MEAGHER, TIIOMA8 F. 



485 



if his profession ii> Pike County, Illinois, to 

 which place li,- removed in 1S:!7. Ho W08 

 1 Attorney-Ccncral of tluit State in 1842, 

 and v. i, -d in is) |. ||,. |,.. ( .| -Mine -kill 



:is a civil engineer, and a<-.isted in the survey 

 of tli.' tir-r railroad huilt in this country, the 

 All>:iiiy :iinl Schciirctady road, while ho was 

 still very younu r . In pursuance of these i 

 In- originated, in Hl'.i, an exploring expedition 

 to the Rio di-1 N'orte, the (iil:i, Miid tin- Colora- 

 do, which lu> aooompanied; and, as the gold- 

 fields ot California had just been discovered, 

 and immigration was tending that way, ho was 

 induced to make San Francisco his home, where 

 he resumed the practice of his profession. In 

 1850 he was elected Attorney-General of Cali- 

 fornia, and was for a time a member of theLe- 

 gislatmv of that State. In 1853 he was elected 

 a Representative in Congress from California, 

 but declined a nomination in 1855. In 1861 he 

 was elected to the United States Senate. His 

 term i-xpired'on the 4th of March, and he was 

 succeeded by Cornelius Cole. In the Senate 

 he served on the Committees on Finance and 

 Naval Affairs, and was chairman of the Com- 

 mittee on the Pacific Railroad. The impor- 

 tance and the merits of this vast enterprise, as 

 well as to some extent, the difficulty of its con- 

 struction, he \vas well qualified to appreciate. 

 In the early part of the war, he took strong 

 grounds in favor of its vigorous prosecution, 

 and was for a time identified with the War 

 Democrats, of whom the late Senator Douglas 

 was the chief, but he never- severed his connec- 

 tion with the Democratic party, and was a dele- 

 gate to the Chicago Convention which nomi- 

 nated General McClellan for President in 

 1864. At the commencement of his senato- 

 rial career he took a very high rank. Gifted 

 with a remarkable natural eloquence, his ear- 

 nestness and fervor rendered him conspicu- 

 ous in the Senate, and some of his speeches 

 will be remembered as masterpieces of ora- 

 tory. After the expiration of his term of ser- 

 vice he did not return to California but went to 

 that part of the country where his early youth 

 was passed ; here the decline in his health, 

 which had been for some time failing, was very 

 rapid, and his life was soon brought to a close. 

 MEAGHER, THOMAS FR\XCI*, an Irish ora- 

 tor and political leader, a Brigadier-General of 

 Volunteers during the war for the Union, 

 and, at his death, acting Governor of Montana 

 Territory, born in Waterford. Ireland, August 

 8, 1823 ; drowned in the Upper Missouri River 

 near Fort Benton, July 1, 1867. His parents 

 were people of wealth and high position, and 

 he enjoyed the best opportunities for educa- 

 tion and the development of his brilliant 

 talents which could be found in Great Britain. 

 At the age of eleven he was sent to the Jesuit 

 ( 'olleirc of Clongowes Wood, where he remained 

 for six years, attracting while there the favor- 

 able notice of I >a,!ic -1 ( )'Connell for his eloquence 

 as a writer. In 1840 he entered Stonyhurst 

 College, England, where} in his three years' 



M. ho took the highest honor*. After a 

 tour of some month |, e re- 



turned to Ireland, where lie soon took 

 in Iri-h politic-, and though he attempted to 

 study law in hnlilin in 1*41. hi, int-n-i irj the 

 Reform movement was much greater than in 

 law. His eloquence soon drew around him a 

 considerable party, and in 1846 the large num- 

 bers who were not satisfied with O'Connell's 

 policy, rallied around him, and the seceders 

 formed the Young Ireland party, with Mcagher 

 for their principal leader. He greatly aided in the 

 organization of the " Irish Confederation." The 

 excitement connected with this was at its height 

 when the French Revolution of 1848 occurred, 

 and Louis Philippe was driven fr mi his throne. 

 The Irish Confederation was overjoyed at this 

 event and a delegation with Meagher at its head 

 was sent to congratulate the French republican 

 leaders on their success. On his return, Meagher 

 was arrested on a charge of sedition, and held 

 to bail. After the passage of the treason-felony 

 law, a reward was offered for the apprehen- 

 sion of Meagher, and the members of his party 

 formed a body-guard to protect him. A col- 

 lision with the authorities ensued, and Meagher 

 was finally captured in August, 1848, near 

 Rathgannon. He was tried for high-treason, 

 and, after an able and vigorous defence, found 

 guilty and sentenced to death. Subsequently 

 this sentence was altered to banishment for 

 life to Van Diemen's Land. Here he remained 

 until 1852, when an opportunity for his escape 

 offering, he embarked for New York, where he 

 arrived during the month of May of the same 

 year. Upon reaching the city he was the re- 

 cipient of an enthusiastic reception from his 

 countrymen and the citizens in general. For 

 two years after coming to this country, General 

 Meagher followed the profession of a lecturer, 

 meeting with marked success. Returning to 

 New York in 1855, he engaged in the study of 

 the law, and was subsequently admitted to the 

 bar. In 1856 he became the editor of the Irish 

 News, and in 1857 visited the States of Central 

 America, spending some time in Nicaragua 

 and Costa Rica. The outbreak of the war in 

 1861 found General Meagher in New York. 

 He promptly abandoned his profession, and, 

 organizing a company of Zouaves for the Union 

 army, he joined the Sixty-ninth New York 

 Volunteers, under Colonel Corcoran, and served 

 during the first campaign in Virginia. At the 

 first Battle of Bull Run, fought July 21, 1861, 

 he was acting major of his regiment, and had 

 his horse shot under him. Upon the expira- 

 tion of his three months' term of service, he 

 returned to New York, and in the hitter part 

 of 1861 organized the celebrated "Irish Mri- 

 gade. " Ho was elected colonel of the first 

 regiment, and, as senior officer, assumed com- 

 mand of the brigade and took it to Washington. 

 Here it was accepted by the United States 

 Government, and Colonel Meagher assigned to 

 it as permanent commander with the rank of 

 brigadier-general, his commission bearing date 



