{"id":724,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:37","latitude":39.4653464000000013811586541123688220977783203125,"longitude":-87.412385499999999183273757807910442352294921875,"title":"The Irish in Terre Haute","subtitle":"Civil War Commander Thomas Francis Meagher in Terre Haute","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/db55103677b7ed9728c24adba23d713e.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":8,"creator":["Kaitlyn Leib"],"description":"As the number of Irish immigrants and descendants grew in the state of Indiana, many people started to pay attention to the politics abroad in Ireland. Between the Great Famine (1845-1849) and calls for legislative reform and independence from the British Empire, many Irish moved out of Ireland but remained interested in their homeland.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nThomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1823. In 1847, he co-founded the Irish Confederation— a group dedicated to an independent Ireland—with three others. After lecturing on anti-British ideas in public in 1848, Meagher was convicted of encouraging rebellion against the British government and was to be sent to Australia. In 1851, Meagher escaped to the United States where he became famous for his work for Irish independence.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nMeagher connected with Irish communities, especially those in Indiana. An 1852 letter from Indiana’s governor, Joseph A. Wright, appeared in the Daily State Sentinel. In the letter, Wright wrote to Meagher on behalf of the General Assembly to ask that he come to the state: “You will find in this State many of your noble and generous hearted countrymen – some of our best citizens – who, together with the native citizens of Indiana, will give a cordial greeting to your arrival,” Wright wrote. While Meagher respectfully declined the invitation, he did make his way to Indiana in 1858. The Terre Haute Daily Union reported that Meagher would be delivering a lecture at the Universalist Church about Saint Patrick’s Day, national anniversaries, and “their significance and beauty – their harmony with the American Republic.”<br />\r\n<br />\r\nDuring the Civil War, Meagher captained part of the 69th New York Regiment, which was also known as the Irish Brigade as most of the men were Irish. He was influential in encouraging other Irishmen, both those born in the United States and those from Ireland, to enlist in the Union Army. In 1861, Meagher became the Brigadier General of the Irish Brigade. The Irish Brigade had a hand in multiple Civil War battles, such as Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg. After the Civil War, Meagher became the Secretary of the Montana Territory. In 1867, Meagher fell from a steamboat on the Missouri River and drowned.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["“A Lecture.” Terre Haute Daily Union February 18, 1858, page 2.<br />\r\nhttps://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=THDU18580218&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------.","Lynn, Brendan and Martin Melaugh. “A Chronology of Key Events in Irish History, 1800 to<br />\r\n1967.” Conflict Archive of the Internet, Ulster University, August 14, 2024. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch1800-1967.htm.","Taylor, Stephen J. “‘Green to be Conspicuous’: Celebrating the Irish in Hoosier Newspapers,<br />\r\n1837-1922.” Hoosier State Chronicles Blog. March 14, 2015.<br />\r\nhttps://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/green-to-be-conspicuous-celebrating-the-irish-in-hoosier-newspapers-1837-1922/.","“Thomas Francis Meagher.” American Battlefield Trust. Accessed April 27, 2025.<br />\r\nhttps://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/thomas-francis-meagher.","“Thomas Francis Meagher.” Indianapolis Daily State Sentinel, July 17, 1852, page 2.<br />\r\nhttps://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DSS18520717-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------.","“Universalist Church.” Indiana Album, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Logan Library.<br />\r\nAccessed April 27, 2025. https://digital.library.in.gov/Record/WV3_rose-810."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/db55103677b7ed9728c24adba23d713e.jpg":{"id":3442,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Meagher in Battle","description":"Thomas Francis Meagher is pictured on top of a horse leading the Irish Brigade into the battle at Seven Pines/Fair Oaks. Even though the brigade had many casualties, Meagher and his men were seen as heroes due to their fierce fighting abilities. | Library of Congress | 1862 | Currier &amp; Ives","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/db55103677b7ed9728c24adba23d713e.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/dd3ca7e792ddcfdb8759a50c4105619e.jpg":{"id":3443,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Meagher","description":"Meagher stands for a photograph in his military uniform around 1861. | National Portrait Gallery | c. 1861 | Matthew B. Brady","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/dd3ca7e792ddcfdb8759a50c4105619e.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/cebb25d4a9ce74dfaf253da1974b90b4.jpg":{"id":3444,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Request to Visit","description":"This snippet from the Indianapolis Daily State Sentinel in July of 1852 publicly shares the resolution passed by the Indiana General Assembly. In the resolution, Hoosiers extended an invitation for Meagher to visit the state. Though Meagher did not make it to Indiana that year, he did make an appearance in Terre Haute in 1858. | Hoosier State Chronicles, Indiana State Library | 1852 | Indianapolis Daily State Sentinel","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/cebb25d4a9ce74dfaf253da1974b90b4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/0569e319b677085f3baaf3347040af5b.jpg":{"id":3445,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Terre Haute Church","description":"The First Universalist Church in Terre Haute was originally built around 1841 and in used to sit on the southeast corner of Fourth Street and Ohio Street. Peddle based her drawing of the building off of an 1854 map. It was at this location where Meagher gave his 1858 lecture. | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Logan Library | Juliet A. Peddle","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/0569e319b677085f3baaf3347040af5b.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/73b5bc1896c622f4f2852db430422430.jpg":{"id":3446,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Terre Haute, 1856","description":"This photograph is a copy of a lithograph created by Middleton, Wallace and Company. Terre Haute was laid out in 1816 and continued to grow as a town in the years afterwards. This image serves to show what the town would have looked like around the time Meagher came to speak. | Indiana Album, A. C. and J. E. Stringfellow Collection | 1856 | J. T. Palmatary, Middleton, Wallace and Company","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/73b5bc1896c622f4f2852db430422430.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/ac883309f5e41521b605dba5dfdb63ce.jpg":{"id":3447,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Civil War Memorial","description":"This memorial serves to recognize the 69th New York Regiment, also known as the Irish Brigade, at the Antietam National Battlefield. Though not all of the soldiers enlisted in this regiment were Irish, a majority of them were. While most of the men were from New York, there were some Indiana men among them as well. The memorial was dedicated in 1997 and is made out of granite from Ireland. | Andrew Bossi, Wikimedia Commons","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/ac883309f5e41521b605dba5dfdb63ce.jpg"}}}