Benjamin Grierson
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Benjamin Henry Grierson (July 8, 1826 – August 31, 1911) was U.S. Army cavalry general in the American Civil War and in the American West.
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[edit] Life
Grierson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five siblings. He became afraid of horses when at age eight he was kicked and nearly killed by a horse. In 1851, he became music teacher and band leader in Jacksonville, Illinois. He married Alice Kirk of Youngstown, Ohio, on September 24, 1854. The couple had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Alice died August 14, 1888; Grierson later married Lillian Atwood King, a widow, July 28, 1897. During his life, he had homes in Jacksonville, Illinois, Fort Concho, and a summer home at Omena, Michigan. In 1907 he suffered a debilitating stroke; he died in 1911 in Omena, and is buried in Jacksonville Cemetery (East Cemetery), Jacksonville, Illinois.
[edit] Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Grierson enlisted as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Benjamin M. Prentiss. Promoted to major on October 24, 1861, he joined the 6th Illinois Cavalry and was promoted to Colonel of that regiment on April 12, 1862. His regiment was engaged in a number of small skirmishes and raids on railroads and facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi that spring and summer. In November, he became a brigade commander in the Cavalry Division of the Army of the Tennessee. In December, he participated in the pursuit of Confederate Earl Van Dorn after his Holly Springs raid against the supply lines of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Grierson led Grierson's Raid in 1863, a major diversionary thrust deep into the Confederacy, ordered by Grant as part of his Vicksburg Campaign. He departed from La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17, in command of 1,700 men of the 6th and 7th Illinois and the 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments. Over 17 days, his command marched 800 miles, repeatedly engaged the Confederates, disabled two railroads, and destroyed vast amounts of property, finally ending in Baton Rouge on May 2, but more importantly, he diverted the attention of the Confederate defenders of Vicksburg away from General Grant's main thrust. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in June. In 1864 he was assigned to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Mississippi and in 1865 he took part in the campaign against Mobile.
On March 2, 1867, Grierson received a brevet promotion to the rank of major general in the Regular Army for his famous raid.he died in 1911.
[edit] Postbellum service in the West
Grierson decided to remain in the regular army after the war and received the rank of colonel. His lack of West Point credentials made him suspect to many fellow officers. He organized the 10th U.S. Cavalry, one of two mounted regiments composed of black enlisted men and white officers, called the Buffalo Soldiers. This assignment also made him unpopular with other officers, including his superior, General Philip Henry Sheridan, because of his support for and trust in his troops. His sympathy and courtesy to Native American tribes also led to questions about his judgment.
- "The only White officer who supports the unit is Regimental Commanding Officer Colonel Benjamin Grierson. Ostracized by other officers for his enthusiastic command of the African-American troops, Grierson believes in the abilities, dedication, and record of performance of the Buffalo Soldiers and declines offers to lead at any other post. General Pike offers to relieve Grierson "of this self-imposed exile and have him commanding a real cavalry regiment within a month," but Grierson refuses" — Turner Network Television's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers".
[edit] Postbellum command history
- 1867–69: Commanded Fort Riley, then later Fort Gibson.
- 1868–69: Headed the District of the Indian Territory.
- 1869–72: Selected the site for Fort Sill, Oklahoma, supervised construction of the post, and acted as commander. He angered residents of the Texas frontier with his support of the peace policy on the Kiowa-Comanche Reservation. Saved the life of visiting General William Tecumseh Sherman, during a confrontation with Lone Wolf, principal chief of the Kiowa, over responsibility for an attack on a wagon train near Salt Creek Prairie, Texas.
- 1873–74: Superintendent of the Mounted Recruiting Service at St. Louis.
- 1875–78: Commander at Fort Concho, Texas.
- 1878–80: Commander of the District of the Pecos. In 1880 he helped defeat Victorio to end the Indian threat to West Texas.
- 1882–82: Moved his headquarters to Fort Davis, Texas.
- 1883–83: Commanded the Department of Texas in September and October.
- 1885–86: Transferred to Arizona, commanded Whipple Barracks and later Fort Grant.
- 1886–88: Commanded the District of New Mexico. There he dealt sympathetically and effectively with problems on the Jicarilla and Navajo reservations.
- 1888–90: Commanded the Department of Arizona.
- April 5, 1890: Promoted to brigadier general.
- July 8, 1890: Retired
[edit] Grierson in media
Colonel Grierson is a prominent figure in Turner Network Television's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers".
The part of Colonel Marlowe, played by John Wayne in the movie The Horse Soldiers, is loosely based on Grierson.
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
