BUT WHERE IN OFFALY WAS HE BORN ?

Feb 05, 1920, page 1 – The Princeton Union at Newspapers.com

When Owen Bracken celebrated his 100th Birthday in February of 1920 he was still fit and sprightly enough to dance an Irish jig much to the delight of the guests at the party held in his honor in Princeton, Minnesota. He no doubt also must have had taken some time to contemplate on what had been a full and eventful life since leaving Offaly in Ireland as a 27 year old in 1847. Like so many Irish people at this time in its history Owen Bracken was seeking a new and better life in the United States of America. He arrived first to New York where he initially worked as a stone mason before moving to Madison in Wisconsin to work as a farm laborer. It was in Wisconsin that Owen married Nancy Allen and it was also while living in Wisconsin that the US Civil war began.

In 1862 he enlisted into the 34th Wisconsin Infantry and after serving a year with this regiment he would re-enlist in the 12th Wisconsin. At this stage of the war the 12th Wisconsin was under the overall command of General William Tecumsah Sherman and Owen Bracken was with this famous army when they undertook Sherman’s “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah in late 1864. His regiment remained with Sherman’s Army at the beginning of 1865 as they continued to divide the South by attacking South Carolina and North Carolina. Sherman’s successful campaigns would be the toast of the Northern states and would be a huge factor in bringing the war to an end in favor of the Union cause. It is claimed that during Sherman’s campaigns Owen Bracken’s 12th Wisconsin Regiment had marched 3,838 miles, traveled by railroad 2,506 miles, by steamboat 3,159 miles, for a total of 9,503 miles. An amazing feat by any army even by today’s standards.

The final major battle of the US Civil War would involve Sherman and his army and take place at Bentonville in North Carolina on the 19th March 1865. Owen Bracken’s regiment would be present as the Union Army for the last time would gain the upper hand on a beleaguered Confederate force. Our records show that two other Offaly men were also present on the the Bentonville battlefield back in March of 1865. Edenderry brothers Dan Behan and Edward Behan who had settled in South Carolina in the 1850’s were on the opposing side during the fight and their story is told elsewhere on this site.

DAN & EDWARD BEHAN EDENDERRY’S CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS

General William Tecumsah Sherman

As a result of this defeat at Bentonville in March of 1865 and the later surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox on April 9th, the Confederacy was effectively defeated. The last surviving army of the South under the command of General Joseph E Johnston would, after two meetings, officially surrender to General Sherman on the 26th April 1865 at Bennett Place farmhouse and the US Civil War was finally at an end. Owen Bracken had survived some difficult and arduous campaigns to make it to the end of the conflict and was now, as a volunteer soldier, free to go back to his wife and family. His regiment was mustered out of service in late May 1865. Owen would initially return to Wisconsin but in 1869 he would move to Princeton, Minnesota in Mille Lacs County and to a small farm where he would spend the rest of his days with his wife Nancy and their four children.

Owen Bracken died on 22nd February 1922 at the age of 102 years. Accounts in the newspapers of the time tell of a man who was an extremely popular and respected member of the community. Mention is made of how on every Memorial Day he was a prominent member of the Veteran Union Army as they honored and mourned their comrades who had died in service of their country. The following words from his obituary maybe best sum up this Offaly man’s life in the US:

“He was a splendid type of American citizen, and well did he perform his duty to his adopted country. Hundreds of friends in Mille Lacs county will long remember this good, whole-souled, patriotic old gentleman”

Only one piece of information is left to complete the story of Owen Bracken. Where in Offaly was he born ?

We have several records confirming his birth place as being in County Offaly, or “Kings County” as it was known at that period of time, but as of this moment we cannot exactly pin point his place of birth. There are indications that the Cloneygowan area of Offaly could be where he originated but nothing to definitely confirm this as fact.

If anyone reading this has some information that might help us complete this soldiers story it would be greatly appreciated.

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