There is conflicting records as to the correct date of the birth of Michael Sleavin as well as the spelling of his name. There were four different spelling versions recorded (slevin, sleavin, sleevin, sleavon) and all four have been used in government and army records. Records were also conflicting as to the exact location of his grave. It was my intention to set the records right so I embarked on what was to become a long haul of corrections.
Books on the subject of Irish names give the correct spelling as slevin (o’sleibhin in Irish) and derived from the Irish word ‘sliabh’ meaning mountain). Slevin is the name of a branch of the Cene’l Eoghain in Ulster, an old ecclesiastical family in Fermanagh. The present day family has requested that I use the original family spelling of Sleavin in this booklet. They have also requested me to have the correct name of Slevin engraved on his memorial that will be erected in Bannagh graveyard. I am therefore obliged to adhere to the family request.
Records were conflicting as to the exact location of his grave and it was my intention to set the records straight. Surely the death of a man who won the Victoria Cross had to be mentioned by local papers so my first destination was to visit my local library. Here I met and was given all the help that I required to carry out my research from Mrs. Miriana Maguire, head librarian in the historical documents department at Enniskillen library.
My other source of information would come from the Townhall where an old friend of mine, local historian and genealogist Frankie Roofe, works for Fermanagh District Council. Help was also received from the Fermanagh District Council which holds the records of births, marriages and deaths for County Fermanagh. The help and guidance that I obtained from these two people made my research so much easier and I hope that a more accurate record of Michael Sleavin VC has now emerged.
I would also like to thank the Royal Engineers Regimental Museum for all their help in supplying me with information from their Regimental historical records on Michael Sleavin VC.
For their help and co-operation in allowing me to continue with the project I would also like to thank the present day family of Michael Sleavin, namely Mrs. Maria Flanagan (nee Slevin). The other people who where of great benefit in my quest were the men who over the years looked after and attended the graves in Bannagh graveyard who knew the exact location of where Michael Sleavin was finally laid to rest. They were charged with recording the information onto the Bannagh grave map and who is buried in each grave. Mr. Danny Gallagher who is 85 years old and has a memory as sharp as a razor is the brother of Patrick Gallagher who was grave attendant at Bannagh graveyard for some years. The information and stories handed down from grave attendant to grave attendant can be the most reliable source of information and is very accurate. The present day grave attendant Thomas Gallagher has also given me the same valuable information. My thanks to both men for all their assistance.
Information - Very little information exists on Michael Sleavin before he entered into the army. Most of the information that I have obtained for this short life story of Michael Sleavin VC comes from army records and historical records held by the Royal Engineers. In order to make a start on this project I had to start at the end, that is to say his death and interment.
His Death - The death of Michael Sleavin (R.E) was recorded and reported in the local Enniskillen newspaper called the Fermanagh Times dated Thursday 28th August 1902. In this issue it states that Michael Sleavin (76) died on the previous Wednesday. This means that he died on 20th August 1902 and was most likely buried, as is the custom, on Friday 22nd August 1902. This would also indicate that he was born in 1826.
Burial - The celebrated Requiem Mass was most likely held in St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at Bannagh outside Kesh and he was buried in the adjoining graveyard (Section B Grave 7). Information on the exact grave was obtained by me from the present grave digger and attendant Mr Thomas Gallagher His task is to record the grave details onto the graveyard map. Information was also received from Danny Gallagher, brother of the former grave attendant Patrick Gallagher, and his information came from the previous grave attendant.
Cause of Death - Michael Sleavin died at his residence in the townland of Dromard near Kesh. His death certificate states that he died as the result of cardiac disease.
Registration Of Death - After his burial his death was registered in the Townhall in Enniskillen on two different occasions. In the 3rd Quarter of 1902 - First Entry– Sleavin, Michael, Age 78, Irvinestown -2-94. Second Entry– Sleevin, Michael, Age 78, Irvinestown -2-94. There is no information as to who recorded his death. (*Note the spelling in second entry (Sleevin) and age shown in both entries as 78 not 76).
Bannagh Church And Graveyard - The church and graveyard are located in the townland of Bannagh approximately three miles out from Kesh village on the A35 road to Pettigo. When you come to Bannagh Bridge and River (signposted), turn off to your right and St. Mary’s Church and graveyard are about 600 metres further on.
His Grave - His grave has one grey granite headstone which does not have his name engraved on it. The names on the headstone are George and Anne McCaffery (nee Slevin). Anne McCaffery is a grand-daughter of Michael Sleavin and she was the grandmother of Mrs. Maria Flanagan (nee Slevin), today’s direct descendant.
1901 Census - Several townlands and parish boundaries have been used in documentation about Michael Sleavin but the information below on townlands and parishes is the correct information. The 1901 Census (Form A) - County Fermanagh/Parliamentary Division North Fermanagh/The Poor Law Union Irvinestown /District Electoral Division of Kesh/Townland of Drumard/Civil Parish of Magheraculmoney records a return on Michael Sleavin, his family and servant residing in that house on Sunday 31st March 1901. The census states that there were four people residing in the Sleavin residence at the time of the census was taken namely Michael Sleavin, his wife Catherine and his wife’s sister Margaret McGoldrick. (All three were Roman Catholics). A farm servant by the name of Patrick McCabe, a member of the Church of Ireland, is also recorded as residing with the Sleavins.
I would presume that Michael’s wife, her sister and Patrick McCabe still resided in Michael’s house at the time of his death on the 20th August 1902. There is no record of his two children living there at that time and I can only presume that they had left home to make their own way in the world. The 1901 Census for County Fermanagh (File No. 836120) (Pages No. 59/12 and 59/38c) records that Michael Sleavin had two children, namely a son Edward and a daughter Bridget.
Michael Sleavin was away for the greater part of his early life in the army. Most soldiers, if not all, would have been away on extended overseas military service throughout the 19th century. Overseas services during this period could last for twenty or thirty years. By the time he was discharged from the army on 25th April 1871 Michael Sleavin was forty-four years old. On his discharge he gave his future place of residence as Canterbury, England. It is not known if indeed he did reside there, and if he did for how long. If Michael got married after his discharge from the army he may have well been about forty-five or forty-six years old and most likely would have been married in his local church, St. Mary’s at Bannagh, Kesh.
In the House and Building Returns (Line 9) it states that the Sleavin family lived in a private house owned by Michael. It had five outbuildings. This could mean that Michael Sleavin owned a small farm holding and had a farm worker living with him. He is also recorded in the census as a farmer. The dwelling house was made of brick or stone and had a straw thatch roof. It had four rooms and three windows to the front of the house and was regarded as a second class house so he lived in a very good house for this period in time.
His Youth And Profession - Michael was a stone mason for the late William Archdale and by the time he was aged twenty had built several houses in the village of Kesh for the late Mr. Archdale. The Archdale family were the owners of a vast estate of some tens of thousands of acres. Their home and the residence were called Castle Archdale. Remnants of the castle can still be seen today but only the tower of the old family church remains. A new church was built later close to where the old one stood. Members of the Archdale family are buried in a crypt beneath Ardess Church near Ederney, about four miles away from Castle Archdale.
Michael Joins The Army - Unfortunately we know very little on the life and times of Michael Sleavin before he joined the British army but what we do know is thanks to British army records. In 1847 at the age of twenty-one Michael enlisted into the British army at Lowtherstown (now called Irvinestown). For reasons known only to him he enlisted in the Royal Artillery.
Large estates or landlords at that time had to provide a militia unit and this was part of a repayment to the King for his granting of lands. Maybe Michael was a member of a militia unit provided by the Archdale estate and may have thought that a career in the army was for him. Or maybe the hardship of the times forced him into joining the army. Most families then had no source of income and life was very hard. During the 1800’s too Ireland was a very lucrative recruiting area for the British armed forces with Irishmen serving all over the world in the army or navy.
Michael was not long in the Royal Artillery until the army discovered his talents as a builder and stone mason. On learning of his building skills he was transferred into the Royal Sappers and Miners. Later this name was changed to the Royal Engineers and today a soldier in the Royal Engineers is called a Sapper.
Life for the young man from Kesh was about to change as life in the army is not quite like home. His first year with the Sappers and Miners would most likely have been in England learning his trade and how to be a soldier. For the next three years it is likely he would have been posted into 21 Field Company Sappers and Miners. The history of the Royal Engineers records him from 1851.
Overseas Duty - In 1851 the Sappers and Miners were appointed to a tour of duty in Bermuda. Michael Sleavin would spend the next five years of his life there with his unit, 21 Field Company Sappers and Miners. While he was stationed in Bermuda he was promoted to the rank of corporal. It would appear that army life agreed with him.
In this short history of Michael Sleavin it is not possible to give a full account of his military career, or a complete history of the Sappers and Miners. In 1856 their duty in Bermuda over the Sappers and Miners set sail for India where there had been unrest for some time. In 1857 Sepoy troops in the British army revolted and the Indian Mutiny (1857-8) started. The war in India would reveal a hidden Michael Sleavin, a character that had lain dormant until he reached the gates of Fort Jhansi. The battle for Fort Jhansi would earn him a Victoria Cross and back home he would become a highly respected citizen.
The mutiny served to focus attention on the Honourable East India Company’s conduct of affairs in India and led directly to the transfer of the administration of the country to the British crown. At this time in India the army of the Honourable East India Company was acting to protect their business interests. Also in India at that time you had the British army. The mutiny would serve the British government well however as they wanted to expand their empire and exert their control over the whole of India. Eventually the Honourable East India Company was incorporated into the British army.
Battle For Fort Jhansi - As the war in India progressed the Sappers and Miners were called upon to help the infantry in various tasks. The Sepoy defenders of Fort Jhansi were hardened troops who were not going to give up the fort without a fight. They had been trained by the British army in fighting tactics and knew how to defend a fortified position. For the next two years the Sepoys would make life for the British army extremely difficult. The following is extract are taken from the Regimental history during the Indian Mutiny.
Sir Hugh Rose ordered the storming of Fort Jhansi to take place at dawn on 3rd April. By this time his force had been joined by Brigadier-General C.S Stuart’s 1st Brigade from Indore to which had been attached 21 Field Company Royal Engineers. A breach in the walls had been achieved and this was to be attacked by one column from 1st Brigade who formed the left attack, with three more columns from the 2nd Brigade attacking the right of the fort.
Corporal Sleavin was attached to the 1st Brigade and would enter the fort by this breach in the fort wall. The breach was taken fairly easily but the escalading parties had considerable difficulty a short distance from the palace where several streets met at one point. There with concentrated fire from the Sepoys the advance was halted with the British suffering severely from the concentrated fire from the flank. The street fighting lasted for three days and the British were unable to cross this small open space at this junction of several streets.
Lt JB Edwards 21 Field Company Royal Engineers ordered Corporal Sleavin and his party to build a parapet to provide cover for the fusiliers and allow them safe passage over the crossroads and so overthrow the Sepoys from their well defended positions. Lt Edwards instructed Corporal Sleavin and some of the men to use any materials that could be found from the surrounding houses and construct a sap.
As they started the job of building the sap they were immediately fired upon. Scarcely a plank was laid without being struck and severely perforated by bullets. So close were the enemy that it became almost impossible to build the sap. A sap was an open zigzagging trench by which an approach could be made towards a hostile position. The open trench had no overhead protection for the sappers who were building it and they were very much exposed to enemy fire. It was during the subsequent street fighting and the building of the sap which lasted for three days that Corporal Sleavin won his Victoria Cross.
Corporal Sleavin was at the head of the sap during the whole of the construction and consequently was much exposed. He maintained his position under heavy fire with a cool and steady determination worthy of the highest praise and continued with his work until the capture of the palace and the greater portion of the town was in British possession. It was also reported that during the fighting Corporal Sleavin led a party in the face of death to rescue the body of Surgeon Doctor Stacks of the 86th Regiment of Foot (The Royal County Down Regiment) to save it from mutilation by the Sepoys.
With the construction of the sap and the crossroads now under British control a safe line of communications had been opened up with the British camp by the Pomcha gateway and other gateways. Fort Jhansi was finally in British hands and the remaining Sepoys rounded up. The battle for Fort Jhansi was over and it was now time to look after the wounded and bury the dead. What happened after the fall of Fort Jhansi?
I am sure that the engineers had the task of rebuilding the breach and securing the fort in the interests of their own safety and it would from then have been occupied by the army in the interests of the British government. No sooner had the battle for Fort Jhansi ended than Lt JB Edwards was putting pen to paper recommending Corporal Michael Sleavin for an award for gallantry. The fighting itself continued well into the year 1859 until the Rani of Jhansi was killed and Tantia Topi was hanged and the Indian Mutiny came to an end. After the 1857 uprising the East India Company’s rule in India came to an end as the government of the country passed to the Crown. In due course the Presidency Armies (Sepoys) developed into the Indian Army which served with much distinction in the two World Wars.
The award of the Victoria Cross to Corporal Michael Sleavin was recorded in the London Gazette of 11th November 1859. He continued to serve in India and in 1860 while still there he received his well deserved Victoria Cross. There were three other Victoria Crosses won during the battle of Fort Jhansi namely Captain HE Jerome and Private Byrne of the 86th Regiment of Foot (Royal County Down Regiment) and Bombardier J Brennan of the Royal Artillery. In accordance with Queen Victoria’s personal wishes valour was the only criteria to win a Victoria Cross. Neither rank nor station in life entered into it. Michael Sleavin had all three criteria.
In May 1858 Corporal Sleavin was promoted Sergeant and his unit sent to Mauritius. It was about this time that there appeared hints that the boredom of a peaceful role in Mauritius may have got the better of Sergeant Sleavin. A note in the files of the Royal Engineers Regimental Museum records that a ‘Regimental Board held on the 5th April 1861 at Fort George, Mauritius enquired into the loss of the Victoria Cross of Sergeant Michael Sleavin stating that on or about 2nd February 1861 it was probably lost on his return from a night out in Port Louis. The Board recommended that he be permitted to purchase another one. Whether or not there was some disciplinary action connected with this is not recorded.
However Michael Sleavin’s career became unstuck in 1962 when he was court-martialled for some unnamed offence and demoted. Also unrecorded was the fact that he served the rest of his time (nine years) as a Sapper.
Michael Sleavin obtained his discharge on the 25th April 1871 at the age of forty-four years after serving for twenty-four years. His discharge papers state with commendable but tantalising lack of detail that his name appeared in the Regimental Defaulters Book and he was once tried by court-martial. The fact that as he was not in possession of or presented with the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal would suggest to me that because of his courage and good character and the with great respect for him his Regiment did whatever it could do to protect him and indicates the high esteem that he was held in by his fellow Sappers and Miners as well as his Regiment. Nevertheless Michael Sleavin had a Victoria Cross and five good conduct stripes to his name. His conduct was recorded as very good and in army terms this recommendation was of a very high standard.
On discharge he recorded his intended place of residence as Canterbury. It is not known if he ever resided there but at some time he returned to his native country, got married to Margaret McGoldrick and settled down to family life at Drumard near Kesh. They had two children, a son Edward and a daughter Bridget. Michael was very well respected by his fellow countrymen and his surrounding neighbours in the parish of Magheraculmoney.
On Friday 22nd August 1902 Michael Sleavin VC was laid to rest in St. Mary’s churchyard at Bannagh, Kesh. The life of a brave man had finally come to an end but today his name and his brave deeds live on. His family and the people of Magheraculmoney can be proud of their son Michael Sleavin VC.
Below is a copy of a Letter of Report from Captain John Baillie who was Michael Sleavin’s Commanding Officer in the Royal Engineers reporting on the circumstances of the act of gallantry performed by Corporal Sleavin.
Capt John Baillie Executive Engineer Jhansi
To Lieutenant J.B Edward (R.E) Commanding 21 Field Company Royal Engineers Gwalior.
Dated Jhansi 26th October 1858.
Sir,
I reply to your semi-official letter of the 4th inst requesting me to state the circumstances of an act of gallantry performed by Corporal Sleavin 21 Company Royal Engineers at the capture of Jhansi. I have the honour to forward the following detailed statement for your information.
On the failure of the attempt to escalade on the left attack to which I was attached as assistant field engineer I proceeded round to the breach and joined the column of the right attack under Brigadier Stewart which had forced its way to within a short distance of the place. In reaching this position the column suffered very severely from the flank fire of the fort at a point where it had to cross a small open space at the junction of several streets, upon which the enemy’s matchlock (musket or rifle) men concentrated their fire. Doctor Stacks of His Majesty’s 86th Regiment of Foot (Royal County Down Regiment) was killed there as I reached it and several others officers and number of men had been wounded.
Corporal Sleavin was ordered to build a sap and although consequently much exposed he maintained his position under heavy fire with a cool and steady determination worthy of the highest possible praise and continued his work until the capture of the palace and placed the greatest portion of the town in our possession.
Corporal Sleavin also led a party in the face of death to rescue the body of Surgeon Doctor Stacks. Captain Coley Major of First Brigade and Lt Gossett RE who personally assisted in the construction of the parapet will no doubt add their testimony in support of this statement and I shall be most gratified if with their aid it may be the means of obtaining for this brave man the due recognition and reward of an act of gallantry unsurpassed, if not unequalled throughout the campaign.
After life in the army Michael Sleavin VC lived a quiet life on his farm with his wife and children. By the time of his death his son and daughter had moved on to a life of their own. Less than five months after the death of Michael Sleavin his Victoria Cross was sold in London on 22nd January 1903 for £53. Two questions need to be asked.
Was Michael Sleavin in possession of his Victoria Cross at the time of his death, or did he sell it just before his death
Did his wife Catherine sell it five months after Michael’s death due to hardship?
We may never know the answer and to this day Michael Sleavin’s Victoria Cross remains in private hands.
Today Saturday 6th June 2009 is almost two years after I started this project to give Michael Sleavin VC his due recognition. It gives me great pleasure to see this memorial unveiled today to his memory. We are privileged to have in attendance four men who have won the George Cross. No better tribute could be paid to Michael Sleavin VC than to have men with the same calibre of valour and courage here to pay their humble respects. It is also fitting to have the community from the parish of Magheraculmoney here as well to pay their humble respects to one of their own son’s, the gallant Michael Sleavin VC.
To date this memorial is the only one of its kind in the whole of County Fermanagh. There are two more men buried in Fermanagh who also won the Victoria Cross and who lie in unmarked graves. I wonder if they ever will get a memorial to record their bravery and their final resting place. I sincerely hope that they do.