The story of the Behan Brothers from Edenderry is truly an amazing one. It is a tale that starts in their hometown in County Offaly and ends in the southern states of the US. The story weaves its way through some of the most famous battlefields of a civil war that divided the previously united states of America between 1861 and 1865 and it includes historical items of great interest. It would involve several dead ends, mistaken identities, some surprises, and plenty of frustration before connecting the brothers back to Edenderry and to their descendants still living in the town today.

The original discovery of their connection to Offaly is another interesting facet to the story and one that can be attributed to Danny Leavy from Rhode. Danny and I have spent a lot of time over the last few years researching Offaly men who have fought in the US Civil War. I had been scouring the army enlistment books and service records for that period and Danny had been checking, among many other things, family trees on Ancestry. It was while searching Ancestry for US Civil War soldiers that Danny found a record of two Confederate soldiers named Dan and Edward Bean whose place of birth was Edenderry in County Offaly. We both knew that if these men were originally from Edenderry, then the name would be Dan Behan and Edward Behan. As we shall see throughout the story, the name Behan will have several different spellings, and this would add to the difficulty when checking the available records. Another twist to the story was added when Danny discovered he had a DNA connection, on his mother’s side, to the creator of the family tree on Ancestry. Harry Brown from Springfield in South Carolina was Danny’s newfound distant relation. Harry had more pieces of information about the Behan brothers, but one very special item to add to the already intriguing story was a letter written by Daniel Behan Snr, the Father of Dan and Edward, in 1869 from Edenderry.

The discovery of this letter was truly a fascinating piece of local history, but added to the fact that it connected two Edenderry men to the rebellious southern confederate army in the US Civil war made the document even more historically valuable. The letter also raised many questions, but reading the letter closely there were small pieces of information within the document that could help to try to piece together the story of this Edenderry family.

Dan Behan Snr wrote this letter in October 1869 from his home in Edenderry and would pass away 2 years later in January 1871 at the age of 73. His death record shows he was living in the Clonmullen area of Edenderry at the time of his death and with the valuable help of two of my children, Jack and Ella, we located Dan’s final resting place in Ballynakill Cemetery about 3 miles outside the town of Edenderry.

From reading the contents of the sometimes-blunt letter it’s clear that it was some comfort to Dan Behan to discover his sons were alive and well and living in the Southern part of the United States. Dan mentions in his letter that his wife Elizabeth, who had died in 1865, had made several failed attempts to contact them. The fact that he and his wife had then assumed both their sons had died would point to them being aware of Dan Jnr and Ned’s involvement in the US Civil War that had begun in 1861 and ended in 1865.

Daniel Behan Snr had married Elizabeth Watson in November 1826, and their marriage record can be found in the Edenderry & Rhode Parish register for that period. The baptism records for the following years contain the births of the two sons we are searching for, Edward (Ned) Behan in 1828 and Daniel (Dan) Behan in 1830.

Edenderry Parish Records

1826 – Marriage Of Daniel Behan And Elizabeth Watson

1828 – Baptism Of Edward Behan

1830 – Baptism Of Dan Behan

1836 – Baptism of John Behan

There are other pieces of information contained in the letter that helped in locating the home of the Behan Family. Dan Snr mentions in his letter that “we are still living in the same place”.As mentioned earlier, the death record of Dan Snr in 1871 shows the place in question was the Clonmullen area in Edenderry and The Griffiths Valuation records of 1853 also confirm the family were living in the “same place” almost 20 years earlier.  On that same Griffiths Valuation record we find the name Edward Behan; he is a brother of Dan Snr and this is the “Uncle Ned” mentioned by Dan Snr in his letter to his younger son Dan in the blunt sentence “Your Uncle Ned is dead”. Edward Behan or “Uncle Ned” died in 1865, sadly in that same year Dan’s wife Elizabeth (Watson) and his youngest son Paddy had also passed away.

Griffiths Valuation – 1853 (Edenderry)

The Behans In America

Among the information that we had received was a story within the now named Bean family that Dan and Edward were put on a ship leaving Ireland for the USA by their mother Elizabeth in the 1840s during the height of the famine. We have so far been unsuccessful in finding an exact record of their arrival into the USA to verify this story, so it seems more likely that they arrived in the USA sometime in or after 1850 as they do not appear anywhere on the US Census of that year. Later census record would also indicate their arrival year as being 1850. Within the Bean family in the US it was said that Dan & Edward Behan were skilled stone masons and were involved in the building of the first railway tunnels in the New York and New Jersey area and with the huge expansion of the railroads at this time the brothers, just like thousands of Irish at the time, moved as the railroads expanded. What we do know is that the brothers moved to the southern states of America before 1860 as they can both be found 10 years later recorded on that year’s census. The 1860 records show the now named Daniel Bean is a farmer in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. His name is the only one recorded at this address and he is the owner of a farm valued at $2000 which is the equivalent of approximately $75,000 today. It seems Dan Behan had done well for himself in the years since moving to South Carolina.

While the census shows Dan is single and living alone on his farm at this stage there is a clue within this record that he wouldn’t remain single for too much longer. On scanning down that same page of the 1860 Census we find the prosperous Gleaton family. Jane Gleaton is then the sixteen-year-old daughter of Thomas and Mary Gleaton and is living on a large property with her parents that is valued in today’s money at approximately $1,250,000. Jane Gleaton from South Carolina would eventually marry Dan Behan from Edenderry. The Gleaton family are very well known in this area and several branches of the family can be found scattered throughout this part of South Carolina. While we know that Thomas Gleaton was the owner of a large piece of property, or plantation, there is no direct evidence of him being a slave holder. There were however records of other members of the Gleaton family in this area owning several slaves and, in some instances, advertising them for sale at the regular auctions held at this time. According to US Census for 1860 a little over 400,000 out of a population of 700,000 recorded as living in South Carolina were slaves, which was the equivalent of 57% of the population. The ownership of slaves would very soon become a divisive issue for the United States of America.

Census of Free Population V Slave Population in South Carolina 1860

If you recall, the letter sent from Edenderry by Dan Snr in 1869 was addressed to the care of a Mr H. Sally, and the census records from 1860 also confirm there was a Mr H Sally living on a large farm in Blackville.  It is also likely that Mr H. Sally was related to the Gleaton family by marriage as the family tree that Danny Leavy had found on Ancestry showed that part of the Gleaton family in question were sometimes referred to by the surname Salley Gleaton or Sally Gleaton. It is probable that Ned and Dan Behan were connected to this farmer when they initially moved to South Carolina, and it would also explain why the letter from their father was addressed to this man in 1869.

Dan Bean 1860 Census

Jane Gleaton 1860 Census (SAME PAGE ON THE RETURNS DOCUMENT)

Edward Bein (Behan) can be found on the same 1860 census living in the adjacent county of Barnwell, South Carolina in a small town called Blackville which was about 10 miles from where Dan had settled.  Edward is recorded as a bricklayer and is living with his wife Mary, whom he married in 1855. At this stage they have two children, Susan, and Ella. His property is valued at $900 which is the equivalent of $33,000 in today’s money.  The name of the town in which he was living (Blackville) was another helpful clue in tying things back to the letter from Dan Snr. Once again on checking the envelope used in posting that letter in 1869 it becomes apparent that part of the address that looks like “Black Hill, Charleston” is obviously Blackville, Charleston. Here was another small piece of information which proved that even though his surname in this record was spelled BEIN, we had found the second Behan brother from Edenderry. The town of Blackville would also play another significant part at a later stage of this story.

The year 1860 is a pivotal one for the USA, and particularly South Carolina. Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln will be elected President in November of that year, much to the anger and frustration of many in the slave holding states of the South. Their anger over the politics developing in the Northern half of the Union has been simmering for years and Abraham Lincolns election will become the tipping point. Nowhere is that anger felt more keenly than in the State of South Carolina. They will be the first state to secede and vote themselves out of the Union of United States in December of 1860 setting the country on the road to Civil War. The first shots fired in the US Civil War will take place in April 1861 in South Carolina when Confederate forces fire on Union Soldiers holding the vital fortification of Fort Sumter located in the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Dan and Edward Behan from Edenderry in County Offaly are living not very far from Fort Sumter and find themselves at the very beginning of the US Civil War added to that they are living in a Southern State that would not be forgiven for its actions in igniting what would be a brutal and bloody conflict.

In April 1862 the Confederate government enacted the first draft of the Civil War requiring all men in the Southern states between 18 and 35 to serve 3 years in the army. As with the drafts enacted later in the Northern states, there was some opposition to this as it was seen to be targeting the poorer men in the South. Dan Behan, recorded under the name Dan Bean, was drafted in McPhersonville, South Carolina on 13^th May 1862 and was initially assigned to Company D of the 14^th South Carolina Cavalry. He was appointed a Corporal and would have had a small group of men under his command. 

At this time the Union Army still had some units stationed at the Hilton Head and Port Royal areas of South Carolina and were attempting to disrupt the transport and communications infrastructure of the Confederate forces and isolate their stronghold of Charleston. Dan’s unit would spend most of the rest of 1862 defending against these attacks and would meet Union forces in some minor skirmishes between May and August of 1862. The first major engagement for Dan’s Company took place on the 22^{nd of} October 1862 in The Battle of Pocotaligo where the primary Union objective was to sever the Charleston and Savannah Railroad again trying to isolate Charleston and disrupt the transportation of Confederate troops and supplies to, from and through the state. While initially outnumbered in this engagement the Confederates called on reinforcements, which included Dan’s Company, and were able to stop the Union army’s advance and force them back to Fort Royal. The battle did make the news in the Northern papers at the time, and it is interesting that the report given paint a picture of a gallant Union victory.

In January 1863 Dan’s regiment along with the 17^th Carolina Cavalry Regiment was merged into the 5^th Carolina Cavalry, under the overall command of General Joseph E Johnson, and Dan was promoted to Cavalry Sergeant. A cavalry soldier in the civil war had several functions apart from involvement in battles it would include reconnaissance, protecting the flanks of the main infantry units, quick raids of enemy camps, escorting senior officers and carrying messages. For most of 1863 his new unit would be heavily involved in the defense of South Carolina seeing action in the significant Battle of Grimballs Landing in June of that year. The following year of 1864 would see Dan’s unit moving North to the state of Virginia as Union General Ulysses S Grant conducted what is known as his Overland Campaign. This campaign sole aim was the degeneration and ultimate destruction of the Confederate forces of General Robert E Lee. The 5^th Carolina Cavalry would be involved in most of these engagements including the Battle of the Wilderness & the vicious Battle of Cold Harbor which took place over the first days of June 1864 and would see over 160,000 soldiers from both sides involved in the fighting and result in over 17,500 casualties.

1864 would see the Confederate forces coming under more and more pressure to defend the South as the better supplied and larger army of the North began to gain more victories and occupy more territory. After finally taking the vital city of Atlanta in late 1864 and, completely changing the course of the war, General William Tecumseh Sherman would then embark on his famous “march to the sea” from Atlanta to Savanah. He would cut a passage through the state of Georgia employing a scorched earth policy along the way destroying anything of military value. After capturing Savannah on the South Coast of Georgia he would head north and mount his Carolina campaign cutting another swathe through the center of South Carolina making for the capital of Columbia and causing the same destruction to the Confederate cause as he moved. That route from Savannah to Columbia would pass right through the Behan’s neighborhood of Blackville in Orangeburg County. Sherman was particularly interested in targeting South Carolina and punishing the state for being the first to secede from the Union. Sherman also knew how this would have a damaging effect on Southern morale and hasten the end of their cause.

Dan Behan’ War Experience

Dan & Edwards units returned to South Carolina and were employed around the state capital of Columbia trying to delay the advance of Sherman’s Army and became involved in several skirmishes with numerically superior Union forces. By March 1865, however, Sherman had taken control of the city and began moving north towards the border of South Carolina. General Joseph E Johnson’s Confederate forces, including Dan & Edwards units, retreated across the state border and into North Carolina. Sherman’s original plan at this stage was to bypass this force of Confederates and instead move up through North Carolina and join with other Union forces in the next state of Virginia and assist General Ulysses Grant in his pursuit of General Robert E Lee’s forces. On 19^th March 1865, in what was an accidental meeting, Union soldiers encountered 21,000 Confederate troops, including Dan’s units, entrenched in defensive positions around a town called Bentonville in North Carolina and a major battle began which would continue over the next 3 days. This would be the final major battle of the Civil War for the confederate army and for Dan Behan from Edenderry.

The Battle of Bentonville commenced on 19^th March 1865 and after initial minor successes for General Joseph E Johnson’s Confederate Army, General Sherman was able to call up reinforcements from his 60,000 strong army to overpower the smaller Confederate force which eventually forced them to withdraw from the battlefield on the night of the 21^{st of} March. General Johnson, realised just how vulnerable his weakened troops were and retreated across the nearby Mill Creek burning the bridge behind and leaving a company of Cavalry as a rearguard to his forces. Dan’s unit could possibly have been involved in this rearguard action as he is listed as being wounded in action and captured by Union soldiers on the day of the retreat. The Union army had a field hospital set up around a property called Harpers House and some Confederate wounded were treated here and up to 200 Confederate dead were buried in a nearby cemetery. Dan Behan was possibly treated here before being sent to Hart Island in New York, a newly created prisoner of war camp. Dan is eventually released from Hart’s Island 2 months after the Civil War has ended and wouldn’t be present when General Joseph E Johnson would eventually surrender his army to Sherman on 26^th April 1865 at Bennett’s Place in North Carolina. Robert E Lee had 2 weeks earlier surrendered his army to Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox in Virginia. With the surrender of these 2 armies the Confederate cause was lost and finally, after 4 years of bitter fighting, the US Civil war over.

Dan was released from Harts Island Prison on 26^th June 1865 and would return to his life in Springfield, Orangeburg County, South Carolina.  On 28^th February 1871 he married Jane Sally Gleaton, the girl we have seen earlier on the Census of 1860, and they would have 7 children, Alice, Victoria, Mary, John, James, Dempsey, and Thomas. Alice Bean is the Great/Great Grand Aunt of Harry Brown, who, if you recall, was the man who Danny Leavy had initially contacted on discovering the Bean family tree. Harry, who incidentally still lives in the same area as Dan Bean settled, has been a huge help in putting together this story and we are very grateful for his valuable input. One of the pieces of information Harry mentioned was a story his mother had told him that had a direct connection to Dan. She remembers her Great Aunt Alice (Dan’s Daughter) allowing her and some of the other children in the family to look at an accordion that belonged to Dan Behan. Harry’s Mother remembers how Great Aunt Alice would take the instrument out of its case for the children to see, but they were strictly forbidden to touch it. It seems that Dan Behan was also a musician. It was also said that Dan’s wife, Jane Bean (Gleaton), was a “bit of a character”. Harry Brown was told that she didn’t like ironing her linen and so she would place these items under the cushions on her chairs and when visitors would call, they would unwittingly “iron” all Jane’s linen.

Dan Behan (Bean) died on February 7^th, 1898, at his home in Springfield, Orangeburg County, South Carolina.  His gravestone states his year of birth as being 1834 but we now know he was born in 1830. He is buried with his wife Jane Gleaton who would live to the ripe old age of 93 before passing away in November 1936. Also, on the marker is one of his daughters Mary who died in 1873 at just 6 months old.

It was truly a remarkable life for this man born in Edenderry, County Offaly.  Little could he have known as he left a ravaged Ireland reeling from the effects of a famine that his new home in the Southern States on America would also be ravaged this time by a bloody Civil War. He survived several major battles while serving in the Confederate Army and was ironically wounded in action at the last major engagement of the war.

Dan Behan emerged from prison at the end of hostilities and settled back into life in Springfield. He would raise a family and become a respected member of the local community. Dan would also become a successful businessman and merchant and open a large store in the town of Springfield. He would give back to his community by donating the land on which a local primary school was built and was also heavily involved in helping the local Catholic community. The Behan house was used for Catholic religious services before a church was eventually built. Dan, also being a bricklayer/stone mason, was heavily involved in the eventual construction of St. Theresa’s Catholic church in Springfield. Over 150 years later the descendants of Dan Behan still live on in this same small community that he had made home all those years ago.

An interesting article appeared in the local newspapers in 1927 long after Dan Behan’s death. His widow, Jane Gleaton, was presented with a Confederate Cross of Honor acknowledging Dan’s service in the Civil War.  These medals were issued by organisation’s in the Southern states as their version of the US Medal Of Honor. The medals were presented to soldiers who had distinguished themselves with acts of valor during the war.  A final tribute to Dan Behan from Edenderry.

Edward Behan’ War Experience

Information on Edward Behan’s service in the Confederate army is scarce but we do know he enlisted in Co. K of the 1^st Georgia Reserves in July of 1864 at Augusta, Georgia. As with the Census of 1860, his name is spelled BEIN. In 1855 he had married Mary Agnes Weeks in South Carolina and they moved to Augusta in 1861 and had 2 children at the outbreak of the war.  As with his brothers’ experiences during the war, Edward’s unit was also heavily involved during 1864 and 1865 in Georgia and South Carolina attempting to delay the relentless advance of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s armies.  At this stage of the war the confederate army were increasingly struggling with men, supplies and inferior weaponry.  As an example, Sherman’s union soldiers had been issued with newly invented Henry rifles that could fire off 15 rounds before a confederate soldier would even have loaded and fired off a single round.  

Edward’s unit had been present in September 1864 at Atlanta in last few days of that defensive operation and would have retreated south as Sherman’s army embarked on its “march to the sea”. The 1^st Georgia Reserves were next engaged at Savannah as Sherman laid siege to the city in late 1864. They again were forced to retreat as union troops marched into the city in December 1864.  As with his brothers Dan’s role at this stage, Edward’s unit was involved trying to slow Sherman’s advance up through Carolina and stop his approach to the capital of Columbia. 

War would come close to home for the Behan’s when the town of Blackville (mentioned earlier in the letter from Edenderry) was attacked on 7^th February 1865 by General Judson Kilpatrick, who was overall cavalry commander of Sherman’s Union forces. His troops would set about destroying the railroad, burning buildings, and taking prisoners before moving on to the nearby town of Aiken where another battle would take place which again involved Edward Behan’s unit. Further retreats for the Southern forces would lead finally to The Battle of Bentonville, and as with his brother, Edward Behan would be involved in the last major fight of the confederate army. In an amazing twist of fate, the brothers from Edenderry would both end their role in the civil war on the same battlefield.  It would be nice to know if they had crossed each other’s paths at any time.

Edward Behan would return to his home in Georgia at the end of the war and resume his normal life. Before entering the army in 1861, he had been listed as a bricklayer and on checking the 1880 and 1900 census he resumes working in similar trades including carpentry. It can be assumed that he was much sought-after during reconstruction as the state of Georgia set about rebuilding and repairing all the damage brought by Shermans “march to the sea”.  The census returns also show Edward and wife Mary living in Liberty St., Augusta with three children, Susan, Lizzie, and Mollie.  It appears that one child (Ella, who was born in 1858) died at a young age as she is not recorded on the census after 1860.

Edward Behan (Bean) died on 19^th April 1906 and is buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta.  His gravestone pays tribute to his service in the Confederate Army fifty years earlier.  As with his brother Dan, he had left Edenderry in 1850 to escape the hardships of the famine and would end up fighting on the losing side of a bloody civil war. No doubt his life after the war was also one of struggle to rebuild a life for himself and his family.  His wife Mary would pass away five years later in 1911. As with his brother Dan Behan in South Carolina there are many members of Edwards descendants living in Georgia today with connections to Edenderry Co. Offaly.

The Third Brother – John Behan

There was one more vital piece of information in the letter written in 1869 by Dan Behan Snr that required some clarification, in particular, his mention of the following: 

“Johnny has got married and has three sons. I am depending on him being too feeble to walk”.

And

“I am joined by Johnny & his wife in fond love to you both”.

This was Danilel Behan Seniors third son, Johnny Behan and his baptism record is in the Edenderry Parish Register of 1839 making him the 2^nd youngest of the four Behan brothers (Patrick died in 1865 at 21 years of age). From re-reading the letter we know that “Johnny” Behan and his wife Elizabeth Mangan were caring for a feeble Dan Snr in Clonmullen, Edenderry in 1869.  As mentioned earlier Dan Snr would pass away in 1871 and on researching what happened to Johnny subsequently, we discovered he had also emigrated to South Carolina. He is recorded along with his 3 sons, Patrick, James, Daniel and 1 daughter, Elizabeth, arriving in America in 1875. It is 4 years after the death of his Father and Johnny is then 36 years of age and settles originally in Georgia, presumably initially with his brother Edward. The census of 1900 records John Bean, as he is now referred to, as a farmer living in Charleston, South Carolina. Since his arrival in the US in 1875 he and his wife Elizabeth have had two more children, Ellen, and Michael.  Johnny Behan, the youngest of the 3 brothers from Edenderry was the last to die when he passed away in April 1921 at the age of 83 years, his death cert records his mother’s name as Elizabeth Mooney, whereas baptism records in Edenderry confirm his mother’s name was Elizabeth Watson.  As with all through the story and, and for once last time in the lives of these three Behan brothers, their surname is recorded as Bean.

The task left was connecting the letter written in Edenderry 1869 by Dan Behan Snr to his descendants living in the town today. By checking the 1901 and 1911 Census of Ireland I did have an inkling of who might be connected to the Behan brothers, but it was Harry Browne who confirmed the identity of the person involved.  Harry relayed a story as to how some of his relations in South Carolina had at one point paid a visit to Edenderry to trace their ancestors.  After asking a few questions around town they were quickly pointed in the right direction and called to the home of former national school principal Deirdre Guing.  Deirdre’s maidan name is Behan and she is the great, great,great grandniece of Daniel Behan Snr. The Uncle Ned mentioned in the letter by Dan in 1869 is Deirdre’s great, great great-grandfather. I luckily met up with Deirdre one day and she confirmed that she had met with her relations, who had visited her in Edenderry, and had in fact also paid a visit to South Carolina for a family gathering. Deirdre was also aware of the letter that Dan Snr had written and had also put together her own Behan family tree. Adding another dimension to the story and bringing it closer to my family was the fact that Deirdre was related to Jane Behan from Edenderry. Jane was also a great great-granddaughter of Uncle Ned mentioned in the letter. Jane married Joe Guing, who was my uncle, and they lived in Gilroy Avenue, Edenderry. Jane and Joe Guing’s children also share Ned Behan (Uncle Ned) as a great great great-grandfather with Deirdre Guing.  Just to add more confusion for the reader, Tony Guing who is Deirdre’s husband is also distantly related to Joe Guing, to myself and to Danny Leavy. It seems it is still a very small world.

Behan Family Tree

Little did Danny Leavy and I know when we first encountered the names of Dan and Edward Bean where this story would take us. That we both would discover distant connections is just another amazing twist in this tale and something that couldn’t have been anticipated. This story opened with a letter which, while fascinating, probably didn’t make much sense to any reader. Hopefully what was written by Daniel Behan Snr in that letter back in 1869 now makes perfect sense to all interested readers in the future and the fascinating story of the Behan brothers, Confederate Soldiers from Edenderry, has been preserved.