The Irish in Terre Haute

As the number of Irish immigrants and descendants grew in the state of Indiana, many people started to pay attention to the politics abroad in Ireland. Between the Great Famine (1845-1849) and calls for legislative reform and independence from the British Empire, many Irish moved out of Ireland but remained interested in their homeland.

Thomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1823. In 1847, he co-founded the Irish Confederation— a group dedicated to an independent Ireland—with three others. After lecturing on anti-British ideas in public in 1848, Meagher was convicted of encouraging rebellion against the British government and was to be sent to Australia. In 1851, Meagher escaped to the United States where he became famous for his work for Irish independence.

Meagher connected with Irish communities, especially those in Indiana. An 1852 letter from Indiana’s governor, Joseph A. Wright, appeared in the Daily State Sentinel. In the letter, Wright wrote to Meagher on behalf of the General Assembly to ask that he come to the state: “You will find in this State many of your noble and generous hearted countrymen – some of our best citizens – who, together with the native citizens of Indiana, will give a cordial greeting to your arrival,” Wright wrote. While Meagher respectfully declined the invitation, he did make his way to Indiana in 1858. The Terre Haute Daily Union reported that Meagher would be delivering a lecture at the Universalist Church about Saint Patrick’s Day, national anniversaries, and “their significance and beauty – their harmony with the American Republic.”

During the Civil War, Meagher captained part of the 69th New York Regiment, which was also known as the Irish Brigade as most of the men were Irish. He was influential in encouraging other Irishmen, both those born in the United States and those from Ireland, to enlist in the Union Army. In 1861, Meagher became the Brigadier General of the Irish Brigade. The Irish Brigade had a hand in multiple Civil War battles, such as Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg. After the Civil War, Meagher became the Secretary of the Montana Territory. In 1867, Meagher fell from a steamboat on the Missouri River and drowned.