Benjamin Hardin Helm

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Benjamin Hardin Helm
Born June 2, 1831(1831-06-02)
Bardstown, Kentucky
Died September 21, 1863(1863-09-21) (aged 32)
Chickamauga, Georgia
Place of burial Helm Family Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Kentucky[1]
Allegiance United States of America
Confederate States of America
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service 1861 – 1863
Rank Brigadier General
Commands held 1st Kentucky "Orphans" Brigade, CSA
Battles/wars American Civil War

Benjamin Hardin Helm (June 2, 1831 – September 21, 1863[2]) was a Kentucky politician, attorney, Confederate brigadier general, and a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm. Helms was born in Bardstown, Kentucky. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute and the West Point Military Academy and then went to study law at the University of Louisville and Harvard University. He served as a state legislator and the state's attorney in Kentucky. He also served as the assistant inspector-general for the Kentucky state guard. Helm was offered the position of Union Army paymaster by his brother-in-law, President Abraham Lincoln, a position which he declined. Helm felt it was an honor to serve in the Confederate States Army, where he was initially a colonel and later promoted to brigadier general. Helm commanded the 1st Kentucky Brigade more commonly known as The Orphan Brigade. He died on the battlefied during the Battle of Chickamauga. Helm was married to Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Childhood house of Benjamin Hardin Helm

The son of lawyer and politician John L. Helm and Lucinda Barbour Hardin, Benjamin Hardin Helm was born in Bardstown, Kentucky on June 2, 1831.[3] In the winter of 1846, Helms was enrolled at the Kentucky Military Institute, a place where he remained for a tenure of three months.[4] Near to his 20th birthday,[5] he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1851, 9th in his class of 42 cadets.[6] He was appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons, but resigned his commission the following year, after being diagnosed with inflammatory rheumatism.[7] Helms served at a cavalry school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and at Fort Lincoln, Texas.[8]

Following the resignation of his commission, Helm studied law at the University of Louisville and Harvard University, settled down in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and graduated in 1853, after which, he went to practice law with his father.[9] In 1855 he was elected to the House of Representatives of Kentucky, for one term, to represent Hardin County and sat as the state's attorney for the 3rd district of Kentucky from 1856 to 1858.[10] In 1856, Helm married Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.[6]

In 1860, He was appointed assistant inspector-general of the Kentucky state guard, where he was active in organizing the unit.[11] As Kentucky's status in the American Civil War remained neutral in 1861, Helm was offered the job of Union Army paymaster by his brother-in-law, President Abraham Lincoln.[12] He declined the job, instead returning to Kentucky to raise the 1st Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate States of America.[12]

[edit] Military career

Helm was commissioned a colonel on October 19, 1861, and served under Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[13] Helm's group was then ordered south.[8] During the Battle of Shiloh, Helms used the men of his 1st Kentucky Cavalry to guard Confederate flanks.[14] He was promoted to brigadier general on March 14, 1862 and, three weeks later, received a new assignment to lead the 3rd Kentucky Brigade, in the division of Major General John C. Breckinridge.[14] During the Battle of Shiloh, Helms used his brigade to guard Confederate flanks.[14] Remaining under the command of Maj. Gen. Breckinridge, He and was given orders to command the 1st Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade in January 1863.[15] Helm maintained command of the Orphan Brigade through the battles of Shiloh and Baton Rouge, where he and his brigade were sent to guard the CSS Arkansas in Yazoo City, Mississippi.[16] Helms, with the Orphans brigade, joined the Army of Tennessee, where he was with throughout the Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns in 1863.[12] Toward the end of spring 1863, Helms, on orders from General Breckinridge, deployed the brigade to Vicksburg, Mississippi in General Joseph E. Johnston's unsuccessful attempt to end the siege there. He referred to the attempt as "the most unpleasant and trying of his career".[17]

[edit] Battle of Chickamauga and death

In the fall of 1863, Helm's brigade formed a part of General Braxton Bragg's attempt to counter Union Major General William Rosecrans' offensive against the major Confederacy gateway, Chattanooga, Tennessee.[18] At 9:30am, September 20, 1863, the divisions of generals John C. Breckinridge and Patrick Cleburne were ordered to move forward.[17] Helm's brigade and the others in Breckinridge's division drove into the Federals' left.[17] General Cleburne's division, which was planned to strike near the center of the line, was delayed by heavy fire from Union soldiers, leaving the left flank unguarded.[17] Repeated attempts to overwhelm the Federals were in vain, however, some of the men under Helm's command managed to make it within 39 yards of the Federal line.[17] In a matter of an hour, more than one-third of the men of the Orphan brigade lie dead on the battlefield.[19] The remainder of his men on horseback, clashed with the well-fortified Union line.[17] A marksman from the 15th Kentucky Infantry, who was buried in the thick shrubbery around them, fired a bullet that plowed through Helm's chest.[17] Bleeding profusely, he managed to remain in the saddle for a few moments before toppling to the ground.[20] He was carried off the battlefield and, after being examined by surgeons, it was determined that his wounds were fatal.[17] He managed to hang on for several hours before, realizing that his health was deteriorating, asking who won the battle and, after being reassured that the Confederates had won, he muttered "Victory!, Victory!, Victory!".[21] On September 21, 1863, Helms was pronounced dead.[17] Following his death, Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln went into private mourning at the White House,[22] her niece recalling: "She knew that a single tear shed for a dead enemy would bring torrents of scorn and bitter abuse on both her husband and herself."[23] Emilie Todd Helm was granted safe passage to the White House in December 1863.[24] In an official report of the Battle of Chickamauga, General Daniel Harvey Hill stated that Benjamin Helm's "gallantry and loveliness of character endeared him to everyone."[22] In a letter to Emilie Todd Helm, General Breckinridge said, "Your husband commanded them [the men of the Orphan brigade] like a thorough soldier. He loved them, they loved him, and he died at their head, a patriot and a hero."[22]

[edit] See also

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Benjamin Hardin Helm". Civil War Reference. http://www.civilwarreference.com/people/index.php?peopleID=443. Retrieved 4 February 2012. 
  2. ^ Eicher, David J. 2001, p. 293; Warner 1989, p. 133
  3. ^ Warner 1989, p. 132; Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 139
  4. ^ Thompson 1868, p. 338
  5. ^ Barefoot 2005, p. 147
  6. ^ a b Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 140
  7. ^ Thompson 1868, p. 339, Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 140
  8. ^ a b Benjamin H. Helm's Find a Grave page accessed 4 February 2012
  9. ^ Barefoot 2005, p. 148
  10. ^ Thompson 1868, p. 339, Warner 1989, p. 132
  11. ^ Thompson 1868, p. 340
  12. ^ a b c Warner 1989, p. 132
  13. ^ Barefoot 2005, pp. 149, 150
  14. ^ a b c Barefoot 2005, p. 149
  15. ^ Barefoot 2005, p. 149; Warner 1989, p. 132
  16. ^ Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 141
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barefoot 2005, p. 150
  18. ^ Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 138
  19. ^ Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 139
  20. ^ Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 139; Barefoot 2005, p. 150
  21. ^ Allardice, Bruce S. 2008, p. 139; Barefoot 2008, pp. 150, 151
  22. ^ a b c Barefoot 2005, p. 151
  23. ^ Clinton 2010, p. 206
  24. ^ "Emilie Todd Helm" available online at Mr. Lincoln's White House Accessed September 29, 2006

[edit] References

  • Eicher, David J., Eicher, John H. (2001). Civil War high commands. Stanford University Press. pp. 1009. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. 
  • Warner, Ezra J. (1989). Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Loisiana: LSU Press. pp. 420. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. 
  • Clinton, Catherine (2010). Mrs. Lincoln: A Life. HarperCollins. pp. 415. ISBN 0060760419. 
  • Thompson, Edwin P. (1868). History of the First Kentucky brigade. United Kingdom: Caxton Publishing House. 
  • Barefoot, Daniel W. (2005). Let us die like brave men: behind the dying words of Confederate warriors. John F. Blair. pp. 281. ISBN 0-89587-311-7. 
  • Allardice, Bruce S., Hewitt, Lawrence L. (2008). Kentuckians in gray: Confederate generals and field officers of the Bluegrass State. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 336. ISBN 0813124751. 

[edit] Further reading

  • McMurtry, Robert (1943). Ben Hardin Helm: "rebel" brother in law of Abraham Lincoln, with a biographical sketch of his wife and an account of the Todd family of Kentucky. Chicago: Civil War Round Table. pp. 72. 

[edit] External links

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