Patrick Cleburne became close friends with his business and political associate, Thomas Hindman, while in Helena, Arkansas, before the war. (Both would later be Confederate M-Gs).
Although both men were the same age, they had opposite personalities. On more than one occasion, while in Arkansas, did the reserved and measured Cleburne come to the aid of the fiery and volatile Hindman in violent confrontations with rivals - notably, once in 1854, when Cleburne negotiated a peaceful resolution to a proposed duel by bowie knives between his friend and fellow lawyer, David Badham; the other, in 1856, where he backed up Hindman in a street gunfight with political opponents, which resulted in the pair (especially Cleburne) being seriously wounded.
Also, in 1861, Cleburne formed an instant rapport with his new commander, Col. William Hardee (who would later become a L-G). This developed into a close personal friendship between the pair over the course of the war, whereby both men shared a mutual respect and deep admiration of each other. (Cleburne would be Hardee's best man at his wedding, and Hardee would tearfully deliver the eulogy at Cleburne's funeral).
Bringing the