The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-05-17
Pat Cleburne's Death.


soldier, thus gives for the first time
the true and full particulars of the
death of Gen. Cleburne at Frank
lin:
81 saw in your paper of yesterday
morning the article headed "Tht
Death of Cleburne," copied from
the Philadelphia Times. 1 have
noticed that all published accounts
of Gen. Cleburne's death have been
of about the same version in the
Philadelphia Times. They are,
however, all wrong. All published
accounts state that Gen. Cleburne
and his horse were killed on the top
of the federal breastworks at Frank
lin, Tenn, and that his horse had
its forefeet on the breastwork, dead
IN that position. Some accounts
have the horse on top of the breast
works and the hindfeet on the out
side.
cit waS the horse of Gen. John
Adams of Loring's division that
lay on the top of the breastwork.
The body of Adams lay on the
outside Of the bottom of the works
where it had rolled or fallen when
he was shot while riding over the
works, leading his brigade. Gen.
Cleburne led his division on foot.
His horse was to the rear and was
not killed as was reported.
''The terrible report that Gle
burne was missing ran through our
ranks that whole dreadful night
and our fears and anxieties prayed
that he might have been wounded,
only, or captured; but that was not
to be. 1 and two others were the
first to discover his dead body at
early dawn the next morning. He
was about forty or fifty yard from
the works. He lay fiat upon his
back as if asleep, his military cap
partly over his eyes. He had on a
new gray uniform, the coat of the
sack or blouse pattern. 1t was
unbuttoned and open; the lower
part of his vest was unbuttoned.
He wore a white linen shirt, which
was stained with blood on the front
part Of the left side, or just left of
the abdomen. This was the only
sign of wound 1 saw on him, and
believe is was the only one he had
received.
81 have always been inclined to
think that, feeling his end was near,
he had thus lain himself down to
die, or that his body had been car
ried there during the night. He
was in his sock feet, his boots hav-
ing been stolen. His watch, sword
belt and other valuables were all
gone, his body having been robbed
during the night. Being pierced
with forty bullets through and
through is mere invention, as is
also his lying dead on top of the
breastworks. Upon discovering
Cleburne's body, I went to some
parties who had an ambulance up
at the breastworks and were pick
inc up the wounded and the more
distinguished of the dead officers.
I found the ambulance to be in
charge of the Rev. Thomas Mark
ham. the well known Presbyterian
minister of New Orleans, and form
erly of this place. He was the
chaplain of Featherston' Missis-
sippi brigade, Loring's division. !
pointed Cleburne's body out to
him and asked him to come
with the ambulance and get
it. The men that were with him
were at that moment lifting up the
body of Gen. John Adams, and, il
being rather heavy for them, L
helped to put it in the ambulance
We then went to where Cleburne
body lay and L assisted to put his
body in the same ambulance. The
Rev. Thomas Markham, whom ev
erybody here Knows, will corrObo
rate every word of what 1 have
| said -