1. Benjamin Henry Grierson was a music teacher from Illinois who, although afraid of horses, volunteered for service in the cavalry during the Civil War, commanding a cavalry division Army of the Tennessee and reaching the rank of major general in the United States Volunteers.
Benjamin Grierson is most noted for Grierson's Raid, an 1863 expedition through Confederate-held territory that severed enemy communication lines between Vicksburg, Mississippi and Confederate commanders in the Eastern Theater.
Benjamin Grierson began his military career as a volunteer aide-de-camp but was advanced to major of cavalry.
Benjamin Grierson was born in the borough of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, today a section of Pittsburgh.
Benjamin Grierson became afraid of horses when, at age eight, he was kicked and nearly killed by a horse, after which he hated horses.
From 1855 to 1861 Benjamin Grierson was a partner in an unsuccessful mercantile business in Meredosia, Illinois, and was active in Republican politics.
Benjamin Grierson married Alice Kirk of Youngstown, Ohio on September 24,1854.
Benjamin Grierson's regiment was engaged in a number of small skirmishes and raids on railroads and facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi that spring and summer.
In June 1864 Grierson returned to command a cavalry division in the Army of the Tennessee during William T Sherman's Meridian Campaign.
Benjamin Grierson was still in division command during Samuel D Sturgis' ill-fated encounter with Nathan B Forrest at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads.
Shortly after that battle Benjamin Grierson was transferred to command the Cavalry in the District of West Tennessee.
Benjamin Grierson was attached to Andrew J Smith's XVI Corps and fared much better against Forrest at the Battle of Tupelo.
Between December 21,1864, and January 5,1865, Benjamin Grierson led an expedition of two brigades of the Cavalry Division against the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
Benjamin Grierson decided to pursue a career in the Regular Army after the war, which was unusual for an officer whose only prior military service was as a volunteer officer during the Civil War.
Benjamin Grierson is buried in Jacksonville East Cemetery in Jacksonville, a town in Morgan County, Illinois.
Colonel Benjamin Grierson is a prominent figure in Turner Network Television's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers".