Benjamin Grierson

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Benjamin H. Grierson

Benjamin Henry Grierson (born July 18, 1826 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † August 31 or September 1, 1911 in Omena , Michigan ) was an American brigadier general in the US Army .

Live and act

Early years

Grierson was born the youngest of five children to Robert and Mary Sheppard Grierson. At the age of eight, he suffered a gaping facial injury from being kicked by a horse, which led to a fear of horses and riding. Grierson formed a music band in 1839 and became a music teacher in Jacksonville , Illinois in 1851 . On September 24, 1854, in Youngstown , Ohio , Grierson married Alice Kirk , whose writings on the lives of women and children in the American Civil War were published in 1989 by Shirley Anne Leckie. They had seven children, four of whom reached adulthood. In the same year Grierson took part in an unsuccessful trading company until 1861 and was involved in the Republican Party .

Civil War

Benjamin H. Grierson leads his cavalry, " Harper's Weekly " on June 6, 1863

When the war broke out, Grierson volunteered and served as Captain Adjutant Major General Benjamin Prentiss ′. On October 24, 1861, he was promoted to major and transferred to the 6th Illinois Cavalry Regiment. How he managed to overcome his fear of horses is not known. On April 12, 1862, Grierson was appointed regimental commander and promoted to colonel . The regiment was stationed at three different locations and carried out numerous raids against railway lines and military facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi , as well as reconnaissance .

In November 1862, Grierson was appointed brigade commander of a cavalry brigade in the Tennessee Army . In December he took part in the unsuccessful pursuit of the troops of Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorns , who had previously destroyed General Ulysses S. Grant's supply depot in Mississippi near Holly Springs .

In the spring of 1863, Grierson received the order from Major General Grant to tie up and destroy Confederate forces in the hinterland of the Confederate Mississippi Army . The "Griersons Raid" with approximately 1700 cavalrymen led from April 17, 1863 to May 2, 1863 over more than 800 miles through Mississippi to Baton Rouge , Louisiana . In the process, Grierson destroyed railway lines and large quantities of supplies and tied up considerable Confederate forces. This weakened the Mississippi Army so much that Major General Grant managed to cross the Mississippi almost without a fight during the second Vicksburg campaign . As a reward for the successful execution, he was promoted to Brigadier General on June 3rd. Grierson was named division commander of a cavalry division in the Tennessee Army on June 24, 1864. On March 1, 1865, he took over as Commanding General of the Western Mississippi Defense Area Cavalry Corps . As his last military action of the war, Grierson led the corps in the mobile campaign. After hostilities ended, he was promoted to major general on May 27, 1865.

After the war

Grierson was honorably discharged from active service in the US Army Volunteer Organization on April 30, 1866. He applied to serve in the regular army; and although he had not completed any training at the military academy , the army took him on with the rank of colonel. Grierson was commissioned to set up the 10th US Cavalry Regiment and was appointed its commander on July 28, 1866. The regiment consisted of African American soldiers, later known as Buffalo Soldiers , and led by white officers. Because of his services during the Grierson Raid, he was promoted to both Brevet Brigadier General and Brevet Major General on March 2, 1867 .

Grierson was convinced of the efficiency of the soldiers in the regiment and kept falling out with other officers who did not value the combat strength of the black soldiers. Until the end of the Indian Wars , the regiment was used on the frontier to protect railway lines and settlers and to suppress Indian revolts in various garrisons. The arrests of the Indian chiefs Satanta , Big Tree and Victorios took place during his time as regimental commander . Grierson later commanded the New Mexico and Indian Territories and Arizona Defense Districts . On April 5, 1890, he was promoted to Brigadier General. Through his assignments in West Texas, he and his wife began to love this landscape and decided to retire there. This was not to happen, however, as his wife died in 1888. On July 8, 1890, Grierson was retired.

Grierson married Lillian Atwood King on July 28, 1897. In 1907 he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered. He died on August 31, 1911 in Omena, Michigan and was buried in Jacksonville East Cemetery in Jacksonville, Illinois.

media

Benjamin Grierson is one of the main characters in the TNT documentary "Buffalo Soldiers". The character Colonel John Marlowe, played by John Wayne , in the film The Final Command is based on Grierson.

literature

Web links

Commons : Benjamin Grierson  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Benjamin Grierson in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  2. ^ John H. and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, accessed February 6, 2017 (Grierson's biographical data, p. 268).
  3. ↑ Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Blue. Louisiana State University Press, 1987, accessed on February 6, 2017 (English, Grierson's curriculum vitae, p. 190 f).
  4. ^ Robert Grierson in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Mary Grierson in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ American Civil War: Major General Benjamin Grierson
  7. ^ Wife of Union General Benjamin Grierson
  8. ↑ Grierson, Benjamin Henry. Handbook of Texas Online, Bruce J. Dinges, June 15, 2010, accessed February 7, 2017 (Grierson's CV).
  9. ↑ The post major of a regiment was the third staff officer after the commander (Colonel) and the deputy (Lieutenant Colonel) . The post is comparable to today's S3 staff officer or ExO. The post holder did not necessarily have to have the rank of major.
  10. ↑ American Civil War: Major General Benjamin Grierson
  11. ^ Benjamin Grierson
  12. ^ Benjamin Grierson
personal data
SURNAME Grierson, Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grierson, Benjamin Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American brigadier general
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 1911
Place of death Omena , Minnesota