Queer Places:
Maple Hill Cemetery, 1800 Holly St, Helena, AR 72342
Patrick
Ronayne Cleburne (March 17, 1828 – November 30, 1864)[1]
was an Irish and later American soldier, best known for his service in the
Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, where he rose to the
rank of major general.[2]
Randy Shilts in "Conduct Unbecoming: Gays &
Lesbians in the US Military" claimed that Cleburne was attracted to men, based
upon the memoirs of Cleburne's adjutant, a man much younger than Cleburne, who
stated he shared the general's tent and often his blankets. A romantic
friendship between men during Civil War years was that of the Confederate
General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne with his adjutant, Captain Irving Ashby Buck.
Cleburne's attachment to Buck was a very strong one, says Cleburne's
biographer, and Buck for nearly two years of the war, shared Cleburne's labors
during the day and his blankets at night. Buck's own memoir calls his intimacy
with Cleburne close and confidential: I habitually messed with him and shared
his tent and often his blankets.
Born in County Cork, Ireland,[1]
Cleburne served in the 41st Regiment of Foot, a Welsh regiment of the British
Army, after failing to gain entrance into Trinity College of Medicine in 1846.
He immigrated to the United States three years later. At the beginning of the
Civil War, Cleburne sided with the Confederate States. He progressed from
being a private soldier in the local militia to a division commander. Cleburne
participated in many successful military campaigns, especially the Battle of
Stones River, the Battle of Missionary Ridge and the Battle of Ringgold Gap.
He was also present at the Battle of Shiloh. His strategic ability gained him
the nickname "Stonewall of the West".
Prior to the campaigning season of 1864, Cleburne became engaged to Susan
Tarleton of Mobile, Alabama.[17]
Their marriage was never to be, as Cleburne was killed during an ill-conceived
assault (which he opposed) on Union fortifications at the Battle of Franklin,
just south of Nashville, Tennessee, on November 30, 1864. He was last seen
advancing on foot toward the Union line with his sword raised, after his horse
was shot out from under him.[18]
Accounts later said that he was found just inside the Federal line and his
body carried back to an aid station along the Columbia Turnpike. Confederate
war records indicate he died of a shot to the abdomen,[2]
or possibly a bullet that went through his heart. When Confederates found his
body, he had been picked clean of any valuable items, including his sword,
boots and pocket watch.
AAccording to a letter written to General Cheatham from Judge Mangum post
war, Cleburne's remains were first laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in
Columbia, Tennessee. At the urging of Army Chaplain Biship Quintard, Judge
Mangum, staff officer to Cleburne and his law partner in Helena, Cleburne's
remains were moved to St. John's Episcopal Church near Mount Pleasant,
Tennessee, where they remained for six years. He had first observed St. John's
during the Army of Tennessee's march into Tennessee during the campaign that
led to the Battle of Franklin and commented that it was the place he would
like to be buried because of its great beauty and resemblance to his Irish
homeland. In 1870, he was disinterred and returned to his adopted hometown of
Helena, Arkansas, with much fanfare, and buried in the Confederate section of
Maple Hill Cemetery, overlooking the Mississippi River.[20]
William J. Hardee, Cleburne's former corps commander, had this to say when
he learned of his loss: "Where this division defended, no odds broke its line;
where it attacked, no numbers resisted its onslaught, save only once; and
there is the grave of Cleburne."
Several geographic features are named after Patrick Cleburne, including
Cleburne County in Alabama and Arkansas, and the city of Cleburne, Texas.[21]
The location where he was killed in Franklin, Tennessee was reclaimed by
preservationists and is now known as Cleburne Park. Though the small monument
in the park is often perceived as a monument to Cleburne, it actually is a
marker to show where The Carter Family Cotton Gin once stood (the gin being an
integral part of the Battle of Franklin, and The Carter House itself being the
headquarters of Union Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox).
The Patrick R. Cleburne Confederate Cemetery is a memorial cemetery in
Jonesboro, Georgia that was named in honor of General Patrick Cleburne.[22]
My published books:
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Cleburne
- Love Stories, Sex Between Men Before Homosexuality, by Jonathan Ned
Katz Brigadier