George Grenville Benedict (December 10, 1826 – April 8, 1907) was an American soldier who fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Benedict was awarded the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, for his action during the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on July 3, 1863. He was honored with the award on June 27, 1892.

Biography

Benedict was born on 10 December 1826 in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. He entered the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

and graduated with honors in 1847, receiving the degree of Master of Arts in 1850. While a student he became a member of the

Sigma Phi Society The Sigma Phi Society () was founded on the Fourth of March in the year 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York. It is the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States.

as well as the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honor society. He was married on October 27, 1853 to Mary Anne, the daughter of Edward and Abigail Frances Kellogg of New Canaan, NY. He was editor and publisher of '' The Burlington Daily Free Press'' in Burlington, Vermont. He served as the president of the Vermont & Boston Telegraph Company from 1859 to 1863; was elected by the people of Chittenden county as a member of the Vermont Senate 1869-71; and served as the secretary of the Corporation of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College from 1865 to 1879. He was selected as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1880. Also in 1880, Benedict was elected to the University of Vermont Board of Trustees. He served two terms as Burlington postmaster (1861-1864 and 1871-1874).BENEDICT, George Grenville
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'' (1901-1902 edition); p. 82; via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Military career

Benedict enlisted into the

12th Vermont Infantry The 12th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to July 1863. It was a memb ...

at Burlington in August 1862. On the third day of the

, he was among a group of men involved in the successful flank attack on Pickett's Charge, for which he gained the Medal of Honor. In 1863, he was promoted to a lieutenant, and later appointed aid-de-camp on the staff of Gen. George J. Standard, commanding the 2nd Brigade of Vermont Volunteers. By 1865, he held the office of assistant inspector general with the rank of major. Rising again in 1866, Benedict was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor Paul Dillingham with the rank of colonel. Colonel Benedict was appointed to be military historian of the State of Vermont by Governor Redfield Proctor in 1879.

Books

During his nine-month stint in the Army, Benedict wrote back letters to the newspaper, ''The Burlington Daily Free Press'', for publishing. After the war he later compiled these letters into a two-volume work ''Vermont in the Civil War: A History of the Part Taken by the Vermont Soldiers and Sailors in the War for the Union 1861-1865'' in 1866. In 1895 he also published ''Army Life in Virginia: Letters from the Twelfth Vermont Regiment and Personal Experiences of Volunteer Service in the War for the Union 1862-1863''.

Memberships

Benedict was a member of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

and the Vermont Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1899.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
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Death

Colonel Benedict died on April 8, 1907, aged 80, in

. He is buried in the Greenmount Cemetery in that city.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, Company C, 12th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 3 July 1863.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, George G. 1826 births 1907 deaths People of Vermont in the American Civil War Union Army officers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Members of the American Antiquarian Society Members of the Sons of the American Revolution American newspaper editors Vermont state senators