A Meteor Shining Brightly

.. Blue & Grey Magazine

The essay has asserted itself in the realm of Civil War history of late. A Meteor Shining Brightly provides a variety of glimpses of Confederate General Pat Clebume - both as to significant events in his life and as to the man himself'

The resurgence of Pat Cleburne is noted by editor Mauriel Joslyn as a part of the gradual realization by historians of the importance of the Confederate Army of Tennessee and its campaigns. Pat Clebume, specifically, puts an unusual slant on the Confederate experience that almost ensures increased interest in and appreciation for hint He is as close as one can get to a politically correct Confederate general. He is not saddled with the disadvantages most confederate leaders suffer when judged by today's standards (something historians swear should not be done, but which decides popular opinion regardless). With all of the late 20th century confusion and indignation aroused by everything associated with the Confederacy, Pat Cleburne does shine "like a meteor in a clouded sky." The phrase, from which the book's title was taken, comes from a comment on Cleburne by Robert B. Lee.

Cleburne's Irish birth was not a major obstacle to acceptance in the prewar South; and it is a distinct advantage in comparison with native-born Confederates in modern popular opinion. 1mmgrants are "in". The Southern fireaters stand out as the most extreme element of the Confederate genre. Cleburne, while clearly in favor of a less centralized government, was no politician.

The astounding difference between Clebunie and his fellow Rebels was his willingness to stake his career and the respect of his colleagues on his proposal to free slaves (and their families) who would fight for the South. It took a foreigner to make such a bold move. Clebume's motives were simple and sincere. He loved his adopted home, hated seeing Southerners continue to die while gaining no advantage in the war, and felt that black Southerners would naturally fight for their homeland if allowed their freedom. Cleberne didn't stop at a suggestion that blacks could aid the Southern armies, however. He made clear his personal dislike of the peculiar institution. Needless to say, the proposal was hushed up by President Davis and the high command as quickly as possible. Cleburne was pointedly passed up for promotion, and highly placed Confederates aware of the proposal expressed their repugnance. One threatened that Cleburne and those who supported his proposal would get their "just deserts ' Ironically, the writer of that remark fell at Franklin with Cleburne.

Cleburne's proposal is published in A Meteor Shining Brightly, and the book would be worth purchasing for it alone. But it has much more to offer. Contributions. including those by locally based historians, such as Spring Hill's Alethea Sayers, author of the only book on that subject, and Franklin's Thomas Cartwright, premier authority on the tragedy there, make this a truly fascinating collection.-Edith Elizabeth Pollitz, Tallahassee, FL