William Putnam McCabe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids William Putnam McCabe
Born	1776 Belfast, Kingdom of Ireland
Died	6 January 1821 Paris, Kingdom of France
Nationality	Kingdom of Ireland, Irish
Movement	Society of United Irishmen

William Putnam McCabe (1776–1821) was an important organizer for the Society of United Irishmen in Ireland. This group wanted Ireland to be independent. McCabe was accused of serious crimes because of his role in the 1798 rebellion. He managed to escape many times, but the government eventually forced him to leave Ireland and live in France.

In France, with the help of Napoleon, McCabe started a cotton factory. He continued to work with the United Irishmen. He also helped Robert Emmett plan another uprising in Ireland in 1803. Later, he was connected to some groups in London that were involved in protests and plots. In 1814, he was arrested in Ireland and sent away to Portugal. He returned in 1817 and was put in prison for 18 months. McCabe died in Paris on January 6, 1821, when he was 46 years old.

A Family of Activists

William Putnam McCabe was the youngest of three sons. His father, Thomas McCabe, was a watchmaker and a pioneer in the cotton industry in Belfast. His mother was Jean (née Woolsey).

The family belonged to the First Presbyterian Church. This church had ideas that encouraged people to support the American Revolution and later the French Revolution. These ideas also inspired the Volunteer movement in Belfast. William's middle name, Putnam, was given in honor of Israel Putnam, an American hero from the American Revolutionary War.

His father, Thomas McCabe, was famous for leading people in 1786. He helped stop a plan by rich merchants to use ships from Belfast for the slave trade.

In October 1791, Thomas McCabe and other friends met to start the Society of United Irishmen. This group quickly grew in Belfast, Dublin, and other parts of Ireland. They wanted Ireland to have its own government. They believed that "all the people," both Catholic and Protestant, should have "equal representation" in parliament.

Becoming a United Irishman

In February 1793, soldiers attacked his father's business in Belfast. Soon after, young McCabe returned from learning about textiles in Manchester. He said he was full of the political and religious ideas of Thomas Paine.

He joined his father in the Society of United Irishmen. He first worked with Samuel Neilson on the group's newspaper, the Northern Star. In April 1793, Thomas Russell met with McCabe and Neilson. Russell learned that people in the north were very angry with the government. They wanted the Irish Parliament to join them in making changes, but the Parliament refused. When France declared war on Britain in February 1793, the United Irishmen began to think about a French-supported uprising. They started to organize for it.

McCabe, along with Russell and Jemmy Hope, became a traveling organizer for the Society. He traveled across Ulster, where government reports in 1796 called him the Society's provincial secretary. He often used his connections with other Freemasons for help.

McCabe was a northern Protestant, but he could also travel easily in the south. He had learned different local accents from his travels in the textile trade. He was also good at pretending to be other people. This made him a master of disguise. He pretended to be a traveling preacher, a beggar, a farmer, a peddler, and even a British army recruiter. As a recruiter, he once convinced a judge to release some Catholic Defenders to his care.

When McCabe arrived at a new place, he would organize supporters into groups of twelve. He would draw up plans to help people understand how the United Irishmen were organized. This way, "even persons of little education could understand how they were to act."

Some historians believe McCabe recruited John Kelly of Killanne and Thomas Cloney, who were important fighters in the rebellion. Reports reaching London said McCabe was traveling "about in all sorts of disguises." Sir Charles Flint of the Irish office believed that McCabe was "the life and soul of the 1798 rebellion," second only to Lord Edward FitzGerald.

Rebellion and Life in Exile

The 1798 Rebellion

McCabe was arrested in Dublin in May 1798, just before the rebellion began. He was with the United Irish leader Lord Edward FitzGerald at the time. FitzGerald escaped, but McCabe convinced his captors that he was an innocent Scottish weaver looking for work. He was then released.

Later, he appeared among the rebels in Kildare. In September, he was with French General Humbert's small group of soldiers who landed in Mayo.

In October 1798, McCabe left Ireland. He lived quietly in Wales for a while. He married Elizabeth McNeil (née Lockhart), a widow, and they had a daughter. Before the end of 1801, his family moved to France. Before going to France, McCabe traveled to Scotland. There, he met United Irish leaders who were imprisoned. He seemed to gain the trust of Thomas Russell. Then, he traveled to Hamburg using an American passport. He met Pamela FitzGerald, Lord Edward's widow, before finally arriving in Paris.

McCabe and Robert Emmet were among a group of young activists. They wanted to rebuild the Society of United Irishmen as a secret military group. The main goal was to work with a French invasion and uprisings in Ireland and England. McCabe went on many missions for the new United Irish leaders in exile. He was reported to be in London, Manchester, Nottingham, Stockport, Glasgow, Paisley, Belfast, and Dublin.

Life as an Emigrant and Messenger

In 1802, McCabe partnered with a Dublin merchant named Philip Long. They started a cotton mill in Rouen, France. Napoleon visited the factory and liked its products because they replaced English imports. He gave the business 4,000 francs. McCabe's factory became a meeting place for Irish exiles in France. The British government believed McCabe trained messengers there and stored weapons to support Robert Emmet's uprising in 1803.

After Emmet's uprising failed, and after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 ended hopes of a French invasion, McCabe contacted the British government. He expressed that he was disappointed with the French government. He spoke with British officials, including Lord Castlereagh and Arthur Wellesley. He also approached William Pitt. These talks led to him being allowed to visit England and Scotland, but he was still not allowed in Ireland.

Later Connections

In early 1814, McCabe returned to Dublin. He was arrested and taken to London, where he was questioned. He said he only wanted to fix his financial problems. He was then sent back into exile on a ship to Portugal.

However, McCabe returned to Ireland again in 1817 with his daughter. But his stepmother reported him in Belfast. She wanted to prevent him from inheriting his late father's property. He was imprisoned in Kilmainham for 18 months. The prison conditions made him sick.

When friends asked for his release, saying he was only traveling for business, the Home Secretary replied: "It might be true that Mr McCabe never went to any part of England or Ireland except upon business of his own; but it was very extraordinary that, in whatever part of the king's dominions his own business brought him, some public disturbance was sure to take place." In 1819, McCabe avoided arrest and reappeared in Glasgow, where disturbances did happen. In March 1820, there was a week of strikes in the town, known as the Radical War.

McCabe was also linked to later plots in London. These included the Spa Fields riots in December 1816 and the Cato Street Conspiracy in February 1820. French police reports from 1814 mention members of these groups contacting Irish exiles in Paris, including McCabe. This reportedly led to McCabe's secret return to London and his presence at an attempted uprising in December 1816.

McCabe died in Paris on January 6, 1821. He was buried in the Vaugirard Cemetery there.