Abram Joseph Ryan (born Matthew Abraham Ryan; February 5, 1838 – April 22, 1886) was an
American Catholic
The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...
poet, priest, journalist, orator, and former Vincentian. Historians disagree on whether Ryan served as a military chaplain for the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
. He has been called the "Poet-Priest of the South" and the "Poet Laureate of the Confederacy".
Ryan was born in Maryland to
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
immigrants. He attended a Christian Brothers school in Missouri, and then, at the age of 13, he attended a seminary run by the Vincentians. He entered the order and was sent to seminary in New York to study theology and oversee the boys in the seminary's school.
Vocally opposed to
abolitionism
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...
, he was sent back to Missouri. Having gained experience as a preacher in rural areas, Ryan was ordained in 1860. After the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
broke out, he went back and forth a few times between New York and Missouri, and then to Illinois, leaving the Vincentians. While he never formally joined the army, he served as a freelance chaplain for the last two years of the war for both North and South soldiers, during which time his enlisted brother was killed.
Ryan had been writing poetry since his college days, and his "
The Conquered Banner
"The Conquered Banner" was one of the most popular of the post-American Civil War, Civil War Confederate States of America, Confederate poems. It was written by Father Abram Joseph Ryan, a Roman Catholic priest and Confederate Army chaplain. He has ...
" was printed in June 1865. He moved from one parish in the South to another, writing poetry and sermons. He founded a journal which published mainly Southern writers, and published a volume of his own collected poetry which was popular in the US and in Ireland. He died in 1886 in Kentucky and was buried in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
.
Early life
He was born Matthew Abraham Ryan in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...
on February 5, 1838, the fourth child of Irish immigrants Matthew Ryan and Mary Coughlin, both of
Clogheen, County Tipperary
Clogheen () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The census of 2016 recorded the population at 478 people.
Location
It lies in the Galtee-Vee Valley with the Galtee Mountains to the north and the Knockmealdowns in close proximity to th ...
. He was their first child to be born in the United States. The family had initially settled in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, after their arrival in America sometime prior to 1835, but soon moved to Maryland, where the father obtained work as the overseer of a plantation with enslaved people. Ryan was named after this plantation's owner.
In 1840 the family relocated to
Ralls County, Missouri
Ralls County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,355. Its county seat is New London. The county was organized November 16, 1820, and named for Daniel Ra ...
, and then, in 1846, to
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, where the father opened a
general store
A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
. The young Abraham Ryan, as he was called, was educated at St. Joseph's Academy, run by the Christian Brothers. Showing a strong inclination to piety, he was encouraged by his mother and teachers to consider becoming a priest. Ryan decided to test a calling to the priesthood and on September 16, 1851, at the age of 13, entered the College of St. Mary's of the Barrens, near
Perryville, Missouri
Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census. Perryville is the county seat of Perry County.
History
Perryville was selected the county seat of Perry County by Robert ...
. It was run by the
Vincentian Fathers
The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, a ...
as a
minor seminary
A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...
for young candidates for the priesthood, providing them a classical education with free room and board.
In the summer of 1854, Ryan decided to pursue
Holy Orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
, at which time he explained his decision to his close childhood friend, Ethel, with whom he had grown up. At the end of that summer, Ethel announced her decision to become a nun, later becoming Sister Mary Loretto. Ryan later considered Ethel his "spiritual wife." On September 12, 1860, Ryan was ordained as a Vincentian Catholic priest.
Vincentian ministry
Ryan entered the Vincentians, taking the oath of obedience to the Congregation. He did three more years of study at the college during the course of which, on June 19, 1857, he received
minor orders
In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...
. The poetry that he wrote to entertain his schoolmates impressed them, especially one who recorded the texts in a personal journal. In 1858, shortly after the death of his father, Ryan was sent to the Seminary of Our Lady of the Angels near
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. He was sent there both to pursue his study of
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and to serve as the
prefect of discipline
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect' ...
for the boys enrolled at the preparatory school attached to the seminary.
Ryan soon showed signs of discontent with his situation there. In January 1859 he wrote his
Provincial Superior
A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...
, complaining that the expected instruction in theology was not being done and about the weight of his workload with the boys, being alone in this task. A reply counseling patience brought another request for a change of the situation, which included a veiled hint at the possibility of his leaving the Congregation. Ryan was satisfied to be allowed to resume his own studies, and his younger brother, David, now also a member of the Congregation, was assigned to assist him.
The Ryan brothers felt out of place as Southerners at the Western New York seminary. Abraham Ryan soon began to express his opposition to the
abolitionist movement
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
which had gained strength in the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
. He joined in sentiments expressed by Catholic bishops and editors in the United States in that period, who felt threatened by the anti-Catholic opinions voiced by the leadership of the Abolitionists. His writings in that period began to express suspicion of Northern goals. Possibly for that reason, Ryan was sent back to St. Mary of the Barrens, as their superiors might have decided to keep the brothers separated.
During the winter of 1860, Ryan gave a lecture series through which he started to gain notice as a speaker. He was ordained a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
that summer after which he was chosen to accompany a group of Vincentian priests on a preaching tour of the rural parishes of the region in order to revive devotion to the faith. His abilities as a preacher gained wide approval, and his superiors decided to have him ordained a priest earlier than was the normal age under
church law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members.
Canon law includes the ...
. Having gained the permission of the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, on September 12, 1860, he was ordained a priest. The ceremony took place at his home parish in St. Louis, with the ordination being performed by the Bishop of St. Louis,
Peter Richard Kenrick
Peter Richard Kenrick (August 17, 1806 – March 4, 1896) was an Irish Catholic priest who served as Bishop of St. Louis from 1843 to 1895. The see was made an archdiocese in 1847, when he was called as the first archbishop west of the Mississi ...
, with his mother and siblings in attendance.
Ryan spent the rest of the summer on another preaching tour, this time in the company of his Provincial Superior. Conflict arose during the course of the tour as the superior felt that Ryan's preaching was not fully spiritually centered, and Ryan felt the criticism keenly. As a new priest, he was assigned to teach
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
at St. Mary's of the Barrens.
He was also listed in 1860–61 on the faculty roster of St. Vincent's College in
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau ( , ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Cape Girardeau and Scott County, Missouri, Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...
. Founded in 1843, St. Vincent's was the forerunner of
De Paul University
DePaul University is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became ...
in Chicago, now the nation's largest Catholic university. Frequent bouts of illness, however, kept Ryan confined to bed until the following spring. It was at that time that the inauguration of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
took place. Ryan was so incensed at being called by the same name as the new president, whom he despised, that he began to use the shortened version by which he had been called as a boy, the form by which he became known in history.
In the fall of 1861, soon after the start of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Ryan was transferred back to Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in New York but remained there for only a month before once more falling ill. He was allowed to go to his mother's home in St. Louis to rest. He returned to New York to teach at the start of 1862 but soon fell ill again and was allowed to go back home. In April he declared himself fit to teach again, but his superiors instead transferred him to parish duties in
La Salle, Illinois
LaSalle or La Salle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates Interstate 39, 39 and Interstate 80, 80. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 o ...
.
After arriving there, Ryan realized that he would not be able to express his strong views in support of the
Confederacy
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
. Frustrated, and feeling ignored by his immediate superior, he wrote directly to the
Superior General
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...
of the Congregation in Paris, asking to be released from his vows. He pleaded his poor health and his personal conflict with the Provincial Superior. After not receiving a reply, he sent a second request, to which he received a positive response the following August. He determined to sign the release forms on that following September 1 and immediately returned home, where he was soon joined by his brother David, who had left the seminary in New York with the intention of enlisting in the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
.
Civil War service
Early researcher Joseph McKey believed that Ryan took occasional periods of sick leave from these positions due to bouts of neuralgia, but Ryan's friend, J. M. Lucey, and several other clerical contemporaries believed that Ryan had made sporadic early appearances as a freelance chaplain among Confederate troops from Louisiana. Some circumstantial evidence supports Lucey's position: Ryan's handwritten entries disappeared from the St. Mary's Seminary house diary for a full month after the battle of First Manassas, for example, during a period when the Archbishop of New Orleans was actively recruiting freelance (unofficial) Catholic chaplains to serve Louisiana troops. And in a newspaper account of his 1883 sermon in Alexandria, Virginia, Ryan was quoted as having mentioned his ministry to Louisiana soldiers during the war. Tennessee historian Thomas Stritch confirms that Ryan began making appearances in Tennessee in 1862, even while his official postings were in Niagara and Illinois, and these absences from his northern posts may have been the underlying cause of his frequent reassignments. During one of these absences, in October 1862, Ryan was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee by Union authorities for making “seditious utterances.”
Ryan began full-time
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
al duties in Tennessee in late 1863 or early 1864. Though he never formally joined the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
, he clearly was serving as a freelance
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
by the last two years of the conflict, with possible appearances at the
Battle of Lookout Mountain
The Battle of Lookout Mountain, also known as the Battle Above the Clouds, was fought November 24, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Major general (United States), Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker ass ...
and the
Battle of Missionary Ridge
The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union Army, Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on ...
near Chattanooga (both in late November 1863), and well-authenticated service at the
Battle of Franklin
The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
(November 1864) and the subsequent
Battle of Nashville
The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 18 ...
(December 1864). Some of his poems—"In Memoriam" and "In Memory of My Brother"—came in response to his brother's death, who died while serving in uniform for the Confederacy in April 1863, probably from injuries suffered during fighting near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.
Postbellum
On June 24, 1865, his most famous poem, "
The Conquered Banner
"The Conquered Banner" was one of the most popular of the post-American Civil War, Civil War Confederate States of America, Confederate poems. It was written by Father Abram Joseph Ryan, a Roman Catholic priest and Confederate Army chaplain. He has ...
", appeared in the pages of the '' New York Freeman's Journal'' over his early pen-name "Moina." Because the same pen-name had been used by the southern balladeer Anna Dinnies, the anthologist
William Gilmore Simms
William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was a poet, novelist, politician and historian from the American South. His writings achieved great prominence during the 19th century, with Edgar Allan Poe pronouncing him the best novelis ...
mistakenly attributed "The Conquered Banner" to her, prompting the ''Freeman's Journal'' to reprint the poem over Ryan's name a year later. Published only months after General
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
surrendered at Appomattox, "The Conquered Banner" captured the spirit of sentimentality and martyrdom then rising in the South. Its metrical measure was taken, he once told a friend, from one of the Gregorian hymns. Within months, it was being recited or sung everywhere from parlors.
Starting in 1865, near the war's end, Ryan moved from
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
to parish throughout the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
(November 1864-March 1865), with subsequent stays in
Knoxville
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
(January 1868-April 1870), and a lengthier tenure in Mobile,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
(June 1870-October 1880). He then spent a year in semi-retirement at
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
(November 1881-October 1882) while completing his second book, ''A Crown for Our Queen.''
In Augusta, Georgia, in March 1868, Ryan founded ''The Banner of the South'', with the approval of Bishop Augustin Verot of Savannah, Georgia, a religious and political weekly in which he additionally republished much of his early poetry, along with poetry by fellow-southerners
James Ryder Randall
James Ryder Randall (January 1, 1839 – January 15, 1908) was an American journalist and poet. He is best remembered as the author of "Maryland, My Maryland".
Biography
Randall was born on January 1, 1839, in Baltimore, Maryland to parents, ...
,
Paul Hamilton Hayne
Paul Hamilton Hayne (January 1, 1830 – July 6, 1886) was a poet, critic, and editor from the American South.
Biography
Paul Hamilton Hayne was born in Charleston, South Carolina on January 1, 1830. After losing his father as a young child, Hay ...
, and
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
, as well as an early story by
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
. Though opposing women suffrage as "folly," Ryan's newspaper was notable for publishing submissions by a number of period women authors, including three poems by
Alice Cary
Alice Cary (April 26, 1820February 12, 1871) was an American poet, and the older sister of fellow poet Phoebe Cary (1824–1871).
Biography
Alice Cary was born on April 26, 1820, in Mount Healthy, Ohio, off the Miami River near Cincinnati, Oh ...
, and for his oft-quoted editorial supporting greater appreciation of the role of women in the study of history and literature. Ryan remained editor of ''The Banner of the South'' until 1870. According to David O'Connell, Bishop "Verot dismissed Ryan from his editorial functions in March 1870, and then banished him from the diocese altogether" due to Ryan's continued contentious editorials against "real and imagined foes," with a chief area of concern being "Ryan's opposition to Reconstruction acts, including voting rights for blacks."
In June 1870, Ryan received an appointment to the Diocese of Mobile, and he began his priestly duties there. On June 23, 1870, Ryan gave the baccalaureate address at Springhill College in Mobile. While still living in Mobile, in January 1871, Ryan was added to the editorial force of ''The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger'', the official paper of the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. In February 1872, Ryan became its editor-in-chief. Ryan's contributions to this newspaper included poetic, religious, and political writings. Ryan remained editor-in-chief until 1875.
He continued to write poems in the Lost Cause style for the next two decades. Among the more memorable are "C.S.A.", "The Sword of Robert E. Lee", and "The South". All centered on themes of heroic martyrdom by men pledged to defend their native land against a tyrannical invader. As one line goes, "There's grandeur in graves, there's glory in gloom." Within the limits of the Southern Confederacy and the Catholic Church in the United States, no poet was more popular. Ryan also penned a large number of verses about his faith and spirituality, such as "The Seen and the Unseen" and "Sea Dreamings," which reached a nationwide audience in ''
The Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'' (January 13, 1883, p. 13). In 1879, Ryan's work was gathered into a collected volume of verse, first titled ''Father Ryan's Poems'' and subsequently republished in 1880 as ''Poems: Patriotic, Religious, Miscellaneous.'' His collection sold remarkably well for the next half-century, going through more than forty reprintings and editions by the late 1930s. Ryan's work also found a popular following in his family's ancestral home of Ireland. An article about his work appeared in '' Irish Monthly'' during his life, and a decade after his death, yet another collection of his poetry was published in Dublin by The Talbot Press under the title ''Selected Poems of Father Abram Ryan.''
Editorials related to African Americans
As editor of ''The Banner of the South'' and later as editor at ''The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger'', Ryan made numerous statements related to African Americans. For example, Ryan described African Americans in the following ways:
* While arguing that African Americans should not be allowed to vote, Ryan referred to African Americans as "the vile herd of ignorant Voudooists."
* While describing the South's ongoing difficulties during Reconstruction, Ryan wrote about "the ruin, desolation, and Negro lawlessness which now prevails in the South."
* While lamenting the plight of the former white Confederate "Patriot," Ryan wrote, "The Patriot ... has seen an ignorant and inferior race frican Americanselevated to political equality with himself and his brethren of the white race."
* While describing the Fourth of July in Mobile, Alabama, in 1870, Ryan wrote, "Last Monday, the glorious Fourth was celebrated here – by no one save the Negroes; and even they evinced very little enthusiasm, beyond a march for a few hours, – a few fights, much drinking and now and then a stupid hurrah for – they knew not what. I was delighted to see the Star Spangled Banner upheld by ebony hand and floating over its dear colored children. The flag was in its fitting place; – unworthy now to be borne by the hand of Southern man. ... It is well that it should become the exclusive possession of a race whose rare characteristics are stupidity and ignorance."
* While discussing the racial demographics of the South, Ryan refers to African Americans as "the negro element" and to their political strength as "the virus of negro misrule."
Additionally, Ryan described the experience of
slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865 ...
in the following ways: "With African slavery the failure to do the day’s work entailed nothing but a whipping;" and "Negro slavery was fat and sleek, it was well cared for in sickness and old age."
Ryan also responded to the efforts of
General Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...
and others in the Louisiana Unification Movement to bring integration and reconciliation to the South. Ryan wrote: "We protest against that particular resolution of the meeting which endorses and recommends the indiscriminate mingling of white and colored children in the same institutions of education. It is against the custom of the Church in the South. ... Would General Beauregard, who is a Catholic as well as a Southern man, would he allow a child of his to go to school and associate there on terms of equality as a scholar with colored children? ... Now, if we so oppose the public schools on account of the dangers to faith and morals, will not the danger to morals increase the more when white and colored children frequent these schools God alone knows what would be the consequences of such a state of things."
Moreover, Ryan espoused beliefs concerning racial inequality,
white supremacy
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
, white-only voting rights, and white-only government:
* While responding to people who believed in the equality of all people and races, Ryan wrote, "There are bad men in all classes of society. And these men would elevate the Negro to a social and political equality with the white people of this country. And for what purpose? Not that they love the Negro, but to satiate a miserable greed for office, and to promote their own selfish aims and ends."
* Ryan also wrote, "We hold that the White Race is superior to the Black, as a general principle, and that the Government of the United States and its several subordinate State and Municipal Governments belong to the white people of the land, as a particular principle. The first we hold is universal; the second as applicable to our country and our day. This latter is a principle which was always held sacred and maintained with earnestness and vigor, by all parties, until a few years ago, when British gold and Northern Fanaticism gave birth to Abolitionism and all its attendant isms and evils."
* Responding to the passage of the
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It wa ...
, Ryan wrote against the voting rights for African Americans: "If there was anything wanting to complete the infamy which must attach to the dominant part in this country, it has been supplied by the passage of the 15th Amendment bill by Congress and its required adoption by the States of the South. ... It is an infamy, because it requires an unnatural, an unjust, and an unconstitutional thing of the people. It forces them to give to Negroes not only the right to vote, but to hold offices of honor, trust, and profit."
* In a rejection of African American voting rights, Ryan wrote, "We are proud and happy to ... believe that it is the right of the white man alone to rule in this country. The main question ligibility to voteis one that does not admit of any compromise, for in its material aspect it simply is: Whether the earnings of the white race are to be at the mercy of an ignorant and facile horde of pauper barbarians frican Americans"
Ryan’s speech before the White League
On November 19, 1874, Ryan spoke to
White League
The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white supremacist paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen (emancipated Black former slaves) into not voting and prevent ...
and the people of New Orleans. In this speech, Ryan responded to his critics, "They yan’s criticsthink it very strange that I, as a priest, should have anything to say upon matters which more or less pertain to the political order of society. I, as a priest in my duties, do not lose my rights of citizenship. ... if there ever comes up a question in the world as between race and race, and the interests of one race against the instincts of another, common human interests tells me, and religion does not prohibit me, I stand by the white race. ... I am responsible to my church for every word I say in regard to the moral order – but my responsibility to her goes no further." Ryan also addressed the divine commendation of white supremacy: "... if history be a manifestation of Divine Providence, it is the divine mission of the white race to march in the van of civilization to lead the entire world ... it was the pale white brow that gave to the world its philosophy, out of which the world deduces its own intellectual life. udience cheers Moreover, Ryan justified the contemporaneous recourse to violence by the White League and others: "Men by reasoning came to the conclusion of what was right and just and legitimate, and that under all laws there always existed and always will exist, the right of resistance against that which is wrong. So they not only petition but argue. But, sometimes, my friends, arguments will not reach their conclusions; sometimes arguments fall upon the ears of those who are opposed to those who argue. Sometimes, and perhaps most oftentimes, petitions may be written, but they avail nothing. What must a man do then? The bullet must reason, the rifle must reason, he audience cheersthe cannon must reason ore cheers ... when tyranny can no longer be endured, rests the legitimate right to overthrow it. ... So the 14th of September was more than a day insurrection of Liberty Place on September 14, 1874 in which the White League inflected about 100 casualties">Battle of Liberty Place">insurrection of Liberty Place on September 14, 1874 in which the White League inflected about 100 casualties and the deed of that day was more than a deed. ... They nited States federal governmentprefer to pit ignorance against intellect, immorality against morality, and they wish to place over the white race those who neither the right nor power nor potentiality of leading any race to freedom to law, to righteousness, to glory. ... Now, according to American principles, this is no government at all, and when I make my argument, I come to the conclusion that the government is no government at all; and that in any State there exists the grand right of revolution. udience cheers As a result of this speech, "once again, Ryan was in deep trouble with a bishop, in this case, Napoleon Perche of New Orleans. A Catholic priest was supposed to refrain from direct involvement in politics, and Ryan's speech to the White Leaguers clearly violated this ban. The behind-the-scenes movement to silence Ryan was now revived, but it would take a few more months to complete his removal s editor at ''The Morning Star and Catholic Messenger'' by Bishop Perché"
Later life
In 1880 his old restlessness returned, and he headed north for the twofold object of publishing his poems and lecturing. He spent December in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, where his ''Poems: Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellaneous'' were republished. He also delivered his first lecture on "Some Aspects of Modern Civilization". During this visit he made his home at Loyola College. In return for the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
fathers' hospitality, he gave a public poetry reading and devoted the $300 proceeds to establish a poetry medal at the college. His Baltimore lectures drew such intense public interest that he was invited to sit for a set of photographic portraits at the studio of the eminent Baltimore photographer
David Bachrach
David Bachrach, Jr. (1845–1921) was an American commercial photographer based in Baltimore, Maryland. He made contributions to the technical, artistic, and professional advancements in the field as well as being the founder of a photographic dy ...
. The image of Ryan at the top of this article is believed to be one of the Bachrach portraits, as well as is the portrait on the cover of the 2008 biography of Ryan, Poet of the Lost Cause, from the University of Tennessee Press. These became so popular that Bachrach ran a classified advertisement in the Baltimore Sun recommending photographs of Ryan as Christmas gifts. In November 1882, Ryan returned to the north for an extended lecture tour that included appearances in Boston, New York, Montreal, Kingston, and Providence, Rhode Island. Contrary to an earlier biographical article which termed this tour unsuccessful, recent research into period newspapers shows that Ryan's lecture tours of 1882-83 were phenomenally popular, with newspapers in every city Ryan visited describing packed houses and thunderous ovations. In June 1883, he accepted an invitation to recite his poem "The Sword of Robert Lee" at a ceremony marking the unveiling of Lee's statue on the campus of Washington and Lee University, and the same month, delivered the commencement address at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Ryan died April 22, 1886, at a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...
in
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, but his body was returned to St. Mary's in Mobile for burial. He was interred in Mobile's Old Catholic Cemetery. In recognition of his loyal service to the Confederacy, a stained glass window was placed in the Confederate Memorial Hall in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, in his memory. “The
Mobile Register
The ''Press-Register'' (known from 1997 to 2006 as the ''Mobile Register'') was a newspaper serving the southwest Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the ''Press-Register'' Alaba ...
began promoting the idea of putting up a monument in Mobile to honor Ryan.” As a result of this effort, a statue of Ryan was dedicated in July 1913. The statue included a stanza from "The Conquered Banner" below an inscription that reads: "Poet, Patriot, and Priest."
Legacy and tributes
Ryan's poetic verses appealed to Southern post-Civil War and
Lost Cause
The Lost Cause of the Confederacy, known simply as the Lost Cause, is an American pseudohistorical and historical negationist myth that argues the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not cente ...
feelings and were used to "adorn the southern monuments and memorials that would dot the region's landscape". Besides "poet-priest of the South", he was also "widely recognized as the Poet of the Confederacy". and he is marked as "Poet of the Confederacy" on the historical marker near his former house in Biloxi.
*A city o Norfolk historic marker notes that his boyhood home stood nearby.
*A memorial plaque has been erected at his former parish, Immaculate Conception Church, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
*
Father Ryan High School
Father Ryan High School is a private Catholic Church, Catholic high school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1925 as Nashville Catholic High School for Boys, Father Ryan is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville, Diocese of Nashvill ...
in Nashville, Tennessee, is named for him.
*A statue of Ryan was erected in Ryan Park in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
, and unveiled on 1913-07-13. The park itself is bounded by Spring Hill Avenue, St Michael Street, and Scott Street.
*Father Ryan is commemorated on the Four Southern Poets Monument in Augusta, Georgia, along with Sidney Lanier, Paul Hamilton Hayne, and James Ryder Randall
*There is a stained glass window at the Confederate Museum in New Orleans, as well as a stone monument on Jefferson Davis Parkway which was erected by the Louisiana Division of the
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...
in 1949
*There is a stained glass window depicting Father Ryan alongside Bryant, Whittier, and Longfellow in the O'Neill room of Bapst Library, Boston College.
*A stained glass window was donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 in honor of Father Ryan to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, Florida.
* A stained glass window was donated by the Children of the Confederacy in 1929 in honor of Ryan at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama.
*On 1932-10-09 a memorial fountain for Ryan was presented by the Robert E Lee chapter of the U.D.C. to the Julia Ideson Public Library in downtown Houston Texas.
* There is a memorial plaque along Hwy. 90 in Biloxi, MS, remembering Abram Ryan - it is a "vacation" bungalow which he erected and lived in during his semi-retirement after the Civil War, circa 1860s.
* Ryan's memorial gravesite, located in the Catholic Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama, is set in its own area with a large Eucharistic Cross, various plaques, benches, and a flagstaff flying the papal flag. As recorded on one of the plaques at the gravesite, beginning in 2014, the papal flag is being maintained “in perpetuity” by The Fr. Abram J. Ryan Assembly #1087 of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus in Dallas, Texas, with "the approval of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile." Another plaque quotes Ryan's poem, "
The Conquered Banner
"The Conquered Banner" was one of the most popular of the post-American Civil War, Civil War Confederate States of America, Confederate poems. It was written by Father Abram Joseph Ryan, a Roman Catholic priest and Confederate Army chaplain. He has ...
," and was donated by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans in 1966.
In literature
Ryan is mentioned in
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...
's novel, ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind ...
'': "Father Ryan, the poet-priest of the Confederacy, never failed to call
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Mitchell, Gone With The Wind, ch. XLI.
Charles Todd Quintard
Charles Todd Quintard (December 22, 1824 – February 16, 1898) was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, Diocese of Ten ...
References
Bibliography
* ''Poet of the Lost Cause: A Life of Father Ryan'', by Donald Robert Beagle & Bryan Albin Giemza, The University of Tennessee Press, 2008.
* The Fr. Abram J. Ryan Archive at Belmont Abbey College, includes images, unpublished manuscripts and more. http://crusader.bac.edu/library/rarebooks/Ryanfiles/