Roberts, Benjamin Stone
Benjamin Stone Roberts was born 18 November 1810, in Manchester, Vermont. He graduated from West Point in the Class of 1835, served on frontier duty, and resigned in 1839. He became chief engineer of a New York railroad, and helped George W. Whistler construct a railroad between St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia. Reappointed 1st Lieutenant, Mounted Rifles in 1846, at the outbreak of the Mexican War, and was breveted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1847 for gallantry during the war.
On 3 March 1861, he was promoted to major in the Third U.S. Cavalry, was on command of Fort Stanton, New Mexico in July 1861, participated in the Valverde, New Mexico invasion in June 1862. He was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers; was Inspector General and Chief of Cavalry for Pope in the First Bull Run Campaign. He was one of several officers who preferred charges against Fitz-John Porter. He performed duties in Minnesota, commanded the upper defenses of Washington, and held minor command until the end of the war. He was breveted in the U.S. Army, and Major General of Volunteers in March 1865 for gallant and meritorious service during the war.
After the war, he continued in the U.S. Army, saw cavalry duty, taught at Yale, and resigned in 1870. Later in life he was a lawyer and firearms manufacturer.
He died 29 January 1875, in Washington, DC, and is buried in Dellwood cemetery, Manchester, Vermont.
Links
Source - Revised Roster, pp 680.
Bibliography
Gallaher, Ruth A. “Benjamin Stone Roberts.” Palimpsest, 1 (1920):75-85.
Howe, S. S. “Biographical Sketch of Brigadier General Benjamin Stone Roberts.” Annals of Iowa Series 1, 2 (1864):200-06.
