Beman through Bivouac

BEMAN, AMOS GEARY, 1812-1874, New Haven, Connecticut, African American clergyman, abolitionist, speaker, temperance advocate, community leader.  Member of the American Anti-Slavery Society 1833-1840.  Later, founding member of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.  Traveled extensively and lectured on abolition.  Leader, Negro Convention Movement.  Founder and first Secretary of Anti-Slavery Union Missionary Society.  Later organized as American Missionary Association (AMA), 1846.  Championed Black civil rights.  Promoted anti-slavery causes and African American civil rights causes, worked with Frederick Douglass and wrote for his newspaper, The North Star.  (Sinha, 2016, p. 467; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 540; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 1, p. 463; Minutes, Convention of the Liberty Party, June 14, 15, 1848, Buffalo, New York)   


BEMAN, JEHIEL C., c. 1789-1858, Connecticut, Boston, Massachusetts, African American, clergyman, abolitionist, temperance activist.  Manger, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1837-1839.  Executive Committee, American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, 1841-1843.  Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society (MASS). (Sinha, 2016, p. 467; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 1, p. 477; Minutes, Convention of the Liberty Party, June 14, 15, 1848, Buffalo, New York)


BEMAN, NATHANIEL SYDNEY SMITH, 1785-1871, Presbyterian College president, clergyman, abolitionist (Sorin, 1971, p. 90; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 231-232; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 171-172; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 541)

BEMAN, Nathaniel Sydney Smith, clergyman, born in New Lebanon, New York, 26 November, 1785; died in Carbondale, Illinois, 8 August, 1871. He was graduated at Middlebury in 1807, studied theology, and about 1810 was ordained pastor of a Congregational church in Portland, Maine A few years later he went as a missionary to Georgia, where he devoted himself to the work of establishing educational institutions. He became pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York, in 1822, and continued as such for upward of forty years. He was actively interested in the temperance, moral reform, revival, and anti-slavery movements of his time. In 1831 he was moderator of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and during the discussions that, in 1837, led to the division in that church, he was the leader of the new-school branch. Resigning his pastorate in 1863, he passed the remainder of his life in retirement in Troy and in Carbondale. Besides sermons, essays, and addresses, which have been separately published, he was the author of a volume entitled “Four Sermons on the Atonement.” He was also one of the compilers of the hymn-book adopted by the new-school branch of the Presbyterian Church.   Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 231-232.


BEND OF CHUCKY ROAD, TENNESSEE, January 16, 1864. (See Dandridge, same date.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 111.


BENDIX, JOHN E., soldier, born 28 August, 1818; died in New York City, 8 October, 1877. The birthplace of General Bendix lies between the United States and Canada, as he was born on board the “Sarah,” one of the first steamers that navigated St. Lawrence River. He learned the trade of a machinist in New York, joined the 9th Regiment New York state militia in 1847, and when the Civil War began, in 1861, he organized the 7th Regiment of New York Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the battles of Antietam (16–17 September, 1862), Fredericksburg (13 December, 1862), and the Wilderness (5–6 May, 1864), besides the engagements of the intervening campaigns. He was promoted brigadier-general in 1865. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 232.


BENEDICT, ABNER R., soldier, born about 1830; died 15 May, 1867. At the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered as a private in the 12th Regiment, New York state militia, which was one of the three that first started from New York for the seat of war. In August, 1861, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the 4th regular Infantry. In March, 1862, he embarked for the Peninsula, and through the battles of the Potomac Army was conspicuous for gallantry. At Fredericksburg he commanded forty men of the strong picket line that, during the night of 13 December, 1862, was pushed up to the enemy's position, while the defeated federals were retreating across the river. The orders were to hold the position until relieved, and the intention was to withdraw the picket-line before daylight should reveal it to the enemy. By some mistake the line was not withdrawn as directed, and at daylight the enemy opened fire at short range. While encouraging his men by voice and example, Major Benedict fell, shot through the lungs, but was carried off the field b his soldiers. The wound was considered mortal but, before the scar was fairly healed, in three months, he reported for duty at Washington. He joined his regiment at Chancellorsville while the battle was in progress.  At Gettysburg his superiors were all killed or wounded, leaving him in command, and he handled the regiment during that battle with great credit to himself. Shortly after Gettysburg his health began to fail, as a result of his wound; but in spite of this he refused to give up active service, and for some time commanded the 4th U.S. Infantry, as General Grant's headquarters guard during the Petersburg Campaign. After the war he remained on the active list in spite of his disability from his wound, and in the depth of winter, shortly before his death, was on duty at Plattsburg, New York, one of the coldest of the eastern army posts. He secured a change of station in the hope of benefit from a warmer climate, but died from the effects of the wound received five years before. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 232-234.


BENEDICT, GEORGE GRENVILLE, soldier, born in Burlington, Vermont, 10 December, 1826. He was graduated at the University of Vermont in 1847, and in 1853 became editor of the Burlington “Free Press,” for many years the leading Republican journal of the state. He was postmaster at Burlington in 1860, but enlisted in the 12th Vermont Regiment at the beginning of the Civil War, and was commissioned lieutenant. In 1863 he was appointed aide on a brigade staff in the 1st Corps. On the third day of the battle of Gettysburg he participated in the repulse of the desperate charge delivered by the Confederates under Longstreet. General Hancock was severely wounded in the moment of victory, and Lieutenant Benedict, with another officer, caught him as he fell from his horse. After the Civil War he served on the governor's staff, was in the state senate from 1869 till 1871, postmaster of Burlington from 1871 till 1874, secretary of the state university from 1865, and president of the Vermont press association in 1886, being senior editor of the state at that time. He has published “Vermont at Gettysburg.” (Albany, 1866; new ed., 1870); and “Vermont in the Civil War” (Albany, 1866; 2d vol. forthcoming). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 233.


BENEDICT, LEWIS, soldier, born in Albany, New York, 2 September, 1817; died at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, 9 April, 1864. After graduation at Williams, in 1837, he studied law in Albany and was admitted to the bar in 1841. In 1845–’6 he was city attorney at Albany; in 1847 judge advocate; from 1848 until 1852 surrogate of Albany. In 1860 he was elected a member of the state assembly, but entered the military service for the Civil War in June, 1861, as lieutenant-colonel of the 73d New York Volunteers. He served in the Peninsular Campaign, and was taken prisoner at Williamsburg, Virginia After several months' confinement in Libby and Salisbury prisons, he was exchanged, and, as colonel of the 162d New York Volunteers, accompanied Banks's expedition to Louisiana in September, 1862. He was brevetted brigadier-general for gallantry in the assault on Port Hudson, 14 June, 1883." In the Red River Campaign of 1864 he participated in the various engagements, and was mortally wounded while in command of a brigade at the battle of Pleasant Hill. His death was made the subject of a poem by Alfred BORN Street. See “ Memorial of Brevet Brigadier-General Lewis Benedict, Colonel of the 162d New York. V. I." (Albany, 1864, printed privately). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 233-234.


BENET, STEPHEN VINCENT, soldier, born in St. Augustine, Florida, 22 January, 1827. He studied at Hallowell's school in Alexandria, Virginia, then at the University of Georgia, and at the U. S. Military Academy, where he was graduated in 1849, standing third in his class. He was appointed to the Ordnance Corps, and served at the Watervliet Arsenal, at Washington, at Frankford Arsenal, again at Washington, and then at the St. Louis Arsenal. In 1859 he became assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics at West Point, and from 1861 till 1864 was instructor of ordnance and the science of gunnery, after which, until 1869, he was in command of Frankford Arsenal. In 1869 he was made assistant to the chief of ordnance, and in 1874, on the death of the chief of the department, he succeeded to the place, with the rank of brigadier-general. He translated Jomini's "Political and Military History of the Campaign of Waterloo " (New York, 1853), and he is the author of a treatise on "Military Law and the Practice of Courts-Martial" (1862), and "Electro-Ballistic Machines and the Sehultze Chronoscope" (1866). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 234.


BENEVOLA, MARYLAND, July 9, 1863. (See Beaver Creek.) Bennett's Bayou, Missouri, August 23, 1863. Enrolled Missouri Militia. Colonel Sheppard with a detachment of the 6th provisional regiment, Scouted along Bennett's bayou from its headwaters to its mouth, sending a detachment under Lieutenant Faught to meet him at the mouth of the bayou. On the march Sheppard captured 8 Confederates, killed 5, wounded 2 and captured some horses. Faught's scout killed a Confederate lieutenant and Federal pickets captured a member of the Missouri legislature of 1860-61. The Confederates having moved south from the bayou, Sheppard advanced toward Big North fork and soon engaged Vanzoot's band, killing 2 of its men and capturing its outfit. Union loss on the expedition, 2 wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 111.


BENHAM. HENRY W., soldier, born in Connecticut in 1817; died in New York, 1 June, 1884. He was graduated at West Point, at the head of his class, in 1837, assigned to the Corps of Engineers, and for a year assistant in charge of improvements in Savannah River. In July, 1838, he was promoted first lieutenant, and from 1839 till 1844 was superintending engineer of the repairs of , Fort Marion and of the sea-wall at St. Augustine,  retired Florida During the three years succeeding he was engaged upon government works in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and elsewhere. He was with the army in' Mexico in 1847-8, and brevetted captain for gallant and meritorious services in the battle of Buena Vista, 23 February, 1847. After the Mexican War he was engaged for a time on engineering duty in New York Harbor, and promoted to the rank of captain in May, 1848. He was also in charge of several other works of importance at Boston, Washington, and Buffalo, from 1848 to 1853. In the latter year he was assistant in charge of the Coast Survey office at Washington, and sent to Europe on duty connected therewith. During the following seven years he was occupied in professional work for the government at Boston, Newport, and Sandy Hook, and on the Potomac aqueduct. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Captain Benham entered upon active service; was on General Morris's staff as engineer of the Department of the Ohio; was brevetted colonel for gallantry at the battle of Carrick's Ford, Virginia, 18 July, 1861; in August was made brigadier-general of volunteers, and was engaged in the Virginia Campaigns, including the actions at New Creek (16 August) and Carnifex Ferry (10 September). In 1802 he was present at the capture of Fort Pulaski (10-11 April) and James Island (16 June). Later in the year he superintended fortifications in Boston and Portsmouth Harbors, and was in command of the Northern District of the Department of the South. He proved very efficient in throwing pontoon-bridges across the Rappahannock, the Potomac, and the James Rivers, and was in command of the pontoon department at Washington in 1864. In the meantime he had, through the regular stages of promotion, attained the full rank of lieutenant-colonel of engineers, and in March. 1865, was brevetted brigadier-general and major general U. S. Army, and major-general U. S. volunteers, for gallant services during the rebellion and in the campaign that terminated with the surrender of Lee's army. In 1868 (7 March) he was promoted colonel of engineers, and during that year was engaged in government works on the coast of New England, and from October, 1869, till July. 1877, was similarly occupied in the works on Long Island Head. Subsequent to this he was in charge of the defences of New York. He was placed on the retired list, 30 June, 1882. He invented the picket-shovel used by troops in the field, and was an expert in pontoon-bridges, in the management of which he devised important improvements. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 234.


BENJAMIN, JOHN FORBES., soldier, born in Cicero, Onondaga County, N. Y., 28 January, 1817; died in Washington, D. C., 8 March, 1877. He received a common school education, and, after three years spent in Texas, went to Missouri, where he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice at Shelbyville in 1848. He was a member of the legislature in 1850 and 1852, and presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1856. He entered the National Army as a private in the Missouri cavalry in 1861, was made captain in January, 1862, major in May, and lieutenant-colonel in September. He resigned to become provost-marshal of the 8th District of Missouri in 1863. In 1864 he was elected to Congress, where he served three successive terms, from 4 December, 1865, till 3 March, 1871. After this he practised law and prosecuted claims in Washington until his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 235.


BENJAMIN, JUDAH PHILIP, lawyer, born in St. Croix, W. I., 11 August, 1811; died in Paris, 8 May, 1884. His parents were English Jews, who in 1811 sailed from England to settle in New Orleans. The mouth of the Mississippi being blockaded by the British fleet, they landed at St Croix, where Mr. Benjamin was born. His boyhood was passed in Wilmington, North Carolina, and in 1825 he entered Yale, but left college three years later, without receiving a degree. He then studied law in New Orleans in a notary's office, and was admitted to the bar 11 December 1832. For some time he was engaged in teaching school, and in compiling a digest of cases decided in the lower courts. This, at first only intended for his personal use, was subsequently enlarged and published as " A Digest of Reported Decisions of the Supreme Court of the late Territory of Orleans and of m Supreme Court of Louisiana (1834). He soon  to the head of his profession, and in 1840 of the firm of Slidell, Benjamin and Conrad having an extensive practice in and cotton merchants' cases. He was a Whig and in  1845 a member of the convention to revise the constitution of the state, in advocated  which body he advocated the addition of an article to requiring the Governor be a citizen born in the United States. In 1847 a U. S. commissioner was appointed to investigate the Spanish land-titles, under which early settlers in California  claimed their property, and Benjamin was  retained as counsel. On his return he was admitted  to practice in the Supreme Court, and for a time much of his business was with that body in Washington. In 1848 he became one of the presidential electors from Louisiana, and was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1852, and again in 1857, but on the secession of Louisiana he withdrew from the Senate, with his colleague, John Slidell, 4 February, 1861. During his senatorial career he had attained pre-eminence in the southern wing of the Democratic Party. A sharp personal controversy between himself and Jefferson Davis seemed likely to cause a duel, when the latter apologized on the floor of the Senate for the harsh language he had used. He advocated the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of Mr. Douglas in 1854, but afterward insisted that the principle of popular sovereignty had been definitely set aside by the declaration of the supreme court in the Dred-Scott Case, which, he contended, should be accepted as conclusive. His firm advocacy of the legal claims of slavery brought from Senator Wade, of Ohio, the remark that Mr. Benjamin was "a Hebrew with Egyptian principles." On the formation of the provisional government of the Confederate States, he was appointed Attorney-General, and in August, 1861, was transferred to the War Department, succeeding L. P. Walker. Having been accused of incompetence and neglect of duty by a committee of the Confederate Congress, he resigned his office, but immediately became Secretary of State, which place he held until the final overthrow of the Confederate government He had the reputation of being “ the brains of the confederacy," and it is said that Mr. Davis was in the habit of sending to him all work that did not obviously belong to the department of some other minister. It was his habit to begin work at 8 A. M., and he was often occupied at his desk until 2 o'clock next morning. On the fall of the Confederacy he fled from Richmond with other members of the cabinet, and, on becoming separated from the party, escaped from the coast of Florida to the Bahamas in an open boat, thence going to Nassau, and in September, 1865, reached Liverpool. He at once began the study of English law, and was entered as a student at Lincoln's Inn, 13 January, 1866. In the following summer he was called to the English Bar, at the age of fifty-five. At first his success was slight, and he was compelled to resort to journalism for a livelihood. In 1868 he published " A Treatise on the Law of Sale of Personal Property," which is now the authority on this subject in English law (3d ed., London, 1883). His practice then grew rapidly, and in June, 1872, he was made queen's counsel, after which his business soon became as large and remunerative as that of any lawyer in the land. Among his many arguments, the one most generally known is that which he delivered before the court for crown cases reserved, on behalf of the captain of the "Franconia." His last great nisi prim case was that of Anson and others against the London and northwestern Railway. After this he accepted only briefs upon appeal, and appeared solely before the house of lords and the privy council. Early in 1883 he was compelled by failing health to retire from practice, and a famous farewell banquet was given him in the hall of the Inner Temple, London, 30 June, 1883. He then withdrew to Paris, where his wife and daughter resided, and where his health rapidly failed until his death. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, pp. 235.


BENJAMIN, SAMUEL NICOLL, soldier, born in New York City, 13 January, 1839; died on Governor's Island, New York Harbor, 15 May, 1886. He was graduated at the U.S. Military Academy in 1861, and became a 2d lieutenant in the 2d U.S. Artillery. He served continuously throughout the Civil War, was at Bull Run, Malvern Hill, and Fredericksburg, in command of a battery at Covington, in command of the reserve artillery of the 9th Army Corps 14 August till 24 October, 1863, and was chief of artillery, 9th Army Corps, in the East Tennessee and Richmond Campaigns; was at the battle of the Wilderness and also at Spottsylvania, where he was severely wounded. He was brevetted lieutenant  colonel 13 May, 1865, and major 3 March, 1875. On recovery from his wounds he became assistant professor of mathematics at the U. S. Military Academy, and from 1869 till 1875 he was at the artillery school for practice, Fort Monroe, Virginia Then, having been transferred to the staff, he was made assistant adjutant-general, and was on duty first at Washington, and later became adjutant- general of the Department of Arizona. In June, 1885, he was made assistant adjutant-general of the Division of the Atlantic, and assigned to army headquarters on Governor's Island. Colonel Benjamin was one of the very few officers that held the Congressional Medal for conspicuous bravery in the field. He married a daughter of Hamilton. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 236.


BENNETT, JAMES GORDON, journalist, born in New Mill, near Keith, Scotland, 1 September, 1795; died in New York city, 1 June, 1872. His parents were Roman Catholics of French descent, and when he was fourteen years old he was sent to Aberdeen to study for the priesthood; but, convinced that he had mistaken his vocation, he determined to emigrate, and in April, 1819, he landed at Halifax, N. S., where he attempted to earn a living by teaching book-keeping. Failing in that, he made his way to Boston, where he found employment as a proof-reader. About 1822 he went to New York, and contributed to the newspapers, then became assistant in the office of the Charleston “Courier,” and in 1824 returned to New York and attempted to establish a commercial school, and then to lecture on political economy, but was unsuccessful, and again turned to the newspapers, becoming a reporter,  and contributor of poetry and all kinds of articles. In 1825 he bought on credit the “Sunday Courier.” but soon gave it up. The next year he became connected with the “National Advocate,” but left it because of its advocacy of the election of John Q. Adams, and became associate editor on Noah's “Enquirer.” About this time he joined the Tammany Society. In 1828 he went to Washington as correspondent for the “Enquirer,” and sent a series of lively personal letters that were widely copied. At his suggestion the “Enquirer” was consolidated with another paper, becoming the “Courier and Enquirer,” which, with James Watson Webb for editor and Bennett as his assistant, became the leading American newspaper. When it deserted Jackson for Nicholas Biddle, Bennett left it, and started a cheap party paper that existed only thirty days, an then a Jackson organ in Philadelphia called the “Pennsylvanian.” He appealed to the party to sustain this paper, and, being refused, returned to New York, and, determined to trust no more to politicians, on 6 May, 1835, issued the first number of the “Herald,” a small four-page sheet, sold for a cent a copy. Two young printers, Anderson and Smith, agreed to print it, and share the profits and losses with the editor. Bennett wrote the entire newspaper, making up for the lack of news by sensational opinions, fictitious intelligence, and reckless personal attacks. The paper became popular, although it offended all parties and all creeds. On 13 June, 1835, he introduced a money-article, then a novel feature in American journalism. The next month the printing-office was burned, and Smith and  Anderson abandoned the enterprise; but on 31 August Bennett revived paper, of which he was thenceforth sole proprietor. The great fire of 16 December, 1835 was reported with the fulness of incident and detail that has since become characteristic of American newspaper reports. In 1838 he engaged European journalists as regular correspondents, and extended the system to the principal American cities. He systematically employed newsboys to distribute his paper. The personal encounters in which he became involved through his lampoons were described in the same lively and picturesque style. In 1841 the income of the paper was at least $100,000. In 1846 a long speech by Clay was telegraphed to the “Herald.” During the Civil War its circulation more than doubled. It employed sixty-three war correspondents. Its expenditures for correspondence and news were disproportionate to its payment for editorial and critical matter. It was as a collector of news that Mr. Bennett mainly excelled. He had an unerring judgment of its pecuniary value. He knew how to select the subject that engrossed the interest of the people, and to give them all the details they could desire. He had also a method of impressing the importance of news upon others in his employ. No exchange editor was so close a reader as he of the great papers of the country. He clipped passages for insertion or the texts for editorials or special articles, and when he visited the office it was to unpack his mind of the suggestions stored there by reading the exchanges. He seldom gave an editorial writer more than the suggestions for an article, and he required his co-laborers to meet him daily for consultation and the distribution of topics. When another person presided, the several editors made suggestions; when Bennett himself was present, the editors became mere listeners, and wrote, as it were, at his dictation. The “Memoirs of J. G. Bennett and his Times” was published in New York in 1855. See Hudson's “Journalism in the United States” (New York, 1872). On 6 June, 1840, Mr. Bennett married Miss Henrietta Agnes Crean, a poor, but accomplished, music-teacher in New York. She died in Italy,31 March, 1873.—James Gordon, Jr., born in New York city, 10 May, 1841, the only son of the founder of the “Herald,” became the editor of the newspaper upon the death of his father. He resides mostly in Paris, and gives his attention chiefly to superintending the collection of foreign news. He added to the fame of his paper by publishing in England storm-warnings transmitted from the United States, by fitting out the “Jeanette” Polar Expedition, by sending Henry M. Stanley in search of Livingstone, and  other similar enterprises. In 1883 he associated himself with John W. Mackay in forming the commercial cable company and laying a new cable between America and Europe, to compete with the combined English and French lines. He has taken much interest in sports, especially in yachting, and in 1866 he took part in a memorable race from Sandy Hook to the Needles, Isle of Wight, which was won by his schooner, the “Henrietta,” in 13 days 21 hours and 55 minutes, against two competing yachts. In 1870 he sailed another race across the Atlantic from Queenstown to New York in his yacht, the “Dauntless,” but was beaten by the English “Cambria,” which arrived only two hours in advance. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 238.


BENNETT, THOMAS W., soldier, born in Union County, Indiana, 16 February, 1831. He was graduated at the law school of Indiana Asbury University in 1854, and n practice. He was elected to the state senate in 1858, and resigned in 1861 to enter the national service. He was captain in the 15th Indiana Volunteers in April, 1861, major of the 36th Regiment in September, colonel of the 69th in August, 1862, and commissioned brigadier-general on 5 March, 1865. He was again chosen to the state senate in October, 1864, and served till March, 1867. He was mayor of Richmond, Indiana, from May, 1869, till 1871, and in September of the latter year appointed governor of Idaho territory. He resigned this office 4 December, 1875, supposing that he had been elected delegate to Congress as a Republican; but the house gave the seat to his Democratic opponent. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 239.


BENNETT'S BAYOU, ARKANSAS, March 2, 1864. 6th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Under orders from Brigadier-General Sanborn, commanding the District of Southwest Missouri, Captain Eli Hughes, with about 100 men of this regiment, reconnoitered and operated against guerrillas in Arkansas. On March 1 he sent a detachment under Lieutenant Overman, of Company H, down an affluent of the White river; with 40 men under his personal command Hughes encountered a band of guerrillas not far from Buffalo City, killed an alleged desperado named Cain, and Lieutenant Smith of the 8th Missouri (Confederate) infantry. About the same time and not far distant Overman met and defeated a detachment of Tracy's Confederate cavalry, killing 2 men, one of whom was a Baptist preacher. On the morning of the 2nd, Hughes crossed the mountain to Bennett's bayou on the north fork of Page 112 White river and there engaged about 50 Confederates under Tracy's immediate command. Tracy dispersed his men among the bluffs and for some time they kept up an ineffectual fire on the Federals from behind rocks and trees.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 111-112.

BENN'S CHURCH, VIRGINIA, January 29-February 1, 1864. (See Isle of Wight County.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENNIGHT'S MILLS, MISSOURI, September 1, 1861. Missouri Home Guards.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112


BENSON, GEORGE WILLIAM, 1808-1879, Providence, Rhode Island, abolitionist, Society of Friends (Quaker).  Manager and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833, Brooklyn, Connecticut.  Brother-in-law of abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison.  (Clark, 2003; Garrison, Wendell Phillips, 1885; Mabee, 1970, pp. 82, 85, 109, 149; Van Broekhoven, 2002, pp. 17, 21-22, 68, 86-87; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833)


BENSON'S BRIDGE, KENTUCKY, June 10, 1864. Kentucky State Guards. Some of Morgan's men in a stockade near Benson's bridge were attacked and routed by detachments of militia and the 1st Kentucky scouts, of the state guard, under Lieutenant-Colonel Craig. Loss, 1 wounded, 3 missing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENT CREEK, TENNESSEE, March 14, 1864. Benton, Alabama, April 10, 1865. 2nd Indiana Cavalry. A battalion of the regiment participated in Wilson's raid in Alabama and Georgia. Under command of Captain Hill it left Selma on the 9th, crossed the Alabama river, and on the 10th moved out on the Montgomery road. Near Benton, a charge was made down the road after a body of Confederates, but the pursuers lost the way and many of them plunged into a swampy creek, in which Captain Goulding was drowned. Benton, Arkansas, December 1, 1863. 3d Iowa and 1st Missouri Cavalry. At 3 a. m. Colonel Bussey of the 3d la. sent a patrol of 40 men under Lieutenant Mills of the 1st Missouri cavalry to scout 25 miles out on the Hot Springs road. While returning the detachment was attacked by 400 Confederates and came near being captured in a body. Two men were killed and 2 were wounded, but got into camp. Benton, Arkansas, July 6, 1864.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON, JACOB, Congressman, born in Waterford, Vermont, 14 August, 1819. He received an academic education, and, after teaching for several years, studied law with Chief-Justice Bellows, and was He began practice at Lancaster, NEW HAMPSHIRE, made a high reputation as a successful advocate, and early became an earnest member of the Whig Party, and was elected to the legislature in 1854, 1855, and 1856. He was a delegate to the Chicago Convention of 1860, and afterward commanded the state volunteers as brigadier-general. He was elected to Congress from New Hampshire, serving two terms, from 4 March, 1867, till 8 March, 1871. While in Congress, Mr. Benton favored all efforts to reduce the expenses of the government and to equalize taxation. Although a clear and convincing public speaker, Mr. Benton rarely addressed the house. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 239-240.


BENTON, JAMES GILCHRIST, soldier, born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, 15 September, 1820; died in Springfield, Massachusetts, 23 August, 1881. His father, Calvin Benton, was a wool-merchant and introduced merino sheep into New England. The son was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1842, brevetted 2d lieutenant of ordnance, served at Watervliet, New York, Arsenal until 1848, was promoted to the full rank of second lieutenant, 8 March, 1847, and transferred to the Ordnance Bureau in Washington, where he assisted in preparing the " System of Artillery for the Land Service and the "Ordnance Manual." He was made first lieutenant, 25 March, 1848, served at Harper's Ferry armory in 1849, and in the San Antonio Ordnance Depot, Texas, from 1849 till 1852, was assistant inspector of arsenals and armories, and commanded the Charleston, South Carolina, Arsenal in 1853. From this time until 1857 he was on special duty in Washington, engaged principally in making experiments that led to the adoption of the Springfield rifled musket in place of the old smooth-bore. He was also a member of the ordnance boards of 1854 and 1856, then promoted to a captaincy after fourteen years' continuous service, and appointed instructor of ordnance and gunnery at West Point, where he remained until the beginning of the Civil War. He also designed the first wrought-iron sea-coast gun-carriage made in this country, which was adopted by the government, and has been in use ever since. In April, 1861, Captain Benton went to Washington as principal assistant to General James W. Ripley, chief of ordnance, was promoted major of ordnance in 1863, and in the same year became a member of the ordnance board, when he was put in command of Washington Arsenal, where he remained until 1866. Soon after he assumed command, when an explosion took place in the old penitentiary, which had been transformed into a storehouse for ammunition, he entered the building, and, with the assistance of a single man, succeeded, with his feet and hands, in putting out the fire in the loose tow and rope-handles of the boxes before the arrival of the fire department. In July, 1864, he performed another act of valor on the occasion of a similar explosion, when he entered a magazine, stripped off his coat, threw it over an open barrel of powder that was in dangerous proximity to the flames, and carried the whole in his arms to a place of safety. For these services he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel and colonel, 13 March, 1865. Among the improvements made by Colonel Benton in the arsenal grounds was cleaning the canal, an important sanitary measure; but the stirring of the muddy deposits engendered malaria, from the effects of which he never recovered. In June, 1866, he was ordered to the command of the national armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, where he remained until His death. The various models of the Springfield rifle, known as the models of 1866, 1868, 1873, and 1879, were made under his direction. In 1873, with Cols. Laidley and Crispin, he went under orders from the U. S. government to Europe to collect information in regard to the construction of heavy cannon and other ordnance manufactures. His report on this matter, as well as his report on "Experiments made at the National Armory for the purpose of revising and improving the System of Small Arms." was published by the government M for use in the Army and distribution to the militia." He never took out a patent for his inventions, holding that, as he had been educated by the government, it was entitled to benefit in every way by his time and talents. Among his inventions was the application of electricity to determine velocity. Discovering, after a series of carefully conducted experiments, that the Navy electro-ballistic pendulum was too delicate and complicated for general purposes, he devised an apparatus with two pendulums of simple construction, known as the Benton electro- ballistic pendulum. This was adopted by the government, and came largely into use in private factories for testing powder. Among his other inventions were an improvement in calipers for inspecting shells; a cap-filling machine; the thread veiocimeter for determining the velocity of projectiles; a system for loading and manoeuvring barbette guns under cover from the enemy's fire, by depressing the muzzle of the piece and using a jointed ramrod; re-enforcing-cup for cartridge case; and spring-dynamometer. He published "A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery" (New York, 1861; 3d ed., 1873). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 240.


BENTON, THOMAS HART, statesman, born near Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina, 14 March, 1782; died in Washington, 10 April, 1858. He was the son of Colonel Jesse Benton, lawyer, of North Carolina, who was private secretary to Governor Tryon, the last of the royal governors of North Carolina. His mother was Ann Gooch, of the Gooch family of Virginia. He was a cousin of the wife of Henry Clay, and was consequently often quoted during his public life as a relative of the great statesman himself. He lost his father before he was eight Tears of age, and was left with a large family of brothers and sisters, all of tender age, to the care of his mother. As Thomas was the eldest, his opportunities for study were few. He was for some time at a grammar-school, and afterward at the University of North Carolina, but did not complete a course of study there, as his mother re- moved to Tennessee to occupy a tract of 40,000 acres that had been acquired by his father. The family settled twenty-five miles south of Nashville. The place was called Bentonville.[…]

His journal took a vigorous stand in favor of the admission of Missouri to the union, notwithstanding her slavery constitution, and at the end of the controversy he was re- warded for his efforts by being chosen, in 1820, one of the senators from the new state. For a year he devoted himself to a close study of the Spanish language, in order to accomplish his work more thoroughly. Possessed of a commanding intellect and liberal culture, an assiduous student, resolute, temperate, industrious, and endowed with a memory whose tenacity was marvellous, he soon placed himself among the leaders in the national councils. One of his earliest efforts was to secure a reform in the disposition of the government lands to settlers. A pioneer himself, he sympathized with the demands of the pioneer, and in 1824, 1826, and 1828 advocated new land laws. The general distress that prevailed throughout the country, and bore with especial hardship on the land-purchasers of the west, forced attention to this subject. Colonel Benton demanded: 1, a pre-emptive right to all actual settlers; 2, a periodic reduction according to the time the land had been in the market, so as to make the prices correspond to the quality; 3, the donation of homesteads to impoverished but industrious persons, who would cultivate the land for a given period of years, he presented a bill embracing these features, and renewed it every year until it took hold upon the public mind, and was at length substantially embodied in one of President Jackson's messages, which secured its final adoption. By his earnest- ness in advocating this bill and securing its final adoption, he gained the lasting friendship of every pioneer and settler in the great west. His position in the Senate, and his firmness as a supporter of Jackson's administration, gave him great influence with the Democratic Party, and he impressed his views upon the president on every occasion.

Colonel Benton also caused the adoption of a bill throwing the saline and mineral lands of Missouri, which belonged to the United States, open for occupancy. 1 hero was at this time a certain tribute levied on the people of the Mississippi valley, which proved in many cases a most unequal burden and was frequently oppressive. One part, which met with more hostility than any other, was known as the salt-tax. Benton took up the matter, and in the session of 1829-'30 delivered such elaborate arguments against the tax, and followed them up with such success, that it was repealed. He was one of the earliest advocates of a railroad to the Pacific, and was prominent in directing adventure to explorations in the far west, in encouraging overland transit to the Pacific, and in working for the occupancy of the mouth of the Columbia. As early as 1819 he had written largely on these subjects, and on his entry into Congress renewed his efforts to engage the nation in these great enterprises, he first elaborated the project of overland connection, listened to the reports of trappers and voyageurs, and as science expanded, and knowledge of the great wilderness toward the mountains became more definite, his views took form in the proposals that culminated in the opening of the Great Central Pacific Railway. He also favored the opening up and protection of the trade with  New Mexico; encouraged the establishment of military stations on the Missouri, and throughout the interior; and urged the cultivation of amicable relations with the Indian tribes, and the fostering of the commerce of our inland seas. He turned his attention to the marking out of the great system of post-roads, and providing for their permanent maintenance.

In the first annual message of President Jackson strong ground was taken against the United States bank, then the depository of the national moneys, and frequently, when he directed the withdrawal of the deposits and their removal to certain state banks, the result was disastrous to the business of the country. Benton took up the matter, addressed himself to a consideration of the whole question of finance, circulating medium, and exchange, and urged the adoption of a gold and silver currency as the true remedy for the existing embarrassments. He made on this subject some of the most elaborate speeches of his life, which attracted attention throughout the United States and Europe, and the name of “ Old Bullion " was given to him. His style of oratory at this period was unimpassioned and very deliberate, but overflowing with facts, figures, logical deduction, and historical illustration. In later life he was characterized by a peculiar exuberance of wit, and raciness that increased with his years. The elaboration of his views on the national finances paved the way for subsequent legislation, and did much to bring about the present sub-treasury system of the United States.

To Colonel Benton is to be given the credit of moving the famous “expunging resolutions.” A formidable combination had been effected in the Senate, headed by Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, and a resolution condemning the president's course had been adopted. Benton took it upon himself to have the resolution expunged from the records. From 1841 till 1851, under Presidents, Tyler, Polk, and Taylor, he participated in the discussions that arose in the Oregon boundary, the annexation of Texas, and other important subjects. The Democratic administration of Mr. Polk was nominally in favor of lat. 54° 40' N. as the boundary of Oregon, and his party had promised this in its platform, but was opposed with so much force by Mr. Benton, that '' Polk acquiesced in his views and accepted lat. 49° N. as the line. By this the United States relinquished a piece of territory that would now make its possessions continuous to Alaska and give it every harbor on the Pacific coast. During the Mexican War Colonel Benton's services, and intimate acquaintance with the Spanish provinces of the south, proved most useful to the government. On his suggestion the policy of a “masterly inactivity,” at first determined upon by the president, was abandoned, and that of a vigorous prosecution of the war adopted in its stead. At one time it was proposed by President Polk to confer upon him the title of lieutenant- general with full command of the war, in order that he might carry out his conceptions in person. Questions in regard to slavery were brought on by the acquisition of Mexican territory. These were adjusted by the compromise acts of 1850, which were introduced by Mr. Clay, were opposed by Colonel Benton, and defeated as a whole, but passed separately. In the nullification struggle, Benton became Calhoun’s leading Democratic opponent, and their opposition to each other £ into a life-long animosity. The compromise of 1833 brought a lull in the storm; but the same views soon reappeared in connection with the far more complicated question of slavery. The Calhoun doctrine was introduced into the discussion of the abolition petitions in the House of Representatives in 1835, and was definitely presented in the session of 1846–7. On 19 February, 1847, Mr. Calhoun, in answer to the “Wilmot proviso,” which excluded slavery from all territory subsequently to be acquired, introduced resolutions that embodied his doctrine as to state rights. Colonel Benton, although representing a slave state, would not deviate from the positions he had maintained on former occasions. He denounced Calhoun's resolution as a “fire-brand.” Calhoun expressed his surprise, saying he expected Benton's support because he represented a slave state. Benton replied that he had no right to expect any such thing, and from this moment the two intellectual giants were matched in a ferocious warfare against each other's ideas and interests. The resolutions never came to a vote, but they were sent to the legislature of every slave state, were adopted by several of them, and were made the basis of after-conflict and party organization. It was Calhoun's determination to make them a basis of instruction to senators in Congress, and in his hostility to Benton he confided them to certain Democrats in the Missouri Legislature whom he knew to be unfriendly to his re-election. By skilful management the resolutions were in both branches without Colonel Benton's knowledge, and a copy was sent to Washington. He promptly denounced them as not expressing the sense of the people, and containing  doctrines designed to produce separation and disaster, and declared that he would appeal from the legislature to the people. On the adjournment of Congress he returned to Missouri and canvassed every section of the state in a series of speeches famed for their bitterness of denunciation, strength of exposition, and caustic wit. The result was the return of a legislature in 1849–50 with Benton men in the plurality, but composed of opposite wings, and he was defeated by a coalition his Democratic opponents (known as “anties”) and the Whigs. At the close of his term he therefore retired from the Senate, after six successive elections and thirty years' continuous service. In 1852 he announced himself a candidate for Congress, made a direct '' to the people in his Congressional District, and was elected over all opposition. He gave his warm support to the ad- ministration of Franklin Pierce; but when the Calhoun party, obtained the ascendency he withdrew. The administration then turned on him, and displaced from office all his friends throughout Missouri. Soon afterward the Kansas-Nebraska bill was brought up, and he exerted himself with all his strength against it, delivering a memorable speech, which did much to excite the country against the act, but failed to defeat its passage. At the next election he was not returned to Congress. Retiring from active politics, he de- voted two years to literary pursuits, when he became a candidate for governor in 1856, his old friends rallied to his political standard, and his course became a triumphal procession; but a third ticket was in the field, and by the dividing of forces his election was lost. In the presidential election of the same year Colonel Benton supported Mr. Buchanan in opposition to his own son-in-law, Colonel Frémont, giving as a reason that Mr. Buchanan, if elected, would restore the principles of the Jackson administration, while he feared that the success of Frémont would engender sectional parties fatal to the permanence of the union. Afterward, during the Buchanan administration, he modified many of his opinions, and in several instances took a decided stand in opposition.

The first volume of his “Thirty Years' View” of the workings of the government (New York, 1854) presented a connected narrative of the time from Adams to Pierce, and dealt particularly with the secret political history of that period. The second and last volume appeared in 1856. He then undertook the task of abridging the debates of Congress from the foundation of the government. A though at [he advanced ago of seventy-six, he labored at this task daily, and brought the work down to the conclusion of , the great compromise debate of 1830, in which, with Clay, Calhoun, Webster, and Seward, he had himself borne a conspicuous part. The last pages were dictated in whispers after he had lost the power of speaking aloud. The work was published under the title of "An Abridgment of the Debates of Congress " (15 vols., New York). Having completed this work, Mr. Benton sent for several old friends to bid them farewell. Among them was the president, whom be thanked for taking an interest in his child, and to whom he said: "Buchanan, we are friends. I supported you in preference to Fremont, because he beaded a sectional party, whose success would have been the signal for disunion. I have known you long, and I knew you would honestly endeavor to do right." A week before his death he wrote to friends in Congress requesting that neither house should take notice of his death; but Congress, nevertheless, adjourned for his funeral.

After becoming senator Colonel Benton married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel James McDowell, of Virginia. In 1844 she suffered a stroke of paralysis, and from that time he was never known to go to any place of festivity or amusement. She died in 1854, leaving four daughters, the second of whom married General John C. Fremont. Notwithstanding the temptations to which his public life subjected him, he abstained wholly from the use of tobacco, gamming and liquors. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, pp. 241-243.


BENTON WILLIAM PLUMMER, Soldier, born near …..     in His father died   father died  Private in a regiment of Mounted Rifles ….

President's  was mustered into   service, being the first offered by Indiana. He was soon promoted colonel of the 8th Indiana Volunteers, and commanded at Rich Mountain, where he distinguished himself by personal braver)'. After three months he was authorized to re-enlist and reorganize the regiment, and did so, reporting to General Fremont, 14 September, 1861. The regiment was placed in the vanguard of Fremont's Army, and served in the Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas. He commanded a brigade at Pea Ridge, and was promoted to brigadier-general for gallantry. He was in the battles of Port Gibson, Jackson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, the siege of Vicksburg, and Mobile. At Jackson, Mississippi, he was wounded. At the close of the war General Benton resigned his commission and returned to Richmond, Indiana, to resume the practice of law. In 1866 he went to New Orleans under government appointment, where he died. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 243.


BENTON, ARKANSAS, July 25, 1864. 3d Missouri Cavalry. A scouting party from this regiment under Captain Ing, charged into Benton and killed Brigadier-General Holt of the Arkansas (Confederate) militia.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON, ARKANSAS, August 18, 1864. Troops of 3d Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Army Corps. Captain Kehoe, with the detachment, arrived at Benton at 4:30 p. m., and his command was fired on by a body of about 100 Confederates, which immediately retreated across the Saline river. No casualties reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON, MISSISSIPPI, May 7, 1864. McArthur's Yazoo Expedition. Incidental to this movement a march was made via Hebron and Mechanicsburg to Benton, where the Confederates made a stand and resisted the efforts of the Federal cavalry to dislodge them until the arrival of the infantry. The 1st brigade, consisting of the 46th and 76th Illinois, under Colonel Dornblaser, came up and formed in a field east of the town in the rear of the 124 Illinois infantry under Colonel Coats. After a brief but spirited skirmish the Confederates retreated north from Benton, closely followed for 6 miles.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, October 20, 1864. 1st Arkansas Cavalry. As an incident of Price's Missouri expedition, Colonel Harrison, commanding this regiment, was passing with a train from Cassville, Missouri, through Benton county. His force, consisting of 170 men, met and attacked 600 Confederates under Buck Brown, who were awaiting an encounter. After more than two hours' fighting the enemy was routed with considerable loss.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON ROAD, ARKANSAS, March 23-24, 1864. (See Camden, Arkansas, Expedition to.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON ROAD, ARKANSAS, July 19, 1864. 3d Missouri Cavalry. While the regiment was stationed near Little Rock, Lieutenant-Colonel Black had patrols posted on the Benton road about 4 miles from his camp. These were fired on by Confederates from an ambush and 1 was killed and 2 wounded. Black sent out a reconnoitering party, but no enemy was found. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 112.


BENTON ROAD, ARKANSAS, January 22, 1865. Troops of the 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps. Captain Hawley, field officer of the day, reported that he went out from Little Rock and learned that the patrol on the Benton road, consisting of 15 men and an officer, had been fired on from ambush by a party of some 25 or 30 Confederates. The affair occurred within a mile and a half of the picket post. The patrol lost 7 men in killed, wounded and missing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 113.


BENTON'S CROSS-ROADS, NORTH CAROLINA, March 18, 1865. 4th Brigade, 3d Cavalry Division, 20th Army Corps. In the campaign of the Carolinas this brigade, which was in advance, approached Benton's crossroads, skirmished with the enemy's pickets and drove them in. About noon, after crossing a bad swamp, it met the enemy in considerable force posted behind barricades. The brigade was composed of three regiments designated as the 1st, 2nd and 3d, Colonel Way commanding. Way ordered the 2nd regiment to deploy as skirmishers, then formed the remainder of his command in line of battle and advanced. He soon learned that the enemy was moving in force on his right and rear and by changing front, moved to meet him. The enemy charged, striking the 3d brigade which was partly across the swamp. Way swung his command around to the left and with a raking fire across the enemy's left flank drove him off. There was no Federal loss.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 113.


BENTON'S FERRY, LOUISIANA, July 25, 1864. (See Amite River.) Bentonville, Arkansas, February 18, 1862. Brigadier-General Alexander Asboth, with a detachment of cavalry and 2 pieces of artillery, while on a reconnoitering expedition, came in contact with a small force of Confederate pickets 4 miles from the town. After a short skirmish, in which the enemy lost several horses and all their saddles and bridles, the Union force marched into Bentonville at 20 minutes past 12 o'clock to find it deserted. But a few hours before it had been occupied by a portion of Colonel Rector's regiment of Arkansas infantry, which fled at Asboth's approach. Within an hour or so 60 men were captured hiding in the bushes near the town. In their flight the Confederates left a large amount of provisions, arms, accoutrements, clothing, etc., and 36 horses. No loss on either side. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 113.


BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS, August 15, September 4-5, 1863. Bentonville, Arkansas, January 1, 1865.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 113.


BENTONVILLE, MISSOURI, May 22, 1863. 2nd Kansas Cavalry. The regiment, commanded by Colonel W. F. Cloud, left Cassville the day before and early on the morning of the 22nd surprised a small force of Confederates at Bentonville and defeated them, taking 14 prisoners, recapturing 3 Union men who had been captured a few days before, and killing 1 of the enemy. No Federal loss reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 113.


BENTONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, March 19-21, 1865. 14th and 20th Corps, left wing; 15th and 17th Corps, right wing; and Cavalry Division, Sherman's Army. After the fight at Averasboro on the 16th the army pushed forward in the direction of Goldsboro, Sherman's object being to form a union with Generals Schofield and Terry, who were then on their way from New Berne and Wilmington. On the morning of the 19th the 14th corps was on Mill creek, about 8 miles from Bentonville, the 20th corps being about 5 miles further to the rear. Howard, with four divisions of the right wing in light marching order, was further to the south on roads running parallel to the general line of march. Kilpatrick, with his cavalry, who had pursued Hardee in his retreat northward from Averasboro, was still in the rear and slightly to the left of the 20th corps. Johnston, the Confederate commander, was in telegraphic communication with the different divisions of his army and knew better than Sherman what progress Schofield and Terry were making. He also understood that the movement of Sherman toward Raleigh was merely a feint and had massed his forces at Bentonville, determined to strike a blow at Sherman before Schofield and Terry could arrive. When the march began on the morning of the 19th Carlin's division, being the advance column, found itself confronted by a division of Confederate cavalry, supported by a few pieces of artillery, under General Dibrell. A little later it was discovered that the entire Confederate army, numbering 40,000 men, was in front. As soon as General Slocum found this out he took a defensive position and communicated with the commanding general. Meantime Robinson's brigade of the 20th corps had reached the field and Kilpatrick, hearing the sound of the cannonading, hurried to the assistance of Slocum, massing his forces on left of the line, which was made up of two divisions of the 14th corps under General Davis and two divisions of the 20th under General Williams. Thus arranged, his line, protected by such barricades as could be hastily constructed, withstood six attacks by the combined forces of Hoke, Hardee and Cheatham, directed by Johnston himself, the enemy each time being repulsed with considerable loss. Owing to bad roads Howard could not bring up the right wing in time to be of any assistance. Late in the evening Slocum sent a messenger to Sherman, who was with Howard, apprising him of the gravity of the situation. This message was received at 2 o'clock on the morning of the 20th and Sherman ordered Logan to send Hazen's division to Slocum's relief by the shortest possible route. Hazen reached the scene of action at dawn and during the morning two more divisions, guarding the wagon train, also arrived. The morning of the 20th found the whole situation changed, for during the night Johnston had moved swiftly from his position, intending a flank movement but was disappointed when he discovered that Slocum had received reinforcements. He then took up a position with Mill creek in his rear and his left covered by a swamp. By 4 p. m. Howard's whole force had joined Slocum, forming a complete line of battle in front of the Confederate position, and Johnston, instead of making his flank movement a success, was compelled to act upon the defensive. But little fighting was done on the 20th, except by skirmishers and artillery. On the morning of the 21st General Mower, who was on the extreme right, succeeded in finding a way through the swamp in the endeavor to reach Mill creek bridge and cut off Johnston's retreat. To protect this movement Sherman ordered a general attack by the skirmish line to draw the enemy's attention. Mower was discovered, however, and repulsed by the reserves, but succeeded in regaining connection with his own corps without serious loss. That night Johnston retreated on Smithfield, leaving his dead upon the field, 100 of whom were buried by Howard the next day. The enemy was pursued for a few miles beyond Mill creek but was stopped by Sherman's order. The Federal loss was 194 killed, 1,112 wounded and 221 missing. Johnston reported his wounded as being 1,467 and 876 as killed and missing, but as a matter of fact 267 dead and 1,625 prisoners fell into Sherman's hands.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 113-114.


BENT'S OLD FORK, Texas, November 24, 1864. 1st California Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 114.


BERGH, HENRY, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, born in New York city, in 1823. His father, Christian Bergh, of German ancestry, was ship-builder for several years in the service of the government, and died in 1843, leaving his fortune to his three children. Henry entered Columbia, but, before he had finished the course, made a visit to Europe, where he remained about five years. In 1862 he was appointed secretary of legation at St. Petersburg, and acting vice-consul. Being obliged by reason of the severity of the climate to resign his office in 1864, he travelled extensively in Europe and the east. On his return he determined to devote the remainder of his life to the interests of dumb animals. Alone, in face of indifference, opposition, and ridicule, he began a reform that is now recognized as one of the beneficent movements of the age.  Through his exertions as a speaker and lecturer, but above all as a bold worker in the street, in the court-room, and before the legislature, the cause he had espoused gained friends and rapidly increased in influence. Cruelties witnessed in Europe first suggested his mission. The legislature passed the laws prepared by him, and on 10 April, 1866, the society was legally organized, with him as president. The association moved steadily forward, and by August was in a flourishing condition financially, having received a valuable property from Mr. and Mrs. Bergh. The work of the society covers all cases of cruelty to all sorts of animals. It employs every moral agency, social, personal and legislative; it touches points of vital concern to health as well as to humanity, it looks after the transportation of cattle intended for market; it examines into the purity of milk; and fixes the times and manner of slaughtering animals for food. The society has a large and influential membership, and it has made many friends and received many gifts. In the city of New York its officers are constituted special policemen, with authority to arrest any person found practising cruelty of any kind to animals. In 1871 a Parisian, Louis Bonard, who lived with extreme simplicity in New York, died and left $150,000 to the society, which permitted a removal to quarters larger and better adapted to the work. A building at the corner of Fourth avenue and 22d street, New York city, was purchased and altered to make it suitable for the purposes of the society. […]canon confirmed, to the effect that Protestant Episcopal clergyman should at least once a year preach a sermon on cruelty and mercy to animals. One of the outgrowths of his work is the ambulance corps for removing disabled animals from the street, and a derrick to rescue them from excavations into which they may fall. He is also the originator of an ingenious invention, which substitutes artificial for live pigeons as marks for the sportsman's gun. Mr. Bergh receives no salary, but gives his time and energies freely to the ' At the beginning of this reform, no state or territory of the United States contained any statute relating to the protection of animals from cruelty. At present (1886) thirty- nine states of the Union have adopted substantially the original laws procured by him from the legislature of New York; to which may be added Brazil and the Argentine Republic. The society is now in the twenty-first year of its existence, is out of debt and self-sustaining. By reason of its fidelity, discretion, and humanity, it is everywhere recognized as a power in the land for good. In 1874 he rescued a little girl from inhuman treatment, and this led to the founding of a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Mr. Bergh has written several plays, one of which was acted in Philadelphia. He has also Published a volume of tales and sketches entitled “The Streets of New York”; a drama entitled “Love's Alternative”; “The Portentous Telegram”; “The Ocean Paragon,” and “Married Off,” a poem (London, 1859). Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, pp. 244-245.


BERLIN, MARYLAND, September 18-29, 1861.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 114.


BERLIN, MARYLAND, September 4-5, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 114.


BERLIN, OHIO, July 17, 1863. Ohio Militia. In the raid of Morgan through the states north of the Ohio river, Colonel Ben. P. Runkle with some of the state militia was attacked by superior numbers at Berlin, but the enemy was repulsed with a loss of 2 killed, and it was thought several were wounded. The Confederates were reinforced by a large detachment of cavalry and several pieces of artillery and renewed the attack, finally forcing Runkle to retire from the town. The engagement detained Morgan for over 3 hours and in the second assault 4 more of the enemy were killed. The guerrillas then burned the furnaces and moved toward Pomeroy, Runkle joining in the pursuit. No Union casualties were reported. Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, May 16-30, 1864. 10th and 18th Corps, Army of the James. Throughout the month of May there was more or less fighting in the vicinity. About 4 o'clock on the morning of the 16th the Confederates attacked the rifle-pits, about 400 yards from their works, occupied by the 3d New Hampshire and 7th Connecticut, but were driven back. The line of rifle-pits was then reinforced by Colonel Henry with the 40th Massachusetts Later in the day the enemy attacked in force and the Union lines were driven back with a loss of 13 killed, 17 wounded and 74 missing. On the 26th, while reconnoitering with his brigade, Colonel A. H. Dutton was mortally wounded and died on June 5. Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, June 2, 1864. 10th Corps, Army of the James. Cannonading was begun by the Confederates on the morning of the 1st and kept up the greater part of the day. Early on the morning of the 2nd the picket-lines, consisting of the 11th Maine, 39th Illinois and 7th Connecticut, were attacked and driven back, the enemy occupying the rifle-pits in which the pickets had been intrenched. Simultaneously the redoubt Dutton, occupied by a portion of the 1st Conn, artillery, was attacked, but the enemy was driven back by a shower of canister with heavy loss. Colonel Dantzler of the 22nd South Carolina was among the killed, and 23 surrendered rather than attempt to retreat under such a fire. The defeated pickets were reinforced by the 3d New Hampshire, under Lieutenant-Colonel J. I. Plimpton, and the rifle-pits were retaken. Union loss: 10 killed, 72 wounded and 110 captured and missing. The Confederate loss is not clearly known.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 114-115.


BERME. Narrow path round fortifications, between the parapet and the ditch, to prevent the earth from falling in. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p.86 ).

BERMUDA HUNDRED, VIRGINIA, June 16, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 10th Corps, Army of the James. The operations of this date centered about Ware Bottom church. Colonel J. B. Howell of the 85th Pennsylvania, commanding the 1st brigade, consisting of the 39th Illinois, 67th Ohio, 133d Ohio volunteer national guard, and his own regiment, moved to the front in pursuance of orders from General R. S. Foster commanding the division. Near the Clay house he was joined by Lieutenant James Gillen with the 5th New Jersey battery. The artillery opened fire on the enemy's intrenchments, drove him out and took possession of a line of rifle-pits which were held under a lively fire until about 4 p. m., when Foster ordered the men to fall back to the church. There the enemy attacked about sunset but accomplished nothing. The losses of the day were slight. About 80 Confederates were captured. On the same date the 3d New Hampshire moved out on the left of Howell's brigade and engaged the enemy in a skirmish, losing 6 killed, 32 wounded and 1 missing. The 7th New Hampshire and the 3d brigade of the 1st division, consisting of the 24th Massachusetts, 10th Conn, and 11th Maine, made an assault on the line of works extending from the church to the James river, driving the enemy from his intrenchments and capturing 36 prisoners, after which three companies were sent to the aid of Howell's brigade. These latter troops suffered but few casualties. Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, June 17, 1864. The advantages gained by the Union army of the day preceding were partly lost on this date by the unexpected arrival of the 38th Virginia infantry (Confederate), under Colonel George H. Griggs, which gave the enemy sufficient strength to recapture some of the intrenchments won by the Federals the day before. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 115.


BERMUDA HUNDRED, VIRGINIA, August 24-25, 1864. 10th Corps, Army of the James.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 116.


BERMUDA HUNDRED, VIRGINIA, November 30 to December 4, 1864. Pickets of the 20th Colored troops. Berry County, Tennessee, April 29, 1864. Berry's Ferry, Virginia, May 16, 1863. Detachment of 1st New York Cavalry. Lieutenant Vermilyea, with an advance guard of 16 men, fell into an ambush of 22 Confederate cavalry, who fired a volley and immediately formed in the rear. Vermilyea wheeled and charged, killing 2, wounding 5 and capturing 10. The Union loss was 2 men and several horses wounded. Berry's Ford, Virginia, July 19, 1864. 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac. The division, commanded by Brigadier-General Alfred N. Duffle, reached Ashby's gap about 10 a. m. and drove out a small force of the enemy, after which Duffie pushed on to Berry's ford on the Shenandoah river. Part of the division was crossed, when the enemy opened fire with 2 pieces of artillery and also a heavy musketry fire from behind a stone wall. Middleton's brigade gave way in some confusion in trying to get out of range of the Confederate cannon, leaving Major Anderson, with part of the 20th Pennsylvania cavalry, to contend with a vastly superior force. He managed to extricate his command, however, and recrossed the river some distance below the ford. One regiment of Tibbitts' brigade was dismounted and deployed along the bank of the river as skirmishers, but they were unable to dislodge the Confederate riflemen behind the stone fence. Keeper's battery was then brought up and the wall was vigorously shelled, compelling the enemy to change the position of his artillery. The firing was kept up until 5 p. m., when Duffie ordered the 21st New York to charge across the ford and endeavor to dislodge the Confederates. The charge was gallantly made, but the regiment was met by a destructive fire and forced to fall back, losing a number in killed and wounded. Six regiments of infantry and 4 pieces of artillery now came up to reinforce the enemy, though he made no attempt to cross the river. Duffie then placed a strong guard at the ford and the main body of the division fell back to Ashby's gap, where it went into bivouac. The Union loss at the ford was 12 killed, 44 wounded and 68 missing; that of the enemy was about 100. During the night a squadron of the 20th Pennsylvania, under Captain Montgomery, engaged in picketing the rear of the gap, was cut off by some of Mosby's men, 52 men and 55 horses being captured by the enemy.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 116.


BERRIEN, JOHN M., naval officer, born in Georgia in 1802; died in Philadelphia, 20 November, 1883. On receiving his appointment as mid-shipman he joined the frigate “Constellation,” of the West India Squadron, in 1827, was subsequently transferred to the frigate “Guerriere,” of the Pacific Squadron, and then to the sloop “Vincennes.” He was promoted to passed midshipman in 1831; and joined the West India Squadron, commissioned lieutenant in 1837, and served on various vessels in the Pacific and Brazil stations. In September, 1844, he was ordered to the frigate “Potomac," and in 1847 commanded the schooner “Bonito" at the capture of the city of Tobasco, Mexico. Lieutenant Barrien received his commission as commander, 13 March, 1856, and during 1858–9 was attached to the U.S. Navy-yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire In February, 1860, he was ordered to Hong-Kong, China, where he took command of the sloop of war “John Adams,” was commissioned captain in 1862, and sent to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, as assistant inspector of ordnance at the Fort Pitt Works. He commanded at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1865, and was lighthouse inspector in 1866-‘9. He was commissioned commodore, 20 September, 1866, and in December was placed on the retired list. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 249.


BERRY, ABRAHAM J…. his profession. At the time of the desolation of New York by Asiatic cholera in 1832, he was among the few that remained at the post of duty. He labored night and day, and his courage and zeal resulted in many expressions of respect and admiration from all classes, as well as a public acknowledgment by the city authorities. For more than a century a considerable part of Williamsburg had belonged to his family. He identified himself with the interests of the place when it was made a city, and became its first mayor. He also assisted very materially in the establishment of the important ferries connecting with New York. In 1861 Dr. Berry, although over sixty years of age, went out as surgeon of the 38th New York Infantry. When General McClellan retreated to Harrison's Landing in July, 1862, Dr. Berry had more than 300 patients in his care near White House; but in the confusion incident to the moving of the Army he and they were forgotten. When he found that the Army had departed, he performed the herculean task of carrying the sick and convalescent safely through to the James River, and when he reached it the additions of sick and wounded had swelled his train to more than 800. His death was the result of fever contracted at that period. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 249-250.


BERRY, HIRAM GEORGE, soldier, born in Thomaston (now Rockland), Maine, 27 August, 1824; died at Chancellorsville, Virginia, 2 May, 1863. He learned the carpenter's trade, and afterward engaged in navigation. He represented his native town in the state legislature several times, and was mayor of the City of Rockland. He originated and commanded for several years the Rockland guard, a volunteer company, which attained a high reputation for drill and discipline. At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the service as colonel of the 4th Maine Infantry. He took part in the battle of Bull Run and the siege of Yorktown, was made a brigadier-general 4 April, 1862, his commission dating from 17 March, 1862, and was given command of the 3d Brigade of the 3d Division of Heintzelman's 3d Army Corps. He was present at the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, bore a major part in the seven days' fight, and was in the second Bull Run Campaign and Chantilly. In January, 1863, he was nominated by the president as major-general of volunteers, with rank dating from 29 November, 1862, confirmed by the Senate on 9 March, 1863, and placed in command of the 2d Division of the 3d Army Corps, succeeding General Sickles. At a critical juncture in the battle of Chancellorsville General Berry received an order from General Hooker to charge upon the advancing foe. It read: “Go in, general; throw your men into the breach; don't fire a shot—they can’t see you—but charge home with the bayonet.” They did charge home, and for three hours General Berry's division, almost alone, withstood the attack of the enemy flushed with previous victory, drove them back, and regained a portion of their lost ground. The battle was renewed the next morning, and again Berry and his division were in the front, and receiving the first assault. Intent upon driving them back, he headed one of his brigades in several successful bayonet charges, and in one of them was killed by a shot from the enemy. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 250.


BERRY, NATHANIEL SPRINGER, governor of New Hampshire, born in Bath, Maine.. 1 September, 1796. His father was Abner Berry, a ship-builder; his grandfather, John Berry, captain of infantry in the revolutionary war. His mother was Betsy, daughter of Nathaniel Springer, a captain of artillery in the same war, killed in battle. When he of the family was such that his lot was cast among strangers, and his educational advantages were limited. He became an apprentice as a tanner and currier at Bath, New Hampshire, at sixteen, and served until twenty-one. In April, 1818, he moved to Bristol, New Hampshire, and in 1820 engaged in the manufacture of leather, which business he followed about thirty-five years. He was colonel of the 34th Regiment of New Hampshire Militia for two years, was a judge of the court of common pleas from June, 1841, till June, 1850, and judge of probate for the five years ending 5 June, 1861. In 1828, 1833, 1834, and 1837 he represented Bristol in the state legislature, in 1854 represented the town of Hebron, and in 1835 and in 1836 was a state senator for the 11th District. Politically he acted with the Democratic Party for twenty-two years, and was a delegate to its national convention at Baltimore in 1840; but the action of this convention on the subject of slavery caused him to break his party ties, and he became one of the organizers of the Free-Soil Party in New Hampshire. At its first state convention. in 1845, he was nominated for governor, and received votes enough to prevent an election by the people. He was re-nominated at the four succeeding conventions. In March, 1861, he was elected Governor by the Democratic Party, inaugurated in June following, and re-elected in March, 1862, serving until June, 1863. He was indefatigable in his efforts to aid the general government in the suppression of the rebellion; and enlisted, armed, equipped, and forwarded to the seat of war more than 16,000 men. He signed, with the other northern war-governors, the letter of 28 June, 1862, to President Lincoln, upon which he made the call of 1 July, 1862, for 300,000 volunteers. In 1823 Mr. Berry became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1872 was a delegate to the general conference. He lost his wife in 1857, and in 1886 was residing with his son in Bristol. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 250.


BERRY'S FORD GAP, VIRGINIA, November 1, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 116.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, May 24, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 116.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, November 29, 1862. 4th New York Cavalry. Beginning on the 28th a reconnaissance was made from Chantilly. The cavalry, under Brigadier-General Stahel, came up with a detachment of the 12th Virginia cavalry; commanded by Major White, at Snicker's Ferry; pursued to Berryville; carried the town by assault, capturing 40 men and horses and killing and wounding about 50. The Confederates fled in all directions. A wagon load of pistols and carbines was picked up along the line of their retreat, having been thrown away to lighten their loads in the flight. Owing to the condition of the horses the enemy was not pursued. Berryville, Virginia, December 2, 1862. 2nd Division, 12th Army Corps. On the evening of the 1st Brigadier-General John W. Geary, commanding the division, was ordered to make a reconnaissance in the direction of Winchester, to learn the strength and position of the enemy. At 6:30 a. m. on the 2nd he left Harper's Ferry and in about two hours arrived at Charlestown. where he encountered two companies of Confederate cavalry. After a slight skirmish these companies retreated on the Berryville road, closely pursued by Geary's advance. When within a mile of Berryville two regiments were found drawn up on a hill. Knap's battery was brought up and a few well aimed shells dislodged the enemy, Geary taking possession of the hill. He then advanced the 7th Ohio and a section of Knap's battery about a mile under cover of the woods, and sent forward a detachment of cavalry to feel the enemy. After proceeding for a mile beyond the battery this cavalry force came suddenly upon the 12th Virginia (Confederate) cavalry, several hundred strong, who immediately charged upon the Union cavalry in three parallel columns, firing and yelling as they came. Pursuant to Geary's instructions his cavalry retired, bringing the pursuers within 100 yards of the 7th Ohio and the guns concealed in the skirt of woods. Then both infantry and artillery opened with deadly effect, killing 4, wounding about 20, and scattering the rest in confusion. Several horses were also killed or wounded. The lateness of the hour prevented pursuit and the division bivouacked for the night on the scene of the encounter. Berryville, Virginia, June 6, 1863. 67th Pennsylvania Infantry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 116-117.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, June 13, 1863. 3d Brigade, Milroy's Division. Scouts brought in word early in the morning that the enemy was approaching in force. In obedience to instructions from Gen Milroy, Colonel McReynolds, commanding the brigade, evacuated the town and fell back toward Winchester, the retreat being covered by the 1st New York cavalry and Alexander's Baltimore battery. The fighting was carried on all day on the Winchester road, the most severe portion of it being at Opequan creek, where the battery inflicted heavy loss upon the Confederates by the use of canister. The Union loss was 2 killed and 10 wounded. Berryville, Virginia, June 14, 1863. Captain George D. Summers, of the Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, while out scouting, ran into a large body of cavalry near Berryville and was compelled to fall back with a loss of 1 man wounded and 2 captured. There was also some skirmishing on the Berryville and Winchester road—a continuation of the fight of the day previous.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 117.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, October 18, 1863. (See Charlestown, West Virginia, same date.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 117.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, July 20, 1864. (See Carter's Farm.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 117.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, August 13, 1864. 6th New York Cavalry and the Reserve Brigade. The Union forces were attacked at daylight by Mosby, who was on his way to Winchester. The train guard of the reserve brigade was a battalion of 100 days' men, who became panic-stricken, resulting in the destruction of the train and the capture or stampeding of the mules. Part of the train of the 6th New York cavalry was also lost, 5 men killed, several wounded and a large number taken prisoners. Berryville, Virginia; August 18-21, 1864. 1st Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia. On these dates the division, under command of General Wesley Merritt, was engaged in devastating the country in the neighborhood of Berryville. In this work the pickets and foraging parties were almost daily attacked by guerrillas and several men were killed, though no regular engagement ensued.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 117.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, September 3-4, 1864. 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac; 8th and 19th Corps, Army of West Virginia. The 1st brigade and 2 regiments of the 2nd brigade, 2nd division, engaged General Kershaw's division of Early's army, at 4:30 p. m. on the 3d, about a half mile from Berryville on the Winchester pike. About 5 o'clock the 15th West Virginia infantry came up from Charlestown and the fighting continued until about 8 o'clock, when the enemy withdrew to an intrenched position, having lost heavily in killed and wounded and about 75 prisoners. The Union loss was 15 killed, 98 wounded and 5 missing. On Sunday morning, the 4th, the fighting was commenced between the 6th Michigan cavalry and the Confederates under Anderson and Ramseur, whose lines were extended clear across the Union front. After desultory fighting all day the enemy again withdrew, leaving a number of dead unburied upon the field.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 117-118.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, September 14, 1864. Army of West Virginia. The only report to be found in the official records of this affair is the itinerary of the 2nd cavalry brigade under Brigadier-General W. W. Averell, which says: "Broke camp near Charlestown and marched toward Berryville. About 6 p. m. formed line of battle in support of General Crook's command, which had engaged the enemy."  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERRYVILLE, VIRGINIA, April 17, 1865. This was the surrender of the Confederate General John S. Mosby to Major-General Winfield S. Hancock. General Grant had instructed Hancock to give Mosby the same terms that had been granted to General Lee, so the famous Partisan Rangers were paroled and returned to their homes.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERRYVILLE PIKE, VIRGINIA, August 10, 1864. Reserve Brigade and 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.

BERTRAND, MISSOURI, December 11, 1861. 2nd Illinois Cavalry. Berwick, Louisiana, March 13, 1863. 160th New York Volunteers. Berwick, Louisiana, June 1, 1863. A small force of troops under Lieutenant- Colonel C. W. Wordin, was attacked about 10 a. m. by a body of 200 guerrillas belonging to the army of General Alfred Mouton. Reinforcements were hurried across the bay and a few rounds from the 12-pounder howitzers repelled the assailants.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERWICK, LOUISIANA, April 26, 1864.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERWICK, LOUISIANA, May 1, 1864. 131st New York Infantry. A detachment of Confederate cavalry, with a field piece, attacked the Federal pickets, but were driven off by the gunboats. This affair was one of the constant petty annoyances in this district. No bloodshed on either side.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERWICK BAY, C S.S., February 2, 1863. Queen of the West. The Confederate steamer "Berwick Bay" was captured by the United States steam ram "Queen of the West" at the mouth of Red river while carrying supplies to the forces at Port Hudson. Her cargo consisted of 200 barrels of molasses, 10 hogsheads of sugar, 30,000 pounds of flour and 40 bales of cotton.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BERWICK BAY, Louisiana, June 23, 1863. The small force of men under Lieutenant-Colonel Wordin, guarding stores and caring for a number of convalescents, was attacked at dawn on the morning of the 23d by a considerable force under Dick Taylor. The garrison, taken by surprise, soon capitulated and there fell into Taylor's hands 12 pieces of artillery, a large amount of stores, including a supply of medicines, over 1,000 prisoners, and 5,000 stands of arms.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BESIEGE. (See SIEGE.)


BETHEL CHURCH, Virginia, June 10, 1861. (See Big Bethel.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 118.


BETHPAGE BRIDGE, TENNESSEE, July 1-2. 1863. 14th Army Corps. As the Confederates were retreating from Tullahoma, Negley's and Rousseau's divisions came up with the rear guard under General B. R. Johnson, at Bethpage bridge over Elk river. The enemy fell back to a strong position in the bend of the river about 2 miles from the bridge. Negley sent out the 18th Ohio and 19th Illinois to reconnoiter. This detachment was engaged by Wheeler's cavalry and a sharp skirmish ensued. On the morning of the 2nd it was discovered that the Confederates had recrossed the river during the night, set fire to the bridge and placed artillery to guard the ford. While Negley attracted the enemy's attention by a heavy fire, Rousseau, Reynolds and Brannan crossed their divisions at a ford above and attacked from the rear. The enemy then retreated, the skirmishers took possession of the bridge and extinguished the flames which had done but little damage. The engagement, however, stopped further pursuit for the time.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 118-119.


BETHSAIDA CHURCH, Virginia, October 10, 1863. A Union force, consisting of a regiment of infantry and a small body of cavalry, was attacked by Gordon's brigade and Butler's cavalry. A sharp skirmish followed but owing to their vastly superior numbers the Confederates were victorious, killing and wounding a large number and taking 87 prisoners. The Confederate loss was not learned.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 119.


BETHUNE, George Washington, 1805-1862, Dutch Reform clergyman, abolitionist.  Director, 1839-1840, of the American Colonization Society.  (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 252-253; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 229-230; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961)

BETHUNE, George Washington, clergyman, born in New York City in March, 1805; died in Florence, Italy, 27 April, 1862. His parents were distinguished for devout Christianity and for charitable deeds. His father, Divie Bethune, was an eminent merchant, well known as a philanthropist. He was graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1822, studied theology at Princeton, and after completing his course was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1825. He accepted an appointment as chaplain to seamen in the port of Savannah, but in 1826 returned to the north and transferred his ecclesiastical allegiance to the Reformed Dutch Church, settling soon after at Rhinebeck, New York, where he remained four years, when he was called to the pastorate of the first Reformed Dutch Church in Utica. In 1834 his reputation as an eloquent preacher and an efficient pastor led to an invitation from a Reformed Dutch Church in Philadelphia. He remained in that city till 1848, his character as a preacher and scholar steadily growing, and then became pastor of the newly organized “Reformed Dutch Church on the Heights” in Brooklyn, New York For eleven years he continued in the pastorate of this church, but in 1859 impaired health led him to resign and visit Italy. In Rome he sometimes preached in the American chapel, at that time the only Protestant place of worship in the city. He returned in 1860 with improved health, and was for some months associate pastor of a Reformed Dutch Church in New York City; but, his health again becoming impaired, he returned to Italy in the summer of 1861, and, after some months' residence in Florence, died from apoplexy. Dr. Bethune, though best remembered by his literary work, exercised a wide influence as a clergyman and a citizen. One of his latest public efforts before leaving his native city for his last voyage to Europe was an address delivered at the great mass meeting in Union square, New York, 20 April, 1861, in which with extraordinary fire and eloquence he urged the duty of patriotism in the trying crisis that then threatened the nation. A memoir by A. R. Van Nest, D. D., was published in 1867. Dr. Bethune was an accomplished student of English literature, and distinguished himself as a writer and editor. He published an excellent edition of the “British Female Poets, with Biographical and Critical Notices” (Philadelphia, 1848); and Izaak Walton's “Complete Angler,” for which last he was peculiarly qualified by his fondness for fishing. Among his original works are “Lays of Love and Faith” (Philadelphia, 1847); “Orations and Discourses” (1850); “Memoirs of Joanna Bethune” (New York, 1863); “Fruits of the Spirit,” a volume of sermons; and two smaller works, “Early Lost, Early Saved,” and “The History of a Penitent.” Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 234.


BEULAH, NORTH CAROLINA, April 11, 1865. 15th Army Corps. On leaving camp early in the morning the 1st division, Bvt. Major-General Charles R. Woods commanding, came upon a body of Confederate cavalry on the Beulah road, and pursued them to Folk's bridge, skirmishing all the way. At the bridge the enemy received reinforcements, tore up the bridge, which impeded further pursuit, and decamped, taking the road leading up the river on the east side. The loss was inconsiderable on both sides. Beverly, West Virginia, July 12, 1861. No engagement on this date, the town being occupied by a detachment of General George B. McClellan's army as a strategic movement without a shot being fired on either side.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 119.


BEVERIDGE, JOHN L., soldier, born in Washington County, New York, in 1824. In 1842 he moved westward, first to Illinois, and then to Tennessee, where he became a lawyer. In 1855 he returned to Illinois, settling in Chicago, and he gained prominence in his profession. At the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered in the service of the United States, and attained the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. He was elected lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1872, and in 1873 succeeded Governor Oglesby as chief executive of the state. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 254.


BEVERLY, WEST VIRGINIA, April 24, 1863. Colonel George R. Latham, of the 2nd West Virginia infantry, with 400 men of his own regiment, 289 of the 8th West Virginia infantry, 98 of Frank Smith's independent company of Ohio cavalry; 59 of Hagan's Company A, 1st West Virginia cavalry, and a section of Ewing's battery—32 men and two guns—was in garrison at Beverly when he learned that the enemy was in force at Huttonsville, 11 miles distant. Taking two companies of cavalry he started out to reconnoiter, but owing to a heavy fog nothing definite could be ascertained. About 5 miles from Beverly he came upon the advance guard of the Confederate column, and not knowing how strong a force he had to meet, fell back toward Beverly. About noon the fog cleared, showing a force of approximately 5,000 in front of the garrison. At 2 p. m. artillery fire was opened and two hours later the skirmishing was general. The enemy got possession of the Buckhannon road with a view to cutting off Latham's retreat. About 5 o'clock General B. S. Roberts ordered Latham to destroy his stores at Beverly and fall back on Philippi if the enemy became too strong for him. Toward) evening the order was obeyed, the Confederates following for about 6 miles, though the retreat was orderly and successfully conducted, the Union loss being but 1 killed, 2 wounded and 15 captured. The Confederates were commanded Dy Jackson and Imboden. Their losses were not reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 119.


BEVERLY, WEST VIRGINIA, July 2, 1863. 10th West Virginia Volunteers, and Battery G, West Virginia Artillery. Colonel William L. Jackson of the 19th Virginia cavalry, at the head of 1,700 Confederates, made a terrific assault on the Union forces under Colonel Thomas M. Harris, at Beverly, about 2 p. m. Harris held out until the next morning, when he was reinforced by Brigadier-General W. W. Averell with three regiments of mounted infantry, and when the attack was renewed the anticipated Confederate victory was changed into a signal repulse, the enemy being pursued as far as Huttonsville, though the loss on either side was comparatively slight. Beverly, West Virginia, October 29, 1864. 8th Ohio Cavalry. About daylight Major Hall, with a force of about 300 Confederates, made an attack, expecting to surprise the camp. In this he was mistaken for the 8th Ohio cavalry happened to be in line for reveille roll-call, and as soon as they heard the "rebel yell" they broke ranks and hurried into their huts for their arms without waiting for orders. The Confederates divided and attacked from two sides. In the semidarkness it was some time .before the Union forces could be organized, but as soon as the lines were properly formed Lieutenant-Colonel Youart charged the force in his rear and put them to flight. He then turned on those in front and quickly routed them, winning a decisive victory over a force nearly twice as large as his own, having but 200 men in action. The Confederate loss was 20 killed, 25 wounded and 95 captured. Among the wounded and captured was Hall, who had led the attack. The Union loss was 9 killed, 23 wounded and 14 missing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 119-120.


BEVERLY, WEST VIRGINIA, January 11, 1865. 34th Ohio Infantry and 8th Ohio Cavalry. After the attempt of Major Hall to surprise this post in October, 1864, a camp guard was maintained for some time, but was finally discontinued on account of cold weather. Before daylight on the morning of the 11th about 700 Confederates, wearing Federal overcoats and commanded by General Rosser, made an attack upon the camp, which was a short distance north of the town on the Philippi road. The whole scheme had been well planned and was admirably executed, the Union forces sustaining a loss of 6 killed, 23 wounded and 580 captured. Over 10,000 rations, 100 horses, a small stock of quartermaster's stores, and about 700 stand of arms and their equipments fell into the hands of the enemy.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BEVERLY FORD, VIRGINIA, August 23, 1862. (See Rappahannock Station, same date.)


BEVERLY FORD, VIRGINIA, June 9, 1863. (See Brandy Station.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BEVERLY FORD, VIRGINIA, October 22, 1863. 2nd Pennsylvania and 1st Maine Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BIBB, HENRY WALTON, 1815-1854, African American, author, newspaper publisher, fugitive slave, anti-slavery lecturer, abolitionist.  Wrote Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, 1849.  Published Voice of the Fugitive: An Anti-Slavery Journal, in 1851.  Organized the North American League.  Lectured for Michigan Liberty Party.  (Dumond, 1961, p. 338; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 220, 447, 489, 618-619, 632-634; Sinha, 2016, p. 468; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 717; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 1, p. 532; Minutes, Convention of the Liberty Party, June 14, 15, 1848, Buffalo, New York)


BIDWELL, DANIEL D., soldier, born in Buffalo, New York, about 1816; died near Cedar Creek, Virginia, 19 October, 1864. He resided in Buffalo, and for twenty years prior to the Civil War was identified with the military organizations of the state and city... When the war began he resigned his office of police justice, enlisted as a private in the 65th New York Infantry, and was soon promoted to captain. Withdrawing his company from the regiment, he made it the nucleus of the 74th Regiment, New York Infantry. He was commissioned colonel of the 49th Regiment in September, 1861, served with it through the Peninsular Campaign, and during the “Seven Days' Battles” was in command of a brigade, continuing in charge from Harrison's Landing to Washington, and up to the time of the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, when he resumed command of his regiment. Colonel Bidwell took a prominent part in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, commanded a brigade at Gettysburg, and, when General Grant took command of the armies in Virginia, was again placed in charge of a brigade, participating in the Overland Campaign He was commissioned brigadier-general in July, 1864, and served with honor in the Shenandoah Campaigns, during the summer preceding the action at Cedar Creek, where he lost his life. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 258.


BIDWELL, JOHN, politician, born in Chautauqua County, New York, 5 August, 1819. In 1829 he settled with his parents  in Erie, Pennsylvania, and in 1831 moved to Ashtabula County, where he was educated in Kingsville Academy. During the winter of 1838-’9 he taught school in Darke County, and subsequently for two years in Missouri. In 1841 he emigrated to California, being one of the first to make the journey overland, which occupied at that time six months. On the Pacific Coast he had charge of Bodega and Fort Ross, and also of General Sutter's Feather River possessions. He served in the war with Mexico until its close, rising from second lieutenant to major, and was among the first to find gold in 1848 on Feather River. In 1849 he was a member of the state constitutional convention, and during the same year became a member of the Senate of the new state. He was one of the committee appointed to convey a block of gold bearing quartz to Washington in 1850, and was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention held in Charleston in 1860. Since then he has been a brigadier-general of the militia, and in 1864 he was elected a representative from California to Congress, serving from 4 December, 1865, to 3 March, 1867. He was a delegate to the  Convention in 1866, and in 1875 he was candidate for governor of California, but was defeated. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 258.


BIG BAR, CALIFORNIA, November 13-14, 1863. Detachment of the 1st Battalion, California Mountaineers. The detachment, commanded by Captain Miller, while on a scouting expedition to Big Bar and the South fork of Trinity river, unexpectedly came upon a small party of Indians dressing a beef they had killed. Two Indians were killed and the others made their escape. The next morning Miller's company, while crossing South fork, was fired upon by a small party of Indians. Two men were slightly wounded and the pack animals stampeded. All these were recovered except 3 but the delay in doing so, and the loss of supplies, prevented pursuit of the Indians and the scouting party returned to Fort Gaston.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BIG BEAVER CREEK, MISSOURI, November 7, 1862. 10th Illinois and two companies Missouri Militia Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.

BIG BEND, EEL RIVER, CALIFORNIA, April 28, 1864. Scouts from 2nd Infantry, California Volunteers. A detachment of Company D, under Sergeant Wheeler, came up with a party of Indians at Big Bend, killed 8 warriors, captured 11 women and 1 child without the loss of a man. Several of the Indians flung themselves into the river in their efforts to escape, and it is believed that some were drowned.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BIG BEND, WEST VIRGINIA, June 4-7, 1862.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 120.


BIG BETHEL, VIRGINIA, June 10, 1861. 1st, 2nd, 3d, 5th and 7th New York, 1st Vermont, and 4th Massachusetts Infantry, and 2nd United States Artillery. About 8 miles from Newport News were two churches known as Big and Little Bethel. At the former there was a considerable force of Confederates, under Colonel J. B. Magruder, and works of more or less strength were in process of construction, while at the latter there was a Confederate outpost, from which a squad of cavalry was nightly sent out to annoy the Federal pickets, impress Union men into the Confederate army, carry away slaves who had been left in charge of farms, and) take them to Yorktown and Williamsburg to work on the fortifications. General B. F. Butler, therefore, determined to destroy the outpost and drive the enemy from his position at Big Bethel. An expedition, under the command of Brigadier-General E. W. Pierce, was planned on the evening of the 9th and at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 10th the 7th New York(Duryea's zouaves) was ferried across the creek and ordered1 to march to New Market bridge in the enemy's rear. At 2 o'clock the 3d New York under Colonel Townsend, and the 7th New York, with the Massachusetts and Vermont troops under Colonel Bendix, marched by different roads, intending to effect a junction at the forks of the road about a mile and a half from Little Bethel, the purpose being to attack that place at daybreak. Bendix reached the rendezvous first and his men, mistaking Townsend's force, as it approached in the dim light of the early dawn, for Confederates, fired upon them, killing 2 and wounding 21. The sound of the firing made it impossible to surprise the enemy and some of the officers favored a return to Camp Hamilton, but Pierce, knowing that reinforcements were coming to his assistance, pushed on to find Little Bethel deserted. The church was burned, the artillery, under Lieutenant Greble, was brought to the front and the whole column advanced on Big Bethel. By a peculiar coincidence Colonel Magruder had planned an attack on Camp Hamilton for that morning, had aroused his men at 3 a. m., and when the first firing was heard was three and a half miles from his works. He returned to his position at Big Bethel and disposed his forces to resist any assault likely to be made. When Pierce came up about 9 o'clock he found the ford on the Hampton road guarded by two companies of North Carolina sharpshooters, while on the opposite side of the road, protected by earthworks, were Stuart's cavalry and the 3d Virginia infantry with a howitzer commanding the road. Beyond the creek were two more howitzers, well supported, trained on the ford. After some skirmishing Pierce, seeing the strength of the Confederate position, withdrew his forces with a loss of 18 killed, 53 wounded and 5 missing. Among the killed were Major Theodore Winthrop, of Butler's staff, and Lieutenant John T. Greble, commanding the artillery.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 120-121.


BIG BLACK CREEK, SOUTH CAROLINA, March 3, 1865. A detachment of 20 Confederate soldiers, clad in the Federal uniform, made a dash on the flank of General John E. Smith's division, while the army was on the march, killed 1 man and captured Colonel James Isaminger of the 63d Illinois infantry and one private. Big Black River, Mississippi, May 3, 1863. (See Hankinson's Ferry.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 121.


BIG BLACK RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, June 18, 1863. (See Birdsong Ferry.)


BIG BLACK RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, October 13, 1863. Reconnaissance of Infantry, and Cavalry commanded by Major-General McPherson.


BIG BLACK RIVER, MISSISSIPPI, February 4, 1864. (See Champion's Hill.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 121.


BIG BLACK RIVER BRIDGE, MISSISSIPPI, November 27, 1863. Detachment of troops under Colonel E. D. Osband, 3d U. S. Cavalry. For some time the Mississippi Central railroad had been the main' line of communication between Hood and his depots of supplies in Mississippi and Alabama. Several ineffectual attempts had been made to burn the bridge on this line near Canton, but the Confederates, recognizing its importance, had thrown up works about it and kept a strong force of men constantly on guard. When Colonel Osband's expedition reached the bridge, Major J. B. Cook with a portion of the 3rd U. S. colored cavalry, dismounted, charged over a trestle work 25 feet high, with nothing but the ties for a footing, in the face of a withering fire, and captured a stockade containing the main body of the guard. The bridge was burned and several miles of track in the vicinity destroyed. Cook received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel for his bravery. Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi, May 17, 1864. 9th, 10th, 12th and 14th Divisions, 13th Army Corps. While the battle of Champion's Hill was in progress on the 16th General Pemberton sent the 1st and 2nd Missouri brigades, Vaughn's Tennessee brigade and Bowen's artillery to guard the railroad bridge to his rear to keep open a line of retreat. The bridge was on a bend in the river shaped something like a horseshoe, across the neck of which the Confederates had previously constructed a line of rifle-pits. The bridge had been floored for the passage of artillery and wagons and everything made ready for an easy flight if it became necessary. During the night of the 16th Pemberton with his entire army crossed the river but the guard was still maintained at the bridge, with Colonel Cockrell's brigade on the right, Green's on the left and Vaughn in the center, their position being covered by 2 pieces of artillery. About 3:30 a. m. on the 17th the Union forces began their march toward Vicksburg, General Carr with the 14th division being in advance, closely followed by the 9th division commanded by General Osterhaus. In front of the line of rifle-pits was a bayou, and on the opposite side of this bayou from the Confederate lines was a piece of woods where Carr unmasked the enemy's pickets and after a sharp skirmish drove them in. The Union artillery then commenced a heavy fire upon the works, Osterhaus came up and took a position to the right of Carr, and a little after daylight the fighting became general. Cockrell's forces were the first to meet the assault, and drove back the Federals with a heavy fire. Next an attack was made upon Green's position but with no better success. At this juncture, for some unaccountable reason, the men under Vaughn became panic stricken and broke from their position. The Union troops were not slow to take advantage of the situation thus offered and quickly occupied the trenches deserted by the Tennesseeans. The Missourians, seeing that they were about to be cut off, started for the bridge, in good order at first, but the retreat soon became a rout. The Confederates lost 276 in killed and wounded and 1,767 prisoners, besides 18 of the 20 cannon and a large supply of ammunition. The Union loss was 29 killed, 242 wounded and 2 missing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 121-122.


BIG BLUE, MISSOURI, October 22, 1864. Army of the Border, Price's Raid. Early on the morning of the 22nd General Blunt sent his 1st brigade, under Colonel Charles R. Jennison, to Byram's ford and the 2nd brigade, under Colonel Thomas Moonlight, to Hinkle's ford, to prevent Price from crossing the river. Jennison was afterward joined by a detachment of the Kansas state militia under Colonel McCain. Price sent a small body of men out on the road running from Independence to Kansas City in the effort to draw the forces from Byram's ford, but the feint was not successful. He then attacked Jennison in considerable force about 11 a. m. Blunt, upon hearing the firing, ordered the 2nd brigade to Jennison's aid, but before its arrival the enemy had effected a crossing both above and below the ford and Jennison, fearing a flank attack, fell back in good order toward Westport, where the fight was continued the next day. Losses on both sides were slight. Big Bushes, Kansas, May 16, 1864. McLain's Colorado Battery. A detachment of the battery under Lieutenant George S. Eayre, was attacked 3 miles from Smoky Hill river, between Fort Lyon and Fort Larned, by about 400 Cheyenne Indians. After a persistent fight of seven and one-half hours the Indians were repulsed with a loss of 25 or 30 killed and a number wounded. Among the killed were the chiefs Black Kettle, Good-Eye and Tut-Tut. Eayre's loss was 4 killed and wounded. He also lost a number of horses which were either lied or stampeded during the engagement.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 122-123.


BIG CACAPON, WEST VIRGINIA, January 5, 1862. (See Bath.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 123.


BIG CACAPON BRIDGE, WEST VIRGINIA, July 6, 1864.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 123.


BIG COVE VALLEY, ALABAMA, June 27, 1864. 12th Indiana Cavalry. Captain Robert S. Richart was sent with a detachment of 41 men to break up a camp of Johnson's guerrillas. Leaving camp at Huntsville about 5 p. m. on the 26th he crossed the mountain by Franklin's path, went into camp about 10 o'clock that night, and at daylight next morning proceeded to the creek some three-quarters of a mile in advance. There he came upon the guerrillas preparing breakfast. Richart at once attacked and notwithstanding their strong position soon routed them, wounding several and capturing 5 horses and equipments. After pursuing them for 2 miles the chase was given up. The party then returned to the creek, ate the breakfast the enemy had prepared, and returned to Huntsville. The Union loss was 11 wounded, 1 mortally. The guerrilla force was estimated at 15, commanded by Johnson in person. Big Creek, Arkansas, July 10, 1863. Organizations not stated. Big Creek, Arkansas, July 26, 1864. (See Wallace's Ferry.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 123.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, March 9, 1862. 1st Battalion Missouri Militia Cavalry. Captain Henry Windmueller, while doing scout duty with his battalion, learned from a negro boy that a number of persons were assembled at the house of a man named Hill. As the cavalry approached these persons tried to make their escape. They were fired on and 3 killed, one of whom was the notorious Tid Sharp. Big Creek, Missouri, September 9, 1862. p. 123.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, March 8, 1863. U. S. Troops of District of Eastern Arkansas. During an expedition from Helena two portions of the Federal command came upon bodies of the enemy at different crossings of Big creek. The result was a Union victory with a loss of 1 wounded and 2 captured. The Confederates had 1 man killed and 1 captured.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 123.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, May 14-16, 1863. 1st Battalion, 6th Kansas Cavalry. This was a series of skirmishes between Major W. C. Ransom, with 60 men of his battalion, and guerrillas under Quantrill and "Colonel" Parker. The first of these skirmishes was late in the afternoon of the 14th. That night a considerable body of the guerrillas passed to Ransom's rear, burned 3 houses and then retreated eastward. Ransom pursued and on the 15th a sharp skirmish occurred near Pleasant Hill. Two slight skirmishes followed on the 16th, in the latter of which the guerrillas were reinforced to the number of 150 and Ransom gave up further pursuit. In the series of engagements the Confederates lost 12 men killed and 18 horses captured, as well as a considerable amount of camp equipage, arms, provisions, etc. The Union loss was 1 man killed.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 123.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, August 22, 1863. Missouri State Militia. On the 20th Colonel Bazel F. Lazear, with 100 men of Companies C, I and K, 1st cavalry, started from Warrensburg after some guerrillas that were committing depredations north of that place. At Chapel Hill he was joined by Major Mullins with 130 men of Companies B, F, G and H, of the 1st cavalry and Colonel Neill with 50 men of the 5th Provisional infantry. On the 22nd they came upon Quantrill's trail and followed him to Big creek, 5 miles northwest of Pleasant Hill, where the guerrillas were overtaken. In the first brush 5 of them were killed and several wounded. They were pursued for several days, their course being marked by all sorts of goods thrown away in their flight. During the pursuit 11 of the enemy were killed, a number wounded and several horses were captured. The Missouri troops did not lose a man.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 123-124.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, September 5, 1863. (See Pleasant Hill, same date.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 124.


BIG CREEK, MISSOURI, July 28, 1864. 7th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. Captain M. U. Foster, with a portion of the regiment, was sent out on a scouting expedition on the 21st. On the 27th Corporal Hisey and 4 men were attacked on Blackwater creek while looking for a stray horse, by Dick Yeager and 20 of his men. Notwithstanding they were outnumbered five to one, Hisey and his men bravely stood their ground, wounding Yeager and capturing a horse. The next day Sergt. Allen and 20 men were sent to drive the Confederates out of the woods where they were concealed, while Foster with a similar force took a position to head off their retreat. After a sharp skirmish Yeager and his men fled precipitately, having lost 2 killed, 4 wounded, and 3 horses. Foster's loss was 2 horses.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 124.


BIG CREEK, TENNESSEE, December 12, 1864. Governor's Guards of Tennessee. A movement against the Confederates in eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia by General Stoneman and Brigadier-General A. C. Gillem of the United States army, the latter at that time in command of the Governor's guards. In pursuance of this arrangement Gillem left Knoxville on the 10th with 1,500 picked men and horses to join Stoneman. When about 10 miles from Rogersville, on the 12th, this force came upon the Confederate pickets belonging to Duke's brigade and drove them back 4 miles, where the main body was found guarding the Big creek bridge. Gillem sent one battalion of the 8th Tennessee cavalry to make a feint of crossing some distance above the bridge, part of the 13th cavalry went down to a ford where they effected a crossing and the remainder of the force attacked in front. This assault from different directions disconcerted the enemy and he fled in confusion toward Kingsport, to which place Gillem pursued, marching 44 miles in 24 hours. (See Kingsport.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 124.


BIG CREEK BLUFFS, MISSOURI, July 11, 1862. 1st Iowa, 1st and 7th Missouri cavalry. For several days prior to this date the Federal troops had been in search of a body of guerrillas under Quantrill, Houx and Hays, known to be in Big creek timber. Shots had been exchanged, a smart brush occurring on the 9th in which each side lost 1 killed and several wounded. On the morning of the 11th Captain Kehoe, with three companies of the 1st Missouri, left camp at daybreak in advance of the main body, and when about 4 miles west of Pleasant Hill came upon the enemy in the act of burning a Union man's house. Supposing this to be but a part of the force Kehoe at once attacked and in a short time was surrounded by the entire gang. Major Gower coming up with the remainder of the Union forces saved Kehoe's men from utter annihilation and turned defeat into victory. The guerrillas broke up into small squads and fled in all directions. Although pursued many of them escaped in the dense underbrush. The Union loss was 11 killed and 21 wounded. The Confederate loss was known to be 18 killed and a number wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 124.


BIG CREEK GAP, TENNESSEE, March 14, 1862. 1st and 2nd Tennessee and 49th Indiana Infantry, and a Battalion of Kentucky Cavalry. Confederate cavalry was engaged in blockading the roads in the neighborhood of Jacksboro, and Colonel J. P. T. Carter, of the 2nd Tennessee was sent in command of the Union forces to drive them out or capture them, and open up communications. Arriving at the foot of  the Cumberland mountain late in the afternoon of the 13th Carter learned that two companies of the 1st Tennessee Confederate cavalry were at Big Creek Gap and planned a surprise. Procuring a guide he divided his forces, placing one division in command of Lieut-Colonel James Keigwin of the 49th Indiana and marched over the mountain. At 6 o'clock the next morning they were at the enemy's camp. In the skirmish which ensued the Confederates lost 5 killed, 15 wounded and 15 prisoners, 86 horses and several wagons loaded with stores. The fugitives were pursued as far as Jacksboro, where 1 was killed and 1 captured. A saltpeter factory there was destroyed with all its stores. Union loss, nothing.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 124-125.


BIG CREEK GAP, TENNESSEE, June 11-15, 1862. 25th Brigade, Army of the Ohio. Brigadier-General James G. Spears, with the brigade, consisting of the 3d, 5th and 6th Tennessee infantry, while marching through Big Creek gap to join General Morgan at Speedwell, was ambushed by Confederate pickets late on the afternoon of the 11th. Advancing in the face of a galling fire the Union forces drove the enemy from his position with a loss of 2 killed and several wounded. Spears then marched through the gap and camped for the night, the men sleeping on their arms. Early the next morning the skirmish was renewed and lasted until noon with slight casualties on both sides. After proceeding about 4 miles a messenger overtook Spears with orders to return to the gap. He reoccupied his old camp of the preceding night and the next morning ambushed his forces so as to command the ford. He continued to hold this position until the 15th, when his pickets were driven in, but the Confederates declined to follow into the ambuscade. Spears then moved out, attacked in force and drove the enemy across the Clinch river in the direction of Knoxville, capturing a number of prisoners, 60 tents, and destroying stores amounting in value to several hundred dollars.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 125.


BIG CREEK GAP, TENNESSEE, September 4, 1862. Detachment of the 6th Tennessee Volunteers.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 125.


BIG CREEK GAP, TENNESSEE, September 10, 1862. Detachment of Spear's Brigade. Colonel Cooper, with 400 picked men, blockaded Big Creek gap and attacked a body of McAfee's cavalry on the way to join Kirby Smith's command. McAfee and 95 of his men were captured and about 10 or 12 were left dead on the field, among them being one of Kirby Smith's aides-de-camp. At the same time Lieutenant-Colonel M. L. Phillips, with 200 picked men from the 1st and 2nd Tennessee infantry, blocked Rogers' gap and operated on Cooper's flank. In the affairs at the two gaps the enemy lost over 30 killed and 230 captured. The Union loss was not reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 125.


BIG FLAT, CALIFORNIA, May 28, 1864. Scout from 1st Battalion Mountaineers. An insignificant affair between a small scouting party and a few Indians in which 2 of the latter were killed.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 125.


Big Gravois, Missouri, April 22, 1865. 16th Missouri Cavalry. Major Small, with a detachment of the 16th Cavalry, overtook a party of 50 guerrillas on the Osage river, opposite the mouth of the Big Gravois, killed 10, including Captains Rountree and Martin, and wounded several others. The remainder escaped across the river in skiffs. Small took a number of horses and some side arms. Big Hatchie, Tennessee, October 5, 1862. (See Hatchie Bridge.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 125.


BIG HILL, KENTUCKY, August 23, 1862. 7th Kentucky Cavalry and 3d Tennessee Volunteers. Colonel Leonidas Metcalfe, in command of the Union forces, was attacked in his works at Big hill by the Kirby Smith brigade under Colonel J. S. Scott. Early in the action the 7th Kentucky broke in confusion. The Tennessee troops stood their ground but were finally forced to fall back toward Richmond. General Page 126 Lew Wallace sent Link's brigade with 3 field pieces to Metcalfe's assistance and he arrived in time to rescue Metcalfe and Lieutenant-Colonel Oden, both of whom refused to surrender. Link occupied the hill and remained in possession. Metcalfe reported his loss as being about 50, though the Confederate commander claimed that 120 dead and wounded were left upon the field. The enemy lost 4 killed and 12 wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 125-126.


BIG HILL, KENTUCKY, August 29, 1862. While the Union and Confederate armies were maneuvering for position just before the battle of Richmond, a slight skirmish occurred near Big Hill between two outlying detachments, but no detailed report of the affair was made by either side.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126.


BIG HILL, TENNESSEE, October 5, 1862. General McPherson's Provisional Division. This was one of the skirmishes growing out of the pursuit of the Confederates in their retreat from Corinth after the battle there on the 3d and 4th. The enemy's rear guard, consisting of three brigades of infantry and a 6-gun battery, was overtaken near Chewalla, but before preparations for an attack could be completed they retreated to the top of Big hill, on the east side of the Tuscumbia river, where they were well sheltered by a heavy growth of timber. The Union infantry charged up the hill in the face of a shower of grape and canister, while Powell's battery rendered efficient aid in shelling the Confederate position. The hill was carried and the men rested there all night on their arms in line of battle, ready to repel an attack at daylight, should one be made. During the night the enemy quietly fell back across the Tuscumbia, burning the bridge, which checked further pursuit for the time. Casualties not reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126.


BIG HURRICANE CREEK, Missouri, October 19, 1861. 18th Missouri Volunteers. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126


BIG INDIAN CREEK, ARKANSAS, May 27, 1862. 1st Missouri Cavalry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis, while escorting a forage train, met a small force of Confederates on Big Indian creek about 10 miles above Searcy. In the skirmish which followed the Union loss was 2 wounded, 1 mortally. The enemy lost 23 in killed, wounded and captured.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126.


BIG LAKE, ARKANSAS, September 8-30, 1863. Missouri State Troops. Major F. R. Poole, of the 2nd Missouri state cavalry, was ordered by Colonel J. B. Rogers, commanding the post at Cape Girardeau, to scour the country as far as Big Lake in quest of guerrillas. Starting with 200 men of his own regiment he was reinforced at New Madrid by 50 men from the 2nd and 50 from the 8th Missouri, and at Osceola he received further reinforcements from Colonel Harding of the 25th infantry. From that time until the last of the month he carried on a vigorous warfare in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri, killing 13 noted guerrillas and capturing 30 others, as well as taking a number of horses, mules and guns, and a quantity of ammunition.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126.


BIG LARAMIE, DAKOTA TERRITORY, August 1, 1865. About 200 Cheyenne Indians attacked the station at Big Laramie, killed 4 men and 1 woman and carried into captivity 2 girls, one 15 and the other 2 years old. All the cavalry in that section was sent in pursuit.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 126.


BIG MOUND, DAKOTA TERRITORY, July 24, 1863. 1st Minnesota Cavalry, 3d Minnesota Battery, and 6th, 7th, and 10th Minnesota Infantry. The troops, under command of General H. H. Sibley, had been in pursuit of some Sioux Indians for several days, when about 1 p. m. on the 24th, some of Sibley's scouts brought the information that a large body of Indians were just in advance. The Indians sent out a party to ask a council, intending to murder Sibley and his officers and then attack the camp, but Sibley, having been warned by a half-breed scout, declined. Dr. J. L. Weiser, surgeon of the 1st Minnesota, was treacherously shot by one of those sent out to urge a council, and this wanton deed precipitated a conflict. By order of Sibley Lieutenant J. C. Whipple planted his artillery on a hill opposite Big Mound and in a short time drove them from their position to the open prairie where the cavalry could get at them. After two or three futile attempts to make a stand the Indians fled in the direction of Dead Buffalo lake.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 126-127.

BIG NORTH FORK, MISSOURI, June 16, 1864. 14th Kansas and 3d Wisconsin Cavalry. Thirty men of Company C, 3d Wisconsin, under Sergt. Smith, while returning to camp with a herd of cattle for which they had been sent out, were attacked near Preston by a force of 46 Confederates, well mounted and armed. Smith's men were scattered looking after the cattle. As soon as they could be got together Smith withdrew to the open prairie, hoping to draw the enemy from the woods, but failed to do so. The Union loss was 1 man killed, and the cattle, which ran into the timber and were probably captured. The Confederates lost 2 killed and 3 wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG PIGEON RIVER, TENNESSEE, November 5-6, 1864. 3d North Carolina Mounted Infantry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG PINEY, MISSOURI, July 25-26, 1862. (See Mountain Store.)


BIG PINEY, MISSOURI, November 25, 1863.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG PINEY, MISSOURI, November 1, 1864. 34th Enrolled Missouri Militia. Lieutenant D. W. Carroll, with a small scouting party, found 4 bushwhackers at the house of a man named Black, near the mouth of Big Piney, wounded 2, took 1 prisoner and captured 2 horses without the loss of a man. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG PINEY, MISSOURI, December 2, 1864. Scout of 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. An expedition sent out by Major John B. Kaiser of Waynesville post, killed 3 of Campbell's guerrillas, who had formerly been members of the 48th Missouri Union volunteers. Another expedition the day before reported the killing of a guerrilla in the same vicinity.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG PINEY, MISSOURI, January 16-22, 1865. Scout of 1st Missouri State Militia Cavalry. During the week ending on the 22nd several scouting parties were sent out from Waynesville. One of these reported the killing of 2 guerrillas and the wounding of another in a skirmish near Courtney's mills on the Big Piney.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG POINT, VIRGINIA, June 5, 1861. United States Steamer "Harriet Lane.' About 9 a. m. the steamer opened her guns on the Confederate battery recently established on Big Point opposite Newport News. After firing about 30 shots, which were warmly answered from the battery, the vessel withdrew. The only damage done was the dismantling of one 8-inch gun in the Confederate works.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG RIVER, MISSOURI, October 7, 1864. (See Tyler's Mills.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG RIVER BRIDGE, MISSOURI, October 15, 1861. Missouri State Guards. Brigadier-General M. Jeff Thompson, with 500 dragoons, marched from Piketown to destroy the bridge near Potosi. Dividing his forces, part attacked a redoubt on the north side of the bridge and the remainder attacked from the south. The skirmish lasted for ten minutes, at the end of which time Thompson was in full possession of both bridge and redoubt. A quantity of clothing and 66 muskets were captured and taken to Blackwell's station. While it was being divided among the men an attack was made by the Federals and a bushwhacking fight followed. In the two skirmishes Thompson lost 6 killed and several wounded. All the Confederate officers were either killed or captured. Thompson reported the capture of 55 Union men.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 127.


BIG ROCKCASTLE CREEK, KENTUCKY, Oct 16, 1862. 2nd and 9th Indiana and 6th Kentucky Cavalry. The Union troops in this engagement were part of the 19th brigade, Army of the Ohio, commanded by Colonel W. B. Hazen. While marching from Perryville to London the brigade occupied a place in the advance. About 2 miles from Mount Vernon the enemy was discovered drawn up in line of battle. The 6th Kentucky was advanced as skirmishers and with a few shots from Cockerill's battery soon drove the Confederates back. Four miles further on they made another stand on Rockcastle creek, when the Indiana troops were brought into action in support of the Kentucky regiment and again the enemy was put to flight. The Union losses in the two skirmishes were 1 killed and a number wounded. The enemy left 11 dead upon the field, and between 30 and 40 were taken prisoners.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, pp. 127-128.


BIG SANDY, COLORADO TERRITORY, November 29, 1864. 1st and 3d Colorado Cavalry.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 128.


BIG SANDY CREEK, MISSISSIPPI, May 5, 1863. 2nd Illinois Cavalry. While the army was on the march from Port Gibson to Champion's Hill, with General Osterhaus' division in advance, a detachment of the enemy disputed the passage of the Big Sandy at Hall's ferry. Lieutenant Stickel, with a company of the 2nd Illinois cavalry, made a dash and routed the Confederates, killing 12 men and taking 30 prisoners without the loss of a man. Another slight skirmish occurred on this creek three days later. Big Sewell Mountain, West Virginia, December 12, 1863. Scouts in advance of Scammon's Brigade. These were small skirmishes in connection with Averell's raid on the Virginia & Tennessee railroad. On the 12th a band of Thurmond's guerrillas met the advance pickets on Big Sewell mountain and harassed them all the way to Greenbrier river, wounding 2 and capturing 4 men. Of the guerrillas 1 was killed, 4 wounded and about a dozen captured, among whom was the ordnance officer of General Echols' staff. On the 14th the pickets on the Blue Sulphur road, near Meadow Bluff, under Lieutenant H. G. Otis, of the 12th Ohio infantry, were attacked by some of the same band. The Confederates were driven back but the Union troops lost 2 killed and 4 wounded. The guerrillas left 1 dead and 1 wounded man upon the field, the latter being Lieutenant J. T. Ross, one of Captain Thurmond's most trusted officers.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 128.


BIG SHANTY, GEORGIA, June 9, 1864. Minty's and Wilder's Brigades. This was one of the minor skirmishes of the Atlanta campaign. Being desirous of learning whether the enemy's line crossed the railroad General Sherman ordered Brigadier-General Kenner Garrard to make a reconnaissance in front of Big Shanty for that purpose. Just beyond Acworth the Confederate pickets were encountered and driven back. Wilder's brigade, consisting of the 17th and 72nd Indiana and the 23d and 08th Illinois mounted infantry, under Colonel A. O. Miller, and a section of artillery under Lieutenant Bennett, made three direct attacks upon the enemy, each time driving him back to a line of works further in the rear, until he finally retired into his works at the base of Kennesaw mountain. Minty's brigade supported Miller's flanks and held the works gained in each of the assaults. The Union loss was 13 wounded. The Confederate loss was not ascertained.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 128.


BIG SHANTY, GEORGIA, September 2, 1864. 9th Ohio Cavalry, on a railroad train.


BIG SHANTY, GEORGIA, October 3, 1864. Signal Officer Fish, from the top of Kennesaw mountain, reported late in the afternoon Confederate cavalry along the railroad and moving toward Big Shanty, where a small force of Federal troops were stationed to guard the railroad. A little later Stewart's whole corps attacked the little detachment, which took refuge in the railroad station and defended itself as long as possible, but was finally forced to surrender to the vastly superior numbers. The loss in killed and wounded was slight on both sides, but 175 Union troops were captured. The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 128.


BIG SPRING BRANCH, TENNESSEE, June 24, 1863. 17th and 72nd Indiana Infantry. About 7 miles from Murfreesboro, while the army was on the march, scouts brought in word that Confederate pickets were but a short distance in advance. Colonel John T. Wilder of the 17th Indiana, commanding the advance brigade, sent his own regiment and the 72nd ahead to dislodge the enemy. Lieutenant-Colonel Kirkpatrick, in command of this advance party, soon came upon the pickets, who retired to where the Confederate reserves were drawn up under cover of a hill. Kirkpatrick, suspecting an ambuscade, deployed one company on each side of the road, while the main body advanced toward the hill, firing as they went. The Confederates soon abandoned their position and fled toward their fortifications at Hoover's gap. Wilder then ordered Kirkpatrick to cut them off if possible, and the latter, pushing forward with all speed, made a complete success of the movement, having possession of the works when the flying cohorts of the enemy arrived. Among the effects found in the Confederate fortifications was a beautiful stand of embroidered colors, presented to the 71st Kentucky by a sister of General Ben. Hardin Helm. A number of prisoners were taken during the day and a few on each side were wounded.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 129.


BIG SPRINGS, TENNESSEE, January 19, 1864. 6th Indiana Cavalry. Captain Jackson Stepp, with about 100 men of the 6th Indiana, was stationed at Big Springs, on the Morristown road, about 6 miles from Tazewell. At daybreak he was surprised by a larger force of Confederates, under Major G. W. Day, and before Stepp could rally or form his men 6 were killed or wounded and 45 were prisoners in the hands of the enemy, who also captured 53 horses and a small supply of arms and ammunition. Lieutenant-Colonel Matson of the same regiment, was sent in pursuit and after following the enemy as far as Evans' ford on the Clinch river, returned without having accomplished anything, either in the way of chastising the Confederates or releasing the prisoners.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 129.


BIG SWIFT CREEK, NORTH CAROLINA, April 19, 1863. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, 18th Army Corps. This engagement was a very slight affair. During the siege of Washington, North Carolina, a Confederate outpost on Swift creek was driven in by a detachment of Spinola's brigade, without casualties on either side.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 129.


BIGELOW, JOHN, journalist, born in Malden, New York, 25 November, 1817. He was graduated at Union College in 1835, was admitted to the bar in 1839, and practised law in New York for several years, but gradually became identified with journalism to an extent that led him to abandon the law. He was editor of “The Plebeian ” and the “Democratic Review,” and prepared for the ' Gregg's “Commerce of the Prairies" and other books of travel. In 1845–’8 he was an inspector of Sing Sing State Prison. He became a partner of William Cullen Bryant in 1849 as joint owner of the “Evening Post,” and was managing editor of that journal until 1861, when, after the accession of President Lincoln, he went to Paris as U. S. consul. After the death of Mr. Dayton in 1865 he became U. S. minister to France, where he remained until 1867. During 1867 and 1868 he was Secretary of State for New York. In the spring of 1886 he was designated by the New York chamber of commerce to inspect so much of the Panama Canal as was then under construction, and on the receipt of his report he was '' elected an honorary member of the chamber. The same year he received the honorary ": of  LL.D. from Racine College, Wisconsin. By the will of Samuel J. Tilden (August, 1886) he was appointed a trustee of several million dollars, to be applied to the establishment and maintenance of a public library in New York City, and he is the testator's authorized biographer. His published writings are “Jamaica in 1850; or, The Effect of Sixteen Years of Freedom on a Slave Colony.” and “Life of Frémont” (1856) and “Les États-Unis d'Amérique en 1863.” (Paris). He edited the autobiography of Franklin from the original manuscript, which he found in France (1868), and in 1869 published “Some Recollections of the late Antoine Pierre Berryer.” “The Wit and Wisdom of the Haytiens” was published in 1876, and a monograph on “Molinos the Quietist” in 1882. In 1886 e edited a life of William Cullen Bryant; a two- volume edition of the speeches of Mr. Tilden, and “The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin.” —His eldest son, John, is an officer in the 10th Regiment U.S. cavalry and author of sketches of army life in the west.—His second son, Poultney, is editor of “Outing,” an illustrated magazine for the encouragement of out-of-door recreations. His daughter Grace translated Count Moltke’s “Letters from Russia” (New York, 1877).  p. 261.


BIGGS, ASA, lawyer, born in Williamstown, North Carolina, 4 February, in Norfolk, Virginia, 6 March, 1878. He received a common-school education and studied law, beginning practice in 1831, was elected to the state constitutional convention in 1835, to the lower branch of the legislature in 1840 and 1842, and to the state senate in 1844. He was chosen a member of Congress in 1845, and was one of the three commissioners appointed in 1850 who prepared the revised code of North Carolina, which went into operation in 1854. In the latter wear he was again elected to the state senate, and in 1854 was chosen U.S. Senator, which office he resigned in 1858 to accept the judgeship of the U.S. District court of North Carolina. He held this office until the war broke out, and in May, 1861, he was elected to the state convention that passed the ordinance of secession. After the war he resumed the practice of law, and subsequently engaged in the commission business at Norfolk, Virginia. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 261.


BIGLER, WILLIAM, governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Shermansburg, Pennsylvania, in 1814; died in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, 9 August, 1880. In 1829 he began to aid his brother John as a printer in the office of the “Center Democrat,” published at Bellefonte. In 1833 he moved to Clearfield and established the “Clearfield Democrat,” a Jackson paper which became prosperous and notable. He sold it in 1836, and entered the lumber business. But his editorial career had so extended his reputation that he was already regarded as a political leader. In 1841 he was elected to the state senate, and he was its speaker in 1843–4. In 1849 he was appointed one of the revenue commissioners, and in 1851 was elected governor, he received the gubernatorial nomination a second time in 1854, but was defeated by the American Party. In 1855 he was sent to the U.S. Senate. He was a member of the Charleston Convention in 1860, and was temporary chairman of the Democratic Convention of 1864, and a member of that of 1868. After the election of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Bigler drew up a bill, and advocated it before the Senate, for submitting the Crittenden compromise proposition to a vote of the people of the several states. In 1873 he was delegate-at-large of the constitutional convention at Erie. In 1874 he was an efficient member of the board of finance of the centennial exhibition. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 262.


BILBO, WILLIAM, circa 1815-1867, lawyer, journalist, entrepreneur.  Participated in lobbying effort in Congress for the passage of the Constitutional amendment banning slavery in the United States.  Worked with Secretary of State William H. Seward.


BILLET. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in the manner to be prescribed by law; (ART. 3, Amendments to the Constitution.) The manner of quartering soldiers in time of war is usually by Billets, but no manner has been prescribed by law in the United States. The constables and other persons duly authorized in England are required to billet the officers and soldiers of the army, arid also the horses belonging to the cavalry, staff, and field-officers, in victualling and other houses specified in the mutiny act; and they must be received by the occupiers of these houses, and provided with proper accommodations. They are to be supplied with diet and small beer, and with stables, hay, and straw, for the horses; paying for the same the several rates prescribed by law. Troops, whether cavalry or infantry, are in no case to be billeted above one mile from the place mentioned in the route. Where cavalry are billeted, the men and their horses must be billeted in the same house, except in case of necessity. One man must always be billeted where there are one or two horses; and less than two men cannot be billeted where there are four horses; and so in proportion for a greater number. No more billets are at any time to be ordered than there are effective soldiers and horses present; and all billets are to be delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. Commanding officers may, for the benefit of the service, exchange any men or horses billeted in the same town, provided the number of men and horses so exchanged does not exceed the number at the time billeted on each house; and the constables are obliged to billet those men and horses accordingly. Any justice may, at the request of the officer or non-commissioned officer commanding any soldiers requiring billets, extend the routes or enlarge the district within which billets shall be required, in such manner as may be most convenient to the troops. In Scotland, officers and soldiers are billeted according to the provisions of the laws in force in that country at the time of its union with England; and no officer is obliged to pay for his lodging, where he shall be regularly billeted, except in the suburbs of Edinburgh. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, pp. 86-87).


BILL HOOK. An instrument for cutting twigs. (Scott, Military Dictionary, Van Nostrand, 1862, p. 87).


BILLINGS, JOHN SHAW, surgeon, born in Switzerland County, Indiana, 12 April, 1838. He was graduated at Miami University in 1857, and at the Ohio Medical College in 1860. At first he settled in Cincinnati, but in November, 1861, he was appointed acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army. Until March, 1863, he was assistant surgeon, having charge of hospitals in Washington, D. C., and West Philadelphia. He then served with the Army of the Potomac, being with the 5th Corps at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. From October, 1863, till February, 1864, he served on Hospital duty at David's and Bedlow's Islands in the vicinity of New York City, also acting as a member of the board of enrollment, after which he became medical inspector to the Army of the Potomac, and from December, 1864, was connected with the surgeon-general's office in Washington. In December, 1876, he was appointed surgeon, with the rank of major, in the regular army. He is also medical adviser of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and lecturer on municipal hygiene at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Billings is a member of numerous scientific societies, including the American Medical Association and the National Academy of Sciences (1883), and he is also an honorary member of the Statistical Society of London. During 1879-'80 he was vice-president of the National Board of Health, and in 1884 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh. During August, 1886, he was present at the meeting of the British Medical Association, and delivered an important address' on “medicine in the United States.” His contributions to the periodical literature of medicine are numerous, and he has also published reports on “Barracks and Hospitals” (War Department, Washington, 1870); “The Hygiene of the U.S. Army.” (1875); and “Mortality and Vital Statistics of the United States” (Census Reports, 1880). His great work, however, has been the “Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office,” U. S. Army (Washington, 1880 et seq.), in large quarto volumes, which contain the biography of every medical subject as far as it is to be found in the library at present under Dr. Billings's care. It is expected that the work will consist of ten volumes, of which six have been issued up to 1886. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 262.


BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, April 1-4, 1862. 9th Connecticut, Everett's battery, and the Naval forces. A flag of truce had been sent on an errand of humanity to Biloxi on the 1st, but had been fired on by the people of that town and the Confederate forces there. The next day General Butler ordered Major George C. Strong to take the 9th Conn, and Everett's battery, and proceed on board the steamer "Lewis," to Biloxi to demand a suitable and ample apology for the act. At the same time arrangements were made for the cooperation of the naval vessels in the immediate vicinity. Strong made the demand in strong English, which so incensed the Confederates that General Lovell ordered up the steamers Carondelet, Pamlico and Oregon, under Commodore Whittle, with a view of capturing Strong's whole force. But Strong quickly reembarked and hurried to Pass Christian, where, in conformity to Butler's orders, he landed his entire force, with several pieces of artillery, quickly overcame the Confederate post there, killing and wounding a number and destroying the stores.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 129.


BINGHAM, JOHN ARMOR, born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, in 1815.  Republican Congressman, judge, advocate, U.S. Army.  Bingham was one of the writers and sponsors of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  One of three military judges presiding in the Lincoln assassination trial.  (Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. p. 263; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, p. 277)

BINGHAM, John A., lawyer, born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, in 1815. He passed two years in a printing-office, and then entered Franklin College, Ohio, but left, on account of his health, before graduation. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, was district attorney for Tuscarawas County, Ohio, from 1846 till 1849, was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1854, and re-elected three times, sitting from 1855 till 1863. He prepared in the 34th Congress the report on the contested Illinois elections, and in 1862 was chairman of the managers of the house in the impeachment of Judge Humphreys for high treason. He failed of re-election in 1864, and was appointed by President Lincoln judge-advocate in the army, and later the same year solicitor of the court of claims. He was special judge-advocate in the trial of the assassins of President Lincoln. In 1865 he returned to Congress, and sat until 1873, serving on the committees on military affairs, freedmen, and reconstruction, and in the 40th Congress as chairman of the committees on Claims and Judiciary, and as one of the managers in the impeachment trial of President Johnson. On 3 May, 1873, he received the appointment of minister to Japan, which post he held until 1885, when he was recalled by President Cleveland.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, p. 263.


BINGHAM, JUDSON DAVID, soldier, born at Massena Springs, St. Lawrence County, New York, 16 May, 1831. He was appointed to West Point from Indiana, and  in 1854. He took part in the suppression of John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry in 1859, and during the Civil War served in charge of trains and supplies of General Banks's command in Maryland in 1861, of the quartermaster's depot at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1862-’3, and as chief quartermaster of the Army of the Tennessee. He took part in the siege of Vicksburg and in the invasion of Georgia. On 9 April, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general for faithful and meritorious services during the rebellion. After the war he was successively chief quartermaster of the Department of the lakes, assistant quartermaster-general at Washington, being in charge of the bureau a part of the time, as commissioner to audit the Kansas war accounts, and as chief quartermaster with the rank of lieutenant-colonel at the headquarters of the Division of the Pacific and the Department of the Missouri, and from 4 June, 1886, at ' Illinois, as chief quartermaster of the Division of the Missouri. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 263-264.


BINGHAM, KINSLEY S., senator, born in Camillus, New York, 16 December, 1808; died at Oak Grove, Michigan, 5 October, 1861. He received a common-school education, and was clerk in a lawyer's office for three years. In 1833 he emigrated to Michigan and settled upon a farm. In 1837 he was elected to the Michigan legislature, continued during eight years a member of that body, and for three years as speaker. In 1849 he was elected a representative in Congress, and served on the committee of commerce. In 1854 he was elected governor of the state, and in 1859 was chosen U.S. Senator. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 264.


BINNAKER'S BRIDGE, SOUTH CAROLINA, February 9, 1865. 17th Army Corps. About noon the advance of the army reached Binnaker's bridge over the South Edisto river, to find it destroyed and General Stevenson's division intrenched in rifle-pits, with a battery of artillery on the opposite side. Skirmishing was commenced by the 9th Illinois mounted infantry, but upon the arrival of General Mower they were relieved by a force of infantry. A swamp lay between the Confederates and the river so that the arms of the infantry were at a disadvantage, owing to the long range. Mower ordered up his artillery and in a short time drove the enemy from his position. A raft was then sent across and about 500 yards below the old bridge a solid anchorage was found on the other side; a pontoon was soon constructed, over which the infantry marched, and at 9 o'clock that evening, after wading through three feet of water, attacked the Confederate works, driving Stevenson toward the North branch of the Edisto. The Union loss was 3 killed and 7 wounded. The number of killed and wounded on the other side could not be learned. One caisson and a number of prisoners were taken by Mower's men.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 129-130.


BINNEY, HORACE, 1780-1875, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, constitutional lawyer, member of the Philadelphia auxiliary of the American Colonization Society.  (Burin, 2005, pp. 84, 112; Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 265-266; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, p. 280; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 40, 72)

BINNEY, Horace, lawyer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 4 January, l780; died there, 12 August, 1875. He was of English and Scotch descent. His father was a surgeon in the revolutionary army. In 1788, the year after his father's death, he was placed in a classical school at Bordentown, New Jersey, where he continued three years, and distinguished himself especially by his attainments in Greek. In July, 1793, he entered the freshman class of Harvard, and at graduation in 1797 he divided the highest honor with a single classmate. He had acquired the art and habit of study, and a love for it which never abated until the close of his life. This art he ever regarded as his most valued acquisition. He began the study of law in November, 1797, in the office of Jared Ingersoll, and was called to the bar in March, 1800, when he was little more than twenty years of age. His clientage for some years was meagre, but his industry continued unflagging, and gradually, in the face of a competition with eminent lawyers, such as no other bar in the country then exhibited, he became an acknowledged leader. In 1806 he was sent to the legislature of the state, in which he served one year, declining a re-election. So early as 1807 his professional engagements had become extremely large, and before 1815 he was in the enjoyment of all that the legal profession could give, whether of reputation or emolument. Between 1807 and 1814 he prepared and published the six volumes of reported decisions of the supreme court of Pennsylvania that bear his name. They are among the earliest of American reports, and are regarded as almost perfect models of legal reporting. Soon after 1830 Mr. Binney's health began to be impaired, and he desired to withdraw from the courts and throw off the business that oppressed him. It was this, in part, that made him willing to accept a nomination for Congress; but there was doubtless another reason that influenced him—the hostility of President Jackson to the United States bank. The veto of the bill for its recharter aroused the deepest feeling of almost the entire business community of Philadelphia, and with that community Mr. Binney was closely associated, while his ability, combined with his well-known knowledge of the condition and operations of the bank, pointed him out as the fittest man to defend the institution in Congress. He accepted a nomination, and was elected to the 23d Congress. In the consideration of great subjects, notably that of the removal of the public deposits from the United States bank, he proved himself to be a statesman of high rank and an accomplished debater. But official life was distasteful to him, and he declined a re-election. On his return to Philadelphia he refused all professional engagements in the courts, though he continued to give written opinions upon legal questions until 1850. Many of these opinions are still preserved. They relate to titles to real estate, to commercial questions, to trusts, and to the most abstruse subjects in every department of the law. They are model exhibitions of profound and accurate knowledge, of extensive research, of nice discrimination, and wise conclusion, and they were generally accepted as of almost equal authority with judicial decision. Once only after 1836 did Mr. Binney appear in the courts. In 1844, by appointment of the city councils of Philadelphia, he argued in the supreme court of the United States the case of Bidal vs. Girard's executors, in which was involved the validity of the trust created by Mr. Girard's will for the establishment and maintenance of a college for orphans. The argument is in print, and it is still the subject of admiration by the legal profession in this country, and almost equally so by the profession in Great Britain. It lifted the law of charities out of the depths of confusion and obscurity that had covered it, and while the fulness of its research and the vigor of its reasoning were masterly, it was clothed with a precision and a beauty of language never surpassed. The argument was a fitting close to a long and illustrious professional life. Mr. Binney had a fine, commanding person, an uncommonly handsome face, a dignified and graceful manner, and a most melodious voice, perfectly under his control, and modulated with unusual skill. In fine, he was in all particulars a most accomplished lawyer. No words can better describe him than those which he applied to a great man, the friend of his early man-hood: “He was an advocate of great power; a master of every question in his causes; a wary tactician in the management of them; highly accomplished in language; a faultless logician; a man of the purest integrity and the highest honor; fluent without the least volubility; concise to a degree that left every one's patience and attention unimpaired, and perspicuous to almost the lowest order of understanding, while he was dealing with almost the highest topics.” If it be added to this that his mental power was equal to the comprehension of any legal subject, that his mode of presentation was the best possible, that his rhetoric was faultless, that he had an aptness of illustration that illuminated the most abstruse subjects, and a personal character without a visible flaw, it will be seen that he must have been, as he was, a most persuasive and convincing advocate. In 1827, by invitation of the bar of Philadelphia, he delivered an address on the life and character of Chief-Justice Tilghman; and in 1835, complying with a request of the select and common councils of the city, an address on the life and character of Chief-Justice Marshall. Until the close of his life he was a constant reader and an indefatigable student. He kept himself well informed of current events, and in regard to all public questions he not only sought information, but matured settled opinions. In 1858 he published a sketch of the life and character of Justice Bushrod Washington, in which he delineated the qualities that make up a perfect nisi prius judge, with singular acuteness. In the same year he published sketches of three leaders of the old Philadelphia bar, which were greatly admired. He also in 1858 gave to the press a more extended discussion, entitled “An Inquiry into the Formation of Washington's Farewell Address,” strikingly illustrative of the character of his own mind, and of his habits of investigation and reasoning. And in 1862 and in 1863 he published three pamphlets in support of the power claimed by President Lincoln to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. His argument was not less remarkable than the best of his earlier efforts. Throughout his life Mr. Binney manifested a deep interest in many literary, scientific, and art institutions of Philadelphia, and in many of the noblest charities. He was also an earnest Christian, a devout member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and often a leading member of its conventions. The activity of his mind remained undiminished until his death. This occurred forty years after the age when most men are at the zenith of their reputation, forty years after he had substantially retired from public view and from participation in all matters that attract public notice, and at the end of a period when public recollection of most lawyers has faded into indistinctness. Appletons’ Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1888 p 265-266.


BINTLIFF, James, 1824-1901, abolitionist, newspaper editor, publisher, proprietor, businessman, Union Army colonel, helped found Republican Party.  (Hunt, Roger, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD, 1990)


BIRCH COOLIE, MINNESOTA, September 1-2, 1862. Minnesota Volunteers. The affair at Birch Coolie was an incident growing out of the Sioux uprising. Major Brown, with a detachment of the 6th infantry, was sent to the Lower Agency to bury the bodies of those massacred by the Indians. As he was returning to Fort Ridgely he encamped on the evening of August 31 near the long ravine known as Birch Coolie. Here he was surrounded during the night by a large body of Indians and kept in a state of siege until relieved by General Sibley on the 3d. The whites lost 25 killed and a number wounded. The Indian loss was much larger.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRCH ISLAND BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, May 6, 1864. (See Kautz's Raid, May 5-17, 1864.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRD, FRANCIS WILLIAM, 1809-1894, anti-slavery political leader, radical reformer.  Member of the anti-slavery “Conscience Whigs,” leader of the Massachusetts Free Soil Party.  Led anti-slavery faction of the newly formed Republican Party.  Supported abolitionist Party leader Charles Sumner.  Opposed Dred Scott decision.  “Bird Club” greatly influenced radical Republican politics in Massachusetts and in the U.S. Senate.  Organized Emancipation League.  Supported enlistment of African Americans in the Union Army and emancipation of Blacks in the District of Columbia.  Supported women’s rights, Indian rights, suffrage rights for Chinese, and other causes. (American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 805)


BIRDSONG FERRY, MISSISSIPPI, June 12, 1863. 9 men of the 13th Army Corps. Sergt. T. B. Robinson, with a squad of 9 men, was sent to investigate a rumor of a blockade in the road a few miles from Bridgeport and as he was returning to his command he ran into a small company of Confederates at the ferry. A slight skirmish ensued in which 2 of the enemy were captured and 1 of Robinson's men was slightly wounded. The two prisoners gave valuable information concerning the movements of General Forrest.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRDSONG FERRY, MISSISSIPPI, June 18, 1863. 4th Iowa Cavalry. While one company of the regiment was stationed at the ferry, over Big Black river, about one company of Confederates came from the swamp above and engaged them in a skirmish. Major C. F. Spearman, the senior cavalry officer, ordered a charge from a favorable position on the enemy's right flank. The yell and rush from an unexpected quarter disconcerted the Confederates, who fled in disorder, thinking a large attacking party was at hand. They were pursued for some distance, but owing to the rough surface of the country and the dense growth of timber in places, were not overtaken. A large number of cattle and sheep were taken by the Union troops as they were returning to the ford. No losses reported.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRDSONG FERRY, MISSISSIPPI, July 5, 1863. 16th Army Corps. While General William T. Sherman's Expeditionary Army was on the march against Johnston a small force of Confederates disputed the passage of the Big Black river at Birdsong ferry on the 5th. Being strongly intrenched on the opposite side of the river, in a position to fully command the crossing, the Union troops waited until nightfall, when they raised and repaired the old ferry boat, and sent over Cockerill's brigade, which drove the enemy from his position and allowed the march to proceed.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRD'S POINT, MISSOURI, August 19, 1861. (See Charleston.)

BIRD'S POINT, MISSOURI, October 14, 1861. Detachment of the 1st Illinois Cavalry. Lieutenant S. P. Tufts, with 25 men of his company, was sent down the Rushes Ridge road to observe the movements of the enemy. About 2 p. m. he reached the vicinity of the Underwood farm, some 9 miles from Bird's Point, and there came in contact with Company A, 1st Miss, cavalry battalion, under Captain Montgomery. A skirmish was at once commenced, but owing to the larger force of the enemy and the advantageous position he occupied, being protected by timber, Tufts was forced to retire with a loss of 1 man mortally and several slightly wounded and 4 horses killed. A number of the enemy were seen to fall, but the exact loss was not learned. (Also known as Underwood's Farm and Beckwith's Farm.)  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 130.


BIRGE, HENRY WARNER, soldier, born in Hartford, Connecticut, about 1830. When the Civil War began he was a resident of Norwich, Connecticut, and an aide on the staff of Governor W. A. Buckingham. On the day of the president's first call for troops (15 April, 1861) he began organizing the first regiments of Connecticut's quota. On 23 May he was '' major of the 4th Connecticut Volunteers, which was the first “three-years' regiment” of state troops mustered into the service of the United States. He served in Maryland and Virginia until November, 1861, when he was appointed colonel of the 13th Connecticut Infantry; joined General Butler's army in New Orleans in March, 1862, and was laced in command of the defences of the city. In September he commanded his regiment in a movement in the La Fourche District, and in December, when General Butler was succeeded by General. Banks, he was assigned to a brigade, which he commanded through the first Red River Campaign and the siege of Port Hudson (April to July, 1863). Before the surrender of this stronghold General Birge volunteered to organize and lead a volunteer battalion to carry the Confederate works by assault. Such was his reputation among the rank and file that his own regiment, the 13th Connecticut, volunteered almost in a body, and the full complement of 1,000 men was ready within two days. The assault was planned for the night of 10 July, but the news of the fall of Vicksburg was received, and Port Hudson surrendered 8 July, 1863. He was promoted brigadier-general 9 September, 1863. In 1864 he accompanied the second Red River Expedition, and after the engagements at Sabine Cross-Roads, Pleasant Hill, and Cane River, returned to Alexandria and was sent to take command at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which post was threatened by the Confederates. In July, 1864, he was ordered north with the 2d Division of the 19th Corps, joining General. Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley in August, and being present in all the battles of the ensuing campaign. In February and March, 1865, he was in command of the defences of Savannah, Georgia, where he remained until November, when he resigned his commission. His services were recognized the brevet of major-general of volunteers, and £ a vote of thanks from the legislature of his native state. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 266.


BIRMINGHAM, MISSISSIPPI, April 24, 1863. 2nd Iowa Cavalry. While Col . Edward Hatch, with the 2nd la., was doing scout duty he was attacked from the rear about 10 a. m. on the 24th, by a detachment of Chalmers' forces, consisting of the 2nd Tennessee, Inge's battalion, Smith's regiment, and four companies under Captain Ham. The larger force of the enemy and scarcity of ammunition forced Hatch to retire, but his retreat was successfully conducted. Concealing his men at favorable points, and firing upon the enemy at close range, he inflicted heavy loss, a 2-pounder he had with him being especially effective. After 6 miles of this running fight the Confederates withdrew. Hatch reached La Grange on the 26th with 50 prisoners and reported about 100 of the enemy, killed and wounded, 300 rifles and shot-guns destroyed, and a number of horses and mules taken. His own loss was 10 men killed, wounded or missing. The affair was an incident of Grierson's raid.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 131.


BIRNEY, JAMES GILLESPIE, 1792-1857, abolitionist leader, statesman, orator, writer, lawyer, jurist, newspaper publisher.  On two occasions, mobs in Cincinnati attacked and wrecked his newspaper office.  Beginning in 1832, Birney was an agent for the American colonization Society, representing the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.  In 1833, he transferred to agent in Kentucky.  Wrote pro-colonization articles for Alabama Democrat.  Editor of the Philanthropist, founded 1836.  Founder and president of the Liberty Party in 1848.  Third party presidential candidate, 1840, 1844.  Founder University of Alabama.  Native American rights advocate.  Member of the American Colonization Society.  American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-1836, Vice President, 1835-1836, 1836-1838, Executive Committee, 1838-1840, Corresponding Secretary, 1838-1840. American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, Secretary, 1840-1841, Executive Committee, 1840-1842.  His writings include: “Ten Letters on Slavery and Colonization,” (1832-1833), “Addresses and Speeches,” (1835), “Vindication of the Abolitionists,” (1835), “The Philanthropist,” a weekly newspaper (1836-1837), “Address of Slaveholders,” (1836), “Argument on Fugitive Slave Case,” (1837), “Political Obligations of Abolitionists,” (1839), “American Churches the Bulwarks of American Slavery,” (1840), and “Speeches in England,” (1840).  (Birney, 1969; Blue, 2005, pp. 20-21, 25, 30, 32, 48-51, 55, 9-99, 101, 139, 142, 163, 186, 217; Burin, 2005, pp. 84, 112; Drake, 1950, pp. 141, 149, 159; Dumond, 1938; Dumond, 1961, pp. 90, 93, 176, 179, 185, 197, 198, 200-202, 257-262, 286, 297, 300-301, 303; Filler, 1960, pp. 55, 73, 77, 89, 94, 107, 128, 131, 137, 140-141, 148, 152, 156, 176; Fladeland, 1955; Harrold, 1995; Mabee, 1970, pp. 27, 36, 40, 41, 49, 54, 55, 60, 71, 92, 195, 228, 252,293, 301, 323, 328, 350; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 4-5, 7, 8, 13-15, 18, 21-31, 35, 50, 101, 199, 225; Pease, 1965, pp. 43-49; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 43-44, 46, 48, 163, 188-189, 364, 522; Sorin, 1971, pp. 25, 47, 51, 52, 65, 70n, 97, 103n; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 146-148, 211-212, 229-230; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 267-269; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 291-294; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985, pp. 79-80; Birney, William, Jas. G. Birney and His Times, 1890; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2; The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II. New York: James T. White, 1892, pp. 312-313)

BIRNEY, James Gillespie, statesman, born in Danville, Kentucky, 4 February, 1792; died in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, 25 November, 1857. His ancestors were Protestants of the province of Ulster, Ireland. His father, migrating to the United States at sixteen years of age, settled in Kentucky, became a wealthy merchant, manufacturer, and farmer, and for many years was president of the Danville bank. His mother died when he was three years old, and his early boyhood was passed under the care of a pious aunt. Giving promise of talent and force of character, he was liberally educated with a view to his becoming a lawyer and statesman. After preparation at good schools and at Transylvania University he was sent to Princeton, where he was graduated with honors in 1810. Having studied law for three years, chiefly under Alexander J. Dallas, of Philadelphia, he returned to his native place in 1814 and began practice. In 1816 he married a daughter of William McDowell, judge of the U. S. Circuit Court and one of several brothers who, with their relatives, connections, and descendants, were the most influential family in Kentucky. In the same year he was elected to the legislature, in which body he opposed and defeated in its original form a proposition to demand of the states of Ohio and Indiana the enactment of laws for the seizure, imprisonment, and delivery to owners of slaves escaping into their limits. His education in New Jersey and Pennsylvania at the time when the gradual emancipation laws of those states were in operation had led him to favor that solution of the slavery problem. In the year 1818 he moved to Alabama, bought a cotton plantation near Huntsville, and served as a member of the first legislature that assembled under the constitution of 1819. Though he was not a member of the convention that framed the instrument, it was chiefly through his influence that a provision of the Kentucky Constitution, empowering the general assembly to emancipate slaves on making compensation to the owners, and to prohibit the bringing of slaves into the state for sale, was copied into it, with amendments designed to secure humane treatment for that unfortunate class. In the legislature, he voted against a resolution of honor to General Jackson, assigning his reasons in a forcible speech. This placed him politically in a small minority. In 1823, having found planting unprofitable, partly because of his refusal to permit his overseer to use the lash, he resumed at Huntsville the practice of his profession, was appointed solicitor of the northern circuit, and soon gained a large and lucrative practice. In 1826 he made a public profession of religion, united with the Presbyterian Church, and was ever afterward a devout Christian. About the same time he began to contribute to the American Colonization Society, regarding it as preparing the way for gradual emancipation. In 1827 he procured the enactment by the Alabama legislature of a statute "to prohibit the importation of slaves into this state for sale or hire." In 1828 he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Adams ticket in Alabama, canvassed the state for the Adams party, and was regarded as its most prominent member. He was repeatedly elected mayor of Huntsville, and was recognized as the leader in educational movements and local improvements. In 1830 he was deputed by the trustees of the state university to select and recommend to them five persons as president and professors of that institution, also by the trustees of the Huntsville female seminary to select and employ three teachers. In the performance of these trusts he spent several months in the Atlantic states, extending his tour as far north as Massachusetts. His selections were approved. Returning home by way of Kentucky, he called on Henry Clay, with whom he had been on terms of friendship and political sympathy, and urged that statesman to place himself at the head of the gradual emancipation movement in Kentucky. The result of the interview was the final alienation in public matters and politics of the parties to it, though their friendly personal relations remained unchanged. Mr. Birney did not support Mr. Clay politically after 1830 or vote for him in 1832. For several years he was the confidential adviser and counsel of the Cherokee nation, an experience that led him to sympathize with bodies of men who were wronged under color of law. In 1831 he had become so sensible of the evil influences of slavery that he determined to remove his large family to a free state, and in the winter of that year visited Illinois and selected Jacksonville as the place of his future residence. Returning to Alabama, he was winding up his law business and selling his property with a view to removal, when he received, most unexpectedly, an appointment from the American Colonization Society as its agent for the southwest. From motives of duty he accepted and devoted himself for one year to the promotion of the objects of that society. Having become convinced that the slave-holders of the gulf states, with few exceptions, were hostile to the idea of emancipation in the future, he lost faith in the efficacy of colonization in that region. In his conversations about that time with southern politicians and men of influence he learned enough to satisfy him that, although the secret negotiations in 1829 of the Jackson administration for the purchase of Texas had failed, the project of annexing that province to the United States and forming several slave states out of its territory had not been abandoned; that a powerful combination existed at the south for the purpose of sending armed adventurers to Texas; and that southern politicians were united in the design to secure for the south a majority in the U. S. Senate. The situation seemed to him to portend the permanence of slavery, with grave danger of Civil War and disunion of the states. Resigning his agency and relinquishing his Illinois project, he moved, in November, 1833, to Kentucky for the purpose of separating it from the slave states by effecting the adoption of a system of gradual emancipation. He thought its example might be followed by Virginia and Tennessee, and that thus the slave states would be placed in a hopeless minority, and slavery in process of extinction. But public opinion in his native state had greatly changed since he had left it; the once powerful emancipation element had been weakened by the opposition of political leaders, and especially of Henry Clay. His efforts were sustained by very few. In June, 1834, he set free his own slaves and severed his connection with the Colonization Society, the practical effect of which, he had found, was to afford a pretext for postponing emancipation indefinitely. From this time he devoted himself with untiring zeal to the advocacy in Kentucky of the abolition of slavery. On 19 March, 1835, he formed the Kentucky Anti-Slavery Society, consisting of forty members, several of whom had freed their slaves. In May, at New York, he made the principal speech at the meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and thenceforward he was identified with the Tappans, Judge William Jay, Theodore D. Weld, Alvan Stewart, Thomas Morris, and other northern abolitionists, who pursued their object by constitutional methods. In June, 1835, he issued a prospectus for the publication, beginning in August, of an anti-slavery weekly paper, at Danville, Kentucky; but before the time fixed for issuing the first number the era of mob violence and social persecutions, directed against the opponents of slavery, set in. This was contemporaneous with the renewed organization of revolts in Texas; the beginning of the war for breaking up the refuge for fugitive slaves, waged for years against the Florida Seminoles; and the exclusion, by connivance of the postmaster-general, of anti-slavery papers from the U. S. mails; and it preceded, by a few months only, President Jackson's message, recommending not only the refusal of the use of the mails, but the passage of laws by Congress and also by the non-slaveholding states for the suppression of “incendiary” (anti- slavery) publications. Mr. Birney found it impossible to obtain a publisher or printer; and as his own residence in Kentucky had become disagreeable and dangerous, he moved to Cincinnati, where he established his paper. His press was repeatedly destroyed by mobs; but he met all opposition with courage and succeeded finally in maintaining the freedom of the press in Cincinnati, exhibiting great personal courage, firmness, and judgment. On 22 January, 1836, a mob assembled at the court-house for the purpose of destroying his property and seizing his person; the city and county authorities had notified him of their inability to protect him; he attended the meeting, obtained leave to speak, and succeeded in defeating its object. As an editor, he was distinguished by a thorough knowledge of his subject, courtesy, candor, and large attainments as a jurist and statesman. The “Philanthropist” gained rapidly an extensive circulation. Having associated with him as editor Dr. Gamaliel Bailey, he devoted most of his own time to public speaking, visiting in this work most of the cities and towns in the free states and addressing committees of legislative bodies. His object was to awaken the people of the north to the danger menacing the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the system of free labor, and the national constitution, from the encroachments of the slave-power and the plotted annexation of new slave states in the southwest. In recognition of his prominence as an anti-slavery leader, the Executive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society unanimously elected him, in the summer of 1837, to the office of secretary. Having accepted, he moved to New York City, 20 September, 1837. In his new position he was the executive officer of the society, conducted its correspondence, selected and employed lecturers, directed the organization of auxiliaries, and prepared its reports. He attended the principal anti-slavery conventions, and his wise and conservative counsel had a marked influence on their action. He was faithful to the church, while he exposed and rebuked the ecclesiastical bodies that sustained slavery; and true to the constitution, while he denounced the constructions that severed it from the principles contained in its preamble and in the declaration of independence. To secession, whether of the north or south, he was inflexibly opposed. The toleration or establishment of slavery in any district or territory belonging to the United States, and its abolition in the slave states, except under the war power, he held was not within the legal power of Congress; slavery was local, and freedom national. To vote he considered the duty of every citizen, and more especially of every member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, the constitution of which recognized the duty of using both moral and political action for the removal of slavery. In the beginning of the agitation the abolitionists voted for such anti-slavery candidates as were nominated by the leading parties; but as the issues grew, under the aggressive action of the slave power, to include the right of petition, the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the equality of all men before the law, the right of the free states to legislate for their own territory, and the right of Congress to exclude slavery from the territories, the old parties ceased to nominate anti-slavery candidates, and the abolitionists were forced to make independent nominations for state officers and Congress, and finally to form a national and constitutional party. Mr. Birney was their first and only choice as candidate for the presidency. During his absence in England, in 1840, and again in 1844, he was unanimously nominated by national conventions of the Liberty Party. At the former election he received 7,369 votes; and at the latter, 62,263. This number, it was claimed by his friends, would have been much larger if the electioneering agents of the Whig Party had not circulated, three days before the election and too late for denial and exposure, a forged letter purporting to be from Mr. Birney, announcing his withdrawal from the canvass, and advising anti-slavery men to vote for Mr. Clay. This is known as “the Garland forgery.” Its circulation in Ohio and New York probably gave the former state to Mr. Clay, and greatly diminished Mr. Birney's vote in the latter. In its essential doctrines the platform of the Liberty Party in 1840 and 1844 was identical with those that were subsequently adopted by the Free-Soil and Republican parties. In the summer of 1845 Mr. Birney was disabled physically by partial paralysis, caused by a fall from a horse, and from that time he withdrew from active participation in politics, though he continued his contributions to the press. In September, 1839, he emancipated twenty-one slaves that belonged to his late father's estate, setting off to his co-heir $20,000, in compensation for her interest in them. In 1839 Mr. Birney lost his wife, and in the autumn of 1841 he married Miss Fitzhugh, sister of Mrs. Gerrit Smith, of New York. In 1842 he took up his residence in Bay City, Michigan In person he was of medium height, robust build, and handsome countenance. His manners were those of a polished man of the world, free from eccentricities, and marked with dignity. He had neither vices nor bad habits. As a presiding officer in a public meeting he was said to have no superior. As a public speaker he was generally calm and judicial in tone; but when under strong excitement he rose to eloquence. His chief writings were as follows: “Ten Letters on Slavery and Colonization,” addressed to R. R. Gurley (the first dated 12 July, 1832, the last 11 December, 1833); “Six Essays on Slavery and Colonization,” published in the Huntsville (Alabama) “Advocate” (May, June, and July, 1833); “Letter on Colonization,” resigning vice-presidency of Kentucky Colonization Society (15 July, 1834); “Letters to the Presbyterian Church” (1834); “Addresses and Speeches” (1835); “Vindication of the Abolitionists” (1835); “The Philanthropist,” a weekly newspaper (1836 and to September, 1837); “Letter to Colonel Stone” (May, 1836); “Address to Slaveholders” (October, 1836); “Argument on Fugitive Slave Case” (1837); “Letter to F. H. Elmore,” of South Carolina (1838); “Political Obligations of Abolitionists” (1839); “Report on the Duty of Political Action,” for Executive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society (May, 1839); “American Churches the Bulwarks of American Slavery” (1840); “Speeches in England” (1840); “Letter of Acceptance”; “Articles in Q. A. S. Magazine and Emancipator” (1837-'44); “Examination of the Decision of the U. S. Supreme Court,” in the case of Strader et al., v. Graham (1850). —His son, James, born in Danville, Kentucky, 7 June, 1817; was a state senator in Michigan in 1859, and was lieutenant-governor of the state and acting governor in 1861-'3. He was appointed by President Grant, in 1876, minister at the Hague, and held that office until 1882.—Another son, William, lawyer, born near Huntsville, Alabama, 28 May, 1819. While pursuing his studies in Paris, in February, 1848, he took an active part in the revolution, and he was appointed on public competition professor of English literature in the College at Bourges. He entered the U. S. national service as captain in April, 1861, and rose through all the grades to the rank of brevet major-general of volunteers, commanding a division for the last two years of the Civil War. He participated in the principal battles in Virginia, and, being sent for a short time to Florida after the battle of Olustee, regained possession of the principal parts of the state and of several of the Confederate strongholds. ln 1863-'4, having been detailed by the war Department as one of three superintendents of the organization of U. S. colored troops, he enlisted, mustered in, armed, equipped, drilled, and sent to the field seven regiments of those troops. In this work he opened all the slave-prisons in Baltimore, and freed their inmates, including many slaves belonging to men in the Confederate armies. The result of his operations was to hasten the abolition of slavery in Maryland. He passed four years in Florida after the war, and in 1874 moved to Washington, D. C., where he practised his profession and became attorney for the District of Columbia.— The third son, Dion, physician, entered the army as lieutenant at the beginning of the Civil War, rose to the rank of captain, and died in 1864 of disease contracted in the service.—The fourth son, David Bell, born in Huntsville, Alabama, 29 May, 1825; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 18 October, 1864, studied law in Cincinnati, and, after engaging in business in Michigan, began the practice of law in Philadelphia in 1848. He entered the army as lieutenant-colonel at the beginning of the Civil War, and was made colonel of the 23d Pennsylvania Volunteers, which regiment he raised, principally at his own expense, in the summer of 1861. He was promoted successively to brigadier and major-general of volunteers, and distinguished himself in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, the second battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. After the death of General Berry he commanded the division, receiving his commission as major-general, 23 May, 1863. He commanded the 3d Corps at Gettysburg, after General Sickles was wounded, and on 23 July, 1864, was given the command of the 10th Corps. He died of disease contracted in the service.—A fifth son, Fitzhugh, died, in 1864, of wounds and disease, in the service with the rank of colonel—A grandson, James Gillespie, was lieutenant and captain of cavalry, served as staff officer under Custer and Sheridan, was appointed lieutenant in the regular army at the close of the war; and died soon afterward of disease contracted in the service. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 267-269.


BIRNEY, WILLIAM, 1819-1907, lawyer, Union soldier, abolitionist leader, strong opponent of slavery, commander of U.S. Colored Troops (Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 269; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936 Vol. 1, Pt. 2, p. 294; Who’s Who in America, 1899-1907; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2, p. 819)


BISHOP'S CREEK, CALIFORNIA, April 9, 1862. 2nd California Cavalry. During operations in the Owen's River valley the scouts were fired upon by Indians from a canon. Colonel Evans divided the regiment and attacked from two directions simultaneously in the hope of driving the Indians from their position. After futile endeavors for several hours he was forced to withdraw with a loss of 2 men killed and a number wounded. The Indians numbered about 700.  The Union Army, 1908, Vol. 5, p. 131.


BISSELL, JOSIAH WOLCOTT, engineer, born in Rochester, New York, 12 May, 1818. He was the son of Josiah Bissell, an early settler of Rochester, N. Y., who employed his wealth, derived from land speculations, for benevolent objects, and who established a line of stage-coaches that did not run on Sundays. He was engaged before the Civil War in banking, and in architectural and engineering work. During the war he was colonel of an engineer regiment attached to General Pope's army, and superintended the construction of the canal that enabled the national gun-boats to approach the Confederate works on Island No. 10 in Mississippi River. After his return to civil life he took a prominent part in the enterprise of collecting and indexing records of real estate titles, so as to simplify searches, and was engaged in that work in Cincinnati, and afterward in Boston.  Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 271.


BISSELL, SIMON B., naval officer, born in Vermont, 28 October. 1808; died in Paris, Prance. 18 February, 1883. He became a midshipman in the U. S. Navy 6 November, 1824, and was promoted to be a lieutenant 8 December 1837; commander, 14 September, 1855; captain, 16 July, 1862: commodore, 10 October, 1866. He was attached to the sloop "Albany" during the war with Mexico, and was present at the siege of Vera Cruz. He commanded the sloop "Cyane," Pacific squadron, in 1861-2; was on duty the in the Navy-yard at Mare Island, California, in 1863- 4; commanded the sloop-of-war "Monongahela" in 1866-7; was on special service in 1869; and was placed on the retired list on 1 March, 1870. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 271.


BISSELL, WILLIAM H.. statesman, born in Hartwick, near Cooperstown, New York, 25 April, 1811; died in Springfield, Illinois, 18 March, 1880. He was self-educated, attending school in summer and teaching in the winter; was graduated at Philadelphia Medical College in 1835, and practised medicine two years in Steuben County, New York, and three years in Monroe County Illinois.. He was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1840, and distinguished himself as a forcible and ready debater. He studied law, and practised successfully in Belleville, St. Clair County, and became prosecuting attorney in 1844. He was a captain in the 2d Illinois Volunteers in the Mexican War, and distinguished himself at Buena Vista. He was a representative in Congress from Illinois as an independent Democrat, serving from 2 December, 1839, till 3 March, 1845. He separated from the Democratic Party on the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and was chosen governor as a Republican in 1856. He was re-elected, and died in office. While he was in Congress his resistance of the Missouri Compromise involved him in a controversy with the southern Democrats, and hot words passed between him and Jefferson Davis on the subject of the bravery of the northern as compared with the southern soldiers, which led to a challenge from Mr. Davis. In accepting the challenge to a duel, Mr. Bissell chose as the weapons muskets, at thirty paces, whereupon the friends of Mr. Davis interfered. Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1887, Vol. I, p. 271.


BIVOUAC. (See CAMP.)