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The coat of arms of the Cleburnes is
thus described :
“On a field argent, three chevronels
interlaced in base, sable. A chief of
the last.
Crest —A demi-wolf sable holding in
its dexter paw a blue battle-flag, with
a white moon in center.
C rest mot to—“ For ward. ”
Shield motto-’ ‘CI ibbor ne Sceame’
Cleburne’s boyhood.
General Cleburne’s father was Dr.
Joseph Cleburne, an eminent physic
ian of “Grange,” Pallincolliz, in the
county of Cork, who married Mary
Anne, daughter of Patrick Ronayne,
Esquire, of Annebrook, in the same
county, by whom he had one daughter
and three sons, the youngest of whom,
the subject of this sketch, was born in
Grange on St. Patrick’s Day, the 17th
of March, 1828. Os Cleburne’s early
years and the progress of his educa
tion we have but little knowledge. As
a child, he is said to have been silent,
shy and reserved; but he very early
manifested the promptitude, decision
and courage that marked his military
life. He sought enjoyment in the
quiet pursuits of home, and cared but
little for the approbation of others ;
yet his natural kindness of heart, his
sound sense and sterling principlesand
his soft but solid nature attracted the
good-will and gained the confidence of
all with whom he was brought into so
cial intercourse. There was nothing
remarkable about his school and col
lege life except his aversion to the ex
act sciences and his ardent love for
poetry and history. For the latter he
had a natural fobduess, and there is
no doubt that the histories he delight
ed to read fixed in his mind that oppo
sition to tyranny in all its forms which
he carried through life, and which es
pecially influenced him in his career
as a dutiful soldier. He enjoyed poe
try with keen intensity, indeed a deep
vein of poetic sentiment coursed
through his nature. The poetical ele
ment was so strong that it served to
color his inner life, though his literary
efforts in this direction were limited
and intended only for his own pleasur
able recreation. His mind was singu
larly constituted for such a nature, and
its leading feature was concentrative
ness.
It was this imperial quality that en
abled him to bring all of his strength
of character to bear upon any import
ant occasion, and may account in after
life for an abruptness of manner and
an impatience of every thing which
could impede the execution of his or
der or hinder the accomplishment of
the object he had in view. He had a
wonderful power of analysis and dis
crimination, and in consequence he
was often made an arbiter of the dis
putes of his comrades with whom he
was always a favorite. I'htse qualities,
together with self-reliance, tortitude
and truth, which were prominent
traits in his character, made up a very
strong and potential individuality.
HIS EARLY FAILURE.
The death of h’s father at a very
ea Iv period in his youth deprived him
of parental counsel and control, and
this affi ction fell heavily upon him.
That father, “the good master of the
Grange,” however, left behind him a
noble memory. His thirty years of
practice, large benevolence and devo
tion to the suffering poor, had endear
ed him to ho-ts ot friends. High and
low, rich and poor, did honor to the
“poor man’s friend,” and many who
had enjoyed the elegancies and open
hospitality of the household at Grange
and the friendship oT its genial and
accomplished master, were ready to
advance the interest of his son.
Young Cleburne being destined for the
medical profession, was placed under
the preceptorship ot Dr. Justice, of
Mallow, and for several years he wea
rily waded through a course of pro
fessional study, in which he had little
heart. Aware that he must be the
architect of his own fortune, and im
bued with a natural spirit of inde
pendence, he applied himself dili
gently to his studies, and prepared
himself to the best of his capacity, to
which medicine was uncongenial, for
the rigid examination of “Trinity.”
Passing briefly over this part of his
career, which proved to be the turning
point of his adventurous life, it may
suffice to say that he failed, and deep
ly mortified at the result, discouraged
and disappointed, in an overwelming
fit of despondency, he startled his
friends by enlisting as a private in Her
Majesty’s Forty-first regiment of infan
try (the “Prince of Wales’ Own ’)
then stationed at Dublin.
A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE ENGLISH
ARMY.
It was in the humble position of a
common sldier in the British army
that this well-born gentleman of royal
lineage laid the foundation of his suc
cess and shining fame as one of the
most brilliant generals of a great war.
Modest and reserved in his manners
and bearing, he gained the respect and
good-will of his comrades, and the con
fidence and esteem of his officers. He
entered thoroughly into the spirit of
his work, and in this practical and in
valuable school of the soldier he mas
tered the minutiae of the profession,
and gained experience that stood him
in good stead in the crucial ordeals of
our civil war. In the ranks of the
Forty-first he learned the wholesome
rules of regularity and prompt obedi
ence, and practiced those lessons of
self-control which so admirably fitted
him to govern others. He learned ex
actly what a soldier could do and
ought to do, and in his after career he
never imposed a duty or exacted a sac
rifice that he was not willing to under
go himself. The thoroughness of his
mastery of all the details of a soldier’s
life marked him f»r promotion, and he
was soon advanced to the grade of
non-commissioned officer. Speaking
on one occasion of this promotion, he
said: “I was prouder of my Cor
poral’s comnfssion than that of Major-
General.”
While in th- Confederate army, in
a convocation with Col. Freemantle,
of the British army, he alluded to the
useful lessons he had learned, and
pointed, with a laugh, to the white
facings of his general’s uniform, which,
he said, his Forty-first experience en
abled him to keep cleaner than any
other Confederate general. The Forty
first regiment wears white facings, and
so did the generals in the Confederate
army.
REDUCED TO RANKS.
An amusing incident lost for a
while Cleburne’s newly acquired honor
of a Corporal’s commission. His reg
iment wa« ordered out for drill with
knapsacks, and as he had been unwell
for several days, and did not feel equal
to the task of carrying through the
tiresome drill a knapsack weighii in
between thirty and forty pounds, he
substituted a pillow for the several
contents, and thus went on parade.
His consternation may be conceived
when he heard the command given,
“Inspection knapsacks!” But there
was no help for it, the pillow was dis
covered, and he was reduced to the
ranks. I his reverse, instead of de
pressing, stimulated lys.. .energies, and
he quickly regained the promotion lost
by his luckless mishap. His health,
which had greatly improved under a
regular course of drills and exercises,
THE KENNESAW GAZETfE.
began to give way under excessive de
votion to duty, and from exposure on
guard he became afflicted with acute
rheumatism.
It was during these painful attacks,
while confined to the wards of the mil
itary hospital, at Gravesend, that he
had ample time to indulge his poetic
taste, and to acquire that accurate
knowledge of the British poets which
made him so apt at quotation. The
Muses, however, did not occupy all of
his leisure hours, though they formed
his principal vocation, for a well
thumbed copy of Blackstone attested
even at that time his interest in the
law. The t arly stirring of his legal
ambition was caused by the knowl
edge that the greatest misfortune of
his life had been the want of a fixed
aim.
It was necessary for him to think
seriously of some profession, for it was
evident that he could not stand the
exposure of army life, and the voca
tion he had ultimately in view was the
law. The chief difficulty in the way
was that his term of enlistment had
not expired, and it required a good
deal of influence to get him out of the
armv. He was bought out by his
friends, and then decided to seek his
fortune in America, with which coun
try the fame and fortunes of a branch
of his family had been associated for
over two hundred years.
HE EMIGRATES TO AMERICA.
On reaching the United States he
made a short sojourn at New Orleans,
but his objective point was Helena,
Arkansas, a small but stirring town on
the Mississippi. This place had been
recommended to him as a residence,
and he found the climate suited to his
constitution, and the town was rapidly
increasing in wealth and population.
Here he commenced upon his success
ful career.
After entering upon an extensive
course of reading in ancient and mod
ern history and general literature, he
began his legal studies under the di
rection of the Hon. Thomas Burke
Hanley, Chief-lustice of the State,
and under the able tuition of this pro
found jurist, he progressed rapidly,
prosecuting h’s >t- dies with great as
siduity, till he c< mpleted a very thor
ough training in ancient and modern
law —inequity, civil and criminal ju
risprudence.
After admission to the bar he set
tled in Helena, and devoted himself
with so much earnestness to his profes
sion that he soon enjoyed a large and
lucrative practice. He never shunned
responsibility, and imposed upon him
self the most intense labor in the thor
ough and careful preparation of all
cases intrusted to him. His fidelity to
the interest of his clients, together
with his accurate and sound legal
knowledge, gave him an enviable rep
utation and a large business, which he
further increased by a copartnership
with Mr. T. C. Hindman, in whom he
found a capable partner and a devoted
friend.
NEARLY KILLED IN A PRIVATE DIFFI
CULTY.
He was on the flood tide of prosper
ity in 1856, when he became involved
in a serious difficulty that nearly cost
him his life. It was during a period
of considerable political excitement
that Mr. Hindman, his partner,, was
grossly insulted in Helena by some
friends of Hon. W. D. Rice, 'then a
candidate for the State Senate. The
insult was of such a nature that Mr.
Hindman felt obliged to demand sat
isfaction in the vsual maimer, but his
assailants declined to give him a chance
and planned a concerted attack upon
him.
One morning Mr. Cleburne and. his-
partner were ivalking down the street
on their way to their office, and they
were fired upon from an adjacent store.
The inside of the store -was too dark
at the time for them to distinguish
their assailants, but they instantly
turned, drew their pistols and fired at
one of them, a man named Merritt,
the instigator of the plot, who was in
stantly killed. After firing once Mr.
Cleburne fell fainting to the ground
from the excessive hemorrhage caused
by a bullet which entered the back of
his right shoulder-blade, and had to be
extracted in front about four inches
lower on the left side. A physician
was promptly in attendance, examined
his wound and pronounced his case
hopeless. The wound was desperate,
and his sufferings were so great that
he almost prayed for death as a merci
ful release.
After a long illness he recovered.
The leading traits of Cleburne’s char
acter were conspicuously shown in this
affair. He had the sympathy of all
goo . citizens, and when the storm of
public indignation was at its highest he
generously abstained from prosecuting
his opponents. He came forth from
this trial stronger and better for the
conflict morally. It was some time be
fore he gained his health. After his
return from North Mississippi, where
he had gone to recuperate his strength,
he wrote a letter to his family explain
ing his action in the Merritt affair, and
in answer to a remark deprecating his
use of firearms on that occasion, he
characteristically said :
“I had either to defend myself or
run, and you know’ that I was trained
in a school where running formed no>
part of the accomplishments.”
HIS POLITICAL VIEWS.
Increased popularity now added
largely to Mr. Clebu ine’s practice,.and
he was urged to enter the political
arena, but though his principles and
associations were Democratic, yet he
loved his independence better than
party, and he never sought advance
ment in the turbid stream of political
life. He adhered tenaciously to the
creed of the Democratic party, and as
a determii eel State’s rights champion
he advocated the conseivative princi
ples ot State sovereignty and strict con
stitutional construction which he never
failed to assert against any and every
opposition. Politics having no attrac
tion for him, though he was admirably
fitted for that arena, he determined to
remain in Helena and practice the pro
fession in which his fortune and fame
had to be won. But his peaceful pur
suits were soon to cease. The war was
brewing. The signs of the times were
watched by no man with more intense
interest and anxiety than by Cleburne.
He was among the first to predict the
evil consequences of a resort to arms,
but true to his principles and devoted
to the interests and rights of his adopt
ed State, he was ready to take his part
in the arbitrament of the sword to set
tle the great question before the coun
try. Ihe existence of slavery he re
gretted, but regarded it as a necessary
evil.
Fully sensible of the embarrassments
that ivould result from emancipation,
he planted himself upon the great doc
trine of State sovereignty, and denied
the right of the General Government
to interfere with the peculiar institu
tion. of the South. He would have
put off the evil day, but finding the
torrent of secession about to ingulf bis
own State,, and utterly unable to stem
the tide of public opinion, he believed
that the time had come for him to take
a decided part in the coming contest.
Hitherto he had distinguished himself
only in the intricacies of the law, but
the occasion had arrived for the dis
play of those hereditary military