Thomas Francis Meagher -- " Meagher of the Sword" -- was already an Irish revolutionary legend when he arrived in New York in 1851. He studied law, married a wealthy New York woman, engaged in Tammany politics, and commanded the Irish Brigade at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.
The war took its toll on Meagher's soul and spirit and by its end he was ruined financially and spiritually until appointed acting governor of Montana Territory. In his isolated outpost, he faced formidable foes-hostile Indians, the vigilantes who were running the territory, and a government paralyzed by factionalism.
The Exile is the story of this dashing man of action, a man who inspired ballads and songs, who risked everything, and lost everything, on behalf of his ideals, and whose name is still revered among the Irish world-wide.
