Why Is Patrick Cleburne Important

Have you ever heard of Patrick Cleburne? If you haven’t heard of him you probably wonder what he did, or what his life was like, or why he is important in history. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was an Irish-born American soldier, best known for his service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, where he rose to the rank of major general. After failing to gain entrance into Trinity College of Medicine in 1847, he served in the 41st Regiment of Foot, a Welsh regiment of the British Army. He emigrated to the United States three years later. At the beginning of the Civil War, Cleburne sided with the Confederate States. He progressed from being a private soldier in the local militia to a division commander. Cleburne participated …show more content…
He was the second son of Dr. Joseph Cleburne, a middle-class physician of Anglo-Irish ancestry. Patrick's mother died when he was 18 months old, and he was an orphan at 15. He followed his father into the study of medicine, but failed his entrance exam to Trinity College of Medicine in 1846. In response to this failure, he enlisted in the 41st Regiment of Foot of the British Army, subsequently rising to the rank of corporal.Three years later, Cleburne bought his discharge and emigrated to the United States with two brothers and a sister. After spending a short time in Ohio, he settled in Helena, Arkansas, where he was employed as a pharmacist and was readily accepted into the town's social order. During this time, Cleburne became close friends with Thomas C. Hindman, who would later parallel his course as a Confederate Major General. The two of them formed a business partnership with William Weatherly to buy a newspaper, the Democratic Star, in December 1855. One year later, Cleburne and Hindman were both wounded by gunshots during a street fight in Helena with members of the Know-Nothing Party following a debate. During this fight Cleburne was shot in the back, causing him to turned around and shot one of his attackers, killing him. The attackers hid until Cleburne collapsed on the street and then left. After the two recovered, they appeared before a grand jury to respond to all charges brought against them. They were

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