Cast in Bronze: The Valor of Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish-American

Monument to the Irish Brigade (detail). Antietam, Maryland

Two countries have commemorated the life of Thomas Francis Meagher with bronze sculptures:  his birthplace in Waterford, Ireland and the United States, his adopted country.  Thomas became known as Meagher of the Sword, because he fought to support the ideals of freedom.

Born in 1823, Meagher became an outspoken leader for Irish independence from England. He is also remembered for creating the tricolor flag that now represents the Republic of Ireland.  Thomas was inspired by the flag of the French revolution, but he proposed the colors: green, orange, and white.  Attached to his equestrian monument in Waterford, a bronze plaque includes a quote by Thomas Francis Meagher regarding his intended symbolism for the Irish flag.

The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the “Orange” and “Green”, and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.

Today the three stripes are associated with freedom, brotherhood and equality.  

Unfortunately, his enthusiastic speeches and his support for the Young Ireland uprising earned him imprisonment in Tasmania.  However, he escaped after a couple years and established a new life in New York.

 

Equestrian Monument. Waterford, Ireland.

The turbulent American Civil War era was the background for Thomas Francis’s new career as Brigadier General for the Union army.  He led the New York Irish Brigade in several battles, but his most famous was the battle at Antietam, Maryland on September 17, 1862.  There were massive casualties between Union and Confederate soldiers.  General Meagher’s leadership continued as the war raged on for the next several months, but by May 1863 Meagher submitted his resignation.

In 1865, Thomas Francis earned a Presidential appointment to the territory of Montana where he served as acting Governor. Unfortunately, Thomas’s political career was tragically halted when he apparently fell overboard a riverboat on July 1, 1867. Despite a search in the Missouri river, his body was never found.  The lack of conclusive evidence surrounding his death has raised some controversy, particularly since he had political enemies.

There are three major monuments dedicated to Thomas Francis Meagher in:

1) Waterford, Ireland; 2) Antietam, Maryland; and 3) the Capitol Building in Helena, Montana.

References:

Barnes, Ian. The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books,

     Inc., 2009.

Hearne, John and Rory Cornish.  Thomas Francis Meagher, The Making of an Irish

     American. Portland, Oregon: Irish Academic Press, 2005.

Pritchard, Russ A.  The Irish Brigade.  Philadelphia: Colin Gower Enterprises

     Ltd., 2004.