irwin

Kilkenny" in which the Irvings, Padding,
Henry Brevoort, Gouverneur Kemble, and
others were moving spirits, at the old mansion,
"Cockloft Hall," on the Passaic, and he became
in 1807 an important contributor to the genial
and satirical booklets called Salmagundi; or The
Whim-Whatns and Opinions of Laimcelot Lang-
staff, Esq. and Others. To this "dish of real
American cookery" William Irving's contribu-
tion was light verse, in which he pilloried the
foibles of the age, notably those of Thomas
Green Fessenden, the Yankee magazinist

In the meantime he attained prominence in
both business and politics, becoming a leader
among the merchants in the foreign trade along
the East River. Affected at times by fits of
shyness, his was nevertheless a forceful person-
ality. He was active in the preparations for the
great naval dinner on Dec. 29, 1812, and he
spoke at the enormous Democratic gathering in
1813. He was indeed an active Democrat, sup-
porting the war, and on Dec. 28, 1813, in the
election for Egbert Benson's successor to Con-
gress, he outstripped the Federalist, Peter Au-
gustus Jay [q.v.~\, by a majority of 376 votes.
He suffered great losses in the collapse of the
family business in the post-war depression but
remained a prominent citizen and patriot, serv-
ing in Congress from 1814 to 1819. When he
died in 1821 his brother Washington Irving,
then engaged in the preparation of Bracebridge
Hall, remembered the long fraternal affection,
the courageous career in behalf of the Irving
family, and the merry verses from "the mill of
Pindar Cockloft," and lamented his passing as
"one of the dismallest blows that I ever experi-
enced."

[Sources of information concerning William Irving
a^in occasional passages in the letters of Washington
Irving, chiefly in the collections of Yale University and
the New York Public Library. See P. M. Irving, The
Life and Letters of Washington Irving (4 vols., 1862-
64); W. I, Paulding, Literary Life of James K. Paul-
ding (1867) ; A. L. Herold, James Kirke Paulding
(1926); E. A. and G. L. Duyckinck, Cyc. of Am. Lit.
(rev. ed,, 2 volsM 1875) ; Biog. Dir. Am. Cong. (1928) ;
N. Y. Daily Advertiser, Nov. 10, 1821.] S.T.W.

IRWIN, GEORGE LE ROY (Apr. 26,1868-
Feb. 19,1931), soldier, was born at Fort Wayne,
near Detroit, Mich., the son of Brigadier-Gen-
eral Bernard John Dowling Irwin, United States
Army, and Antoinette Elizabeth (Stahl) Irwin.
His father (1830-1917), a distinguished surgeon
of Irish ancestry and a veteran of both Indian
and Civil Wars, was the recipient of a Congres-
sional Medal of Honor for "distinguished gal-
lantry in action against hostile Chir icahua Apache
ladiams near Apache Pass, Ariz., Feb. 13 and 14,
i86i.n

Irwin

After preparation in private schools and cer-
tain study in Europe, young Irwin was appoint-
ed to West Point from Illinois, and graduated
creditably with the class of 1889. As second lieu-
tenant, 3rd Artillery, he married Maria Eliza-
beth Barker of Baltimore and New York, on
Apr. 30, 1892. In the years which followed, he
passed through all intermediate grades to the
rank of colonel, July 1,1916, serving in the Phil-
ippines, 1899-1901; in Cuba with the Army of
Cuban Pacification, 1906-09; graduating from
the Artillery School in 1894 and from the Army
War College in 1910; participating in the ex-
pedition to Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914; and, ex-
cept for a tour of duty in the quartermaster's
department, 1910-14, becoming prominently iden-
tified with the use and development of modern
field artillery. When the United States entered
the World War, Irwin was appointed brigadier-
general, National Army, and assumed command
of the i6ist Field Artillery Brigade, at Camp
Grant, 111. On Dec. 12,1917, he sailed for France
with units of the 4ist Division, and on May 10,
1918, was assigned to command the 57th Field
Artillery Brigade. His record was brilliant: after
preparatory service on the Alsace and Verdun
fronts, he participated in all the operations of
the Aisne-Marne, Champagne, Oise-Aisne, and
Meuse-Argonne offensives, where "the success
of the division whose advance he supported, was
due in large part to his technical skill and ability
as an artillerist" (citation accompanying award
of the Distinguished Service Medal). His com-
mand was withdrawn from the front lines, Nov.
2, 1918, after an exceptionally long period under
fire, and he was placed in command of the Ar-
tillery School at Saumur from Nov. 4, 1918, to
Jan. 25, 1919. He returned to the United States
in May, in command of the $7th Field Artillery
Brigade, and served for four years as assistant
to the inspector general of the army. On Mar.
2, 1923, he was appointed brigadier-general,
United States Army, and commanded the i6th
Infantry Brigade at Fort Howard, Md. In the
June following he was given the important duty
of commanding the Field Artillery School at
Fort Sill, Okla., until Mar. 6, 1928, when his
promotion to the rank of major-general carried
him to the command of the Panama Canal Di-
vision.

Late in the year 1930, his system weakened by
years of amoebic dysentery contracted in the Phil-
ippines, Irwin sought renewed health through
a trip to Europe. While returning to Panama
from this leave of absence, he died, on the Italian
steamer Virgilio, off Port of Spain, Trinidad.
His body was buried with military honors beside

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