Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/677

Rh New York city till 1847, studied law, and was a judge of the Cincinnati court of common pleas in 1853-'5. He took part in the Liberal Republican movement of 1872, and was appointed minister to Italy in 1885. He is the author of &ldquo;General Principles of the Philosophy of Nature&rdquo; (Boston, 1848) and &ldquo;Concepts and Theories of Modern Physics&rdquo; (New York, 1882).  STANBERY, Henry, attorney-general, b. in New York city, 20 Feb., 1803; d. there, 26 June, 1881. He was the son of Jonas Stanbery, a physician, who removed to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1814. Henry was graduated at Washington college, Pa., in 1819, and began the study of law in that year, but could not be admitted to the bar until he was of age, in 1824. Then, at the invitation of Thomas Ewing, he began practice in Lancaster county, Ohio, and rode the circuit with him. Mr. Stanbery remained for many years at Lancaster. In 1846 the office of attorney-general of Ohio was created by the general assembly, and he was elected to be its first occupant. He accordingly removed to Columbus, where he resided for about five years. At that time the U. S. courts were held there, and Judge Stanbery established a large and valuable practice in them as well as in the supreme court of Ohio. In 1850 he was elected a delegate to the convention that framed the present state constitution. In 1853 he removed to Cincinnati, and in 1866 he was appointed attorney-general of the United States by President Johnson. This office he accepted, after consultation with his friends, solely from a desire to assist in carrying the government safely through the perilous period that followed the war, and resigned it at the request of the executive to become one of his counsel on the impeachment trial. His health at the time was so delicate that most of his arguments were submitted in writing. On the termination of the trial he was nominated by the president to the office of justice of the U. S. supreme court; but the senate refused to confirm him. He then returned to Cincinnati, where he was president of the Law association of that city, but held no other public office. He wrote occasionally on political questions, and sometimes made public addresses. As a lawyer, although he was learned in technicalities and skilled in applying the nice rules of evidence and practice, he especially delighted in the discussion of general principles. As a practitioner he was quick to perceive the slightest weakness in his opponent's case. He never attempted to browbeat or mislead a witness, but knew how to secure full and true answers even from those who had come upon the stand with hostile intentions.   STANDISH, Myles, soldier, b. in Lancashire, England, about 1584; d. in Duxbury, Mass., 3 Oct., 1656. It is supposed that he was a scion of the Standish family of Duxbury Hall in Lancashire, and that his name was erased from the family register to deprive him of a share in the estate. The name is ancient, and Froissart, describing the meeting between Richard II. and Wat Tyler, relates how the latter was killed by a &ldquo;squyer of the kynges called John Standysshe,&rdquo; who was knighted for this act. Later another Sir John Standish participated in the battle of Agincourt. While still a youth, Myles entered the English forces on the continent, and after serving in the Netherlands he joined in Leyden the colony that sailed in the &ldquo;Mayflower&rdquo; from Plymouth, England, on 16 Sept., 1620. The vessel anchored in the Bay of Cape Cod on 21 Nov., 1620, and on 25 Nov. sixteen armed men, &ldquo;every one his Musket, Sword, and Corslet, Under the command of Captaine Myles Standish,&rdquo; were sent ashore for a second exploration. They marched in single file through what is now Provincetown, where they saw several Indians, followed their tracks about ten miles, and spent the night in the woods. Three subsequent expeditions were sent out. On the third, after landing in the vicinity of Eastham, they went toward Wellfleet, found an Indian burying-place and Indian houses, and encamped before nightfall at Nanskeket. On the following day they were surprised by the Indians, upon whom Standish fired, but the skirmish was slight. On 29 Sept., 1621, after the founding of Plymouth, a party of ten men, with three savages as guides, under command of Standish. who had been appointed military captain in February, 1621, explored Massachusetts bay. They anchored off what is now Thomson's island, which Standish explored and named Trevore. This party also explored the broad plain known as &ldquo;Massachusetts fields,&rdquo; the gathering-place of the tribes, which comprised a part of what is now Quincy. In 1622 Thomas Weston sent out emigrants to plant a new colony, which they did at Wessagussett (now Weymouth). They incurred the enmity of the Massachusetts Indians, who formed a plot to destroy them; but, fearing that such an act would be avenged by the Plymouth colony, they decided to exterminate the English. Before this plan was executed, Massasoit revealed the plot, and the Plymouth colonists determined to send an expedition to Wessagnssett. Fearful of exciting the suspicion of the Indians by an armed body, Myles Standish selected eight men to march to the relief of that colony, which he found in a wretched condition. By Massasoit's advice, Standish, with a few of his men, enticed the chiefs Pecksuot and Wituwamat, with a half-brother of the latter, into a room, and, closing the door, killed the Indians after a desperate fight. This was the first Indian blood that was shed by the Pilgrims. A general battle ensued in the open field, from which the Indians fled and in which no lives were lost. This victory of Standish spread terror among the savages, and, as a warning to further depredations, the head of Wituwamat was exposed to view at Plymouth. When the news of Standish's exploit reached the pious John Robinson, the pastor at Leyden, he wrote to the governor of Plymouth on 19 Dec., 1623, &ldquo;to consider the disposition of their captain, who was of a warm temper,&rdquo; and concluded with the remark: &ldquo;O how happy a thing had it been that you had converted some before you had killed any!&rdquo; In the summer of 1625 the colony was in great trouble, owing to its unhappy relation with its partners, the so-called &ldquo;merchant adventurers&rdquo; in London, and Capt. Standish was sent to England to seek relief, bearing a letter from Gov. William Bradford to the council of New England urging their intervention in behalf of the colony; but Bradford says that, on account of the plague in London, Standish could