The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-03-11
A REMARKABLE PRIEST
UNUSUAL CAREER OF REV. p. r.
BRANNAN.

In speaking of the career of the late
Very Rev. Patrick F. Brannan, the
| Fort Worth Record says:
! "The life of the late Rev. Patrick
F. Brannan, poet, warrior, politician
and priest, is probably the most his
torically unique of any in Texas. Born
sixty-eight years ago in Columbus, Ca,
his early Boyhood was spent amid it's
rugged hills, where he built the founda-
ton for career of usefulness equaled
by few men during the past half
century.
Among the first to enlist at the out
break of tie Civil War, he was then
known as the youngest soldier in the
Confederacy. His diminutive stature
made it impossible for him to shoulder
a musket, and he became known as
the drummer boy of Co. K, Fifteenth
Alabama, Col. James Cantey command
ing. The Fifteenth Alabama was un-
der constant fire from the battle of
Cross Keys, in June, 1852, until the
close of the war at Appomattox Court
House. Through it all young Brannan
stood valiantly shoulder to shoulder
with his more mature comrades, suf-
fering every hardship which fell to
the lot of the boys in gray.
"His illustrious companion in arms,
Father Ryan, author of those famous
poems, The Sword of Lee and The
Conquered Banner another great fig
ure of that long ago, has many times
eulogized his religious co-worker and
friend for his manly bravery during
the heated conflicts on many battle
fields"
Speaking of his work as a priest,
the same paper says:
In this, as in all his other varied
efforts, he became one of the best be-
loved of missionaries, carrying peace
and comfort to the disconsolate, the
sick and the dying. During his ac-
tiyities in the Masters service he coY-
cred large sections of Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona and California. Among
men in all walks of life he held the
love and affection of those who came
in contact with him.
In the early seventies Of the last
century Father Brannan became a
citizen of Weatherford, Texas, says the
Southern Messenger. He practiced
law with marked success, was honor
ably identified with the early history
of the town and ranked among it's
prominent citizens. He was elected
mayor of Weatherford in 1S72-the
first democratic mayor the city ever
had.
After the death of his wife, which
occurred in the zenith of his public
career, Patrick Brannan resolved to
devote the remainder of his life to the
work of the Catholic priesthood. He
entered st. Mary's Seminary at Balti-
more, and after years of study and
preparation was ordained to the sacred
ministry. From that time onward his
life and energies were devoted to the
explanation and PRONUNCIATION of the
Catholic faith; his labors were reward
ed by remarkable success, and his
strong and lucid expositions of Cath
olic doctrine brought many wandering
souls into the secure harbor of the one
true Church. MANY sons and daugh.
ters of Texas" says secular paper,
will cherish his memory as a man
pre-eminently Christian and one of
natures noblemen." @
Father Brannan is survived by a
son, James Brannan of Kansas City,
Mo-; a daughter, Miss Mary Brannan
of st. Louis; a brother, Thomas A.
Brannan, who is monk in the Trap
pist monastery at Gethsemane, KY; a
sister, Mrs. G.. A. Dalton of Palo Pinto
county, Texas; nephew, Patrick F.
Dalton of Graford, Texas, and two
nieces, Miss Viva Dalton and Mrs. Leo
Hartnett of Weatherford, Texas, be-
sides other relatives in Washington
and Columbus, Ga.