Happy Birthday to Gen. Cleburne

[thea_447]

Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was born in Ovens, County Cork, Ireland on March
16, 1828. The second son of Dr. Joseph Cleburne, the only physician in the
locale, Patrick grew up in comfortable, middle class surroundings and
privilege. However life was not without its tragedy. His mother died when
he was eighteen months old, and by the time the boy reached age fifteen,
his father had also died. He pursued the family tradition of studying
medicine, but failed the entrance exam to Trinity College in February 1846. Pride and his sense of honor led him to enlist in the 41st Regiment of Foot of the British Army to escape his failure. Three and one half years later, he
bought his discharge and came to America with two brothers and an older
sister. He settled in Helena, Arkansas, in 1850, first as a druggist
until he became a naturalized citizen. In 1856 he began the practice of law, and was senior partner with Cleburne, Scaife and Mangum by 1860.

Cleburne joined the Yell Rifles of Phillips as a private, and was soon
elected Captain of the company. From this position he rose swiftly in
rank, through the early months of the war and became Colonel of the 1st
Arkansas.


When Gen. William J. Hardee was put in command of Confederate troops in
Arkansas, he quickly recognized the gem he had in an officer, and secured
Cleburne's promotion to Brigadier General on March 4, 1862.
Shiloh, the Kentucky Campaign and Murfreesboro were ahead for Patrick
Cleburne. He was severely wounded in the mouth at Richmond, Ky. on August
30. Returning to duty in time to participate in the Battle of Perryville
on October 8, he proved his capability in a charge on the field that led to
Confederate victory. After the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee December
31and January 1, 1863, Cleburne was promoted to Major General.
Through the campaigns of 1863, Cleburne became more outspoken along with
his superior and mentor William J. Hardee on the incompetence of Gen. Braxton
Bragg. After the Battle of Chickamauga and the Chattanooga Campaign,
Cleburne achieved lasting military fame for his defense of Tunnel Hill on
Missionary Ridge in Tennessee and at the Battle of Ringgold Gap in North
Georgia. His brilliant tactical command in the use of his small force, and
strategic utilization of terrain remain among the most compelling in
military history to study.
Always pensive and observant, he realized the deplorable state of morale
in the army, and the straitened conditions of the Confederacy in general were
working against the goal of independence. He had a solution which he
earnestly believed would turn the tide in favor of the South, both
militarily and politically, and on January 3, 1864, he met with Gen.
Joseph Johnston and other high command personalities in Dalton, Georgia to read
his proposal on emancipating the slaves and enlisting them in the Confederate
army. His concept was shocking to some, endorsed by others, but ultimately
rejected by President Jefferson Davis at the urging of his military
advisor in Richmond, Braxton Bragg.
Patrick Cleburne accepted his superiors' suggestions to suppress his
proposal on enlisting slaves, and accompanied his friend William J.
Hardee as best man to Hardee's wedding in Demopolis, Alabama. Cleburne met Susan
Tarleton, the 24-year-old daughter of a Mobile, Alabama planter, and was
love struck. He proposed to her before his ten-day furlough was up, and
she agreed to become engaged to him. The spring of 1864 began military
operations, which culminated in the Atlanta Campaign. Patrick Cleburne
fought valiantly at every battle, from the opening shots at Rocky Face Gap
until the end at Jonesboro in August. He received no other promotions,
though vacancies occurred for corps commander. He was distressed when Hood
replaced Joe Johnston as commander-in-chief of the Army of Tennessee, and
marched his division north with the army in the Tennessee Campaign. In a
desperate assault on Union breastworks at Franklin, Tennessee on November
30, 1864, Patrick Cleburne was killed in action replaced Joe Johnston as commander-in-chief of the Army of Tennessee, and
marched his division north with the army in the Tennessee Campaign. In a
desperate assault on Union breastworks at Franklin, Tennessee on November
30, 1864, Patrick Cleburne was killed in action beside his men. He was
buried at St. John's Church near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee. In April 1870,
his remains were disinterred and brought back to Helena, Arkansas, where
he was reburied in an impressive ceremony in Evergreen Confederate Cemetery.
His fiancée Susan Tarleton, married a classmate of her brother's, but died
of a swelling of the brain on June 30, 1868.

[scone]

"Where his division defended, no odds broke its lines; where it attacked, no numbers resisted its onslaught, save only once - and there is the grave of Cleburne and his heroic division." Gen. William Hardee

May We take time To not only Remember Gen. Cleburne on his Birth Day but all the Irish Lads that fought on either side during the WBTS.

[william42]

Thanks Thea and Steve.. I've learned a lot about Gen Cleburne through this site. I've done a lot of reading in general on the war, but the Cleburne information hasn't stuck for some odd reason. Thanks for bringing it up Thea...Terry

[thea_447]

I'm glad you enjoyed it but I have to apologize for the repetition towards the end. I have not got the knack yet of being able to tell when an article is too long for one post and in my eagerness to get it right, I tried several times to post it. This last one I thought was correct and so I didn't proof-read it before submitting it.

Poor reader. I will endeavor not to let this happen again because it makes the sentence almost incomprehensible.

[RebAl]

The grave of General Cleburne at Helena, Arkansas which I visited a most beautiful and peaceful cemetery.

[sgtcsa]

Thea,
Let me add my voice to the acolades that have been heaped upon you. The Confederacy lost a great man at Franklin. Wasn't he known as the 'Jackson' of the West? I believe he was. There, is just one reason why the South found itself in such dire straights before the war was over. They lost so many of their prominent leaders, ie.....Jackson, Cleburne, A.P. Hill, A.S. Johnston and a few more, which I shant name here, but you get my point. No wonder the South finally capitulated, there was no one left to lead, much less fight, at the end. No wonder also, that Grant was considered such a great leader for the North........He had so much more to work with. He just bludgened the South to it's knees. The only way he got the best of Lee, was that he had more, not that he out genereled Lee. Lee did wonders with he had, and he still could have won, had he more troops. 120,000 against 30,000 ain't real good odds. It's almost a minor miracle that he held out as long as he did, even if he did fight a defencesive battle, at Petersburg. Oh well, woulda, coulda, shoulda......all we can do is ........surmise. A salute to one of the South's great leaders....Patrick Cleburne! Happy Birthday

Richard (sgtcsa)

[gary]

With Cleburne died the secret of Irish Stewed Watermelon. The culinary world was never the same.

[30th_il]

One of my favorite Confederate generals. Thanks for the pic RebAl.