The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Frederick W. Benteen - Aug. 18th, 2005

Wild West Magazine | June 2001 | Steven M. Leonard

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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Custer's Nemesis:
Frederick W. Benteen
(1834 - 1898)

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Benteen, though he displayed daring and audacity during his military career, would probably not be remembered today if not for his supporting role at the Little Bighorn more than 125 years ago.

Frederick William Benteen can best be described as an enigma. To George Armstrong Custer, Benteen was a nefarious subordinate, a man who doubted every decision, questioned every order. To his own men, the cavalrymen with whom he served, Benteen was a courageous and honorable man, a leader in whom they held the greatest respect and trust.

In his book on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, To Hell with Honor, Larry Skelnar illustrates Custer's nemesis in less than complimentary terms, describing a jealous and oftentimes unprofessional military officer. In the mold of numerous other writers, Skelnar characterizes Benteen as a man devoid of honor, an angry bit player on the stage of history who allowed his personal feelings to overcome his sworn duty.

In Harvest of Barren Regrets, Charles K. Mills, portrays Benteen in a far different light. For Mills, Benteen represents the flawed human being within each of us -- the common man thrust upon a strange and unforgiving stage, cast to perform in a deciding role in a classic tragedy of epic proportions. Mills views Benteen as misjudged by history, a man forced to shoulder much of the blame for events far beyond his scope of influence or control. He finds in Benteen a hero lost in the sands of time, a warrior forgotten by history.

While Custer and Benteen shared a certainly acrimonious relationship, few historians -- and even fewer Custer buffs -- possess the military experience or intuitive wherewithal to judge the professional commitment of a career officer. During the Civil War, Benteen demonstrated a level of raw courage and bravado that drew others to him. Yet, even then he was an enigmatic leader; he was often peculiar to a fault and was markedly unforgiving with those in whom he found character flaws. Nevertheless, in the heat of battle, few men were as decisive in victory as Frederick Benteen.

On the frontier with Custer, Benteen exhibited the same daring and audacity, but his personal life became one of recurring tragedy. However, his resolve to serve never wavered. In 10 years of campaigning with an officer he obviously held in rather low regard, he performed his duty with all the gallantry and boldness one would expect from a military professional. At no time did Benteen allow his duties and responsibilities to succumb to a personal distaste for Custer.

The true essence of military professionalism is the ability to serve in the face of adversity, to maintain honor and personal integrity under the most difficult circumstances. For years, Frederick Benteen demonstrated those qualities with an unremitting steadfastness. To assume that he would abandon his principles in an adversary's greatest hour of need is to underestimate the depth and intensity of those tenets in a military officer.

Frederick William Benteen may have been little more than a minor actor on the grand stage of history, but he was much more than many have portrayed him. Ultimately, he was a human being, flawed and imperfect, but a human being nonetheless. And, maybe not so unlike us after all.


Benteen in 1861

On 24 February 1887, Major Frederick William Benteen sat quietly before his court-martial board at Fort Duchesne, Utah. In the waning hours of a trial that mocked the career of a man who had so honorably served his country, Frederick Benteen introduced a final exhibit for the court to consider -- his heart. For a man such as Benteen, whose emotions were intensely private and closely held, this measure was as remarkable as it was unexpected.

Benteen told of a proud military career spanning three decades of selfless, often sacrificial, service to his country. He spoke candidly of his decision to take arms for the Union, a choice that alienated him from his own father and effectively divided the Benteen family. With deep furrows across his face and locks of snowy white earned on the field of battle, Frederick Benteen bore little resemblance to the powerful young cavalryman who fought with distinction against both Confederate soldiers and Native American warriors. Looking deeply into the eyes of those who would judge him, he solemnly said, "There was nothing left for my immediate family, but a harvest of barren regrets."

Frederick William Benteen was born in the Virginia port city of Petersburg on August 24,1834 to Theodore Charles and Caroline Hargrove Benteen. The Benteens had moved to Virginia from Baltimore shortly after the birth of their first child, Henrietta Elizabeth, in October 1831. The elder Benteen earned a prosperous living as a paint and hardware contractor, securing a private education for his son at the Petersburg Classical Institute, where Frederick was first trained in military drill. Sadly, Caroline Benteen died suddenly in 1841, leaving a young husband and family. Undoubtedly, the loss of his mother at such an impressionable age impacted Frederick, but to what extent is unknown.

Following the marriage of his daughter in the spring of 1849, Charley Benteen followed the call of the west and moved his family to St. Louis, Missouri. There, he remarried, established a paint and glass supply business, and employed his sixteen-year-old son as a sign painter. In 1856, Frederick became acquainted with Catharine Louisa Norman, a young woman recently arrived in St. Louis from Philadelphia. "Kate", a staunch supporter of the Union, would have a profound influence on the future of Frederick Benteen.


Major F. W. Benteen

The election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President in 1860 polarized the country, and Missouri was no less affected than any other state in the Union. Kate strongly urged Frederick to support the cause of the Union forces in Missouri. His father, an ardent secessionist, vehemently opposed Frederick's association with Unionists, igniting a family crisis that was never truly resolved. When told of his son's decision to support the Union, Charley Benteen retorted, "I hope the first God damned bullet gets you."

As early as July 1861, Frederick was observing and supervising the drill of volunteer infantry companies in and around the St. Louis Arsenal. He got his first taste of battle -- although not officially on the rosters of any of the participating units -- on August 10, at Wilson's Creek. Outnumbered five to one, volunteer and Federal forces under Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon attacked a concentrated force of 22,000 Confederates ten miles southwest of Springfield, inflicting over 5000 casualties before retreating in ultimate defeat to Rolla. The opening act of the Civil War in Missouri, although inauspicious, cemented Frederick's decision to join with the volunteers.

On September 1, the 67 members of what would become the 1st Battalion, Missouri Cavalry, held an election of officers; Frederick Benteen was elected first lieutenant of C Company. By October 1, the battalion was at full strength and Benteen was elected captain and commander of C Company. Twelve days later, Benteen saw his first action as an officer at Dutch Hollow against a large body of irregular Confederate cavalry.

On January 7, 1862, Benteen married his longtime girlfriend, Kate Norman, at Saint George's Church in St. Louis. Only her immediate family attended the ceremony. Their honeymoon was short; within three days, Frederick returned to Rolla. Kate settled into their new home to wait out the war.

[Professional Engineer]

1930 Eastern Airlines begins passenger service

Air Rickenbacker

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather

[Professional Engineer]

Hiya Sam.

Long time no see.

[SAMWolf]

Snippy let me out of the dungeon for a few minutes this month. ;-)

[Professional Engineer]

Gonna have to talk with her boss about that

[Soaring Feather]

Hi PE,

Have you had your surgery yet?? I have forgotten when you said it was scheduled.

[GailA]

Good afternoon Snippy, Sam and ALL.

[Professional Engineer]

The gut sucking commences at 11:00am next Tuesday

[Soaring Feather]

UGH!! Same day surgery, right?

[Professional Engineer]

That's the plan. I'll be laid up FReeping for a few days afterward.

[snippy_about_it]

Good afternoon Gail.

[w_over_w]

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

If you do FReep afterwards and are on Benzodiazepines with an opiate . . . well . . . we'll know! ;^)

[Professional Engineer]

I'm sticking with vicodin and vodka.

[USMCBOMBGUY]

"Over there" GRRRRRRRR
Last nights show was so full of fallacies I don't even know where to begin.

I will start with the General coming to seeking them out to volentell them for the duty.
That type of job would be given to scout snipers.

Then the mission itself, trucks full of toilets? whatever, it wouldn't happen.

Then the portrayal of the General as the backassward pseudo roughneck with a room temperature IQ.
Although there are some not so bright officers out there, most are given administrative tasks to keep them out of operational decisions that may cost lives. Some not so bright ones get sent to oversee detention facilities and the like, not resulting in casualties just embarrassment.
Now if there was a real problem with the mortar attacks then the tubes themselves would have been located (easily) and destroyed (counter battery, air strike, ect).

If the spotter was thought to be held up in a house then it is a easy matter to roll down and check the house.

There was way more discussion about the morals of the mission then what would ever happen.
The squad leader would dictate, based on mission parameters of what action should be taken.

The Gals.........Grrrrrrrr, if I was a female in the military I would be pissed off (my wife is seeing red).

The ladies being sent off to draw fire, this is so far fetched I cant believe they really passed this crap off.
This would not happen, it is one thing to be ambushed on a convoy, but to be purposely send them to draw fire, that commander would be relieved faster then they could say equal opportunity.

There are to many other inaccuracies to list, I just wanted to vent on a few.
Overall, the troops are just not being portrayed accurately, the writers should be ashamed.
Grrrrrrr, that was the worst one yet, but not by much!

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Thanks for the response. Sam was saying basically the same thing last night.

Tactics don't change that much from war to war! Heck, even I identified a few things I knew couldn't be portrayed correctly and I'm no soldier, just an armchair viewer with some common sense!

[snippy_about_it]

Gonna have to talk with her boss about that

I see Sam has gone to the Valin school of thought...blame someone else. :-)

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Great read, I think Benteen's attributes were discussed here before, I believe he was a solid commander, he had flaws but most commanders do.
The Little Bighorn debate will continue on as it has for decades. My take on it is that that Benteen acted responsibly, he saved what he could of the unit and choose defendable ground to stand on. If he would of blindly followed Custer his troops would have been slaughtered right along with Custer. The largest mistakes were made by Custer in his rush to engage.

[PzLdr]

What "rush to engage"? It's the Cavalry for Chris' Sake!. Custer struck a hot trail, and he followed it. He was under orders to make sure any hostiles [read all Indians not on reservations] did not escape. Custer intended to lay low on the 25th and attack at first light on the 26th. Reason for the change of plan? His rear elements made contact with some Sioux in the AM of the 25th . Custer thought they were warning the village. In point of fact, they were returning to a reservation after hunting buffalo with their relatives. [The Army's estimate of 800 warriors was accurate until late Spring when a lot of Sioux jumped the reservation for the summer hunt - a fact the Indian agents knew, but didn't pass on.]That left him with his orders - not to let them escape.

Custer conducted a combination meeting engagement, reconnaissance in force. Of the the three prongs in that operation, two failed in their mission, and based on John Gray's work, it is probable that Custer feinted at Medicine Coulee to take pressure off Reno. He succeeded too well. Neither Reno, nor Benteen did anything, including a feint, to take any pressure off Custer subsequently. They left that to Cpt. Weir.

I've always thought it odd that all the commentators who castigate Custer for attacking early never mention that Gibbon and Terry, who were to rendezvous with Custer on the 26th, showed up a day late. So if Custer had attacked on the 26th, as he planned, and in expectation of the other two columns from the north, he still would have gone in alone.

[Professional Engineer]

While getting her bath tonight, Bittygirl was experimenting with putting one finger after another, then her fist into the faucet to watch what happened. I didn't do this until I was five or so.

It would appear BG has the Knack

[Soaring Feather]

LOL and so she will be.