, New Zealand. The church at Limerick is celebrated for its Confraternity of the Holy Family for men and boys, founded by the Rev. Edward Bridgett, which the late Bishop of Limerick, Dr. Butler, called "the miracle wrought by the Mother of Perpetual Succour, a far greater miracle than the cure of a blind boy or the healing of a cripple". In 1903 it had the following membership: Monday, division of men, 2722; Tuesday, division of men, 2580, boys' division, 1226; total, 6528. Meetings are held every week, the average attendance being 3992, while the communions received in the confraternity during 1902 numbered: men, 39,860, boys, 8497; total 48,357.The following figures will exemplify the growth of the congregation. The number of subjects in 1852 (not including those of Italy) were: priests, 343; professed students, 75; priests novice, 12; choir novices, 45; professed lay brothers, 175; lay novices, 67; total, 715; houses, 45. In 1910 (including Italy) priests, 2085; professed students, 537; choir novices, 142; professed lay brothers, 962; lay novices, 343; total, 4069; houses, 218; provinces, 19; vice-provinces, 10. The constant and rapid growth of the congregation must be attributed chiefly to the erection of the so-called juvenates. Finding it difficult in some countries and impossible in others to secure a solid future for the different provinces, the Fathers deemed it expedient to receive boys who showed a disposition for the religious and priestly life, and to prepare them while still young for the higher studies. Father Hofbauer adopted this plan, and obtained thereby a number of excellent young men for the order. In the same way Father Passerat was equally successful in drawing young men to the congregation. It was in this manner that Father Mauron, the late superior general, was attracted to the order. But it was only after 1867 or 1868 that a definite scheme of preparing boys for the novitiate was followed. The idea was taken up simultaneously in the French and American provinces. Father Desurmont was the first to organize this preparatory institution in France. For many years it was customary for the American Fathers to select from their parochial schools boys who, in their opinion, would eventually become fit subjects for the novitiate. After having tested their ability, they instructed them personally in the rudiments of Latin, or sent them to a Catholic college until they reached their sixteenth year. At this age they were admitted to the novitiate, after which they completed their humanities. For the benefit of boys who did not belong to Redemptorist parishes or who lived in other cities the provincial, Father Helmpraecht (1865-77), secured a suitable place near his residence at Baltimore. One of the Fathers was appointed director. In 1869 a new method was followed. The young men were to finish their classical course before entering the novitiate. To accommodate the increasing number of pupils, provision was made at Baltimore, then at Ilchester, until finally, in 1881, a desirable college building was purchased at Northeast, Pennsylvania. Here a six years' classical course is pursued, while at the same time the moral and physical fitness of the young men may be easily ascertained. Similar preparatory colleges, with some slight differences, have been introduced into almost every province. After a novitiate of one year, the young members pass to the higher course of studies. This embraces two years' philosophy, two years' dogmatic, and two years' moral theology, with natural philosophy, church history, Sacred Scripture, canon law, pastoral theology, and homiletics. After the completion of their studies the young priests make what is called the "second novitiate" of six months, during which time they are trained theoretically and practically in the special work of the missions.Although the limited number of subjects and the manifold labours of the ministry do not permit the members of the congregation to make a specialty of it, still their literary work is not inconsiderable. Among Redemptorist authors the following may be mentioned: Italy: Januar. Sarnelli, Bl. Panzutti, Anton. Tannoia; France: Achilles Desurmont, Augustine Berthe, Leonard Gaudé; England: Thos. Livius, Thos. E. Bridgett, Cyril Ryder, Robert A. Coffin; Austria: Aug. Rösler, Karl Dilgskron, Gerard Diessel, Georg Freund, Franz Kayker; Bohemia: Emmanuel Kovar, Franc. Blatak, Franc. Sal. Blazek, Aloys. Polak, Theoph. Mateju, Wenc. Melichar; Germany: Michael Benger, Michael Haringer, Andreas Hugues; Belgium: Victor Cardinal Dechamps, Henri Saintrain, Ernest Dubois, Francis X. Godts; Holland: J. Aertnys, Frans Ter Haar, Willem van Rossum, Joh. L. Jansen, Aloys. Walter; Spain and South America: Tomas Ramos, Ramon Serabia; North America: Antony Konings, Joseph Putzer, Michael Müller, Ferreol Girardey, Peter Geiermann.SourcesCURRIER, History of Religious Orders (New York, 1894); HEIMBUCHER, Die Orden und Kongregationen der katholischen Kirche (Paderborn, 1908), s.v. Redemptoristen; WUEST, Annales Provinciæ Americanæ (Ilchester, 1888); History of the Redemptorists at Annapolis, Md. (Ilchester, 1904); BECK, Die Redemptoristen in Pittsburg (Pittsburg, 1889); ANON, Kurzer Ueberblick, appendix to GISSLER'S St. Alphonsus von Liguori (Einsiedeln, 1887); various lives of Father Hofbauer; various lives of St. Alphonsus, especially those of CAPECELATRO, DILGSKRON, and BERTHS; various lives of Fr. Passerat and Fr. Mauron; Servorum Dei C.SS.R. Album (Rome, 1903); ANON., Fifty Years at Limerick (1903); MADER, Die Kongregation des Allerheiligsten Erlösers in Oesterreich (Vienna, 1887); ANON., Lebensbilder verstorbener Redemptoristen in Nieder-Deutschland (Dülmen, 1896); RATTE, Der hl. Alphonsus und der Redemptoristen-Orden (Luxemburg, 1887); ZAPF, Die Redemptoristen (Erlangen, 1894); Ascetical Works of St. Alphonsus (centenary ed.), XVII, miscellany.