Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/376

340 Venezuela, with the object of securing the inde- pendence of that country. At Ocumare, 25 March, 180G, he was attacked, and lost a great number of his men, and the captain-general caused him to be burned in effigy, offering $50,000 for his head. Be- tween 4 and 8 Aug. of the same year Miranda took the town of Coro, but, seeing that the people did not take an active pai't in his favor, he left for Europe, where, with Simon Bolivar, he sought aid for his enterprise. They returned together on 5 Dec, 1810, to Caracas, where Miranda organized the government that had its origin in the revo- lution of 19 April, became vice-president of con- gress, and signed the constitution of 21 Dec. and the act of independence of 5 July, 1811. He took the command-in-chief of the army, forced the surrender of Valencia, 13 Aug., 1811, and made his triumphant entry into Caracas. 26 April, 1812. By the treachery of Pedro Ponce, he lost the battle of Valencia, 14 May, 1812, and re- treated to Cabrera, laying siege to Maracay and Victoria, instead of giving the necessary aid to Puerto Cabello. This caused discontent among his companions of the junta. He was finally forced to capitulate in Victoria, 25 July, 1812, and, accused of being a traitor, he was taken prisoner on 30 July, by the revolutionary authorities in Laguayra. He afterward fell into the hands of the Spanish authorities, and was sent in 1813 to Cadiz, where he died in the dungeons of the Inquisition with a chain around his neck.

MIRANDA, Pedro de, clergyman, b. in Spain about 1510; d. in Santa Fe de Bogota, New Grana- da, in 1569. He was elected, in 1551, vicar-general of the Dominion of New Granada, sailed from Se- vilh accompanied by twenty monks, and arrived ill St. Martha in 1552. After placing his mission- aries where they were most needed, he passed over to Cartagena, whence he went to Bogota, with the intention of visiting all the missions in the colony. When his inspection was finished, he decided on forming great central convents, with training- schools for the Indian missions. He built the great convent of San Rosario in Bogota, which be- came the centre of the Dominican order in New Granada, and proceeded to erect convents in other parts of the province whenever a re-enforcement of monks arrived. He also founded houses for the instruction of missionaries. Under his administra- tion the province of New Granada developed raj)- idly, and most of the Indians were converted to Christianity. At his death his order possessed four- teen regular convents and forty training-schools for the Indian missions.

MIRANDA-RIBEIRO, Jose Cesario, Brazilian statesman, b. in Minas in 1792 ; d. in Rio Janeiro, 7 May. 1856. He received his earlv education in his native country, and in 1816 entered the Univer- sity of Coimbra, Portugal, where he was graduated and admitted to the bar in 1819. This same year his province elected him its representative to the constituent assembly of Lisbon, but the affairs of Brazil attracted his attention, and he returned in January, 1822. He was appointed judge of the district of S. Joao d'El Rei, and in 1824 of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and in that year was elected representative to the assembly, where by his devo- tion to the public welfare he gained the confidence of all parties. He was appointed inspector of dia- monds in the city of Diamantina in 1826 and held office until 1828, when he was called to be councillor of state. In 1831 he resigned to devote himself exclusively to calming the public excitement of that time, and thus prevented a general revolution in 1836. He was appointed president of the prov- ince of S. Paulo, and of Minas in 1837, and in both he gained reputation by his financial measures, which caused general prosperity. He was elected senator for the province of S. Paulo, 22 Feb., 1844, and in the senate his advice was much esteemed, above all in connection with education. In 1839 he was an active member of the Instituto geo- graphico Brasileiro, which is indebted to him for many services, and he also belonged to other scien- tific and literary societies.

MIREIL, Jules Cesar (me-ray), Canadian poet, b. in Sault Sainte Marie in 1699 ; d. in Versailles. France, in 1763. He was the son of a well-known Canadian officer, and, entering the army as a lieu- tenant in 1718, served in the regiment d'Auvergne in Canada for several years, afterward on the con- tinent in Germany, and again in Canada in 1757 as major of the regiment of Montcalm. He gal- lantly defended Fort St. George, and was wounded during the siege of Quebec in 1759, and made a prisoner, but was exchanged in 1760. Resigning after the conci usion of peace, he retired to Versailles, where he died a few months later. He published two volumes of poetry, " Les coraplaintes Indi- ennes," in which he translated into French verses the Indian recitatives that are chanted at funerals and weddings (Paris, 1742), and " Fleurs du Nou- veau Monde" (1751).

MISSIESSY, Edouard Thomas Bnrgues, Comte de (mis-see-see), French naval officer," b. in Forcalquier, Provence, in October, 1754; d. in Toulon in February, 1832. He entered the navy in 1769, became a lieutenant in 1778, and served during the whole of the war of American independ- ence. He became rear-admiral in 1794, and in 1805 was given the command of the squadron that assembled at Rochefort. He was to co-operate in the great expedition of Napoleon against the English fieet, and was ordered to sail for the West Indies to await there the arrival of Villeneuve, and with him to clear the Atlantic of English ships. Missiessy sailed on 11 May, and, eluding the pursuit of a superior English fleet, arrived on 20 June off Fort de France. After landing troops and taking supplies at Guadeloupe, he sailed for Dominique, and bombarded Les Roseaux, on which he levied an enormous contribution in July, 1805. He also took Nevis, St. Christopher, St. Lucia, and in Santo Do- mingo forced Dessalines to raise the siege of Cape Franyais, but, not receiving any tidings of Ville- neuve, he returned to France, thus causing the ruin of the whole plan. Napoleon in his " Memo- rial" has bitterly reproached Missiessy for this breach of faith, although in 1809 he promoted him to vice-admiral. Missiessy defended Antwerp in 1814, and in the same year was maritime governor of Toulon. He wrote technical works on the navy, and " Ma justification : Pourquoi je n"ai pas a"t- tendu Villeneuve aux Antilles " (Paris, 1828).

MISSROON, John Stoney, naval officer, b. in Charleston, S. C, in 1810 ; d.'in Boston, Mass., 23 Oct., 1865. He was educated in Liverpool, Eng- land, entered the U. S. navy as midshipman, 27 June, 1824, and became passed midshipman, 2C Feb., 1830, lieutenant, 31 Dec, 1833, commander, 14 Sept., 1855, and commodore, 16 July, 1862. At the time of his death he was ordnance-officer at the feoston navy-yard, and be had received special commendation in the last report of the chief of the bureau of ordnance.

MITCHEL, Charles Burton, senator, b. in Gallatin, Tenn., 19 Sept., 1815 ; d. in Washington, Ark., 20 Sept., 1864. He was graduated at the University of Nashville in 1833, and at Jefferson medical college, Philadelphia, in 1836. Removing to Wash-