Tag Archives: Samuel Nicoll Benjamin

Jacob Lyon, Fort Sanders defender

Simon Lyon of Chicago has written me of his great grandfather, Jacob Lyon, who fought in the defense of Fort Sanders as a member of Lieutenant Benjamin’s battery E of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. Benjamin commanded the defense in the … Continue reading

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Hamilton Fish

Lieutenant Samuel Nicoll Benjamin, commander of the artillery at Fort Sanders and, in fact, of the fort itself during the Confederate attack, later married a daughter of Hamilton Fish of New York City. President Grant chose Fish, a former governor … Continue reading

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Benjamin’s Battery

Lieutenant Samuel N. Benjamin’s Battery E, Second U.S. Artillery, has gotten short shrift in post-Civil War history. Even in the history of the war—except for Antietam and Fredericksburg—its record was scanted. Rather more has been recorded about it in recent … Continue reading

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Parrott Gun

Named for the man who invented it, not the bird. You can see through the upper spokes of the wheel the bulbous breech band of wrought iron on the rear of the gun that Mrs. Parthenia Leila Ellis noticed (in … Continue reading

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Benjamin’s triumph

Some independent historians have tried to deny the commander of Fort Sanders, Lieutenant Samuel Nicoll Benjamin, his triumph. They pretend that Burnside’s chief engineer, Captain Orlando Poe, did most of the planning and preparation for the defense. But the primary … Continue reading

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