Excerpt from Memoirs of Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher: Comprising the Leading Events of His Career Chronologically Arranged, With Selections From His Speeches, Lectures and Miscellaneous Writings, Including Personal Reminiscences In undertaking to write a memoir of Thomas Francis Meagher, I have been actuated, in the first place, by a desire to pay a tribute of affectionate respect to the memory of an illustrious fellow-countryman, a patriot of whom I had been an enthusiastic admirer since boyhood - and with whose confidence I was honored from the moment of our first personal acquaintance, in 1848, to the day on which he left New York for Montana - in the summer of 1865. In the next place, I wished to enable the present generation of young men of Irish birth or blood, to estimate this gifted scion of their race as their fathers - his contemporaries - did, by placing before them a record comprising the leading events of his career, compiled from various authentic sources of information - and in which will be found selections from his speeches, lectures, and miscellaneous writings, together with such personal reminiscences as may serve to add somewhat to the interest of the book - through what little side-light they throw upon his history, and the glimpses they reveal of his genuine Irish nature. I was, furthermore, influenced to enter upon this labor of love by the reflection that, while treating of the national movement in Ireland, in 1848, - in which undertaking it was my purport to make Thomas Francis Meagher the central figure - I could, by recording my personal recollections of some of Mr. Meagher's most distinguished compatriots, and of current events - as they transpired under my observation, both in Dublin and the South of Ireland contribute some interesting facts to the, hitherto, unwritten history of that memorable year. Whether I have executed my self-imposed task in a satisfactory manner or otherwise, my readers must decide. I presume most of them will base their judgment less upon the literary merit of the work than upon their individual predilections regarding its subject. Should my surmise prove correct, I'll feel content; for, though, in the course of my narrative, I have conscientiously striven to be truthful, I had no thought of being coldly impartial - where country or friend was the subject of my theme. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.