Patrick E. Cleburne

Cleburne, Patrick E., General of the Confederate army, in the American civil war, was born near Queenstown, County of Cork, 17th March 1828. In 1850, after three years' service as a private in the British army, he emigrated to the United States, studied law, and settled down at Helena, Arkansas. He was in successful practice when the civil war broke out early in 1861, and almost immediately entered the Confederate service as a private, rising before long to be colonel of a regiment. In March 1862 he was made Brigadier-General, and was specially distinguished for his valour and ability at the battle of Shiloh. He was wounded at the battle of Perry ville. Appointed Major-General in December 1862, he commanded divisions at Murfreesboro' and Chickamauga; he distinguished himself in command of the rear-guard at Mission Ridge, and received the thanks of the Confederate Congress for his defence of Ringgold Gap; at Jonesboro' he covered the retreat of Hood's defeated army. General Cleburne was killed at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, 30th November 1864, aged 36. He possessed a commanding presence, was skilful and daring in action, and was very popular with both officers and men. Horace Greeley writing of his death, says: "The loss of Patrick Cleburne, the 'Stonewall Jackson of the West,' would of itself have been a rebel disaster."

Sources

37a. Biographical Dictionary—American Biography: Francis S. Drake. Boston, 1876.

40a. Biographical Dictionary—Lossing's Field-book of the American Revolution. 2 vols, 1852.