b. 03/01/1839 New York. d. 15/05/1886 Governor’s Island, New York.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 07/1861 to 05/1864.
Samuel N Benjamin MOH
Benjamin was born on January 3, 1839 in New York City. He was the son of William Massena Benjamin (1800–1862) and Sarah Jane (née Turk) Benjamin (1805–1903). His siblings included Edith Massena Benjamin, Sarah Josephine Benjamin Arnold, and Laura Gertrude Benjamin Brooks.
Benjamin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with the class of 1861. During the American Civil War, he fought in the Battle of Blackburn’s Ford, the First Battle of Bull Run, the Peninsular Campaign, the Northern Virginia Campaign, the Maryland Campaign, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Vicksburg Campaign, the East Tennessee Campaign, and the Overland Campaign, including both the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
Following the Civil War, he served at West Point and in the Adjutant General Corps. He received his Medal of Honor on June 11, 1877 for his service from Bull Run to Spotsylvania, Virginia over the period from July 1861 to May 1864. The citation stated: “Particularly distinguished services as an artillery officer.” His rank and organization were First Lieutenant, 2d U.S. Artillery. He married Julia Kean Fish, the daughter of the Governor of New York and they had four children. He died on May 15, 1886 while on duty serving in the Department of the East. He is buried in the cemetery of Saint Phillip’s church in Garrison, New York.
MOH CITATION:
Particularly distinguished services as an artillery officer.
BURIAL LOCATION: ST PHILIP’S CHURCH, GARRISON, NEW YORK.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
