The Yell Rifles’ captain

Sunday, March 16, 2014

One of the most important military leaders in Arkansas history was born on this date in 1828 in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne and three siblings immigrated to America in 1849. Settling in Helena (Phillips County), young Cleburne became a pharmacist and excelled as a commander of the local militia unit.

When the Civil War broke out, he rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming the highest ranking Irish-born officer in American military history.

Cleburne grew up in the middle-class home of Protestant physician Joseph Cleburne, and his wife, Mary Anne Ronayne Cleburne. His mother died when Patrick Cleburne was 18 months of age. All expected him to enter the medical professions, and he apprenticed as a pharmacist. Failing to gain entry to Apothecary Hallin Dublin, Cleburne entered the British Army. He spent most of his enlistment responding to the dire conditions brought on by the Great Famine. This military service during the crucible of the Great Famine would come in handy later.

The death of Cleburne’s father in 1843 sent the family into a financial crisis. Purchasing a discharge from his army unit, Cleburne returned home to find his stepmother in deep debt, prompting him and his siblings to immigrate to America.

Helena, a small town of about 500, proved to be a good location for an up-and-coming young man. Cleburne became a citizen as soon as the waiting period was over. A regular at social events, he joined two powerful organizations-the Democratic Party and a local militia unit. Cleburne became close friends with Thomas C. Hindman, also destined to military greatness, and joined with Hindman and William Weatherly to publish the Democratic Star newspaper.

Cleburne’s allegiance to the Democratic Party put him in physical and political danger in 1856 when the Know-Nothing Party mounted a spirited and xenophobic challenge to the Democratic and Whig parties. Both Cleburne and Hindman were wounded during a street fight following a political debate; the scrappy little Irishman managed to kill one of his attackers.

Though not a slave owner, Cleburne threw in his lot with the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He became the captain of the local militia unit known as the Yell Rifles, named after former governor Archibald Yell. Cleburne led a detachment to Little Rock in January 1861 to wrest control of the local U.S. Arsenal from federal hands.

With the outbreak of the war in April 1861, the Yell Rifles became a part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Among the multitude of battles in which Cleburne fought was the battle of Richmond, Ky., where he was wounded in the face. He recovered quickly and was soon back in command. At the battle of Stones River, Cleburne’s division was able to push the Union forces far to the rear, earning him promotion to major general on Dec. 13, 1862.

Cleburne led his soldiers into a large number of important battles including Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Ringgold Gap, Ga. In the latter battle, his 4,000 soldiers held off 15,000 Yankees, an act which won a citation from the Confederate Congress. This citation no doubt added to Cleburne’s luster as “The Stonewall Jackson of the West.”

As the war dragged on, Cleburne realized that the odds of success did not lie with the rebels. While basking in the glow of his success at Ringgold Gap, he called together his officers and made a dramatic proposal: enlisting slaves in the Confederate Army in exchange for their freedom. Cleburne’s proposal was met with silence. However, the Confederate Congress later saw the wisdom of enlisting slaves, though it was too late to affect the war.

Cleburne was killed Nov. 30, 1864, during the Battle of Franklin south of Nashville, Tenn. Sources indicate that when Confederates found his lifeless body, it had been stripped of his boots along with his sword and watch.

He was buried in Tennessee. In 1870 his body was removed to Maple Hill Cemetery in Helena.

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Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living in Pulaski County. Email him at [email protected].

Editorial, Pages 82 on 03/16/2014