"Life has always been a small matter with me when duty points the way"

Re-post NamSouth 2008

Patrick R. Cleburne to his brother on the eve of war in 1861. Newly elected Captain of a company of militia called the Yell Rifles raised in Phillips County, Arkansas, his words would become synonymous with his conduct over the next four years.

NamSouth

"Well, Govan, if we must die, let us die like men."
Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne

Three Of My Favorite Quotes

3. At the battle of Franklin, General John Bell Hood told Cleburne to make a frontal attack on an entrenched position. Cleburne tried to persuade Hood but Hood disagreed.

Just before the attack General Daniel Govan told Cleburne "General there will not be many of us going back to Arkansas after this battle."

Cleburne said, "Well, Govan, if we must die, let us die like men."

Cleburne's horse was shot from under him as he led the charge. As he put his foot in the stirrup to mount a second horse it was killed too. He charged on foot. He was killed by a bullet through the heart

General Cleburne Not Forgotten In Ireland

"Stonewall Jackson of the West"

This rare, one of a kind buckle, sword belt, and sash belonged to Confederate Major General Patrick R. Cleburne. Known as the "Stonewall Jackson of the West," Cleburne was born in County Cork, Ireland, on March 17, 1821 and came to America in 1849. After settling in Helena, Arkansas, he became an apothecary and later a lawyer.

At Franklin, he had two horses shot from beneath him. According to an eyewitness, Cleburne "moved forward on foot waving his cap and was lost sight of in the smoke and din of battle. " Cleburne fell between the cotton gin and the Columbia Pike within sight of the Carter House, a single bullet piercing his heart.

The loss of general officers in this battle was staggering to the morale of the Confederate army. General's Adams, Carter, Gist, Granbury, Cleburne and Strahl were killed, and Cockerell, Quarles, Manigault, and Scott were wounded. General Gordon was dragged over the Union breastworks by his hair and captured.

Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis would remember Cleburne as being equal to Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee in "ability and leadership." Cleburne's sword belt, sash and buckle were sent to his fiancé Sue Tarleton, of Mobile, Alabama after the battle.

From Free North Carolina