Samuel Nicoll Benjamin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel Nicoll Benjamin
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Samuel Nicoll Benjamin
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Born | New York City |
January 3, 1839
Died | May 15, 1886 Governors Island, New York |
(aged 47)
Place of burial |
Cemetery of Saint Phillip's Church, Garrison, New York
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Allegiance | United States of America Union |
Service/ |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861 - 1886 |
Rank | Major Brevet Lieutenant Colonel |
Commands held | 2nd U.S. Artillery, Battery E Chief of Artillery, IX Corps |
Battles/wars | American Civil War: • Battle of Blackburn's Ford • First Battle of Bull Run • Peninsular Campaign • Northern Virginia Campaign • Maryland Campaign • Battle of Fredericksburg • Vicksburg Campaign • East Tennessee Campaign • Overland Campaign • Battle of the Wilderness • Battle of Spotsylvania Court House |
Awards | Medal of Honor |
Samuel Nicoll Benjamin (January 3, 1839 – May 15, 1886) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor.
Contents
Early life
Benjamin was born on January 3, 1839, in New York City. He was the son of William Massena Benjamin (1800–1862) and Sarah Jane (née Turk) Benjamin (1805–1903). His siblings included Edith Massena Benjamin, Sarah Josephine Benjamin Arnold, and Laura Gertrude Benjamin Brooks.
Benjamin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with the class of 1861.
Career
During the American Civil War, he fought in the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, the First Battle of Bull Run, the Peninsular Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, the Maryland Campaign, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Vicksburg Campaign, the East Tennessee Campaign, and the Overland Campaign, including both the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
Following the Civil War, he served at West Point and in the Adjutant General Corps.
Personal life
Benjamin was married to Julia Kean Fish (1841–1908). Julia was the daughter of Governor of New York, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish (1808–1893) and Julia Ursin Niemcewiez Kean (1816–1887). She was also the sister of Nicholas Fish II, Hamilton Fish II, and Stuyvesant Fish. Together, they were the parents of:
- Elizabeth d'Hauteville Benjamin (1871–1884), who died young.
- William Massena Benjamin (1874–1928), who married Charlotte Hoffman Prime (1881–1969), the great-granddaughter of Nathaniel Prime, in 1903.
- Hamilton Fish Benjamin (1877–1938), a twin who married Emily Low Bacon (1884–1960) in 1909. They divorced in 1923 and he married Ruth Wolfe (1890–1984), in 1932.
- Julian Arnold Benjamin (1877–1953), a twin.
He died on May 15, 1886, while on duty serving in the Department of the East. He is buried in the cemetery of Saint Phillip's church in Garrison, New York.
Descendants
Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Charlotte Prime Benjamin, (1904–2002), who married Richard Morris Carver in 1925; Elizabeth Fish Benjamin (1906–1976), who married William McLane in 1928; Julia Kean Benjamin (1908–1983); William Hoffman Benjamin (1910–1997); Emily Stuyvesant Benjamin (1913–2000); Samuel Nicoll Benjamin (1915–2006); Mary Benjamin; Sarah Morris Benjamin; and Hamilton Fish Benjamin II (1921–1984).