“Let him sleep now with his brave companions”
The Death of General Patrick Cleburne
“If we are to die Govan, let us die like men,” Cleburne said to his friend, Daniel Govan, as he rode to his death.
Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, Helena’s best-known Confederate soldier, came to Arkansas looking for a better life. He adopted Helena and Arkansas as his home. Cleburne died leading his division into the murderous fire at Franklin, Tennessee. He was laid to rest just outside of Columbia, Tennessee many miles from his home and friends.
No images of Cleburne’s funeral procession are known to exist but it may have looked like the Currier & Ives drawing above or the photograph below.
Bringing Cleburne Home
The Cleburne Memorial
For twenty-one years, the small headstone brought from Tennessee marked Cleburne’s grave. The Ladies’ Memorial Association let the effort to erect the memorial dedicated May 10, 1891. The ceremony began at Helena’s grand Opera House. General James C. Tappan acted as master of ceremonies for the speeches, poems and songs. Scores of Confederate veterans, residents and visitors marched to the cemetery. After speeches and prayers, five young women dressed in white, the daughters of Confederate Generals unveiled the memorial.
Erected by Support for Civil War Helena generously provided by Delta Cultural Center-Department of Arkansas Heritage, Helena West Helena Advertising and Promotions Commission, and Southern Bancorp.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 27, 1870.
Location. 34° 32.546′ N, 90° 35.414′ W.
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Regionally, this memorial is in the Arkansas Delta, in Crowley’s Ridge, in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and in the Quapaw Homeland. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Remembering the Fallen (here, next to this marker); A Grand Memorial (here, next to this marker); Service with Distinction (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (approx. 0.2 miles
Also see . . . MG Patrick Ronayne Cleburne. Civil War Confederate Major General. The most popular Confederate division commander, he was known as the "Stonewall of the West." He was born in County Cork, Ireland, appropriately on St. Patrick's Day. A naturalized American citizen and an adopted Arkansan, he grew up in Ireland, where his father was a well known doctor in the county. He was taught at home where he received an Episcopal church education. He apprenticed himself to a pharmacist to prepare for a medical career. He later failed the examinations and shamefully joined Her Majesty's 41st Regiment of Foot. (Submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2017. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 479 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
