Samuel Nicoll Benjamin

For other people named Samuel Benjamin, see Samuel Benjamin (disambiguation).
Samuel Nicoll Benjamin
Samuel Nicoll Benjamin
Born(1839-01-03)January 3, 1839
New York City, US
DiedMay 15, 1886(1886-05-15) (aged 47)
Governors Island, New York, US
AllegianceUnited States
Union
BranchUS Army
Union Army
Years of service1861 - 1886
RankMajor
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel
CommandsBattery E, 2nd U.S. Artillery
Chief of Artillery, IX Corps
Battery F, 2nd U.S. Artillery
Battery K, 2nd U.S. Artillery
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War:
 • Battle of Blackburn's Ford
 • First Battle of Bull Run
 • Peninsular Campaign
 • Northern Virginia Campaign
 • Maryland Campaign
 • Battle of Fredericksburg
 • Vicksburg Campaign
 • East Tennessee Campaign
 • Overland Campaign
 • Battle of the Wilderness
 • Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (WIA)
AwardsMedal of Honor

Samuel Nicoll Benjamin (January 3, 1839 – May 15, 1886) was a Union Army artillery officer during the American Civil War who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.[1]

Early life

Benjamin was born on January 3, 1839, in New York City. He was the son of William Massena Benjamin (1800–1862) and Sarah Jane (née Turk) Benjamin (1805–1903). His siblings included Edith Massena Benjamin, Sarah Josephine Benjamin Arnold, and Laura Gertrude Benjamin Brooks.

Benjamin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, ranked 12th of 45 cadets in the Class of May 6, 1861.

Career

Upon his graduation from the United States Military Academy, Benjamin was commissioned as a second lieutenant attached to Battery I, 2nd U.S. Artillery. Less than two weeks later, he was advanced in grade to the rank of first lieutenant and transferred to Battery E, 2nd U.S. under the command of Captain Josiah H. Carlisle. Lieutenant Benjamin joined his company in the defenses of Washington, D.C., at Fort Corcoran, Virginia, in July 1861 during the American Civil War.

Present with Battery E, Benjamin was engaged at the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, the First Battle of Bull Run, the Peninsular Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, the Maryland Campaign, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Vicksburg Campaign, the East Tennessee Campaign, and the Overland Campaign, including both the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, where he was wounded in action.

In August 1862, Captain Carlisle began an extended sick leave of absence; Lieutenant Benjamin assumed command of Battery E, with occasional absences, until December 1863.

In 1864, Benjamin was promoted to the captaincy of Battery F, 2nd U.S. Artillery, but did not join his company until after the war. While serving as Chief of Artillery for the Union IX Corps during the Overland Campaign, he was severely wounded in action and hospitalized for four months. Upon his discharge from the hospital in September 1864, Captain Benjamin spent the duration of the war as an assistant professor of mathematics at West Point.

Following the Civil War, Benjamin remained commander of Battery F until 1869, and then Battery K, 2nd U.S. Artillery, until he was promoted to major in the Adjutant General Corps in March 1875.

Benjamin died while on active duty at Governor’s Island, New York, in May 1886.

Medal of Honor citation

Major Benjamin was presented with the Medal of Honor on June 11, 1877, for his service from Bull Run to Spotsylvania, Virginia. over the period from July 1861 to May 1864.[1] The citation stated: "Particularly distinguished services as an artillery officer."[2]

Personal life

Benjamin was married to Julia Kean Fish (1841–1908). Julia was the daughter of Governor of New York, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish (1808–1893) and Julia Ursin Niemcewiez Kean (1816–1887).[a] She was also the sister of Nicholas Fish II, Hamilton Fish II, and Stuyvesant Fish. Together, they were the parents of:[3]

  • Elizabeth d'Hauteville Benjamin (1871–1884), who died young.
  • William Massena Benjamin (1874–1928),[4] who married Charlotte Hoffman Prime (1881–1969),[5] the great-granddaughter of Nathaniel Prime,[6][7] in 1903.[8]
  • Hamilton Fish Benjamin (1877–1938),[9] a twin who married Emily Low Bacon (1884–1960) in 1909.[b] They divorced in 1923 and he married Ruth Wolfe (1890–1984),[c] in 1932.[11]
  • Julian Arnold Benjamin (1877–1953), a twin.

He died on May 15, 1886, while on duty serving in the Department of the East.[12]

Descendants

Through his son William,[5] he was the grandfather of Charlotte Prime Benjamin, (1904–2002), who married Richard Morris Carver in 1925;[13] Elizabeth Fish Benjamin (1906–1976), who married William McLane in 1928;[14] Julia Kean Benjamin (1908–1983); William Hoffman Benjamin (1910–1997); Emily Stuyvesant Benjamin (1913–2000); Samuel Nicoll Benjamin (1915–2006); Mary Benjamin; Sarah Morris Benjamin; and Hamilton Fish Benjamin II (1921–1984).[7]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ Julia was the sister of John Kean and granddaughter of John Kean and Susan Livingston Kean. Her grandmother Susan married Count Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz after her grandfather's death.
  2. ^ After their divorce in 1923, she remarried to Halstead Camp Lindsley (1880–1945), the former husband of Margaret Ashton Stimson Lindsley, in 1923.
  3. ^ After his death, his widow married Dr. Stuart Neville Michaux (1878–1950) in 1940.[10]
Sources
  1. ^ a b "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L)". United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  2. ^ "Benjamin, Samuel N." Home of Heroes. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  3. ^ The World Almanac and Encyclopedia. Press Publishing Company (The New York World). 1905. p. 157. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  4. ^ "W.M. BENJAMIN DIES IN PORTO RICO; New York Real Estate Operator Was on a Cruise in Search of Health. LEFT SHIP FOR HOSPITAL He Was a Prominent Sportsman and a Member of Union Club and St. Nicholas Society". The New York Times. 18 February 1928. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b "DIED. | BENJAMIN, Charlotte Hoffman Prime". The New York Times. 20 September 1969. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. ^ Hoffman, Eugene Augustus (1899). Genealogy of the Hoffman family : descendants of Martin Hoffman, with biographical notes . New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b Lawrence, Ruth (1930). Colonial Families of America (PDF). New York: National Americana Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  8. ^ "WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Benjamin--Prime". The New York Times. 12 June 1903. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  9. ^ "H. F. BENJAMIN DIES; NEW YORK BROKER; Senior Member of the Firm of Benjamin & Ferguson--Yale Football Player LONG EXCHANGE GOVERNOR Grandson of Senator Hamilton Fish, Who Was Secretary of State for Grant". The New York Times. 27 October 1938. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Mrs. Benjamin Is Wed; Bride of Dr. S.N. Michaux in Episcopal Chapel Here". The New York Times. 28 April 1940. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  11. ^ "RUTH WOLFE BRIDE OF H. F. BENJAMIN; Ceremony at Her Home Here Performed by Rev. James G. Watson of Spuyten Duyvil. ONE BRIDAL ATTENDANT Bridegroom, a Descendant of Hamilton Fish, Is a Former Official of the New York Stock Exchange". The New York Times. 19 July 1932. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  12. ^ Service Profile
  13. ^ "R.M. CARVER WED TO MISS BENJAMIN; Quiet Ceremony Took Place Saturday at St. Philip's in Garrison. KATHERINE HOFFMAN BRIDE Marries Henry Belin 3d in Englewood, N.J. -- Elizabeth Pearson's Nuptials". The New York Times. 30 September 1925. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  14. ^ "MISS E.F. BENJAMIN IS ENGAGED TO WED; She Will Be Bride of W.L. McLane, Grandson of the LateBishop Greer.MISS DU PONT BETROTHEDShe Will Be Married to D.P. Ross--Many Other Easter Engagements Announced". The New York Times. 8 April 1928. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
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