damien shields as you will find out, is an engaging young scholar. he is an archaeologist i trade. he is an historian by emotion and he gets the way you have to do all of those things.

let's not just have the false divide between archaeology and history, and pretend that objects and place don't matter. it is just some words on a piece of paper. it is all evidence of how history unfolded and impact on us today. yesterday was a great pleasure of mine. i picked up mr. shields. we went over. he did a seminar for my graduate students. he dazzled everyone. we went over to stones river national battlefield and i managed to not lose him totally.

we got over to franklin just in time. it was dusk. the perfect time to take a man who has studied patrick cleburne so often. all of this means we a unique opportunity to have a perspective and learn from a perspective that sometimes we don't take in here in tennessee. we have civil war historians aplenty. sometimes you can shake a tree and a bunch will hold down. -- will fall down. we are blessed and honored to have damien shields among us today. with no further fanfare, because i know who everyone came to hear is not me. damien shields. i introduce mr. damien shields. [applause] in >> good morning everybody. one i can't describe what is an indescribable honor for me to be

here. i spent all of my time looking in at the irish american civil an and war. i i spend my professional career and you and looking at archaeology, the archaeology of battlefields, how you can an preserve battlefields. i have for years look at what ii have for years look at what has gone on in this city with will has gone on in this city with admiration. in it is an international an and standard, what you are in setting here to reclaim the battlefield from development. i am unaware of any other example that has been so successful. and the fact that it has patrick will and will and will cleburne and in -- and has patrick cleburne involved makes it more relevant. i can't congratulate you enough and you and for that. having been to a number of places over the south, i have never enjoyed the welcome ipad2

a city over the last -- welcome to a city. i'm going to have to offer an apology. i'm badly a throat infection. we get cracking. when we look at history, we can have an overwhelming temptation to simplify it. we try to place order on the path, looking at its series of defining moments. each making one future possible and another less likely. we can sometimes look at people's lives, even our own lives in a similar way.

of course, history, as of life seldom is straightforward. the reality is more opaque, more complex, more convoluted. despite that, the fascinating exercise to consider what might have been the key moments, particularly the moments which set them on their path to what seemed to be the ultimate destiny. i've spent a considerable amount of time studying irish immigrants impacted by the civil war. many brief their last on american battlefields. 150 years on i've been fortunate enough to stand on some of the fields were many of them fought. notorious places like spotsylvania. on each occasion i've traveled to see these battlegrounds i always find myself turning toward an specific idea of the irish to spot there. -- the irish who fought there. and and and and the irish who died and there.

what were their personal stories? what became of their loved ones? what were their life experiences which, needed in their premature you which, needed in their premature death on an american and an battlefield? you we are to discuss one of those men and to wonder. what were the defining moments in patrick cleburne's life? what led him to the city of franklin, where we are meeting today? all of the 200,000 irish men born who fought in the civil war shared one common experience. for each of them it was a defining moment in their lives. immigration from the country of their birth. if we want to look at what led patrick cleburne to franklin, we have to ask what led him to immigrate? the vast majority of irish immigrants in 1840's america came from poor backgrounds of

the catholic faith. such was not the case with patrick cleburne. a little more than 6000 kilometers away from here, in the upstairs room of this house. it is a rule home not from the west of cork city. his father was a medical doctor. his mother was from a well-to-do landowning family in county cork. patrick was the third of four children baptized in st. mary's protestant church. the clyburn's live a comfortable life. in addition to his medical practice, joseph was a contract surgeon for the british barracks.

one of the things i think we often forget is patrick cleburne grew to adulthood in ireland. he spent the vast majority of his life in ireland. his experience in the culture of his -- in the country of his birth shaped him. it is impossible to understand his achievements in america without first understanding disappointments in ireland. the first of what we might term the defining moment came 18 months into it when his mother died. his father remarried quickly isabella stewart in 1830. this is who you would refer to as mama for the rest of his life. that was all in the future. after joseph claver and -- after joseph remarried, the doctor was an upwardly mobile man and he

tried his hand as a farm owner. he moved his family to a manor house, one of the few buildings that is smaller than it was then. 206 acres. things went well for them. there seem to be a chance they were set on the road to prosperity. what occurred next was one of the major factors in determining their immigration. on the 27th of november 1843 dr. joseph cleburne died. he continued to combine the practice of medicine with farming and the revenue placed them on economic strain. much like my voice. patrick's brother returned from college to manage the estate.

16 euro patrick was en route to north cork. it was decided he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a medical. he started as an apprentice to dr. tom is justice. dr. -- dr. thomas justice. i want to turn to what i think is one of the most important documents when we want to look at patrick cleburne. the key formative experience and his early life. these are from the hall in dublin, 1845 when he took the exams he needed to begin medical studies. he was rejected but told to try again the following year. he did. in 1846 he set the exam hoping and probably expecting to set out on the path that would lead to security and comfort in the years ahead.

he failed. that failure altered the course of his life. 17-year-old patrick cleburne had entered the hall as he had hoped, it is unlikely his life would have let him here to franklin and we would be discussing him. this moments are very fascinating. -- the moments are very fascinating. as it was the young man was mortified by his failure and unable to return home. he was too ashamed to face his family. he made the rash decision in enlisting, a decision he ultimately regretted. a year passed in the army without anybody hearing from him. he completely disappeared. finally, a friend recognized him and informed his loved ones. the year was 1847. a great irish famine was at its

height. patrick cleburne witnessed many dreadful sites. during those years, poverty forced many families onto the immigrant boat. unaware of the time, patrick would see some of them again wearing union and confederate uniforms on the other side of the atlantic a decade later. the catastrophic famine killed hundreds of thousands of the country's poor. it had impact on struggling landowners like the cleburne's. increasing rent forced patrick's mama to consider moving to america. patrick, eager to escape disappointment volunteered to lead the way. he succeeded in buying his discharge from the army in

thereafter he wasted little time. by november he was en route to new orleans with three siblings. 21 years old, a grown man. a slight exaggeration to say patrick cleburne proved america the land of opportunity. he was a better position to exploit it, no doubt. much hard work lay ahead. one america gave cleburne was a chance to reassess his life. had he remained in ireland his future may have been defined by his failed exam. in the united states, the society offered the chance to undo past failings. this was an opportunity to work with both hands. he arrived in arkansas and early 1850.

over the course of the next decade he drew from a prescription us to a major community leader. in 1851 he graduated into drugstore owner and began his social rise with membership in the masonic lodge in 1852. by 1854 he decided to study law. by 1855 he had become involved in open politics. he was active in an anti-immigrant party from gaining a foothold. during this time he became friends with a fiery democrat politician. the two ran of paper together called states rights democrat. it illustrates how closely he views were aligning with his friends in arkansas.

his association ultimately got them killed when a politically motivated shootout left one man dead and cleburne clinging to life when a bullet in his chest. he recovered and time went on to congress he refocused his interests. in 1860 his military experience and social positions on him elected captain of the jell-o -- the recently formed don't rifles. y --ell rifles. with arkansas secession from the union, the stage was set for the last 3.5 years of his life. years which would immortalize them. the irish who fought for the north and south during the civil war did therefore a myriad of -- did so for a myriad of

reasons. some on ideological grounds such as preserving the union or states rights. many did so for economic reasons, to take advantage of pay and bounty. it was an irish tradition to do that. some were persuaded by fighting to the north they could support ireland or strike in britain. you and you and others felt her service may help them gain acceptance in america and become part of american society. in for a large number, this an and included cleburne, they fought the preservation of their are way society and their friends. in arkansas had provided cleburne with something he had her never had in ireland. a community of which she felt you are part, a place filled in with his friends and somewhere he could call home. when patrick went to war in 1861 andwhen patrick went to war in 1861 will he went to war for you are arkansas. a he was more than willing to die for arkansas.

by the time patrick cleburne what surveyed the scene, that are you and surveyed the scene that awaited him in november 1864, he was a major general. you 1864, he was a major general. commanding perhaps the most a famed division in the western will and theater. you theater. he'd written from captain to you you arkansas. you will commanded a brigade at and will commanded a brigade at shiloh, let a division. and you are -- will ultimately led a division. famed for his reliability and coolness under pressure, cleburne and his people had become the go to division of tennessee as demonstrated in georgia on the 27th in 1863. when they think the army in the debacle of missionary ridge.

-- when they saved the army in the debacle of missionary ridge. an action with which he would earn the thanks of the confederate congress. by the time he came to franklin, the army had lost more men and more resources as result of the atlanta campaign. that year prospects of success dwindled to a flickr. franklin presents cleburne with his greatest challenge. he dismounted from his horse and rested at a tree stump surveying the union position. he took in the impressive enemy works. after a time, he replaced his glasses and said aloud they are very formidable. the events when hundred 50 years ago are inextricably linked with -- the events 150 years ago are inextricably linked with those

that occurred in the south. john bell could -- good created a significant opportunity. having left to occupy columbia they converged on spring hill and threatened the line of retreat in nashville. the real possibility of destroying or mauling the yankee force appeared necessary to do for confederates to assault and spring hill and cut the franklin turnpike. cheatham's core played a role in the fight for spring hill. and what remains one of the most inexplicable failures of the war, when the fighting petered out the columbia turnpike remained untaken.

despite the fact thousands of rebels were only yards from it. through the night union troops that should have been trapped marched north past the sleeping confederates towards franklin. in later years union soldiers would remember passing in plain view of the rebels. thousands of fires burning brightly. we can see the soldiers. nobody was more aware of what had slipped away than john bell hood. in his words thus was lost a great opportunity of striking the enemy. the greatest the campaign had offered. one of the greatest of the war. the confederates awoke in the morning of the 30th of november to find their enemy gone. who was to blame for this failure is a topic that generates debate even today. there is little doubt as they move towards franklin those

events the previous day wait on -- played upon the minds of many confederate generals. in the 150 years since the battle many have speculated of patrick cleburne state of mind that day. his cell division commander -- his fellow division commander recalled during the march cleburne asked to see him, riding into the field alongside the columns. brown describes how cleburne was angry and deeply hurt. the irishman had been told general hood blamed him for the previous failure. cleburne said he could not rest under such and he would have the manner investigated. he asked cleburne who he thought was responsible. cleburne placed culpability at the feet of his commander-in-chief.

a counterpoint has been put forward. based on a letter found in hood's personal papers. written by stephen lee, he recounts a conversation he had with a former corps commander. stewart had heard under that cleburne felt remorse for the failure at spring hill due to his decision not to launch a night attack. stewart believed cleburne regretted it immediately afterwards and said no such way should be on his mind for similar cause again and lost his life at franklin soon afterwards.

these accounts have to be treated with a degree of caution. they were written after the war in the context of an acrimonious dispute of who was responsible for spring hill. suffice it to say, whatever cleburne did, he had to be disappointed and angry at the chance. as he surveyed those conditions, the disappointment must have been magnified. as cleburne waited for the troops to arrive, he whiled away impromptu checkers. trying to outline the general gathering gaming pieces. it wasn't long before he was ordered to harrison house with a number of others expressing reservations about the proposed attack at franklin saying it

would be a terrible and useless waste of life. hood determines the assault should go ahead. the commander instructed him to form the division and to charge. the irishman replied general, i will take the works or fail in the effort before writing off -- riding off towards his men. the physician assigned to his division for each set of the turnpike aimed at the federal work dominated by a cotton gin. cleburne requested his division be allowed to reduce exposure across the open ground before deploying into battle for the final assault. cleburne held a final meeting with his brigade commanders to outline what was expected of them. one of them who had known cleburne recalled the meeting many years later.

"general cleburne seem to be more desponding to -- seemed to be more despondingdant than i ever saw him. i was the last one to receive instructions. as i saluted and bet him goodbye i remarked, the run-up in many of us that get back to arkansas. he replied, if we are to die let us die like men." cleburne road to his sharpshooters taking one of their scopes, he surveyed the union work. he took a long look across the field before marking they have three lines. his eyes swept back the federal position and they are all completed. he was thundering back down the pike to his division.

around 4:00 p.m. on november 30, almost 20,000 men of the confederate army swung forward at the attack in franklin. they made for an awesome site. among them was patrick cleburne wearing a new uniform jacket. he was mounted on a borrowed horse, his regular animal wounded the previous day at spring hill. zriding forward into action, it seemed as promised he was determined to lead by example. the prospects of success for the advancing rebel should have been slight. they were far too small a force to stem the confederate assault.

when the army of tennessee hit them the position crumbled. as wagner's men turned, cleburne soldiers thought to chase after them. sam foster described how the union men would fire a few shots and break into a run, and our men break after him. nearly half a mile to rent back to their . -- back to their next line. here we go right after them. yelling like fury, shooting at them at the same time. kill them before they reach their works. those in the second line not able to shoot because of their own men are in front of us, and between us. although cleburne and his men were shielded by wagner's slain troops, they simply had to open fire.

for those caught and it, the result was the same. by this time patrick cleburne had crossed a wagner's position and was heading for the mainline when he was catapulted from his horse, killed under him. with the fire intensified one of his careers -- one of his couriers left and offered it to the gentle -- offered from the horse and offered it to his general. the courier went down, his site shatter. cleburne decided to press on. general governor saw him waving his cap before he disappeared into the smoke of battle. it was the last time he ever saw him. many of his men did reach the mainline. it became intermingled from those other units. patrick cleburne was no longer with them.

when the fighting finally ceased in the darkness, rumors began to circulate that cleburne did not survive. federal withdrawal during the night left the battlefield in confederate hands. the next morning the previous days horrors were revealed. john mcquaid was out early looking for the general. he describes what he found not too far. -- not far from the cotton gin. he was 40-50 yards in. he lay on his back. his military cap over his eyes. he had on a new uniform. it was unbuttoned and open. the lower part of his best was unbuttoned and open. he wore a linen shirt stained with blood. this is the only sign of a wound i saw him. i a believe it is the only when

he received. feeling his end was near he laid down to die for his body had been carried there. he was in his sock feet, his boots stolen, his valuables gone. his body robbed during the night. cleburne's body was placed outside that of john adams, who had also fallen. they were taken to the house where they were placed on the back house. the battle of franklin was over. it was an engagement that destroyed the army of tennessee. after 36 years, it ended patrick cleburne's life. 150 years since the battle of

franklin people have speculated the reason behind patrick cleburne's actions that day. why did he choose to take them so far forward when he could have chosen an operation further back? was it anger? and the determination to show john bell hood his work? -- is worth? or to redeem himself for remorse from the day before? we will never know the answer to that. perhaps speculation is secondary. it is worth considering patrick cleburne had placed himself in danger positions. his devotion to the cause of arkansas was absolute. it was a cause he had accepted as serious risks since 1863. in october of 1864 cleburne had remarked that if this cause that is so dear to my heart is doomed to fail i pray heaven may let me

fall with it but my face toward the enemy and my arm back into that which i know is right. by november 1864, anyone above the degree of idiocy must have known the chances for final success of the confederacy were desperate. patrick cleburne was no idiot. he had just witnessed the last best hope is that rate. -- last best hope evaporate. once the orders were given to attack in franklin he decided to roll the dice one more time. perhaps hoping courage and devotion might be enough to win the day. given the circumstances and his character, what would have been truly remarkable is if patrick cleburne had survived franklin.

patrick cleburne was far for the only man from ireland to down the field. one of the men who lay beside him, brigadier general john adams was the son of an immigrant. irish and irish-americans were spread throughout both armies. like many, 1864 would be their last day. some of the confederate irishman had even found time for humor. the site of the confederate forces forming up for the attack led one rebel to recall nelsons words, england expects every man to do his duty. denny and his comrades initially advanced to the right of cleburne. by days and they would have the dubious honor of having the highest casualty of any brigade in the army. one of those casualties was cut down in the active planting the colors and taken prisoner. another was his countrymen who was leading the third that missouri into the maelstrom on horseback. he took a bullet to the right shoulder.

before he could get off a second project are ripped through the top of his head. his body was found the next morning by his horse. today patrick is one of those who is recognized in the cemetery. he shares the cemetery with a number of other irish-americans like tomas lindsay of the six tennessee. part of carter's brigade. tomas was a tennessee born son of irish immigrants. in summer specs, men like -- in some respects, men like patrick were the lucky ones. for many, there will be no known grave. one of the regimens that charged the division felt an affinity to the general. many shared his country of birth. you the fifth confederate infantry consisted largely of

irishman having been sworn by the second tennessee infantry. their particular claim to fame was that it was corporal [indiscernible] the same day their colors were captured. one of their number recalls how the men of the regimen hero worship cleburne almost to idolatry. unsurprisingly they were ready to claim his final moments reporting that at franklin he sought out the regiment, charged in, died with it. another of those who died, his body was found on the first of december 10 feet inside the union work near the cotton gin punctured with bayonet wounds. just as it was a bad day for irish confederates, franklin

severely impacted many irish who fought for the union. the records that survive for those often allow us to paint a picture of the impact of battle on those left behind. take some of the men of the 72nd illinois. they faced james murdoch another confederates to west the columbia turnpike. the 72nd met a mainline of work before being forced back to the retrench line. one of their number was irish born josh flannery of company c. like so many he was never heard from again after franklin. his men would recall he is saying his friend a few minutes before they withdrew and face the confederate attack. it proved to be the last me would ever see him. flannery was never reported as a prisoner and he had no doubt he was killed or disposed of in

some way by the enemy. john flannery's death at franklin must've been hard to bear for his mother in illinois. her losses brought into shop for this when we consider her husband had died just before the war. she had been reliant on john and his brother michael to support her and her younger children. michael had been a member of the 28 illinois. killed in action the previous year in jackson, mississippi. franklin had robbed her of not only a second son but also for economic security. other illinois soldiers who entered the trauma had also almost certain he bore witness to another great trauma in their lives. famine. many of the irishman who fought in the civil war immigrated during the years of the great

famine between 1845 in 1852. we know michael nugent witnessed it. he was living in dublin in 1848. he immigrated to chicago presumably in the hope of a better life area little they could he imagines that that life would end in november 1864. another was john curry who served in company k. like many other irish immigrants he had landed in north america via canada. in 1848 he married aaron driscoll -- ellen driscoll and their first child was born. they moved illinois before enlisting in the 72nd and killed in action at franklin. by 1864 ellen had five minor children to support.

it was not long before she sought security in another marriage. we often forget battles like franklin were responsible for men's death after the gun stopped firing. many linger for weeks, months, years with wounds. for others, their capture sign their death for. -- it was their capture that signed their death warrant. one of these men, and irishman who would enlist from his new american home of lebanon ohio. franklin was his first fight. he was a member of company g. they were deployed as skirmishers. taken prisoner with six others he would contract diarrhea, died during the night under a blanket beside a friend in mississippi in january 1865. he left behind a widow and four children.

as with the confederate side, there are many american-born sons fighting for the union. one of the most notable, this man, killed while encouraging troops to [indiscernible] -- to repulse the rebels, not far from the cap -- not far from the cotton gin. james' parents must've been devastated by the news of the 21-year-old's death. his father had been disabled for many years and unable to work. he and his wife had relied on james for everything. james sister remembers he had always make sure his parents had tea and coffee, flower and meet. -- flour and meat. in clothing, fuel, and the other necessaries of life. they lost his companionship and

support. how do families of those men killed react to news of the deaths? one reaction that is reported is that of susan turner. patrick cleburne's fiance. she was walking in her garden which overheard a newspaper boy callout news and report the death. overcome with grief she would wear mourning clothes for a year. cleburne's body was interned in rose hill cemetery columbia before of being moved. a burial ground cleburne had passed a few days earlier marking that it was almost worth dying for to be buried in such a beautiful spot. the irish general was moved the last time in 1870 when his body was brought back to helena. jefferson davis called patrick cleburne the stonewall of the

west. robert e lee said he was a meteor shining from a clouded sky. as with many similar historical figures, his premature death fighting for a death he -- a cause he believed in has cemented him in the imaginations. some who knew him, like his former business owner, wrote books about him. veterans when they met town in his honor where 30,000 people live. in 1866, a county in alabama was named for him. as was one in arkansas. the confederate cemetery in georgia also bears his name. his popularity wanes in the 20th

century. in 1973 powell and elizabeth perdue published a study of him. the first major one in 70 years. today, patrick cleburne is just as famous for a proposal he made in 1864 as he is for his fighting prowess. a situation perhaps is reflected of changing attitudes of the conflict. that this proposal was made it all is known because of a chance discovery of the only surviving copy and was during the war ordered suppressed. he suggested arming slaves to fight for the confederacy in turn for their freedom. he posited that as between the last of independence in the last of slavery we assume every

patriot will freely give up the ladder, the negro slave, rather than be a slave him self. given the reaction to the proposal by some generals, this was clearly not the case. cleburne made his proposal purely under practicality. it was rooted in a deep desire to see massive patient. -- what the proposal tells us is that it is a reminder that cleburne had spent the first 21 years of his life in ireland and the by 1864 he still had a ways to go before he understood the south. it's been debated whether or not cleburne's proposal prevented him from achieving higher command. if it did have a negative impact on him during his own lifetime

that is not the case in hours. last february, the museum of the confederacy's person of the year symposium, decided by audience phot following a vote. -- by audience vote, following speakers including scholars. given the year sherman came out on top, he was followed by cleburne who garnered more hope than lee or grant. -- more votes than lee or grant. it is inconceivable that the irishman would have finished in this position were not for his proposal to arm the slaves. there is no denying in recent time he has been found centerstage, the subject of biographies, a statue erected in his honor, and recognized in the efforts to reclaim the franklin battlefield. what patrick cleburne's memory in ireland? after the general's death when he waited internment turn meant,

-- when he lay in a coffin awaiting internment a woman called naomi hayes placed at home she written for him on his casting. she describes how arid lands sends forth the whale on hearing news of the man's death. unfortunately, the reality is far from sending forth a wail, he remains little known in ireland. a plaque was placed on his house, but it was placed there by visiting americans. in more recent years, a housing development has been named cleburne [indiscernible] beyond this, along with the 200,000 irish born men and countless other irish-americans who fault -- foggy megan civil -- who fought in the civil war remained largely forgotten in our link.

-- in ireland. this is despite the fact that along with world war i, the american civil war represents ireland's largest conflict in history when it comes to the numbers of men who served. that is very important from an international dimension. if you take only the republic of ireland that exist today, it is the largest war, the american civil war. in ireland, there has been no major exploration of the role of irish people in the conflict. we have no national memorial to those immigrants who suffered as result of the american civil war. during the sesquicentennial event, we have not had a single conference to discuss it. my country's failure to remember her famine immigrants is hopefully something that is set to change.

during in a dress new orleans -- during an address in new orleans last week the irish minister, the equivalent of the secretary of state, specifically referenced the experience the irish american civil war and highlighted those people that i have come to her for as -- that i have come to refer to as the forgotten irish. thankfully, they are most early not forgotten americans. they continue to be appropriately remembered by those in this nation that they came to be a part of all those years ago. as an irish person, i would like to extend my gratitude to you all for that. for the privilege of speaking to you about their number today. thank you very much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

select few are watching american history tv. 48 hours of programming every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter for scheduling, programs and to keep up with the latest history news. >> 2014 marks the 20 fifth anniversary of the american indian act will establish the national museum of the american indian on the national mall and encouraged the return of human remains to federal the recognized indian tribes. next, a panel discussion on congress and the creation of that law.