Henry Benson

Henry Benson

Captain Henry Benson, ca. May 1862

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Born	November 20, 1824 Belleville, New Jersey
Died	August 11, 1862 (aged 37) At sea
Years of service	1845–1862
Branch	U.S. Army
Rank	Captain
Unit	2nd U.S. Artillery
Commands	Battery M, 2nd U.S. Artillery
Battles/Wars	Mexican–American War Third Seminole War American Civil War

Henry Benson (November 20, 1824 – August 11, 1862) was a career United States Army artillery officer who served in the Mexican–American War, Third Seminole War, and American Civil War. He sustained mortal wounds on August 5, 1862, while his battery engaged rebel artillery at Malvern Hill near the end of the Peninsula Campaign, and died at sea on August 11 while being transported north aboard the steamer S.R. Spaulding.

Service Details

Benson enlisted in the United States Army in June 1845 as a private with Light Battery A, 2nd U.S. Artillery–at that time, the only mounted field artillery battery in the regiment. Soon afterward, Benson accompanied his battery to Texas where it joined the army of General Zachary Taylor along the disputed border with Mexico. Battery A was engaged at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, which effectively marked the beginning of the Mexican–American War; Battery A remained constantly engaged throughout the campaign, culminating in the Battle of Mexico City in 1847. During that time, Benson rose from the rank of private to first sergeant, commanding one of the battery's guns. He was wounded in action at the San Cosme gatehouse during the fighting for Mexico City, when his exposed gun was the sole remaining American gun in action assaulting an entrenched Mexican position–his assault soon aided when Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant and a detachment of the 4th U.S. Infantry hauled a disassembled mountain howitzer to a nearby church's bell tower to fire down on the position from behind.

At the close of the Mexican War, Benson was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. In the years that followed, he twice accompanied his regiment to Florida during the Third Seminole War; his duties included surveying waterways, cutting roads between frontier forts and outposts, and a period of detached service in command of a company of mounted riflemen.

Upon the eve of the American Civil War, Benson was transferred to Battery C, 2nd U.S., and joined the expedition to occupy and secure Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas before it could be seized by pro-secessionist forces of the state of Florida.

In May 1861, Benson was promoted to the captaincy of Light Battery M, 2nd U.S., but did join his new command until September 1861. Under his command, the company was armed and equipped as a horse artillery battery and attached to the Horse Artillery Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. Benson's battery joined the Peninsula Campaign on 1862, accompanying Federal cavalry in the field, and engaged in action at Williamsburg, Hanover Court House, and Malvern Hill.

On August 5, 1862, Benson was mortally wounded during an artillery duel with a rebel battery at Malvern Hill, Virginia. Struck in the leg by shell fragments, reportedly from one his own rifles, he was evacuated from the Virginia Peninsula for transport to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died from his wounds while at sea on August 11, 1862.

Legacy

In 1863, an artillery battery at Fort Sumner, Maryland, was named Battery Henry Benson.

In 1907, an Endicott Era coast artillery battery (Battery Henry Benson), consisting of two 10-inch disappearing rifles, was named in his honor at Fort Worden, Washington.

Dates of Rank

Rank	Date	Component
Brevet Second Lieutenant	June 28, 1848	Regular Army
Second Lieutenant	January 26, 1849	Regular Army
First Lieutenant	March 2, 1853	Regular Army
Captain	May 14, 1861	Regular Army

References

• Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, From its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903

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