Irishman and Civil War Hero Remembered by an Idaho Neighbor

As a General in the Union Army, he led Irish volunteers at Gettysburg.  It was a dramatic change from where his life had been less than 20 years before.  He had been involved in a brief uprising against British rule and was condemned to death.  The sentence was commuted, and he was sent to what we now call Australia.  He escaped by swimming to a ship and made his way to San Francisco.  He then rode the rails to New York City, married, and organized Irish troops early in the Civil War.  His story is featured in a book titled The Great Shame.

The General remains a Hero

On Tuesday, I saw a post about him from the Ancient Order of Hibernians.  It mentioned that while he didn’t invent the modern Irish flag, he popularized its use.  Thomas Francis Meagher (pronounced Meagher) made history wherever he trod, which is why you’ll see a massive statue in his honor outside the Montana State Capitol in Helena.

After the war, he was appointed Montana’s first territorial Governor.  Then his story took an even stranger turn.  It’s believed he fell off a riverboat and drowned, however.  His remains were never found.  Rumors at the time said he was drunk, but Irish immigrants were stereotyped as being perpetually sloshed.  I’ve read that he also had many enemies, and some theories suggest he was killed.  The mystery may never be solved.

Life is Unpredictable

General Meagher’s story is a remarkable tale of how life can take sudden and unexpected turns, and he was an extraordinary human being.