Committees of various kinds were appointed and to one—the Historical—fell the lot of securing the appropriate floats to escort in the procession. It was obvious that they should claim the Clermont float, for was not Robert Fulton the American-born son of an Irish father and Irish mother? It was equally obvious that they should claim the Erie Canal float with which the name of Governor De Witt Clinton, also of Irish descent and one-time Mayor of New York was inseparably connected. In some predacious way the Scotch societies had secured the Fulton Ferry float, claiming Fulton to be a Scottish name. It was seen by the Historical Committee that an omission of a grave kind had been made by the designers of the floats in not having one to celebrate the giving of the first charter to the City of New York by Governor Dongan—a charter always quoted with approval by the commentators on New York’s civic history. Now Dongan was a fine official of well-balanced mind, a learned man and an Irishman, and his appointment came from King James II, who did not object to him as Irish and gave him the place because he was a Catholic as well as otherwise qualified. The Commission agreed to rectify its omission and ordered a Dongan float. The Clermont, Erie Canal and Dongan floats were thereafter assigned to the Irish societies, to man and to escort. Much amusing detail might be added to this but it can be indicated in the joyous way in which Martin Sheridan, the great athlete and champion hurler of the discus, was chosen to impersonate Robert Fulton and John Flanagan, the giant hammer-thrower of the Irish Athletic club, was named for the engineer. Thomas P. Tuite, whose admirable sketch of the life of Fulton is one of the memorable outcomes of the celebration, was enthusiastically impressed to act as steersman of the Erie Canal barge. With the Dongan float there was a difficulty. Major E. T. McCrystal, editor and soldier, was easily persuaded to stand for Governor Dongan, and it was not hard to get representatives for the New York councilmen who were to accept the charter, but when it came to getting impersonators for a file of British soldiers in red coats who were to stand as representatives of the British monarchy, there was indignation and revolt. Finally the British soldiers were cut out, and Dongan tendered his charter without any red-coated backing. The choosing of the ladies for the floats was wisely left to some ladies’ societies.