M-336: Henry H. Benham Papers Finding Aid

BIOGRAPHICAL

Major Henry H. Benham (1858-1911) was born in Massachusetts on February 22, 1858, the son of Major-General Henry Washington Benham (Civil War) and Elizabeth Ann McNeil. In 1889, he married Anne Franchot Benham (1857-1936), sister of N. V. V. Franchot from Schenectady, New York, and they had no children. Major Benham’s family line can be traced back to John Benham who arrived in New England on the vessel “Mary and John” in 1630. His family had strong ties to early American history with such notable figures as his grandmother’s half- brother President Franklin Pierce and her husband Brig. General John McNeil, who achieved notoriety during the War of 1812. In addition, his sister, Lilla Benham, married the designer and painter Frederick Dielmann.

Major Benham’s family was active in every American war from the Revolution to the Civil War. Continuing the tradition of military service, he enrolled at West Point Military Academy in 1875, and seeing duty throughout the world, he was active in Idaho during the Indian Wars, Puerto Rico and Cuba during the Spanish-American War and the Philippines during the Insurrection. Dedicating his entire adult life to the Army, he retired with the rank of Major from Ft. Ontario, New York in 1907. The particulars of Major Benham’s military career are best stated by him. The following is an account of his military service record prepared for the National Cyclopedia of American Biography.

He entered West Point Military Academy on July 1, 1875. In September 1879, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the army and was assigned to the 2nd U.S. Infantry. He performed detached service with Indian scouts and sharpshooters in 1880, and in the following year served at Fort Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 1882, he went to Europe to study, and in 1884 he was transferred to the recruiting station at David’s Island, N.Y., where he remained until 1886. In the latter year he was appointed professor of military science at Union College, Schenectady. He was promoted first Lieutenant in 1889, and commanded the Indian mounted police at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in 1890-91. In 1893, he graduated from the Infantry and Calvary School, and in 1898 obtained his company. On the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he was appointed major and chief ordnance officer of volunteers, and served successively as acting adjutant-general, western district of Puerto Rico (1898), and chief ordnance officer and acting judge advocate and adjutant-general, 2nd division, 2nd corps (1899). He was mustered out as major and chief ordnance officer of volunteers in May 1899, and in the same year was appointed to the command of the district of Trinidad, Cuba. He was in command of Donsal and Lucena, in the Philippines, as captain and adjutant, 2nd Infantry, in 1900-1901. In 1902, he was promoted to major, 23rd infantry. He was commander of the 3rd battalion, 23rd Infantry, 1904-1908; was in command of Camp Vicars, Malabang, in 1904; served in Japan and China in 1905, and was commanding officer of Fort Ontario, N.Y., in 1907. On Mar. 24, 197, he retired from active service on account of disability. During his residence in New York City, Maj. Benham was captain of the thirty-seventh Separate Company, now Co. F, second regiment, New York National guard. He was admitted to the Washington territorial bar in 1885, to the California bar in 1886, and to the New York bar in 1888. In 1881, he received the degree of A.B. from Harvard, and in 1889 was complimented by a similar degree from Union College. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Society of the War of 1812, Aztec Society, Loyal Legion, Society of Foreign Wars, and Carabao Society.

In 1908, he toured Germany and Italy visiting many resorts and spas to convalesce from a heart condition which forced him to resign from the military. On March 21, 1911, he died in his home at No. 209 W. 97^th Street, New York City and was buried with his father in the congressional cemetery.

Henry W. Benham (1813-1884) was born in Connecticut on April 8, 1813, son of Jared Benham, Jr., and Rebecca Hill Benham. In 1843, he married Elizabeth Andrews McNeil. Her mother, Elizabeth Andrews Pierce, was the daughter of Gov. Benjamin Pierce of New Hampshire and half-brother of Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States. She married Gen. John McNeil, who distinguished himself in the battles of Chippewa and Niagara during the War of 1812.

A national figure, Brig. Gen. Benham served alongside Robert E. Lee, George McClellan, and Zachary Taylor. Upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1837, he served as assistant engineer for the improvement and repair of fortifications along the Atlantic seaboard. Serving as an engineer during the Mexican War, he was wounded at the battle of Buena Vista. Commended for his conduct during this battle, he was brevetted to Captain for gallant and meritorious conduct. From 1848 until 1861, Benham was engaged as superintending engineer for seacoast defense projects from New York to Florida including the construction of a seawall at Boston Harbor and a lighthouse at Buffalo, New York.

During the Civil War, 1861 through 1865, Benham distinguished himself in several actions. In 1861, under Brig. Gen. T. A. Morris, he was chief engineer in charge of fortifying the important Union base, Cairo, Illinois. In July 1861, he was in command of the forces which defeated General Garnett at Carrick's Ford, West Virginia, for which he was brevetted colonel. He took part in the campaign, under General Rosecrans, against the Confederates under Gen. Robert E. Lee, and commanded the leading brigade at the battle at Carnifex Ferry, West Virginia, in pursuit of the rebels at Cotton Hill in September 1861.

Benham was in command of the Northern District of the South in 1862, was present at the capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and at the attack on Secessionville, James Island, South Carolina. From 1863 to 1865, Benham was commander of the Engineer Brigade when he superintended the construction of several famous pontoon bridges, including the bridge constructed under fire, across the Rappahannock River for the passage and retreat of Hooker's Army from Chancellorsville, Virginia. He invented the method of laying pontoon bridges by simultaneous bays, thereby accelerating the movement of troops. He also invented a portable entrenching tool called a picket shovel, which was considered of great value to the efficiency of the army. He retired from service in June 1882 and died in New York City on June 1, 1884, after serving his country for nearly fifty years.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTES

The Henry H. Benham Papers include the military and family papers of Henry H. and Anne Franchot Benham, Henry W. and Elizabeth McNeil Benham, military and family photographs, military insignia and regalia, books, and postcards, from 1839 to 1919. However, the bulk of the collection encompasses the military career of Maj. Henry H. Benham from 1875-1907. The collection consists of 9 legal sized boxes and one oversized box. It is divided into five series, 11 subseries and contains 86 folders.

PROCESSING INFORMATION

The original order of the collection upon acquisition has been maintained. An explanation of the original order is needed to understand the arrangement of the collection. The majority of the documents were bound together in 11 separate stacks, and within the stacks, the documents were folded together in separate groups. These stacks and folded groupings have been preserved by dividing them into 11 subseries. Within these subseries, the folded groupings are represented by each folder. This results in folders containing many disparate and unrelated documents. In certain cases, when several folded groupings within a stack contained similar materials, they were brought together in a single folder. Loose or individual documents were collated at the end of each subseries in a related documents folder. The exceptions to the original order are documents specifically related to Henry W. and Elizabeth Benham, which have been collated into Series 2, and the photographs in series 3, which have been organized according to subject matter.

CONTROLLED ACCESS HEADINGS

Personal Name(s)

• Benham, Anne Franchot, 1857-1936
• Benham, Elizabeth McNeil
• Benham, Henry Hill, Major, 1858-1911
• Benham, Henry W., Brigadier General, 1813-1884

Subject(s)

• Indians of North America – Wars, 1866-1895 – Idaho
• Indians of North America – Wars, 1866-1985 – Maps
• Indians of North America – Wars, 1866-1895 – Washington
• Philippines – History – Philippine American War, 1899-1902
• United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Personal Narratives
• United States – History – Mexican War, 1846-1848
• United States – History – Spanish American War, 1898 – Campaigns – Cuba
• United States – History – Spanish American War, 1898 – Puerto Rico

COLLECTION INVENTORY

Series 1: The Henry H. Benham Papers 1875-1919, Scope and Content note

Series 1 contains the papers of Henry H. and Anne Franchot Benham. The majority of the papers pertain to Maj. Benham’s military career (1875-1907), especially during the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico and Cuba in 1898-99. Most of the military papers are service records, certificates, commissions, appointments, general orders and letters of recommendation. The documents from Puerto Rico, though, go beyond the politics of his career and document his role as Chief Ordnance Officer through a series of handwritten exchanges between Maj. Benham, his superiors, and Lt. Col. Picarzo of Spain. Documents related to the events of his retirement are also well represented, including the medical notes of doctors, a transcription of the retirement hearing, and correspondence concerning the details and circumstances of his retirement. Also of note, Benham’s military papers include two hand drawn maps detailing routes and troop movements through the Idaho Mountains near the Salmon River circa 1880; presumably, this was a part of his detached service in Idaho listed in his record of service. Beyond this, Benham’s papers contain personal documents and correspondence related to the family estate, bank accounts, and his death. Documents related to his death and estate involves his wife Anne Franchot, her brother N.V.V. Franchot, and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Benham. Aside from papers concerning the military career of Maj. Benham, Series 1 contains a substantial number of German and Italian Postcards from his European vacation in 1908. The postcards are dated and glued to hotel stationery and include significant notes detailing the day’s events. Genealogical materials related to Maj. Benham’s family are also in Series 1, and they contain documents with a detailed family tree, and a list of passengers on the vessel “Mary and John” from 1630. The series also contains a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from Maj. Benham’s career. Photographs related to Benham’s military career, including portraits, company photos, military posts in Puerto Rico and Cuba are contained in Series 3 and Series 5.

Series 2: Henry W. Benham Papers, Scope and Content note

Series 2 contains the papers of Brig. Gen. Henry W. and Elizabeth Benham from 1839-1886. The papers related to Henry W. Benham include both military and personal documents with significant biographical information including service records, patents and personal accounts of projects and battles he was involved with. Series 5 contains a large fold out map detailing an engineering project at Fort McClark, Plymouth Harbour, N.H. in 1862 that Brig. Gen. Benham was presumably involved with. Eight books from his military career are also included in the series. Of significant note, several of the books have been tipped in, rebound, and amended to Brig. Gen. Benham’s specifications. Specifically, the 11-volume edition of Rebellion Record was rebound into a single volume entitled Rebellion Record: Parts to include only the significant events relating to his Civil War career. Newspaper clippings, personal accounts of the Battle of Buena Vista and the West Virginia Campaign have also been added. The Biographical Registry has also been amended by Benham to include biographical and career information from graduates of the same West Point class. Also of note, a personal scrap book and Civil War ledger are in the collection. Series 4 and series 5 contain several portraits and military company photographs relating to Benham’s career. The papers related to Elizabeth Benham concern her application to receive a military pension following her husband’s death. Portraits of Mrs. Benham with other family members are contained in Series 4 and Series 5.

Series 3: Military and Family Photographs, Scope and Content note

Series 3 is divided into eight folders according to their subject matter. The series mostly consists of military portraits and photographs that span Maj. Benham’s career. Personal and family photographs, many of which contain unidentified people, are also significantly represented. The undated and unidentified photo album features a series of images from a military camp situated in a dense forest near a river, and the folders containing the Puerto Rican and Cuban photographs have scenes of villages, people, and buildings. The photograph of the Pine Ridge Indian Police features numerous Lakota Sioux standing in formation holding rifles. In some cases, subjects and people have been identified on the backs of the photographs

Series 4: Military Regalia, Insignia, and Related Realia, Scope and Content note

Series 4 is divided into two boxes containing realia related to Maj. Benham’s military career. The series mostly consists of regalia and insignia from the uniforms of Maj. Benham which he can be seen wearing in several of his military portraits.

Series 5: Oversized Materials – Photographs, Documents and Maps, Scope and Content note

Series 5 consists of one oversized box containing photographs, documents, and maps that would not fit in legal sized folders. The organization of the box is consistent with the rest of the collection with materials sorted according to their subjects and materials. The series mostly consists of official documents pertaining to Maj. Benham’s promotions and military society affiliations. The certificates of military promotion have the presidential signatures of Hayes, Harrison, McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. There is also a hand drawn map of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington Territories. On the backside of a portrait of Mrs. E.A. Benham, in 1931, N.V.V. Franchot wrote a paragraph identifying the subjects of the photograph and containing genealogical materials related to the Benham family.