Green-Wood Cemetery to honor hero of Irish independence, U.S. Civil War

NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City cemetery is unveiling a bronze bust of an Irish freedom fighter and American Civil War hero who died under mysterious circumstances in Montana.

Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn will pay tribute to Brig. Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher on Saturday, the 150th anniversary of his death.

Meagher was born into a wealthy family in Waterford, Ireland in 1823. As a leader in the effort to free Ireland from England's control, he was convicted of sedition and sent to the British penal colony in Australia.

He made a daring escape and arrived in New York City in 1852. A decade later he led the Irish Brigade in some of the Civil War's bloodiest battles.

Meagher was serving as territorial governor of Montana when he disappeared into the Missouri River on July 1, 1867.