page_title: Thomas Francis Meagher
section_title: Legacy and honors
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Francis Meagher / Legacy and honors
caption_attribution_description: English: Helena Montana Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians named in Honor of Territorial Governor Thomas Francis Meagher. Now hanging in Bert and Ernie's Saloon and Eatery, Helena, Montana
context_page_description: Thomas Francis Meagher was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sentenced to death, but received transportation for life to Van Diemen's Land in Australia.
  In 1852, Meagher escaped and made his way to the United States, where he settled in New York City. He studied law, worked as a journalist, and traveled to present lectures on the Irish cause. He married for a second time in New York. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Meagher joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He was most notable for recruiting and leading the Irish Brigade, and encouraging support among Irish immigrants for the Union. By his first marriage in Ireland, he had one surviving son; the two never met.
  Following the Civil War, Meagher was appointed Montana's Territorial Secretary of State by President Andrew Johnson, and served as acting territorial governor. In 1867, Meagher drowned in the Missouri River after falling from a steamboat at Fort Benton.
context_section_description: The Thomas F. Meagher Foundation promotes pride in and respect for the Irish flag, and is leading centennial celebrations of the adoption of the Irish tricolor in Ireland.
  A statue of Meagher, on horseback with sword raised, is on the front lawn of the Montana State Capitol in Helena, and was first erected in 1905.
  A similar statue honoring him was erected in 2004 in Waterford, Ireland near his childhood home at Number 19, The Mall.
  The actor Richard Webb was cast as Meagher in the 1960 episode "The General Who Disappeared" on the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. In the story line, Meagher as acting governor of the Montana Territory seeks to clean up corrupt politics.
  In 1963, President Kennedy spoke of Meagher's legacy, leading the Irish Brigade into battle in the American Civil War. He presented the battle flag of the Brigade to the people of Ireland, and it hangs to this day in Leinster House, the location of the Irish Parliament.
  In 1982, the Ancient Order of Hibernians formed the Thomas Francis Meagher Division #1 in Helena, Montana, dedicated to the principles of the Order and to restoring a historically accurate record of Meagher's contributions to Montana.
  The military fort at Camden near Crosshaven, County Cork, was renamed Fort Meagher.
  Meagher County, Montana, was named for him.
  A monument at the Antietam battlefield was dedicated in his honor. The inscription on the granite monument reads:
  The Irish Brigade commander was born in Waterford City, Ireland on August 23, 1823; a well educated orator, he joined the young Ireland movement to liberate his nation. This led to his exile to a British Penal Colony in Tasmania Australia in 1849. He escaped to the United States in 1852 and became an American citizen. When the Civil War broke out, he raised Company K, Irish Zouaves, for the 69th New York State Militia Regiment, which fought at First Bull Run under Colonel Michael Corcoran. Subsequently Meagher raised the Irish Brigade and commanded it from February 3, 1862 to May 14, 1863 til later commanded a military district in Tennessee. After the War Meagher became Secretary and Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. He drowned in the Missouri River near Fort Benton on July 1, 1867. His body was never recovered.
  A cenotaph memorial to Meagher is located in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.
  In the spring of 1867, the U.S. Army established a post near Rocky Creek, east of Bozeman, Montana, and named it Fort Elizabeth Meagher in honor of Meagher's second wife.
  At the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, a statue depicting Meagher in uniform was dedicated near the Brooklyn Bridge directly facing the Las Vegas strip.
  On 3 December 1944, the Liberty Ship S.S. Thomas F. Meagher was launched.
  In March 2015, the Suir Bridge, crossing the river Suir outside Meagher's native Waterford, was renamed the Thomas Francis Meagher Bridge by the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.
  In December 1987, the General Thomas F. Meagher Division 1 of the City of Fredericksburg (Virginia) of the Ancient Order of Hibernians was formed.
  A memorial featuring a bust of Meagher was dedicated in 2009 on the bank of the Missouri River in Fort Benton, Montana, believed to be near the site of the riverboat where he was said to have fallen overboard.
  Missoula, Montana  has named a Hurling Club and a downtown bar after Meagher.
caption: Helena, Montana Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Banner
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX S3200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "COOLPIX S3200V1.0", "Image DateTime": "2013:03:28 12:44:31", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "234", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "58240", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3254", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "9/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1000", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:03:28 12:44:31", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:03:28 12:44:31", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "39/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4608", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3456", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "58116", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "44", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "High gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}