Benjamin F. Fisher

Last updated
Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army

Benjamin Franklin Fisher
Benjamin Franklin Fisher.jpg
Born(1834-11-21)November 21, 1834
Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedSeptember 9, 1915(1915-09-09) (aged 80)
Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, United States
AllegianceFlag of the United States (1867-1877).svg  United States (Union)
Branch Seal of the United States Board of War.png United States Army (Union Army)
Years of service1861 – 1867
Rank Union Army colonel rank insignia.png Colonel
Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg Bvt. Brigadier General
Unit 3rd Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment
Battles / wars American Civil War
Alma mater Franklin & Marshall College

Benjamin Franklin Fisher (1834-1915) was an American Brevet Brigadier General who was a Chief Signal Officer of the Army of the Potomac during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. He was also known for being one of the escapees of the Libby Prison escape

Contents

Biography

Early years

Benjamin was born on November 21, 1834, at Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, as the son of the Reverend Peter A. Fisher. [1] Benjamin graduated from the Franklin & Marshall College and his early career consisted of being an attorney at Bucks County, Pennsylvania, before the outbreak of the American Civil War. [2] [1]

American Civil War

When the war broke out, Fisher was mustered into the Union Army in July 1861 at Doylestown, Pennsylvania, as a 1st Lieutenant as part of Company H of the 3rd Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment however he was then reassigned to the Signal Corps and being promoted to Captain on July 7, 1862. [2] [1] He would then go on to participate in the Peninsula Campaign along with Joseph Hooker. He would also participate at the Maryland campaign as an observer before being made a Chief Signal Officer in June 1863. [2] [3] Fisher then went on to participate at the Battle of Chancellorsville and was praised for his command during the battle as he was one of the first commanders to report Robert E. Lee's movements up the Rappahannock to his home state of Pennsylvania. [2] Afterwards, he left the HQ at Fairfax Station, Virginia, to report to Alfred Pleasonton who was at Aldie, Virginia, but on the way, he was ambushed and captured by John S. Mosby's men and was held as a prisoner of war at Libby Prison. [2] [1]

Prison escape

During his time as a prisoner, Fisher befriended Colonel Thomas E. Rose as Rose formed a working party with other prisoners in order to break out of the prison. One day at ten in the evening, Fisher and his party crossed the Chickahominy River and passed by the guard at Meadow bridge. On the next day, they hid under a pine thicket several miles beyond the river and would travel at night, avoiding the roads and hid in the thickets and jungles of the Chickahominy swamp during the day. When they reached the vicinity of the White House, a severe snowstorm occurred which caused Fisher and his party to lie for 2 days in order to avoid detection by the Confederates, who were actively searching for the missing men. On the evening of 18 February, Fisher's party were caught by a Confederate search party and fighting broke out with Fisher merely escaping out of sheer determination through the thickets and swamps and arriving on Williamsburg, Virginia, on 21 February along with some other party members that followed Fisher. They were shortly then rescued by Benjamin Butler's cavalry who were searching for the escapees. For his services during the break out, Fisher was promoted to Major of the Signal Corps and reassigned as the Chief Signal Officer of the United States, relieving William J. L. Nicodemus. [2]

Later years

His post war life consisted of Fisher continuing his legal career in Philadelphia, going as far as becoming a registrar of Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district. [1] He died on Valley Forge at the Schuylkill. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army of the Potomac</span> Principal Union army in the eastern theatre of the American Civil War

The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William W. Averell</span> American diplomat

William Woods Averell was a career United States Army officer and a cavalry general in the American Civil War. He was the only Union general to achieve a major victory against the Confederates in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 prior to the arrival of Philip Sheridan, at the Battle of Rutherford's (Carter's) Farm and at the Battle of Moorefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Harpers Ferry</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded, bombarded, and captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Prison</span> Military prison in Richmond, Virginia, during the US Civil War

Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army, taking in numbers from the nearby Seven Days battles and other conflicts of the Union's Peninsular campaign to take Richmond and end the war only a year after it had begun. As the conflict wore on the prison gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Prisoners suffered high mortality from disease and malnutrition. By 1863, one thousand prisoners were crowded into large open rooms on two floors, with open, barred windows leaving them exposed to weather and temperature extremes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Farrar Smith</span> United States Army officer

William Farrar Smith, known as "Baldy" Smith, was a Union general in the American Civil War, notable for attracting the extremes of glory and blame. He was praised for his gallantry in the Seven Days Battles and the Battle of Antietam, but was demoted for professional and political reasons after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. As chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, he achieved recognition by restoring a supply line that saved that army from starvation and surrender, known as the "Cracker Line", that helped Union troops to success in the Chattanooga Campaign in the autumn of 1863. Leading the first operation against Petersburg, Smith's caution, possibly illness-related, may have cost the Union a prime opportunity for a quick end to the war. He was relieved of command shortly thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Seven Pines</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Shepherdstown</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, at Boteler's Ford along the Potomac River, during the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia withdrew across the Potomac. Lee left a rear guard commanded by Brigadier General William N. Pendleton at Boteler's Ford. On September 19, elements of the Union V Corps dueled with Pendleton's artillery before pushing a short distance across the river at dusk. Pendleton inaccurately informed Lee that all of the artillery of the rear guard had been captured. On the morning of September 20, the Confederates counterattacked with A. P. Hill's Light Division, forcing the Union units back across the Potomac. One Union unit, the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, did not withdraw at the same time as the others and suffered heavy losses. Lee's army continued its retreat into the Shenandoah Valley after the battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William B. Franklin</span> American general

William Buel Franklin was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in several notable battles in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War. He also distinguished himself as a civil engineer before and after the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland campaign</span> 1862 invasion of Northern United States

The Maryland campaign occurred September 4–20, 1862, during the American Civil War. The campaign was Confederate General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. It was repulsed by the Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who moved to intercept Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia and eventually attacked it near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The resulting Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of battle in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph K. Mansfield</span> United States Army officer (1803–1862)

Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer. He served as a Union general in the American Civil War and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse L. Reno</span> United States Army general (1823–1862)

Jesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Virginia. Known as a "soldier's soldier" who fought alongside his men, he was killed while commanding a corps at Fox's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain. Reno, Nevada; Reno County, Kansas; Reno, Ohio; El Reno, Oklahoma; Reno, Pennsylvania; Fort Reno (Oklahoma); and Fort Reno Park in Washington, D.C. were named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James B. Ricketts</span> American Civil War Union general (1817–1887)

James Brewerton Ricketts was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a Union Army general during the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Hays (general)</span> Union army general

William Hays was a career officer in the United States Army, serving as a Union Army general during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment</span> Union Army infantry regiment

The 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a part of the famous Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsena R. Patrick</span>

Marsena Rudolph Patrick was a college president and an officer in the United States Army, serving as a general in the Union volunteer forces during the American Civil War. He was the provost marshal for the Army of the Potomac in many of its campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin C. Christ</span>

Benjamin Caspar Christ was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. He commanded a brigade in the IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac at several important battles, including the Battle of Antietam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph F. Carter</span>

Joseph Franklin Carter was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Carter received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the Battle of Fort Stedman in Virginia on March 25, 1865. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 9, 1891.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ould</span> Chief of the Bureau of Exchange for Confederate States of America

Robert Ould was a lawyer who served as a Confederate official during the American Civil War. From 1862 to 1865 he was the Confederate agent of exchange for prisoners of war under the Dix–Hill Cartel. After the war he became a member of the Virginia General Assembly and was later elected president of a railroad company.

The 4th New Jersey Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Overall, the regiment lost 5 officers and 156 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded and 2 officers and 103 enlisted men to disease during the Civil War. The regiment's first commander, Colonel James H. Simpson, helped lead the 4th N.J through the hardships of the first year of campaigning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David B. McKibbin</span> United States Army officer

David Bell McKibbin was a United States Army officer who was made a brevet brigadier general in the final weeks of the American Civil War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Report of the ... Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Vol. 22. Pennsylvania Bar Association. 1916. p. 85. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Antietam: Capt Benjamin Franklin Fisher". Antietam on the Web. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  3. Francis Adams Donaldson (1998). Inside the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Experience of Captain Francis Adams Donaldson. Stackpole Books. p. 455. ISBN   0811709019 . Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  4. Information Annual ...: A Continuous Cyclopedia and Digest of Current Events. 1915-16. Vol. 1. R.R. Bowker Company. 1916. p. 257. Retrieved April 27, 2022.