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-
