Nathanael Lee

July 9, 2010

Who Is Meagher?

            When I was preparing to present a review of the seminar’s online review of Irish-American literature, I came across a song transcribed by John Poole titled, “No Irish Need Apply.” The song essentially details a potential account of someone who encountered prejudice in an ad (which read, “No Irish Need Apply) and responded violently in the name of justice. In it, I came across the line, “Now old Ireland on the battle field a lasting fame has made; / You all have heard of Meagher's men and Corcoran's brigade / Though fools may flout and bigots rave, fanatics they may cry, / But when they want good fightin' men the Irish may apply.” (Donohue) The article had been discussing the trials and tribulations of the Irish in America. So I wondered: who is Meagher, and what is his immigrant story? In a quick glance at Wikipedia for some basic information, I quickly found out that Meagher is a great figure in Irish history and culture. According to it, he is the man who went to study revolutionary events in France and returned to Ireland carrying what would become the new Flag of Ireland. He would be tried for sedition, only to have his sentence commuted by the crown and be sent to the prison colony in Australia. He would then escape to America, where he would serve proudly in the union army. The more I read of his story, the more interest I had in his character, which leads to this research post.

            I started my search with the UHCL library website. I found an article that interested me called, “Thomas Francis Meagher’s Bar Bill” by Elliott West. In it, some of Meagher’s history is fleshed out. According to the article, Meagher resisted British rule of Ireland. He became leader of Young Ireland, “a revolutionary faction calling for violent resistance to British rule.” (West, 18) This part of his story has similarities to America, which violently resisted British rule as well. However, Meagher is sentenced to death for being a traitor to the crown. Instead, because Meagher was so charismatic and the public fought so hard for him, the crown was forced to commute his sentence to life in exile. He was sent to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in Austrailia where, according to West, he spent two years of his life before taking a rowboat and escaping. Later, according to West, Meagher is rescued from a desert isle and brought to America, identified as a celebrity and a martyr to freedom, an ideal immigrant. According to West, “During the next nine years, he founded and edited the Irish News, lectured from New Orleans to San Francisco, quarreled with the Catholic Church, opened a law office, dabbled in a Costa Rican railroad scheme, and horsewhipped an editor.” (West, 18.) These events present an interesting view of the man. Being Irish, he was both a credit to his heritage and a disgrace to it. He brought information to the Irish and to the masses. He fought against the religion of his heritage, founded several businesses, engaged in some unlawful acts, and, evidently, couldn’t hold his temper when it came to the editor, likely in his employ. However, this history is not the real meat of the article. The article continues to describe his impromptu governorship of Montana. Meagher becomes secretary of the Montana territory because President Andrew Johnson offers it to him, a sign of his fame and an indication of his influence. Meagher goes from castaway to major publisher and secretary of the territory of Montana. His story is truly a fulfillment of the American Dream. Governor of Montana, Sidney Edgerton, quits. Meagher becomes his replacement. West continues, “In 1865, territorial politics was a treacherous tangle. Meagher owed his job to Johnson, like himself a unionist Democrat, but he also had to deal with a Congress run by radical Republicans battling with the president while at home he ruled over an electorate swollen by Southern Democrats who had fled to the gold fields as the war wound down.” This sets the scene for West’s article. The article is about analyzing Meagher’s bar bill. It is a random article unearthed from the Montana Historical Society. It is a ledger from an unidentified saloon appeared to have been visited by Meagher regularly during a legislature convened by Meagher himself. This ledger is examined by West thoroughly. He writes, “On many days he charged only a meal or two, washed down perhaps with some beer or wine. On others, his table groaned with food and a variety of potables. This ebb and flow suggests that Meagher was using this liquor for another purpose-to lubricate the machinery of government.” (West, 21) This is interesting to me. West provides a photo of the bill that seems to corroborate his idea. Meagher is often portrayed as a drunk, but it appears that, even if he did do so, he did so socially and with the specific intent of furthering his cause. It tells me that Meagher knew how society worked and he worked hard to get what he wanted or needed. I also found this interesting because Wikipedia had informed me that there were accusations that Meagher was drunk in the line of duty. The source states,

During the battle, Meagher was injured when he fell off his horse. There were reports that Meagher had been drunk, causing the fall. However, official reports from Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan indicated that Meagher's horse had been shot. This was not the first time that Meagher faced this accusation, as it was falsely reported that he was drunk at the First Battle of Bull Run. (Wikipedia)

That the Irish are drunkards is a standard prejudice towards the immigrants. According to Stacy Lee Donahue, who wrote the review of Irish-American literature, “[T]he British had exported an anti-Irishness that was seen in American newspapers and magazines […] in the form of Irish stereotypes: the alcoholic, baboon-like figure who cries in his beer while singing a ditty, for example.” This is a perfect example of the kind of stereotyping Meagher faces. According to West’s article, the drunkenness seems to be purely intentional, for the purposes of lubricating the gears of government.

            It may turn out that the reason Meagher raised an Irish brigade is because of the other man mentioned in the song: Michael Corcoran. According to Paul R. Wylie, “Michael Corcoran, leader of the New York Fenians and colonel of the 69th New York Militia, convinced Meagher that service in the Federal Army would create a force of Irish veterans who could eventually wrest Ireland away from British control.” (Wylie) This quote leads me to believe that Meagher, though an immigrant firmly ingrained into the politics of America, still wished to improve Ireland’s state of affairs and that his work as a civil war general was specifically meant to change the world and help his home country achieve independence. It puts Meagher in an entirely different perspective for me. I figured that perhaps Meagher was fully integrated into American society and that he was working to help Ireland by helping its immigrants abroad. If Meagher was still working to help his homeland, then Meagher begins to have dual agendas and must be continually analyzed in the form of the exiled hero, who fights the good fight elsewhere, if I should continue to read about him in the future. It also implies that Corcoran is tied to Meagher and that he is important to the character of Meagher as well.

            In the end, Thomas Francis Meagher is a man of upstanding character who did much to better the lives of the Irish and the Irish immigrants. He came from nothing, rescued from a deserted island, and worked his way up in the world, owning his own newspaper and becoming a general in the Union army. He faced all kinds of prejudice and hardships, including being considered a drunk. If I were to continue studying this, I would find a few books and get as deep into his history as I could, learning as much about him, from start to finish, as possible. I would expand my knowledge about his beginning, his civil war career, his newspaper, his work as governor of Montana, etc.

Works Cited

Donahue, Stacy Lee. "Irish." American History Through Literature. Ed. Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert Sattelmeyer. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006. 9 Jul, 2010 <http://www.enotes.com/american-history-literature/irish>

"Thomas Francis Meagher." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia. Web. 9 July 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Francis_Meagher#Irish_Confederation>.

Welsh, Richard F. "The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher." Civil War Times 47.4 (2008): 60. EBSCOhost. Web. 9 July 2010. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32651462&site=ehost-live>.

West, Elliott. "Thomas Francis Meagher's Bar Bill." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 35.1 (1985): 16-23. JSTOR. Web. 9 July 2010.