to Waterford. On arrival at Waterford railway station, she was welcomed by thousands of citizens, such was her husband's fame in Ireland as a nationalist. However, she was not well and rested at her father-in-law's home for a short time (where a crowd of 20,000 'serenaded' her). Eventually she was able to spend a short time in the United States with Meagher. She returned to Ireland pregnant and in poor health. She gave birth to Meagher's only child to reach adulthood: Thomas Bennett Meagher, named after his father. She died in Ireland on 12 May 1854, at the home of her father-in-law. Meagher never met his son, who was raised by relatives. After Meagher settled in New York, he soon courted Elizabeth "Libby" Townsend, the daughter of Peter Townsend and Caroline (née) Parrish of Monroe, New York. The Townsend family were wealthy Protestants, who opposed Meagher's marrying their daughter but eventually relented. Elizabeth converted to Roman Catholicism, and, in 1856 she and Meagher married. Immigration to the United States Meagher arrived in New York City in May 1852. He studied law and journalism, and became a noted lecturer. Soon after, Meagher became a United States citizen. He eventually founded a weekly newspaper called the Irish News. Meagher and John Mitchel, who had also since escaped, published the radical pro-Irish independence Citizen. After his escape, the question of "honor" was raised by Mitchel, among others. Meagher agreed to be "tried" by American notables, and vowed to return to Van Diemen's Land if they held against him. The simulated court martial found for Meagher, and he was vindicated. Prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War, Meagher traveled to Costa Rica, in part to determine whether Central America would be suitable for Irish immigration. He used his experiences as the basis for writing travel articles which were published in Harper's Magazine. He was commissioned as a captain in the New York State Militia. American Civil War Meagher's decision to serve the Union was not a simple one; before the onset of the war, he had supported the South. He had visited the South to lecture, and was sympathetic to its people. Further, his Irish friend John Mitchel, who had settled in the South, supported the secessionists. Meagher and Mitchel split over the issue of slavery. Mitchel went to the Confederate capitol in Richmond, Virginia, and his three sons served with the