Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (March 16 or March 17, 1828 – November 30, 1864) was an Anglo-
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
soldier, best known for his service in the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, where he rose to the rank of major general.
Born in
County CorkCounty Cork is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Munster, and was named after the city of Cork...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, Cleburne served in the 41st Regiment of Foot of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
after failing to gain entrance into
Trinity College of MedicineTrinity College Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of...
. He emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
three years later. At the beginning of the Civil War, Cleburne sided with the
Southern StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. He progressed from being a private soldier in the local militia to a division commander. Cleburne participated in many successful military campaigns, especially the
Battle of Stones RiverThe Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
and the
Battle of Ringgold GapThe Battle of Ringgold Gap was fought November 27, 1863, in northwest Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate victory by Maj. Gen...
. His strategic ability gained him the nickname "Stonewall of the West". He was killed in 1864, in the Battle of Franklin.
Early life
Cleburne was born in Ovens, County Cork,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, the second son of Dr. Joseph Cleburne, a middle-class physician of
Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until 1871, or to a lesser...
ancestry. Patrick's mother died when he was 18 months old, and he was an orphan at 15. He followed his father into the study of medicine, but failed his entrance exam to
Trinity College of MedicineTrinity College Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of...
in 1846. In response to this failure, he enlisted in the 41st Regiment of Foot of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
, subsequently rising to the rank of corporal.
Three years later, Cleburne bought his discharge and emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with two brothers and a sister. After spending a short time in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
, he settled in
Helena, ArkansasHelena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
, where he obtained employment as a pharmacist and was readily accepted into the town's social order. During this time, Cleburne became close friends with
Thomas C. HindmanThomas Carmichael Hindman, Jr. was a lawyer, United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas, and a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
, who would later parallel his course as a Confederate Major General. The two men also formed a business partnership with William Weatherly to buy a newspaper, the
Democratic Star, in December 1855. In 1856, Cleburne and Hindman were both wounded by gunshots during a street fight in Helena with members of the Know-Nothing Party following a debate. Cleburne was shot in the back, turned around and shot one of his attackers, killing him. The attackers hid until Cleburne collapsed on the streets and then left. After the men recovered, they appeared before a grand jury to respond to any charges brought against them. They were exonerated and, afterwards, went to Hindman's parents' house in Mississippi. By 1860, he was a naturalized citizen, a practicing lawyer, and very popular with the local residents.
Service in the Confederate Army
When the issue of
secessionAttempts or aspirations of secession from the United States have been a feature of the politics of the country since its birth. The line between actions based on an alleged constitutional right of secession as opposed to actions justified by the extraconstitutional natural right of revolution has...
reached a crisis, Cleburne sided with the
Southern statesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. His choice was not due to any love of slavery, which he claimed not to care about, but out of affection for the Southern people who had adopted him as one of their own. As the crisis mounted, Cleburne joined the local militia company (the Yell Rifles) as a private soldier. He was soon elected captain. He led the company in the seizure of the U.S. Arsenal in Little Rock in January 1861. When Arkansas left the Union, the Yell Rifles became part of the 1st Arkansas Infantry, later designated the 15th Arkansas, of which he was elected Colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general on March 4, 1862.
Cleburne served at the
Battle of ShilohThe Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard launched a surprise...
, the
Battle of RichmondThe Battle of Richmond, Kentucky — took place on and around what is now the grounds of the Blue Grass Army Depot, outside Richmond, Kentucky....
(Kentucky), where he was wounded in the face, and the
Battle of PerryvilleThe Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won...
. After the
Army of TennesseeThe Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
retreated to its namesake state in late 1862, Cleburne was promoted to division command and served at the
Battle of Stones RiverThe Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
, where his division advanced three miles as it routed the Union right wing and drove it back to the Nashville Pike and its final line of defense. He was promoted to major general on December 13.
During the campaigns of 1863 in
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, Cleburne and his soldiers fought at the
Battle of ChickamaugaThe Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.The battle was...
. At the
Battle of WauhatchieThe Battle of Wauhatchie was fought October 28–29, 1863, in Hamilton and Marion Counties, Tennessee, and Dade County, Georgia, in the American Civil War.-Background:...
near
ChattanoogaChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee , and the seat of Hamilton County. Located in southeastern Tennessee on Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga lies approximately 120 miles to the northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, about 135...
they conducted a rare night assault. They successfully resisted a much larger Union force under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on the northern end of Missionary Ridge during the
Battle of Missionary RidgeThe Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the...
, and at the
Battle of Ringgold GapThe Battle of Ringgold Gap was fought November 27, 1863, in northwest Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate victory by Maj. Gen...
in northern Georgia, in which Cleburne's men again protected the Army of Tennessee as it retreated to Tunnel Hill, Georgia. Cleburne and his troops received an official Thanks from the Confederate Congress for their actions during this campaign.
Cleburne's strategic use of terrain, his ability to hold ground where others failed, and his talent in foiling the movements of the enemy earned him fame, and gained him the nickname "Stonewall of the West." Federal troops were quoted as dreading to see the blue flag of Cleburne's Division across the battlefield. General
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career United States Army officer, an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history. Lee was the son of Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" , Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter...
referred to him as "a meteor shining from a clouded sky".
By late 1863, it had become obvious to Cleburne that the Confederacy was losing the war because of the growing limitations of its manpower and resources. In 1864, he dramatically called together the leadership of the Army of Tennessee and put forth the proposal to emancipate slaves and enlist them in the Confederate Army to secure Southern independence. This proposal was met with polite silence at the meeting, and while word of it leaked out, it went unremarked, much less officially recognized. From his letter outlining the proposal:
Death and legacy
Prior to the campaigning season of 1864, Cleburne became engaged to Susan Tarleton of
Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census...
. Their marriage was never to be, as Cleburne was killed during an ill-conceived assault (which he opposed) on
UnionThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
fortifications at the Battle of Franklin, just south of
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
, on November 30, 1864. He was last seen advancing on foot toward the Union line with his sword raised, after his horse was shot out from under him. Accounts later said that he was found just inside the Federal line and his body carried back to an aid station along the Columbia Turnpike. Confederate war records indicate he died of a shot to the abdomen, or possibly a bullet that went through his heart. When Confederates found his body, his boots were gone, as was his sword, watch, and anything else of value.
Cleburne's remains were laid to rest at
St. John's Episcopal ChurchSt. John's Episcopal Church is a historic church in Columbia, Tennessee, United States. Built in 1839 in the Gothic Revival style, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970. No longer an operating church, it is only used once annually for services. The attached...
near
Mount Pleasant, TennesseeMount Pleasant is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,491 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Pleasant is located at ....
, where they remained for six years. He had first observed St. John's during the Army of Tennessee's march into Tennessee during the campaign that led to the Battle of Franklin and commented that it was the place he would like to buried because of its great beauty and resemblance to his Irish homeland. In 1870, he was disinterred and returned to his adopted hometown of
Helena, ArkansasHelena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
, with much fanfare, and buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, overlooking the Mississippi River.
William J. HardeeWilliam Joseph Hardee was a career U.S. Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and fighting in the Mexican-American War...
, Cleburne's former corps commander, had this to say when he learned of his loss: "Where this division defended, no odds broke its line; where it attacked, no numbers resisted its onslaught, save only once; and there is the grave of Cleburne."
Several geographic features are named after Patrick Cleburne, including
Cleburne County in AlabamaCleburne County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Major General Patrick Cleburne, of Arkansas. As of 2000 the population was 14,123. Its county seat is Heflin.- History :...
and
ArkansasCleburne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 24,046. The county seat and most populous city in the county is Heber Springs, while the largest city by area is Greers Ferry. Cleburne County was formed on February 20, 1883, and named for...
, and the city of
Cleburne, TexasCleburne is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States. According to 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 29,050. It is the county seat of Johnson County. Cleburne is named for a Confederate General, Patrick Cleburne...
.
In popular media
Cleburne is the subject of Justin S. Murphy's 2008
graphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using the comics form. The term is employed in a broad manner, encompassing non-fiction works and thematically linked short stories as well as fictional stories across a number of genres.Graphic novels are typically...
,
Cleburne.
See also
- Irish military diaspora
The Irish military diaspora refers to the many people either of Irish birth or extraction , who have served in non-Irish military forces, regardless of rank, duration of service, or success.-Austria:* Laval Nugent von Westmeath...
- Irish regiments
Further reading
- Buck, Irving A., Cleburne and His Command, Dayton, Ohio: Morningside Bookshop, reprint 1992. First published 1908.
- Nash, Charles E., Biographical Sketches of Gen. Pat Cleburne and Gen. T.C. Hindman, Dayton, Ohio: Morningside Bookshop, reprint 1977. First published 1898.
- Purdue, Howell, and Elizabeth Purdue, Pat Cleburne, Confederate General, Hill Junior College Press, 1973.
- Symonds, Craig L.
Craig Lee Symonds is a retired professor and chairman of the history department at the United States Naval Academy...
, Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War. University Press of Kansas, 1997, ISBN 0-7006-0820-6.
External links