Benjamin G. Humphreys
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Benjamin Grubb Humphreys (August 26, 1808December 20, 1882) was an American politician from Mississippi. He was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and served as Governor of Mississippi from 1865 to 1868, during Reconstruction.


Early life

Humphreys was born in Claiborne County in the
Territory of Mississippi The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the History o ...
, on the Bayou Pierre. He was educated in New Jersey and enrolled at United States Military Academy in the same class as
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
and Joseph E. Johnston. However, he was expelled in 1826 when he participated in a "Christmas frolic" that ended up turning into the Eggnog Riot. Upon his return to Mississippi, he was elected to the state senate representing his native county, serving from 1839 to 1844. In 1846, he moved to
Sunflower County, Mississippi Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Are ...
, and founded Itta Bena. He developed a cotton plantation there.


Civil War

During the American Civil War, Humphreys raised a company and was commissioned a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the Confederate States Army in 1861. Part of the
21st Mississippi Infantry Regiment The 21st Regiment, Mississippi Infantry was a Confederate infantry regiment from Mississippi in the American Civil War. The regiment was involved in several well documented battles including the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg an ...
, he was elected to the rank of colonel the same year and brigaded with other regiments under the command of Brig. Gen. William Barksdale in the Eastern Theater. At the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, Humphreys's regiment was part of the force that attacked U.S. Army positions at the Peach Orchard, driving the U.S. soldiers back toward
Cemetery Ridge Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park, south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the ...
. Humphreys took command of the brigade after the death of Barksdale. He was subsequently promoted to brigadier general, and remained in command until he was wounded in the battle of Berryville, Virginia, on September 3, 1864. Humphreys returned home to Mississippi to heal but could not return to active duty before the war ended.


Political career

After the Confederate States Army surrendered and the Confederate government dissolved, secessionist politicians and military officers were not automatically pardoned. They were forbidden to hold public office in the United States. Benjamin Humphreys was unpardoned when he announced his candidacy for Mississippi governor, and President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
did not want him elected. Unwilling to withdraw his candidacy, on October 2, 1865, Humphreys was elected as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
but was not immediately recognized as the Governor of Mississippi. Without presidential approval, on October 16, 1865, Humphreys had himself inaugurated and sworn in as the 26th Governor of Mississippi. By October 26, 1865, Mississippi provisional Governor,
William L. Sharkey William Lewis Sharkey (July 12, 1798 – March 30, 1873) was an American judge and politician from Mississippi. A staunch Unionist during the Civil War, he opposed the 1861 secession of Mississippi. After the end of the Civil War, President An ...
, received from President Andrew Johnson a pardon authorizing political office under the Reconstruction plan. Humphreys won re-election in 1868 and continued with a second term. Nevertheless, with the beginning of Congressional control of Reconstruction, he was physically removed by occupying U.S. Armed Forces on June 15, 1868. As a Democratic Governor of the State of Mississippi, he sympathized with the ideology of White supremacy. In his own words: After he retired from politics, Humphreys entered a career in insurance in Jackson, Mississippi. He continued there until his retirement in 1877, when he moved to his plantation in
Leflore County, Mississippi Leflore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,317. The county seat is Greenwood. The county is named for Choctaw leader Greenwood LeFlore, who signed a treaty to cede his pe ...
, where he died in 1882. He is buried in Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi.Eicher, p. 309.
Humphreys County, Mississippi Humphreys County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,785. Its county seat is Belzoni. The county is named for Benjamin G. Humphreys. Humphreys County is Mississippi's newest county, ...
, is named after him. His son,
Benjamin G. Humphreys II Benjamin Grubb Humphreys II (August 17, 1865 – October 16, 1923) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Mississippi. He was known by his constituents as "Our Ben." Early life Benjamin Grubb Humphreys II was bo ...
, entered into his own political career. He became a member of Congress and was on the Harbors and Rivers Committee, where he was instrumental in the successful amendment that created and added levees to the commission's charter.


See also

* List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)


Notes


References

* McKitrick, Eric L. "Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction". New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1988. * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Pfanz, Harry W. ''Gettysburg – The Second Day''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .
Mississippi History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Benjamin G. 1808 births 1882 deaths People from Claiborne County, Mississippi People from Itta Bena, Mississippi United States Military Academy alumni Democratic Party governors of Mississippi Confederate States Army generals People of Mississippi in the American Civil War 19th-century American Episcopalians American people of Welsh descent Democratic Party Mississippi state senators Recipients of American presidential pardons 19th-century American politicians Southern Historical Society