#OnThisDay 1828 Major General Patrick Cleburne was born in Cork. He joined the British Army (as he failed the Trinity medical exams) but left soon after for America. He started the Civil War as a Private but soon rose to become the highest ranking Irish born soldier in either army during the Civil War. Though he fought for the Confederacy, Cleburne’s pushed the idea to arm the slaves of the south. This would have been enough to have any other man relieved of his post but Cleburne was too good of a fighter to be let go. Instead however, he was passed over in many promotions and was eventually killed in an ill-thought out charge at the Battle of Franklin 1864.
#Ireland #History
The Irish at War 