Chapter Two

Helena, Arkansas

Helena, Arkansas in 1850 was a booming Mississippi River town. As the seat of Philips County, it had grown to 600 inhabitants since its founding in 1820. The town sat on about one square mile of flat prairie country with Front Street parallel to the river. The county was mostly agrarian; the Spring rains had overflowed the banks of the Mississippi for centuries, covering sometimes over twenty miles of land and producing an alluvial plain of fertile black soil. One observer noted that the land was simply too flat to drain after a big rainfall. Ever since 1797, the area had drawn settlers from Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky to its productive lands. In 1850, 5,165 bales of cotton were produced over the 755 square miles of Philips County, making it the state’s third largest cotton producing area.

Although ideal for farming, the businessmen of Helena who owned law firms, medical practices, and general stores did not appreciate the annual flooding their shops. Eventually, a small levee was built and Helena’s business section was spared. One of the businesses protected by its construction was the drug store and medical offices of Doctors Hector Grant and Charles E. Nash.

In January of that year, these young doctors had bought the drugstore from a Mr. Lott and Mr. Freeman. As neither intended to run the drugstore but only to set up their respective offices in the back, Mr. Lott agreed to stay on and act as clerk until another could be found. In return for his services, Nash agreed to help prepare Lott for his upcoming medical lectures that fall. Because Mr. Freeman was moving back to Cincinnati, his former home, Grant and Nash asked him to find a competent clerk “from some reliable house”. (1)

With this in mind, Mr. Freeman set out for the bustling city of Cincinnati. After failing several times, he came upon Thomas Salter’s drugstore. Salter’s drugstore was located on 60 Broadway where the buildings were of stately brick and the streets were paved and lined with trees. “Salter told Freeman that he thought he could find a man that would suit, if he would be willing to go south. Remarking that he was a young Irishman full of vigor and ambition, well qualified, and of a good moral character; that he was looking for a clerkship in a drug store, and that he would see him the next day and talk with him upon the subject.” (2)

The journey to New Orleans harbor from Cobh harbor lasted some fifty days and was not without occasion. After falling overboard, William was saved from drowning only by catching hold of a fishing line. Sharks often circled the Bridgetown and sickness was common. On one monotonous day, Anne wrote her mother, “We suffered a great deal from the heat while at the West Indies. I was seasick for a week. Pat was the worst in this respect”. (3)

On Christmas Day, 1849, the Bridgetown arrived at New Orleans harbor, then in the midst of holiday festivities. Although glad that the voyage was over, they spent Christmas in their cabins and left the ship the following day.

Before leaving Ireland, Thomas Tobin, owner of the Gunpowder Mills in Ballincollig, had given then a letter of introductory to the president of New Orleans’ Carrolton Railroad. The letter was, perhaps, mostly for William’s benefit for he was looking for a job in engineering after having studied it at Trinity. Patrick decided that his best chance at a job, other than manual labor, would be in Cincinnati where his cousin, Patrick Ronayne Cashman could hopefully secure him a job in medicine. Like Cleburne, Cashman had been named for the same grandfather, Patrick Ronayne. He had run away from home several years ago to escape the family decision that he should be a priest. After having initially worked on the Erie Canal, he moved further south and ran a working farm.

Therefore, Patrick left William, Anne, and Joseph and boarded a steamboat on the Mississippi River. As the paddlewheel pushed the boat up America’s main artery of travel and commerce, Patrick could not believe the enormity of the river; it contrasted sharply to the River Lee, which was considered large in Ireland. After nine days of travel, the riverboat landed in the city of Cincinnati. Two days following this, William, Anne, and Joseph also arrived in the city. Obviously, William had been turned down for the railroad job.

After a brief reunion, the Cleburnes went their separate ways to find occupation. William was hired as a surveyor for a railroad being built in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and would eventually be promoted to a division engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad. Anne worked in the Cincinnati-Newport area and Joseph followed his brother out west to LaPorte, Indiana where he too worked for the railroad. As for Patrick, he found work in the drugstore of Thomas Salter. His duties were similar in nature to those he performed while the apprentice of Dr. Justice. Patrick spent the cold winter days filling and delivering prescriptions, eating and rooming at a nearby boardinghouse, and occasionally visiting his sister Anne. Patrick worked faithfully at his job, even befriending Mr. Salter, but he wished for a more fulfilling job.

One spring day, Salter introduced Cleburne to Mr. Freeman. Freeman explained that two doctors were looking for an able clerk to run a drugstore. Since Salter had highly recommended his young assistant for the position, it was only a matter of Cleburne accepting the offer. This he did, and taking a letter of introduction signed by Freeman, he once again set out on a steamboat; but this time, it was heading south.

On April 1, 1850, Dr. Charles E. Nash stood on the river landing in Helena, awaiting the arrival of the new clerk. Nash, a native of Mississippi, had witnessed the town’s transformation over the years. Early in its existence, Helena was little more than a steamboat landing, “a stink of crime and infamy where robbers, murderers, thieves, counterfeiters, and gamblers abounded”. Yet over time, anti-gambling societies and temperance organizations had formed and churches, libraries, and schools had been built. True, it was still regarded as the “haunt of the most reckless, desperate characters in the Mississippi Valley” and fights broke out almost daily in its muddy streets, but Helena had drastically changed since its territorial days. (4)

Stepping off the Kate Frisbee, Cleburne met Dr. Nash, a “thin and fragile-looking young man”. Dr. Nash later recalled:

Cleburne handed [me] a letter of introduction from Mr. N.S. Freeman, who wrote in complementary terms of his ability and character as received from Mr. Salter. I told Mr. Cleburne that Dr. Grant was at breakfast and would not be at the store for an hour or so. In the meantime I proposed that he should go with me to breakfast, at Fadley’s Hotel, where I was boarding. He accepted the invitation. (5)

After this, Nash took Grant over to the drug store on Rightor Street where the found Grant and Lott awaiting their arrival. After explaining the situation to the Irishman, Cleburne replied by stating that he thought he could handle the job. He did admit, however, that his experience in finances were limited and suggested that he be given a trial in the position for the expanse of a month. If, at the end of this period his performance was pronounced satisfactory, he would be willing to take the job at whatever salary the doctors thought expedient. The two doctors, somewhat surprised by Cleburne’s unassuming attitude, agreed upon the proposal. “Lott remained awhile until he could induct him into the general business of bookkeeping and ordering. Lott then left the store and entered the office of Dr. Nash to prosecute his studies in medicine and prepare himself for the medical lectures in the fall.” (6)

The shop of Grant and Nash was a combination of both drug store and dry goods store. Not only did it carry medicinal items such as chloroform, iodine, cayenne pepper, and surgical instruments, but also spices, glass, paints, perfumes and even some furniture. These Cleburne arranged “with marked ability and precision” and brought to the store “the appearance and dignity of a city apothecary”. By the end of the trial month, Cleburne was hired with a salary of $50 a month and room and board. So began “eleven eventful years of his life in the little town of which he became a part and grew to love”. (7)

Each morning, Cleburne would arise and walk three blocks to Dr. Grant’s house for breakfast. Because of the lack of housing and restaurants in Helena, some larger houses in town offered room and board. So it was with the Grants. Paying residents at that time were Dr. Nash, a lawyer who was related to the Grants, a young couple, and Mr. Lott. Other residents included Mrs. Grant’s mother and sister and two nieces. Cleburne became a welcomed addition to this close circle; the children regarded him as an uncle and loved to listen to his stories of Ireland after dinner.

The warm-hearted people of the town appealed to Cleburne. “Helena was a community where there was an atmosphere of friendliness and respect for one’s neighbors. All had common interests in their churches, a love of the land, and a mastery of hunting. They shared a strong sense of patriotism, followed national and local politics, and admired oratory.” Cleburne appreciated the honesty of the people, whose “words”, he wrote his mother, “convey no double meaning and carry no allusions”. He also enjoyed the society of the town, where the “life of the gentry…was in many ways comparable to his family’s social circle in Ireland”. (8)

Despite his general acceptance by much of Helena’s gentry and his acknowledgment

as a gentleman, Cleburne inevitably bore the brunt of several jokes or pranks, directed towards his Irishness and ignorance of American ways. “His accent, unfamiliarity with the foods, and his provincialism were all too noticeable.” Although Cleburne always took these in stride, regarding them as nothing more than good-natured fun, he never made the same mistake twice. (9)

During one warm day in June, as he was working at the drug store, he noticed a wagon drive by which was loaded down with large green fruit. Intrigued, Cleburne inquired after the fruit to an apprentice boy, Joe Maxey. Joe, a little surprised, replied that they were watermelons and that he should buy one. This he did, and upon his return asked Joe how he should prepare it. Joe, undoubtedly thinking of potatoes, mischievously directed him to cut the fruit into pieces and then stew it in a pan of water. When Doctors Grant and Nash arrived, Cleburne announced that he had prepared a treat for them. Looking into the bowls, they asked what it was. Somewhat taken back, Cleburne answered that it was a watermelon. Astonished, Grant said, “Who ever heard of a melon being stewed; you have spoiled a nice melon, Cleburne!” Looking back on it, Nash recalled that the apprentice boy “practiced many jokes on Cleburne before he learned our American ways”. (10)

One evening in October, Cleburne asked Nash if he could borrow one of his horses. “[Cleburne] had never ridden a horse, but seeing so many persons, ladies and gentlemen, indulging in this pleasant exercise, concluded he would like to learn to ride horseback.” Nash was a little hesitant. He did not think that Cleburne could ride the horse, as it was wild and unruly. Cleburne replied “Doctor, if you don’t want to lend me your horse say so, but don’t say I cannot ride him”. Nash finally agreed but cautioned Cleburne not to get his feet stuck in the stirrups, lest the horse throw him and kick him to death. Cleburne was soon in the saddle and ridding to the hills outside of town where ran into a friend of his, William Nash. At that time, a lake separated the town of Helena from the hills. In this lowland around the lake was a swamp. The only way across this large lake was an old plank bridge. William got his horse into a run with one stroke from his whip. Cleburne’s horse, which had previously been a race horse, took this as a challenge and set off into a full run. Cleburne soon passed William and crossed the bridge, heading for the hills. Cleburne tried to slow the horse down, but no amount of pulling at the reins would accomplish this. “As he was always composed, the thought occurred to him that he would catch him by the nose and turn him towards the lake, mire him up, and jump off. This he succeeded in doing, which resulted in his being plunged into the mire up to his waist. The horse was as badly mired, but both came out unhurt.” Unavoidably, the incident caused great amusement and convinced Cleburne, in his words, never to “make a laughing stock of myself again”. (11)

Cleburne and Nash, both bachelors of about the same age became good friends. One day, Cleburne showed Nash his prized Damascus steel sword, which he took from a well-worn trunk. Also in the trunk which, according to Nash, had “evidently had seen service before it reached the waters of the Mississippi” were a pair of boxing gloves. Nash recalled,

“Cleburne was fond of the sword exercise, and would frequently amuse me with his thrusts at an imaginary enemy, but as I knew nothing of the exercise, and cared less, he soon gave up the amusement. His boxing gloves were after the old English style, but as we did not use gloves for boxing in Arkansas, preferring the fist (and not using them for sport), he soon gave up this…sport. Cleburne soon found that our bowie knife was far superior to his Damascus blade in close engagement, and our hard fists more effective than boxing gloves.” (12)

Although accustomed to the rifle from his days of hunting as a youth and as a private in the British 41^st Foot, he had no experience with the pistol. One day, a few of his companions, who were excellent marksmen, asked him to try and hit a target with a pistol. “The result”, noted James Lanford, “was a laughable failure. Some weeks after this, he was present at another trial of skill, and, to the astonishment of all, he beat the entire party with the greatest ease.” Lanford explains that in the weeks between the two matches, Cleburne had purchased a pistol and had “practiced in private with his accustomed assiduity”. (13)

The occasional antidote of the simpleminded Irishman, usually named Pat, which filled the spaces between news stories at that time, made “Cleburne’s campaign for acceptance and social position an uphill struggle”. “In parts of America, there was such strong resentment of Irish immigrants that stores put signs in windows stating ‘No Irish Need Apply.’ Fortunately for Pat Cleburne, the South was much more tolerant.” Towards the end of 1851, Dr. Grant decided to sell his interest in the drug store. He would, however, still run his medical practice in the back of the shop. Dr. Nash suggested to Cleburne that he buy up Grant’s interest. At first, Cleburne declined, saying that he did not have enough money to do so. Nash, believing that this transaction would be a great opportunity for Cleburne, allowing him to jump from clerk to entrepreneur, proposed to lend him enough money to fill the deposit. Cleburne agreed and paid Grant $350 down payment, with a balance of $1,150 to be paid over the next twelve months. That next month, the Southern Shield, a Helena newspaper, announced the company of “Nash and Cleburne, Wholesale & Retail Druggists”. In addition to “Chemicals, Perfumes, Paints, Oils and Dyestuffs”, the ad invited the public to visit several newly added fixtures. (14)

Cleburne rose not only economically but socially as well. Over the following months, Cleburne joined a literary and debating society, whose members included prominent businessmen and lawyers. Here, Cleburne sharpened his oratory skills and read books about famous military campaigns and commanders. He carefully studied the tactics of Alexander the Great, Caesar, Hannibal, and his own military hero, Wellington. “On military affairs Wellington was his model, and he would become excited whenever he heard Napoleon Bonaparte eulogized. As Napoleon had many admires in Helena, Cleburne was often annoyed, Judge T.B. Hanley being one of the chief sources of irritation.” (15)

Cleburne’s inclination towards prose and poems gradually developed until he became “literary man”. Nash recalled, that from the many well-read barrowed volumes in his own library, “he was a great reader and memorized well; fond of poetry, biography and history, giving preference to English literature”.

Cleburne furthered his understanding of the United States by reading the founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. “These convictions were the foundation for Cleburne’s becoming an ardent champion of states’ rights.” (16)

On occasion, Cleburne and several other members of the debating society would gather in the back room of the drug store to play chess. An ardent player of ‘the game of kings’, Cleburne became the group’s president and organized its tournaments. Although he enjoyed these meetings, Cleburne did not enjoy the drinking which sometimes accompanied them, as he said it made him “crazy”. At on of the meetings, someone broke out the “old Cognac brandy” that was kept in the store and it was not long before they were all intoxicated, “Cleburne among the rest”. (17)

That next morning, when Cleburne did not show up for breakfast at Dr. Grant’s house, Nash walked over to the store where he found him still in bed; obviously experiencing a terrible hangover. So uncharacteristic was this, that Nash exclaimed “Why Cleburne, who ever heard of your being drunk!”. Since Cleburne was not at his post behind the counter for most of the day, Dr. Nash had to continually leave his duties at his office to help a customer. The situation reached the boiling point when he could not find a particular paint which a woman was inquiring after. Nash stormed up the stairs and abruptly asked Cleburne where he kept it. Cleburne sluggishly replied that the article was in a drawer. When Nash explained that he had already looked in that drawer, Cleburne brusquely said, “Look again!” After looking through every drawer, Nash returned to Cleburne’s side and angrily told him he could not find it. Offering no supplementary reply to his question, Nash shouted, with an uncharacteristic oath, to “get up and get it yourself, sir!” Cleburne turned over and told Nash that he would hold him responsible for the insult and to prepare himself for a duel. (18)

The situation was averted from its deadly course with Dr. Grant’s intervention. While Nash was going over to Grant’s house to barrow one of his pistols, Nash ran into Grant on the street. Grant was so surprised to hear what Nash and Cleburne intended to do that he called it ‘ridiculous’ and immediately went over to the store to confer with Cleburne. Although still in his unstable groggy state of mind, Grant made Cleburne realize that it was all just a misunderstanding. In the end, Nash and Cleburne exchanged apologies and shook hands. Not wanting to be labeled as a ‘drunk Irishman’, Cleburne determined never to touch liquor again and joined the Sons of Temperance. In reference to the disturbing incident between Nash and himself, Cleburne would decline any liquor in the future, explaining that a single glass would “affect his calculations in playing chess”. (19)

The near-duel had been all but forgotten by 1852, when Nash married Grant’s sister-in-law, Miss Mary Frances Epps of North Carolina, for Cleburne served as his best man. Also, Cleburne saved Nash’s live on two occasions that year. The first occurred when a Mormon carpenter and his six wives came to Helena.

Nash, wanting a house to be built, hired the man. Nash’s curiosity as to the man’s real motives were aroused, however, when he learned that the Mormon was conducting services in the court house every Sunday night. Perhaps feeling responsible and it his duty to investigate, Nash attended one of the services. He was indignant to find that the Mormon was impressing upon the minds of his audience, mostly “women of the ignorant and medium classes” as Nash put it, to convert them over to his polygamous doctrine. Nash left the court house that night and went strait over to the sheriff’s office. Explaining that the Mormon was upsetting “the Christian teachings of the sacredness of marriage” with his teachings, Nash passionately exclaimed that “it was an insult to the better classes of society, especially the members of the church, to permit [the Mormon] to hold services in the court house—a house that did not belong to him, nor was it at his disposal”. The sheriff assured Nash that he would look into the matter. (20)

Subsequently, the sheriff ordered the Mormon ‘priest’ to cease his meetings. Infuriated, he walked over to the drug store and told Nash, “with words not suitable for a preacher” that he would surely get even with him. Several days passed uneventfully when, one day, the priest came crashing back into the store, denouncing Nash, who was standing behind the counter, for interference in severe language. The altercation rose in volume until it appeared the incident would terminate in blows. At this moment, while the Mormon was attempting to pull a pistol out of his pocket, Cleburne, knowing that Nash was unarmed, leaped over the counter, grabbed the man and kicked him out of the shop, saying in a thick Irish brogue, “If you ever come in again I will serve you worse”. (21)

The word of the altercation spread like wildfire through Helena. The citizens gathered in a mass meeting and resolved that the Mormon should leave town. He would be given reasonable time to sell his house and after this time, he would gather his six wives and leave. During this time, he would not be allowed to teach his Mormonism and if he was found in the city after a certain time, he would be treated to a coat of tar and feathers, “prepared by the ladies and applied by the gentlemen”. Needless to say, the Mormon and his wives left before the previously allotted time. Thus “was the rise and fall of the Mormon empire in Arkansas”, recollected Dr. Nash. (22)

The second occasion in which Cleburne saved Nash that year occurred between drunken Irish levee men. After downing too many at John Smith’s saloon one night, the gang became disorderly. When one man was “seized with a drunken fit”, Nash, being the nearest doctor, was called over there to attend to him. Nash, “supposing that a little blood drawn from his temples would give relief” began to apply a cup to the area. The next thing Nash felt was a tremendous blow to his back which felled him to the floor. A burly Irishman had dealt him the blow upon seeing the blood which had been drawn from his friend’s temple. Another member of the gang, understanding what Nash was trying to do, dealt the burly man so hard a blow that he fell on the floor next to Nash. At this point, the final member of the gang, who was equally drunk himself, picked the dazed Nash up, and proceeded to throw him down the stairs, shouting “The bloody butcher!” (23)

Thankfully for Nash, Cleburne was just across the street at the time and was soon by his side at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing a cut bleeding freely on Nash, Cleburne indignantly inquired as to how it had occurred, adding “Where is the man that struck you? Show him to me and I will hurl him down the steps with a kick that shall last him to the grave.” Nash explained that he was alright, but that he had to stop the man’s cut on his temple, as it was on a superficial artery. With Cleburne’s help, Nash went back up the stairs and attended to the man’s cut. The next morning, the levee gang returned to apologize for their behavior. (24)

One of the more striking incidents which demonstrated Cleburne’s “disposition…to always help the weak, when he thought they were imposed upon” occurred that same year. His inclination to do so, not only for friends but also for complete strangers as the following incident will display, steamed from the many scenes of oppression upon the helpless which he witnessed as a soldier of the 44^th Foot in Ireland. (25)

The story goes that, on the poorer side of Helena, there lived a butcher named Norman. Oddly enough, Norman kept a full grown bear which he had raised from a cub, chained in his front yard. Apparently, the bear was so well trained, that he often preformed tricks for the children.

One day, a hunter with his dog walked by the butcher shop. Instinctively, the dog began to growl and bark at the chained bear, whom he considered a threat. Seeing that the hunter was about to loosen his dog, Norman protested, stating the fight would be unfair because his bear was chained. The hunter provocatively claimed that his dog could whip the bear “though he were loose”. Norman wagered $50 that the hunter’s dog could not whip his bear; the wager was subsequently taken by the hunter and a day, place and time was selected for the fight. (26)

Word of this unusual match spread quickly among the townspeople, and although contrary to the law, many gathered on the flat hill outside of town on the day of the fight. The spectators formed a wide ring with the hunter and his dog on one end and Norman and his bear on the opposite end. Although the dog growled viciously, he did not appear very anxious to assault the burly bear. Likewise, the bear also displayed complacency; he was not at all offended by the dog, as he customarily saw them pass by his yard daily. This interlude of activity ended abruptly, however, when the hunter gave his dog the well-known signal of “Tige take him!” At this, the dog bounded aggressively towards the bear. Unexpectedly, the bear met the dog with open arms and attempted to give him a friendly hug, as he had been trained. The dog, bypassing these offered pleasantries from his opponent, attempted to seize the bear by his throat. At this, the bear reversed matters and nearly squeezed the life out of the dog while baring his teeth around the dog’s neck. The hunter, seeing that the day was going against him, jumped into the action and grabbed the bear by the feet, so as to break his strong hold of his dog. The butcher grabbed hold of the hunter and gave him a blow which sent him to the ground. Perhaps anticipating a similar result, several spectators jumped into the ring, striking the butcher in the face. What likely should have followed would have been a bloody free-for- all, had Cleburne not taken control of the situation. Seeing the butcher badly outnumbered, Cleburne took his side and quickly restored order to the brawling crowd. So firm was his resolve in the matter, that not another punch was thrown and the crowd soon broke up. The hunter picked up his broken dog, Norman chained his bear, and left without picking up his money, and the spectators including Cleburne were fined for witnessing the fight. With such instances as these, Cleburne soon became a well-respected member of Helena, Arkansas. (27)

Cleburne was a frequent guest to the Nash house on Porter Street. Nash recalled, with some slight chagrin, that when Cleburne ate breakfast at his house, he always insisted “upon having breakfast at daylight, that he might get to the store and open it before anyone had their stores open”. During these visits, Dr. Nash and he would get into lively discussions at the table, usually over the “chemical action of certain drugs”. Mrs. Nash, knowing how absent minded their visitor could be while debating, served him “a whole dish of sweet potatoes” as she knew him to claim that he never ate them, only Irish potatoes. Much to her surprise, in the course of the debate, Cleburne ate the entire dish of sweet potatoes, peeling included. (28)

Mrs. Nash often invited friends of her own over dinner. Of the more frequent visitors were Miss. Maggie Tollison and Annie Broadnax from Cat Island. Nash recalled that Cleburne would become nervous around the ladies, blushing when one spoke to him. But “Miss Maggie”, Nash wrote, “by her grace and easy manners, was not long in getting him to engage in conversation, and by her winning ways and charming appearance, soon secured him as her escort”. During one of the social functions arranged by Mrs. Nash, Cleburne “attempted to dance in a quadrille without knowing the calls, and the group became confused”. Nash recalled, “I was as much mortified as he was when I heard the girls laugh and call him a raw, gawky young Irishman”. Following this, Cleburne took dancing lessons and then “all the girls wanted him for a partner”. (29)

In October of 1852, while “still driving away at the Drug business”, a fire broke out in Helena, consuming three-fourths of the town. The citizens grabbed what they could and rushed down to the river bank for safety. Although Grant, Nash, and Cleburne were able to spare many of the items from the store, they “suffered considerably” by a sudden heavy rain which ruined many of the medicines. The rain, however, stopped the fire; and for that, Cleburne wrote his mother that “I have no reason to complain”. (30)

Because of the distances, Cleburne was not able to keep up with his family in America or Ireland very well. While living in this “new wild country”, Cleburne admitted to his mother that he had “nearly as little means of knowing any thing about [William, Anne, and Joseph] as you have, living as I do more than 700 miles from them”. “Tell Issy I would much like to hear from her”, Cleburne wrote home in October of 1853. “I have often in my day dreams wished I had her here with me. I have often thought how proudly I would feal [sic]. Every homage and attention her goodness and accomplishments would exact from our young men. I have often recollected with pain that she was beyond the protecting power of her older brother’s arms…” In closing, Cleburne urged his mother to “raise up Robert and Chris to be independent, self dependent fellows. Let them have good English Educations. Teach them to be practical in every thing. Let them bow the knee to nothing but their creator, and teach them to America as their future home. In fact, I think you ought to send one of them out here at once. Any of us would be glad to have them with us if they come to any of these states. Stout of heart and strong of hand, they must succeed.” (31)

In 1852, as Anne was returning on board the John Sherlock from a visit with William and his wife, Eliza Thomasina Rose, whom he had known in Ireland and had recently come over to America, she met James L. Sherlock, an officer aboard the boat. The boat was partly owned by James’ brother, Thomas, of Rodgers & Sherlock, Cincinnati merchants. In March of 1853, Anne married James in Cincinnati.

That year, Thomas Welch, a Presbyterian missionary held a tent revival in Helena, a place where churches were few and far between. Before Welch’s revival, there was one church and four saloons. Cleburne, “a firm believer in the doctrines of the Episcopal church” wrote that “There are hundreds here who have no regard for religion—in fact who openly revile it. But yet under all these disadvantages I believe this mighty valley could furnish more sincere self sacrificing Christians than any spot on earth.” (32)

For a while, Cleburne attended a Mr. Haggett’s Episcopal church, which was held in an old store. Its members, “though few in number, were active and devotional” and included Haggett’s daughters, whom were considered “highly accomplished and very attractive”. Cleburne enjoyed their company and visited them quite frequently, but eventually left the church, because he preferred simpler services as opposed to the strictly high churchman style of Mr. Haggett. That “mode of worship, which he so much loved and admired”, may be best depicted during the tent revival which Thomas Welch held in the woods. Here, as he described to his mother, “they kneel beneath the old forest trees” and “worship God beneath his own ethereal roof” while the “parquet shrilly cries in the lofty branches above them” and the hummingbird “glances from flower to flower.” That same year, Thomas Welch, “a young man of fine abilities, and very affable in his manners” became pastor of the upcoming Presbyterian Church at Helena. Cleburne attended the church regularly and tithed graciously. Nash wrote that gradually, “this little…church…developed until now it is erecting one of the most beautiful and attractive church edifices in the City of Helena”. Nash, upon a claim that Cleburne was a Catholic, stated:

As the Roman Catholics have claimed him in public print, I think this rebuttal necessary here….The Roman Catholics say, ‘Who ever heard [of an] Irishman named Pat, who was not a Roman Catholic?’ Well, as there are exceptions to all rules, this is one. (33)

On October 26, 1853, Cleburne wrote his mother concerning the “sad and unlooked for news of brother Edward’s death”. Evidently Edward, only twenty years of age, had become a sailor and had contracted yellow fever while off the west coast of Africa. Cleburne wrote that the news of his death “under painful circumstances, far away from his home and the kind attention of those who loved him” had “caused me a deep pang of sorrow”. Cleburne wrote that though he had “not seen his face even for a day” since immigrating to America, he “remember[ed] him only as a healthy, growing, fearless boy; independent as a republican; generous; and seemingly well calculated to make his own way through this bustling world”. Cleburne wrote:

But now he is cut down ere half his race was run. This is a sad reflection indeed, but it bears a consolation with it that should in some sort reconcile the sorrowing parent for the loss of her child. It is this: that no son of Adam finishes his destine here. I care not what work we set our hearts upon, the grave is between us and its complete realization. This world is but the opening scene. Yourself and Edward and the remainder of us will meet in immortality. The present separation is small if we be not separated then. But he sleeps far off near the lonely sea. This is but an imaginary bereavement. Though we had all followed him to the grave, though we had seen him laid there and heard the earth sound hallow over all that remained of our brother, we would have learned nothing—we would have gained no consolation from the fact. He would be still as far as though the blue waves of the Atlantic rolled between us. In the tomb, whether it be on land or ocean, all is still and cold and lifeless. The only voice of comfort that issues from the grave is that true firm faith which tells of the not distant future when the tombs shall be burst and mothers shall take again their children to their arms. Afflictions, bitter as they seem at the moment, are often of inestimable value to the afflicted. They soften the heart; they humble our pride; they prepare us to look impartially upon ourselves and more charitably on others. (34)

Over the winter of 1853, Cleburne decided to retire from his job as clerk in the drug store and commit himself to studying full-time in the hope of gaining admission to the bar. This is, perhaps what he had intended to do all along, but was improbable due to his immediate lack of money upon arrival in Helena. He calculated that it would take him two years to be accepted, during which time he would live off of the money he had earned while a clerk. In addition, Cleburne gained $3,000 dollars from the sell of the drug store, which occurred almost four years to the day since his arrival in Helena. Doctors Grant and Nash subsequently moved their offices to a building on Ohio Street. Cleburne now spent his days ardently studying the dusty and well-read volumes in Hanly & Alexander’s law firm.

Sources

1: Biographical Sketches of General Cleburne and General T. C. Hindman by Charles E. Nash: page 8

2: Ibid: page 8

3: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter 1 page 23

4: The Lion of the South: General Thomas C. Hindman by Diane Neal and Thomas Kremm: chapter 2, pg 21

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 24

5: Stonewall of the West: chapter 2, page 28

: Biographical Sketches: page 8-9

6: Ibid: page 9

7: Ibid: page 10

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 2 page 14

: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter 2 page 32

8: Ibid: chapter 2 pages 32-33

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 25

: Ibid: chapter 2 page 17

9: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter 8 page 180

10: Biographical Sketches: page 13

: Ibid

11: : Ibid: page 19

: Ibid: page 20

: Ibid: page 21

: Ibid: page 22

12: Ibid: page 10

: Ibid: page 11

13: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter 8 page 180

: Ibid

14: Stonewall of the West: chapter 2 page 29

: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter 8 page 180

: Stonewall of the West: chapter 2 page 30

: Ibid

15: Biographical Sketches: page 28

16: Ibid

: Ibid

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 2 page 18

17: A Meteor Shining Brightly: chapter two, page 34

: Biographical Sketches: page 25

: Ibid

18: Ibid: page 26

: Ibid

19: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 5 page 48

20: Biographical Sketches: pages 16

: Ibid

21: Ibid

: Ibid page 17

22: Ibid

: Ibid

23: Ibid page 18

: Ibid

24: Ibid page 19

25: Ibid page 22

26: Ibid

27: Ibid page 23

28: Ibid page 38

: Ibid page 91

29: Ibid page 38

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 2 page 20

: Biographical Sketches: page 39

: Ibid

30: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 25

: Ibid

31: Ibid

: Ibid

32: Biographical Sketches: page 35

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 24

33: Biographical Sketches: page 36

: Ibid

: Ibid page 35

: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 24

: Ibid

: Biographical Sketches page 36

: Ibid page 37

: Ibid page 35-36

: Ibid

: Ibid page 36

34: Pat Cleburne Confederate General: chapter 3 page 23

: Ibid

: Ibid page 23-24