Description: Thomas F Meagher and the Irish Brigade Battle of Antietam, MD September 17th 1862 Civil War Leader's of Erin Series by Mark Maritato Signed Paper Fine Art Print Open Edition Overall Size: 13" w x 18" h Image Size: 11" w x 14-5/8" h Signed by the Artist This is a new print direct from the Artist’s Studio Image shown is watermarked to prevent unauthorized image use. Your print will not be watermarked. Meagher's decision to serve the Union was not a simple one; before the onset of the war, he had supported the South. He had visited the South to lecture, and was sympathetic to its people. Further, his Irish friend John Mitchel, who had settled in the South, supported the secessionists. Meagher and Mitchel split over the issue of slavery. Mitchel went to the Confederate capitol in Richmond, Virginia, and his three sons served with the Confederate States Army. On 12 April 1861, the first shots were fired at U.S.-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. This action by the South pushed Meagher into support of the Union cause. In lectures, including a famous speech made at the Boston Music Hall in September 1861, he implored the Irish of the North to defend the Union. He began recruiting, advertising in local newspapers to form Company K of the 69th Regiment. It became known as the "Fighting 69th" of the New York State Militia. One of his ads in the New-York Daily Tribune read: "One hundred young Irishman—healthy, intelligent and active—wanted at once to form a Company under command of Thomas Francis Meagher." With the beginning of war, Meagher volunteered to fight for the Union. He recruited a full company of infantrymen to be attached to the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment New York State Volunteers on April 29, 1861 the regiment was added to Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia. Colonel Corcoran initially commanded them, but was captured during the First Battle of Bull Run, a Confederate victory. Following the First Battle of Bull Run, Meagher returned to New York to form the Irish Brigade. He was commissioned brigadier general (effective 3 February) to lead them in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. In lectures, including a famous speech made at the Boston Music Hall in September 1861, he implored the Irish of the North to defend the Union. He began recruiting, advertising in local newspapers to form Company K of the 69th Regiment. It became known as the "Fighting 69th" of the New York State Militia. One of his ads in the New-York Daily Tribune read: "One hundred young Irishman—healthy, intelligent and active—wanted at once to form a Company under command of Thomas Francis Meagher." With the beginning of war, Meagher volunteered to fight for the Union. He recruited a full company of infantrymen to be attached to the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment New York State Volunteers on April 29, 1861 the regiment was added to Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia. Colonel Corcoran initially commanded them, but was captured during the First Battle of Bull Run, a Confederate victory. Following the First Battle of Bull Run, Meagher returned to New York to form the Irish Brigade. He was commissioned brigadier general (effective 3 February) to lead them in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. The Irish Brigade suffered huge losses at the Battle of Antietam that fall. Meagher's brigade led an attack at Antietam on September 17 against the Sunken Road (later referred to as "Bloody Lane") and lost 540 men to heavy volleys before being ordered to withdraw. During the battle, Meagher was injured when he fell off his horse. Some reports said Meagher had been drunk. But Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's official report noted that Meagher's horse had been shot. Meagher had faced reports of drunkenness at the First Battle of Bull Run. The high number of casualties at Antietam, and the rumors of his being drunk on the battlefield, increased criticism of Meagher's command ability. The Irish Brigade suffered its largest losses at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Brigade chaplain Father William Corby later said, it was "a body of about 4,000 Catholic men marching – most of them – to death." Meagher led 1,200 men into battle, and "two hundred and eighty men only appeared under arms to represent the Irish Brigade" the next morning. Meagher took no direct part in this battle, remaining at the rear when his brigade began their advance, due to, what he described in his official report as 'a most painful ulcer in the knee joint'. Meagher spent the next four months recovering from his injuries and took charge of his command three days prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville. After limited engagement at Chancellorsville, Meagher resigned his commission on 14 May 1863. The Army had refused his request to return to New York to raise reinforcements for his battered brigade. The brigade was 4,000 strong in mid–May 1862, but by late May 1863, it had only a few hundred combat-ready men left. Following the death of Brig. Gen. Michael Corcoran, another leading Irish political figure, the Army rescinded Meagher's resignation on 23 December. He was assigned to duty in the Western Theater beginning in September 1864. He commanded the District of Etowah in the Department of the Cumberland from 29 November to 5 January 1865. Meagher briefly commanded a provisional division within the Army of the Ohio from 9–25 February, and resigned from the U.S. Army on May 15. After the war, Meagher was appointed Secretary of the new Territory of Montana; soon after arriving there, he was designated Acting Governor. Meagher called Montana's first constitutional convention to develop a constitution as a step toward statehood. Not enough residents voted for the constitution and statehood to qualify. In addition, copies of the constitution were lost on the way to a printer, and Congress never received copies for review. Montana gained statehood in 1889, more than 20 years after Meagher's death. In the summer of 1867, Meagher traveled to Fort Benton, Montana to receive a shipment of guns and ammunition sent by General Sherman for use by the Montana Militia. On the way to Fort Benton, the Missouri River terminus for steamboat travel, Meagher fell ill and stopped for six days to recuperate. When he reached Fort Benton, he was reportedly still ill. Sometime in the early evening of 1 July 1867, Meagher fell overboard from the steamboat G. A. Thompson, into the Missouri. The pilot described the waters as "...instant death – water twelve feet deep and rushing at the rate of ten miles an hour." His body was never recovered.
Price: 59.95 USD
Location: Danbury, Connecticut
End Time: 2024-09-13T12:53:48.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: 10%
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 60 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
Artist: Mark Maritato
Unit of Sale: Single Piece
Art: Print
Signed By: Mark Maritato
Edition Size: Open
Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
Custom Bundle: No
Date of Creation: 2000-Now
Item Length: 13 in
Region of Origin: Connecticut, USA
Framing: Unframed
Personalize: No
Listed By: Artist
Year of Production: 2022
Width (Inches): 13
Item Height: 18 in
Style: Realism
Features: Signed
Handmade: No
Culture: American
Item Width: 13 in
Print Type: Giclee & Iris Prints
Time Period Produced: 2020-Now
Image Orientation: Portrait
Signed: Signed
Color: Multi-Color
Title: Gen Thomas Meagher - Irish Brigade
Material: Giclee & Iris
Certificate of Authenticity (COA): No
Original/Licensed Reprint: Reproduction
Subject: History / Civil War
Print Surface: Paper
Main Color: Multi-Color
Type: Print
Edition Type: Open Edition
Height (Inches): 18
Original/Reproduction: Artwork Reproduction
Theme: Militaria
Production Technique: Giclee & Iris Print
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
