Thomas Francis Meagher

Thomas Francis Meagher
August 3, 1823(1823-08-03) – July 1, 1867 (aged 43)
Thomas Francis Meagher photo taken between 1862 and 1865
Nickname	Meagher of the Sword
Place of birth	Waterford, County Waterford, Ireland
Place of death	Missouri River, Montana Territory
Allegiance	Young Ireland Irish Confederation United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1861–65 (USA)
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	Company K, 69th New York Militia; Irish Brigade
Battles/wars	Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 American Civil War First Battle of Bull Run Peninsula Campaign Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville
Other work	Governor of Montana Territory

Thomas Francis Meagher (pronounced /ˈmɑrh/) (August 3, 1823 – July 1, 1867) was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders. He immigrated to the United States, where he became a Union Army general during the American Civil War and an American politician. Meagher became a revolutionary as a young man, fighting for Ireland's independence from British rule. He was known as "Meagher of the Sword" due to his fiery revolutionary speeches urging war to achieve the goal of independence. In 1848, the British charged and convicted Meagher and several colleagues with sedition; they were sentenced to death. Their sentences were commuted to penal transportation to Van Diemen's Land (the present-day state of Tasmania in Australia.)

In 1852, Meagher escaped to the United States and settled in New York City. There he studied law, worked as a journalist, and traveled to present lectures on the Irish cause. At the beginning of the [American Civil War]], he joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of brigadier general.^[1] He was most notable for recruiting and leading the Irish Brigade and encouraging Irish support for the cause of the Union. He was married twice and had one surviving son, from his first wife.

Following the Civil War, Meagher was appointed acting governor of the Montana Territory. In 1867, Meagher drowned in the swift-running Missouri River after falling from a steamboat at Fort Benton.

Family

Thomas Francis Meagher was born in No. 19, The Mall, Waterford City, Ireland. His father, Thomas Meagher (1796–1874), was a wealthy merchant who had retired to enter politics. He was twice elected Mayor of the City, which he also represented in Parliament from August 1847 to March 1857. He had lived in the city since he was a young man.^[2]

The senior Meagher was born in St John's Newfoundland, where his father, also Thomas (1763–1837),^[3] had emigrated from County Tipperary just before the turn of the 18th century. From his life as a farmer, the grandfather Meagher became a trader, and advanced to merchant, and shipowner, in the only British colony where the Irish constituted a majority of the population.^[4] It was here that the senior Thomas Meagher married Mary, née Crotty,^[3] and established a prosperous trade between St. John's and Waterford. Later, the grandfather placed his eldest son Thomas in Waterford to represent their business interests. With his move to Waterford, the Meagher family had come full circle, returning to Ireland to prosper. The son Thomas became a successful merchant in Waterford, whose economic success was followed by political office.^[4]

Thomas Francis Meagher's mother, Alicia Quan (1798–1827), was the second eldest daughter of Thomas Quan and Alicia Forristall. She died when Meagher was three and a half years old. Meagher had four siblings; a brother and three sisters. Of his siblings, only his older sister Christine Mary lived past childhood.^[5]

Early life and education

Meagher was educated at Catholic boarding schools. When Meagher was eleven, his family placed him in the care of the Jesuits at Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare.^[6] It was at Clongowes that he developed his skill of oratory, becoming at age 15 the youngest medalist of the Debating Society.^[7] These oratory skills would later distinguish Meagher during his years as a leading figure in Irish Nationalism.^[8] Though he gained a broad and deep education at Clongowes,^[7] as was typical, it did not include much about the history of his country or matters relating to Ireland.^[6]

After six years, Meagher left Ireland for the first time,^[9] to study in England at Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit institution in Lancashire.^[8] By the late 19th century, it was the largest Catholic college in England.^[10] Meagher's father regarded Trinity College, the only university in Ireland, as being both anti-Irish and anti-Catholic.^[6] Meagher established a reputation for developed scholarship and “rare talents.”^[8] While Meagher was at Stonyhurst, his English professors struggled to overcome his “horrible Irish brogue”; he acquired an Anglo-Irish upper-class accent that in turn grated on the ears of some of his countrymen.^[11] Despite his English accent and what some people perceived as a "somewhat affected manner", Meagher had so much eloquence as an orator as to lead his countrymen to forget his English idiosyncrasies. Meagher became a popular speaker "who had no compare" in Conciliation Hall, the meeting place of the Irish Repeal Association.^[12][13][14]

Young Ireland

Meagher returned to Ireland in 1843,^[15] with undecided plans for a career in the Austrian army, a tradition among a number of Irish families.^[11] In 1844 he traveled to Dublin with the intention of studying for the bar. He became involved in the Repeal Association, which worked for repeal of the Act of Union between Great Britain] and Ireland.^[16] Meagher was influenced by writers of the The Nation newspaper and fellow workers in the Repeal movement.^[11] The movement was nationwide. At a Repeal meeting held in Waterford on December 13, at which his father presided, Meagher acted as one of the Secretaries.^[16] He soon became popular on Burgh Quay,^[17] his eloquence at meetings making him a celebrated figure in the capital. Any announcement of Meagher's speaking would ensure a crowded hall.^[11]

In June 1846, the administration of Sir Robert Peel’s Tory Ministry fell, and the Liberals under Lord John Russell came to power. Daniel O’Connell tried to lead the Repeal movement to support both the Russell administration and English Liberalism. Repeal agitation was damped down in return for a distribution of generous patronage through Conciliation Hall.^[18] On June 15, 1846, Meagher denounced English Liberalism in Ireland, as he suspected the national cause of Repeal would be sacrificed to the Whig government. He thought the people striving for freedom would be “purchased back into factious vassalage.”^[19] Meagher and the other “Young Irelanders” (the epithet used by O’Connell to describe the young men of The Nation)^[20] vehemently denounced any movement toward English political parties, so long as Repeal was denied.

The promise of patronage and influence divided the Repeal Movement. Those who hoped to gain by government positions, also called The “Tail”, and described as the “corrupt gang of politicians who fawned on O’Connell” wanted to drive the Young Irelanders from the Repeal Association.^[21] Such opponents portrayed the Young Irelanders as revolutionaries, factionists, infidels and secret enemies of the Catholic Church.^[19] On July 13, O'Connell's followers introduced resolutions to declare that under no circumstances was a nation justified in asserting its liberties by force of arms.^[21]

In fact, the Young Irelanders had not, until then, advocated the use of physical force to advance the cause of repeal and opposed any such policy.^[22] The “Peace Resolutions” declared that physical force was immoral under any circumstances to obtain national rights. Although Meagher agreed that only moral and peaceful means should be adopted by the Association, he also said that if Repeal could not be carried by those means, he would adopt the more perilous risky but no less honorable choice of arms. When the Peace resolutions were proposed again on July 28, Meagher responded with his famous "Sword Speech".^[23]

Meagher held the Peace Resolutions were unnecessary. He believed that under existing circumstances, any provocation to arms would be senseless and wicked. He dissented from the Resolutions because of not wanting to pledge to the unqualified repudiation of physical force “in all countries, at all times, and in every circumstance.” He knew there were times when arms would suffice, and when political amelioration called for “a drop of blood, and many thousand drops of blood.” He “eloquently defended physical force as an agency in securing national freedom.”^[24] As Meagher carried the audience to his side, O'Connell's supporters believed they were at risk in not being able to drive out the Young Irelanders. O’Connell’s son John interrupted Meagher to declare that one of them had to leave the hall. William Smith O’Brien protested against John O’Connell’s attempt to suppress a legitimate expression of opinion, and left the meeting with other prominent Young Irelanders in defiance, never to return.^[21][24]

Irish Confederation

Trial of the Irish patriots at Clonmel. Meagher, Terence MacManus, and Patrick O'Donoghue receiving their sentence of death.

In January 1847, Meagher, together with John Mitchel, William Smith O'Brien, and Thomas Devin Reilly formed a new repeal body, the Irish Confederation. In 1848, Meagher and O'Brien went to France to study revolutionary events there, and returned to Ireland with the new Flag of Ireland, a tricolour of green, white and orange made by and given to them by French women sympathetic to the Irish cause.^[25] The acquisition of the flag is commemorated at the 1848 Flag Monument in the Irish parliament. The design used in 1848 was similar to the present flag, except that orange was placed next to the staff, and the red hand of Ulster decorated the white field. This flag was first flown in public on March 1, 1848, during the Waterford by-election, when Meagher and his friends flew the flag from the headquarters of Meagher's "Wolfe Tone Confederate Club" at No. 33, The Mall, Waterford.^[26]

Following the incident known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 or "Battle of Ballingarry" in August 1848, Meagher, Terence MacManus, O'Brien, and Patrick O'Donoghue were arrested, tried and convicted for sedition. Due to a newly passed ex post facto law, the sentence meant that Meagher and his colleagues were sentenced to be "hanged, drawn and quartered". It was after his trial that Meagher delivered his famous Speech From the Dock.^[27]

While awaiting execution in Richmond Gaol, Meagher and his colleagues were joined by Kevin Izod O'Doherty and John Martin. However, due to public outcry^[28] and international pressure,^[29] the death sentences were commuted by royal clemency to transportation to "the other side of the world." In 1849 all were sent to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania, Australia).^[30][31] On July 20, the day after being notified of his exile to Van Diemen's Land, Meagher announced that he wished henceforth to be known as Thomas Francis O'Meagher.^[32]

Van Diemen's Land

Meagher accepted the "ticket-of-leave" in Tasmania, giving his word not to attempt to escape without first notifying the authorities, in return for comparative liberty on the island. A further stipulation was that each of the Irish "gentleman" convicts were sent to reside in separate districts: Meagher to Campbell Town and shortly after to Ross (where his cottages still stand), MacManus to Launceston and later near New Norfolk, Kevin O'Doherty to Oatlands, John Mitchel and John Martin to Bothwell, O'Brien (who initially refused a ticket-of-leave) to the "Penal Station" on Maria Island and later to New Norfolk. Throughout his time in Tasmania, Meagher continued to meet clandestinely with his fellow Irish rebels, especially at Interlaken on Lake Sorell.^[33][34]

On February 22, 1851 Meagher married Katherine Bennett ("Bennie"). Katherine was the daughter of Bryan Bennett, a convicted highwayman.^[35] This marriage was not approved of by Meagher's fellow exiles. Soon after they were married Katherine became ill.^[36] Less than a year after his wedding in January 1852, Meagher abruptly surrendered his "ticket-of-leave" and planned his escape to the United States. Meagher sent his "ticket-of-leave" and a letter to the authorities, along with notifying them he would consider himself a free man in twenty-four hours. At the time of his escape, Katherine was in an advanced stage of pregnancy and stayed behind. Following Meagher's departure from Van Diemen's Land, their son was born, but he died shortly after Meagher reached New York City. The infant son was buried at St. John's Catholic Church, the oldest Catholic church in Australia, in Richmond, Tasmania, Australia. The small grave is placed directly next to the church, with a plaque noting his father Meagher's being an Irish Patriot and member of the Young Irelanders.^[37]

Following Meaghers' escape, Katherine was taken to Ireland. Eventually she was able to spend a short time in the United States with Meagher,^[37] before returning to Ireland pregnant and in poor health. She gave birth to Meaghers' only child - a boy, who was named after his father. She died in Ireland in May 1854, at the home of Meaghers' father.^[35]Meagher never met his son.

Arrival in the United States

Meagher arrived in New York City in May 1852. Here, he pursued law and journalism, and became a noted lecturer. Soon after, Meagher became a United States citizen.^[38] He eventually founded a weekly newspaper called the Irish News.^[31][35] Meagher and John Mitchel, who had also since escaped, published the radical pro-Irish, anti-British Citizen.^[39] After his escape, the question of "honor" was raised by Mitchel, among others. Meagher agreed to subject himself to a "trial" of American notables, and undertook to return to Van Diemen's Land if they held against him. The simulated court martial found for Meagher, and he was vindicated.^[37]

Soon Meagher courted Elizabeth Townsend, the daughter of Peter Townsend and Caroline (née) Parish of Monroe, New York.^[35] The Townsend family were wealthy Protestants, who opposed Meagher's marrying their daughter. Eventually, the Townsend family relented, Elizabeth converted to Catholicism, and in 1856 she and Meagher married.^[40] During this time, prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War, Meagher traveled to Costa Rica, in part to determine whether Central America would be suitable for Irish immigration,^[41] and also to write travel articles for Harper's Magazine.^[42] Prior to the American Civil War, he was a captain in the New York State Militia.^[43]

American Civil War

Meagher's decision to serve the Union was not a simple one; before the onset on the war he had supported the South. He had visited the South to lecture, and was sympathetic to its people.^[44] Further, his friend John Mitchel supported the secessionists. However, Meagher and Mitchel split over the issue of slavery.^[45] Mitchel went to the Confederate capitol in Richmond, Virginia, and his three sons served with the Confederate States Army.

Coat of arms of the 69th New York Militia.

On April 12, 1861, the first shots were fired at U.S. held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. This action by the South pushed Meagher into support of the Union cause.^[44] In lectures, including a famous speech made at the Boston Music Hall in September 1861, he implored the Irish of the North to defend the Union.^[46][47] He also began recruiting, taking out advertisements in local newspapers to form Company K of the 69th Regiment (which would be known as the "Fighting 69th") of the New York State Militia. One such advertisement published in the New-York Daily Tribune read: "One hundred young Irishman - healthy, intelligent and active - wanted at once to form a Company under command of Thomas Francis Meagher"^[44]

With the commencement of the war in 1861, Meagher volunteered to fight for the Union. He raised support for the Union's effort and he recruited a full company of infantrymen to be attached to the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment New York State Volunteers. 69th on April 29,^[43] the regiment was added to Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia. Colonel Corcoran but was captured during the Battle. Despite the Confederate victory, the Irish of New York's 69th fought bravely, winning praise from the media and support from the Irish of New York.^[48] Following the First Battle of Bull Run, Meagher returned to New York to form the Irish Brigade^[49] which he led with the rank of brigadier general (effective February 3)^[43] in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862.

General Meagher at the Battle of Fair Oaks, June 1, 1862.

In late May during the Battle of Fair Oaks, part of the Peninsula Campaign, Meagher saw his first battle as a brigadier general. The Union was defeated at Fair Oaks, but the Irish Brigade developed a reputation as fierce fighters. This reputation was solidified when the New York printmaker Currier and Ives published a lithograph depicting Meagher on horseback leading his brigade on bayonet charge.^[50] Following the Battle of Fair Oaks, Meagher was given command of a non-Irish regiment. This experiment was unsuccessful, and thereafter Meagher would only command Irishmen.^[51] Meagher's troops again became engaged during the Peninsula Campaign at the Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27. The Irish Brigade arrived in battle after a quick march though the Chickahominy River, as reinforcements for Fitz John Porter's weakening forces. Later, this march and battle would be recalled by historians as the highlight of Meagher's military career.^[52]

The Irish Brigade suffered huge losses at the Battle of Antietam that fall. Meagher's brigade led an attack at Antietam on September 17 against the Sunken Road, which was referred to after the battle as "Bloody Lane", and lost 540 men to heavy volleys before they were ordered to withdraw.^[53][54] During the battle, Meagher was injured when he fell off his horse. There were reports that Meagher had been drunk, causing the fall.^[55] However, official reports from Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan indicated that Meagher's horse had been shot.^[56] This was not the first time that Meagher faced this accusation, as it was falsely reported that he was drunk at the First Battle of Bull Run.^[57] The high number of casualties, and the rumors of being drunk on the battlefield, lead to increased criticism of Meagher's command ability.^[55]

The Irish Brigade suffered its largest losses at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Brigade chaplain Father William Corby, in speaking of the brigade, said it was "a body of about 4,000 Catholic men marching – most of them – to death."^[58] Meagher led 1,200 men into battle, and "two hundred and eighty men only appeared under arms to represent the Irish Brigade" the next morning.^[59] Meagher was also wounded in this battle when he was hit in the leg by a cannonball.^[60] Meagher spent the next four months recovering from his injuries and took charge of his command three days prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville.^[61] After limited engagement at Chancellorsville, Meagher resigned his commission on May 14, 1863,^[43] over the Army's refusal to let him return to New York to raise reinforcements for his battered brigade.^[62] The brigade was 4,000 strong in mid–May 1862, but by late May 1863 it had only a few hundred combat-ready men left.^[63]

Following the death of another leading Irish political figure, Brig. Gen. Michael Corcoran, Meagher's resignation was rescinded on December 23^[43] and he was assigned to duty in the Western Theater beginning in September 1864. He commanded the District of Etowah in the Department of the Cumberland from November 29 to January 5, 1865. Meagher then briefly commanded a provisional division within the Army of the Ohio from February 9–25, and resigned from the U.S. Army on May 15.^[43]

Territorial governorship of Montana

Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher

After the war, Meagher was appointed Secretary of the new Territory of Montana, and soon after arriving there was designated as Acting Governor.^[64] In this office Meagher attempted to create a working relationship between the territory's Republican executive and judicial branches, and the Democratic legislative branch. He failed, making enemies in both camps. Further, he angered many when he reprieved a fellow Irishman who had been convicted of manslaughter.^[64]

The Territory of Montana was created from the eastern portion of Idaho Territory as its population increased with an influx of settlers' following the discovery of gold in 1862. When the Civil War ended, a flood of settlers entered the territory. Searching for riches, they often disregarded U.S. treaties with the local Native American tribes. In 1867, the renowned Western explorer John Bozeman was reportedly killed by a band of Sioux, who also made several other attacks against settlers. Meagher responded by organizing a militia to retaliate. He secured funding from the federal government to campaign against the Native Americans, but was unable to find the offenders, or retain the militia's cohesion. He was later criticized for his actions.^[65]

Meagher called Montana's first constitutional convention, as a written constitution approved by its citizens and the US Congress was one of the conditions of statehood. Not enough residents voted for the constitution and statehood to qualify. In addition, copies of the constitution were lost on the way to a printer, and Congress never received copies for review. Montana at last gained statehood in 1889, more than 20 years after Meagher's death. ^[66]

Disappearance

In the summer of 1867 Meagher traveled to Fort Benton, Montana, to receive a shipment of guns and ammunition sent by General Sherman for use by the Montana Militia.^[67] On the way to Fort Benton, the Missouri River terminus for steamboat travel, Meagher fell ill and stopped for six days to recuperate. When he reached Fort Benton, he was still ill.^[68] Sometime in the early evening of July 1, 1867, Meagher fell overboard from the steamboat G. A. Thompson, into the Missouri River. The pilot described the waters as "...instant death – water twelve feet deep and rushing at the rate of ten miles an hour."^[69] His body was never recovered.^[43]

Because Meagher was outspoken and controversial, some believed his death to be suspicious. Since people prefer conspiracy to chance and his body was never recovered, many theories circulated about his death.^[31] In 1913 a man claimed to have carried out the murder of Meagher for the price of $8000, but then recanted.^[70][71] Some said that he had been drinking, and simply fell overboard.^[72] Others suggest that he may have been murdered by Montana political enemies, or by a Confederate soldier from the war,^[73] and some supposed that Native Americans were responsible.^[74]

Meagher was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth Townsend (1840–1906), and his son by his first wife Katherine Bennett.

Legacy and honors

• A statue of Meagher, on horseback with sword raised, was erected in 2004 on the Mall in his home city of Waterford, Ireland.^[73][75]
• A statue was erected in his honor on the front lawn of the Capitol grounds in Helena.^[76] *Meagher County, Montana was named for him.
• A monument at the Antietam battlefield was dedicated in his honor.^[77] The inscription on the granite monument reads:

"The Irish Brigade commander was born in Waterford City, Ireland on August 23, 1823; a well educated orator, he joined the young Ireland movement to liberate his nation. This led to his exile to a British Penal Colony in Tasmania Australia in 1849. He escaped to the United States in 1852 and became an American citizen. When the Civil War broke out, he raised Company K, Irish Zouaves, for the 69th New York State Militia Regiment, which fought at First Bull Run under Colonel Michael Corcoran. Subsequently Meagher raised the Irish Brigade and commanded it from February 3, 1862 to May 14, 1863 til later commanded a military district in Tennessee. After the War Meagher became Secretary and Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. He drowned in the Missouri River near Fort Benton on July 1, 1867. His body was never recovered."

See also

United States Army portal

American Civil War portal

• List of American Civil War generals

References

Specific

General

• Akenson, Donald H. (2006). An Irish History of Civilization. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP. ISBN 0773528911. http://books.google.com/books?id=p0CpvgRUqK8C&pg=PA126&dq=Van+Diemen%27s+Land+meagher&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U2alat0NtV0s6ItJqeDZu-jOgNTVQ#PPA126,M1. 
• Bruce, Susannah Ural (2006). The Harp and the Eagle: Irish-American Volunteers and the Union Army, 1861-1865. NYU Press. ISBN 081479940X. http://books.google.com/books?id=_XIZDhnfcOkC&printsec=frontcover#PPP1,M1. 
• Cavanagh, Micahel (1892). Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher - The Leading Events of his career. Worchester, MA: The Messenger Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZbsgAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=thomas+francis+meagher&lr=#PPP11,M1. 
• Doheny, Michael (1951). The Felon's Track. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. 
• Duffy, Charles Gavan (1888). Four Years of Irish History 1845-1849. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 
• Duffy, Charles Gavan (1880). Young Ireland. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. 
• Dungan, Myles (2006). How the Irish Won the West. Dublin: New Ireland. ISBN 9781905494606. 
• Eicher, John H.; and Simon, John Y. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=Fs0Ajlnjl6AC&printsec=frontcover#PPA385,M1. 
• Griffith, Arthur (1916). Meagher of the Sword, :Speeches of Thomas Francis Meagher in Ireland 1846-1848. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd. 
• Lonergan, Thomas S. (1913), Daly, Edward Hamilton, ed., "General Thomas Francis Meagher", The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society XII: 111–126, http://books.google.com/books?id=8u7uf_mgMakC&pg=RA1-PA111&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0 
• Lyons, W. F. (2007). Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher - His Political and Military Career. Dickens Press. ISBN 1406730270. http://books.google.com/books?id=XWagJullHZgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0. 
• O'Sullivan, T. F. (1945). Young Ireland. The Kerryman Ltd. 
• Ua Cellaigh, Seán; Sullivan, T. D., A. M., and D. B. (1953). Speeches from the Dock. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. 
• Wylie, Paul R. (2007). The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806138475. http://books.google.com/books?id=QaLtw7gUkf0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Irish+General:+Thomas+Francis+Meagher&sig=6Ch1w1wn0HfKxPuju9w5KjRPn2g. 

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