BENEDICT.
BENHAM.
BENEDICT, Lewis, soldier, was born at
AU)any. N. Y., Sept. 2,1817; son of Lewis and
Susiin (Stafford) Benedict. He was prejMired for
college at Aurora, N. Y., and at the Albany
at-adeniy. and was graduated from "Williams
college in 1S37. with the degree of A.M. lie then
stutlied law in Canandaigua for three years, and
was licensed attorney -at-law in January, 1841,
being sub.sequently admitted as counsellor in the
state and federal courts. He began to practise
in Albany, and in 184r) was made city attorney,
serving another term by re-election. He received
the apiwintment of judge-advocate-general on the
staff of Gov. John Young in 1847, and the follow-
ing year was elected surrogate of Albany county.
In 1S49 Governor Hamilton Fi.sli appointed him
judge-advocate-general on his staff, and in 1860
he .served as a member of the state assembly. In
1861 he volunteered in the army, and received
the commission of lieutenant-colonel. He en-
dured many hardships, being confined in Libby
and Salisbury prisons. In August, 1862, he was
exchanged, and was commissioned colonel of
volunteers. In January, 1863, lie was made act-
ing brigadier-general, and served with bravery
and sagacity, particularly in the assault on Port
Hudson, and in the Red River campaign. For
his service at Port Hudson he was brevetted
brigadier-general of volunteers. He fell in the
battle of Pleasant Hill. La., April 9, 1864.
BENET, Stephen Vincent, soldier, was born at St. Augustine, Fla., Jan. 22, 1827. After studying at the University of Georgia he was graduated at West Point, in 1849, with the rank of brevet 2d lieutenant. He served as assistant ordnance officer at Watervliet arsenal, N. Y., during the year 1849-"50, and for the three years foUfjwing was on special duty in the ordnance bureau at Washington. In July, 1851, he was promoted 2d lieutenant. From 1854 to 1859 he was assistant ordnance officer at the St. Louis arsenal. Mo., and from 1859 to 1801 was principal assistant professor of geography, history and ethics at Wes^ Point. He served during the civil war, and from 1861 to 1864 was instructor of ordnance and the science of gunnery. Aug. 3, 1861, he was promoted to the rank of captain. He was brevetted, March 13, 1865, major and lieutenant -colonel for faithful and meritorious ser- vices in the ordnance department. He was retired by operation of law, Jan. 22, 1891. In 1855 the University of Georgia conferred upon him the degree of A.M. He is the author of a " Treatise on Military Laws, and the Practice of Courts- Martial" (1862); "Electro-Ballistic Machines and the Schultz Chronoscope " (1866; 2d ed., 1871), and a translation of Jomini's "Political and Military History of the Campaign of Water- loo " (1853). He died Jan. 22, 1895.
BENEZET, Anthony, philanthropist, was born
at St. C^uentiii, France, Jan. 31, 1713, son of John
Stephen Benezet, who sought refuge in Holland
in 1685, and removed to London, where he joined
the Society of Friends, in 1731, emigrated to
America, and made his home in Philadelphia.
Anthony spent some years in business, and
in 1742 became an instructor in the Friends'
English school. In 1755 he established a school
for the instruction of women, and in 1756
was chosen one of the overseers of the pub-
lic schools of Philadelphia. He was elected in
1757 a manager of the Pennsylvania hospital.
In 1780 he was largely instrumental in procuring
the enaction of the law which provided for
the gradual abolition of slavery in Pennsyl-
vania. He founded a school for the benefit of
the negroes, and expended a large amount of
money for their good, stipulating in his will that
on the decease of his wife his money should be
used as a fund for the school. He is the author
of " A Short Account of that Part of Africa
Inhabited by the Negroes " (2d edition, 1762);
" A Caution and Warning to Great Britain and
her Colonies in a Short Representation of the
Calamitous State of the Enslaved Negroes in the
British Dominions" (1766); "Some Historical
Accotmt of Guinea" (1771); " The Care of our
Fellow-Creatures, the Oppressed Africans, Recom-
mended to the Serious Consideration of the
Legislature of Great Britain, by the People Called
Quakers " (1774), and " Some Observations on the
Situation and Character of the Indian Natives
of this Continent " (1784). He died in Philadel-
phia, Pa., May 3, 1784.
BENHAM, Andrew Ellicott Kennedy, naval officer, was born on Staten Island, N.Y^., April 10, 1832. He was warranted midshipman in the U.S. navy, Nov. 24, 1847. His earliest service on board the Plymouth and the Dolphin in the East Indies. He was at home in 1852, attached to the Saranac, and in 1853 attended the naval academy, Annapolis. He was promoted pa.st- midshipman June 10, 1853; lieutenant, Sept. 16, 1855, and serving on the St. Mary's in the Pacific squadron until 1857. He served on the coast survey and Paraguay expedition, 1858-"59, and in 1860 was attached to the Crusader of the home squadron. He took i)art in the battle of Port Royal, November, 1861, on the Bienville, and in 1862 was promoted lieutenant-commander. July 16, 1862, he commanded the gunboat Penob- scot in the Western Gvilf blockading squadron. After duty at the Brooklyn na^y yard he was de- tailed to the Susqriehanna in 1867, was pro- moted commander June 9, 1867, and did duty as lighthou.se inspector, as commander of the monitor Canonicus. and afterward of the Saufjus. In 1878 he became captain, and was placed in
