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[[File:meagher.jpg|thumbnail|250px|<i>The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher</i> by Paul Wylie]]
Paul R. Wylie, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806141859/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0806141859&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5f95075c208ad9f50765cec7657e71fb The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher]'' (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma State University Press, 2007).
From being a hero in Ireland to the falling out with his Irish brethren in American, Thomas Francis Meagher was a complex and flawed leader during the American Civil War. Meagher organized and led the famed Irish Brigade to notoriety through his inspired orations and appeal to Irish-Americans that the survival of the Union was tantamount to an independent Ireland. The enigmatic general was more than a leader of a military brigade, he served as the kingpin of the Irish-American communities in the North. Paul Wylie traces Meagher’s life from being a lad in Ireland, through the Civil War, his decline in the eyes of his Irish followers, and finally his territorial governorship in Montana Territory, including his mysterious death. With all of his flaws, Meagher was at one time adored by Irish-Americans and Wylie does an admiral job of reconciling the conflicting opinions of Meagher’s critics. This is a lesser-known gem of Civil War biographies that paints a nuanced portrait of the bombastic Irish general.
