Benjamin prentiss biography
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Benjamin Prentiss
American lawyer and military officer (1819–1901)
Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss (November 23, 1819 – February 8, 1901) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the Mexican–American War and on the Union side of the American Civil War, rising to the rank of major general. He commanded a division at the Battle of Shiloh, which suffered heavy casualties while defending what became known as the Hornet's Nest from continued Confederate assaults, and he eventually surrendered his division. He was criticized by some for his conduct in that battle. After his exchange, he continued to serve in the army until his resignation in 1863. He spent much of his remaining life practicing as a lawyer and as a politician in the Republican Party.
Early life, marriages and family
[edit]Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss was born in Belleville, Virginia. He was a direct descendant of Valentine Prentice, who immigrated from England in 1631. His early childhood was spent in Virgi
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Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss (1819–1901)
Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss served as a major general in the Union army during the Civil War. He most notably served as the Federal commander at the Battle of Helena and was captured leading his division at the Battle of Shiloh.
Benjamin Prentiss was born in Belleville, Virginia, on November 23, 1819, to Henry historisk person Prentiss and Rebecca Mayberry Prentiss. At the age of seventeen, he moved with his family to Marion County, Missouri, where he worked as a rope maker. In 1841, he moved to Quincy, Illinois, where he joined the militia and was active in the conflict between local citizens and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Prentiss was married twice. He and his first wife, Margaret Sowdosky, had six children. After her death, he married Mary Worthington Whitney, and they had four children.
During the Mexican War, Prentiss served as a captain in the First Illinois Infantry and fought at the Battle of Buena Vista. Aft
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Benjamin Prentiss
Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss was born on November 23, 1819 in Belleville, Virginia. His family moved west to Hannibal, Missouri and later Quincy, Illinois. During the Mexican War, Prentiss served as a captain in the 1st Illinois Infantry and fought at the Battle of Buena Vista. After the war, he returned to Illinois and practiced lag. He continued to serve in the militia, eventually reaching the rank of colonel. Prentiss unsuccessfully ran for U. S. församling in 1860 as a Republican.
When the war broke out, Prentiss led Union troops in Missouri operating against the Confederate Missouri State Guard. He commanded a division in Ulysses S. Grant’s army at Shiloh, where his men bore the brunt of the Confederate assault around the Hornet’s Nest on April 6th, 1862. Prentiss was captured in the fighting there, and he was paroled in October. He served on the court-martial board that convicted General Fitz John Porter, where he voted for Porter’s acquittal. In March,