Editor's Note: IrishCentral is delighted to be partnering with Davy Holden, an Irish history expert from Co Kilkenny, on a series of videos he created while recently visiting the US. You can see his previous instalment here - Stay tuned for more from Davy!
In 1823, Thomas Francis Meagher was born in what is now the Granville Hotel in Waterford City. Shortly after his birth, his family moved just down the road, to 19 The Mall.
After graduating from college, Meagher became heavily involved in the movement for Irish Independence alongside the Young Irelanders and the Irish Confederation. In 1848, he travelled to Paris to research the revolutionary events there.
When he returned to Ireland, he brought with him a gift he received from the French - a green, white, and orange tricolour flag. This flag was first flown at 33 The Mall, Waterford City, on March 7, 1848.
Months later, after the 1848 rebellion, he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. However, his sentence was commuted to transportation for life to Van Diemen’s Land. He spent 2.5 years on the island before making his escape and travelling back to the other side of the world again.
However, he did not land in Ireland; he landed in the United States and settled in New York City.
When the American Civil War began in 1861, Meagher took the role of Captain with the 69th Regiment (Fighting 69th), but when Michael Corcoran was captured at the First Battle of Bull Run, Meagher took his position as Colonel. He then founded an Irish Brigade and was commissioned as Brigadier-General.
After the war, he became Acting Governor of Montana Territory.
Meagher was last seen on July 1, 1867, when he was traveling on a steamboat along the Missouri River heading for Fort Benton in Montana - his body was never found.
Although he doesn’t have a grave, there are multiple transatlantic memorials commemorating Thomas Francis Meagher, like Waterford City, Helena in Montana, and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, just to name a few.
You can watch Davy Holden discuss Thomas Francis Meagher here:
You can watch more of Davy Holden's Irish history content on his website and Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok pages.
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