Thomas Francis Meagher

Meagher, Thomas Francis

Meagher, Thomas Francis ˈmähər (1823–67) Union army officer, born in Waterford, Ireland. He raised the famed Irish Brigade, which he commanded during the Peninsular campaign and at Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg (all 1862). When denied replacements for casualties suffered in the last encounter, Meagher resigned his commission (1863) but later accepted an appointment as a military administrator. During the last year of the conflict he assisted with the military occupation of Savannah, Georgia. After the war he served as acting territorial governor of Montana until his death by drowning.

As an Irish nationalist who advocated violent overthrow of the British, Meagher was convicted of high treason and condemned to death in 1848. The following year his sentence was commuted and he was banished for life to Tasmania. He escaped in 1852 and made his way to New York City.

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"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-MeagherThomasFrancis.html

"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-MeagherThomasFrancis.html

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Meagher, Thomas Francis

Meagher, Thomas Francis (1823–67), Young Irelander. The son of a merchant in Waterford, his attack on Daniel O'Connell's peace resolutions in 1846 earned him the title ‘Meagher of the Sword’. A member of the war council of the Irish Confederation, he was transported to Tasmania, but escaped in 1852. He became a journalist in New York, and commanded the pro‐Union Irish Brigade during the American Civil War. He was appointed temporary governor of Montana territory in 1866, but was drowned in the Missouri the following year.

Peter Gray

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"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-MeagherThomasFrancis.html

"Meagher, Thomas Francis." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-MeagherThomasFrancis.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

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