Lewis Benedict (September 2, 1817 – April 9, 1864) was a politician in New York State and later fought in the American Civil War. He served as a Union colonel and was awarded the rank of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general after his death in the

Battle of Pleasant Hill The Battle of Pleasant Hill occurred on April 9, 1864 and formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War when Union forces aimed to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport. The battle was essentially a continuation ...

Career

Before the American Civil War, Benedict was an Albany city attorney and a New York State Assemblyman. He graduated from Williams College in 1837. Benedict served during the Civil War as colonel of the 162nd New York Volunteer Infantry. It was recruited under the auspices of the Metropolitan Police at New York City and was part of the Metropolitan Brigade. He was captured at Williamsburg, Virginia, and spent months in various

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

prisons. Benedict fought the Siege of Port Hudson in 1863, and was killed in action in April 1864 at the

, Louisiana. On March 13, 1865, he was posthumously brevetted brigadier general, U.S. Volunteers for "gallant conduct at Port Hudson, Louisiana".

References

;Bibliography *Howard, William F. "Col. Lewis Benedict: The Forgotten Hero of Pleasant Hill". ''The Kepi''. April–May 1985. *Joiner, Gary D. ''Through the Howling Wilderness: The 1864 Red River Campaign and Union Failure in the West''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006. *Mayeux, Steven M. ''Earthen Walls, Iron Men: Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, and the Defense of Red River''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2007. *''A Memorial of Brevet Brigadier General Lewis Benedict, colonel of 162nd regiment N.Y.V., who fell in battle at Pleasant Hill, La., April 9, 1864''. Albany, N.Y.:1866. Available online at: www.archive.org/details/memorialofbrevet00bene *New York Infantry. 162d Regiment, 1862–1865. ''An historical sketch of the 162d Regiment N.Y. Vol. Infantry : (3d Metropolital Guard), 19th Army Corps, 1862-1865''. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Co, 1867.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, Lewis 1817 births 1864 deaths Union Army colonels Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Williams College alumni American Civil War prisoners of war held by the Confederate States of America