Benjamin T. Brockman
Encyclopedia
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
officer in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Brockman was born in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, the eldest son of Colonel and Senator Thomas Patterson Brockman
Thomas Patterson Brockman
Colonel Thomas Patterson Brockman , was the son of Henry Brockman and Susannah Patterson. He was born in the Greenville District , South Carolina. Brockman was a merchant and planter in the Greenville District and also owned land in the Spartanburg District...
and the granduncle of Tallulah Brockman Bankhead. He was also descended from John Brockman, Jr.
John Brockman Jr
John Brockman, Jr. was an officer in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War.-Early years:...
, and was the great-nephew of Major Brockman, both of whom were American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veterans in the English Brockman
Brockman
The Brockman surname is not common, but has spread to several countries around the world. The name can be a topism combining "wet/water" and "man". However, in Old English and in heraldry a "brock" is also a badger, and some have claimed it to mean "broker". Thus, there may be multiple meanings of...
family, a cavalier family
Virginia Cavaliers (historical)
Virginia Cavaliers were royalist supporters in the royal colony of Virginia at various times during the colonial period of the United States.-Historical background :...
that settled in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the late 17th century.
Organizing the Brockman Guards
In the summer of 1861, Brockman and his brother, Jesse Kilgor Brockman, organized an infantry company in Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, that became known as "The Brockman Guards". By September the 13th South Carolina Infantry was officially organized and the Brockman Guards became Company B of that regiment. Brockman was made the Captain of Company B and his brother a lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel upon the retirement of P.L. Calhoun, and Jesse Brockman then became the Captain of Company B.
Benjamin ran a mercantile business in the Reidville area
Reidville, South Carolina
Reidville is a town in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 601 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Reidville is located at ....
. Ladies from this area made a flag to commemorate the formation of Company B. It was blue, with gold stars and border. This flag is now housed and preserved in the Confederate Relic Room of the State of South Carolina in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. The reverse side of the flag is an image of a South Carolina coastal scene by A. Grinevald, who was a painting and drawing teacher.
Battle of the Bloody Angle
Brockman became Colonel of the 13th Regiment after Col. O. E. Edwards was killed. Benjamin led the 13th from 1863 at the Battle of ChancellorsvilleBattle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
and lost an arm in a charge at the "Bloody Angle" near Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
, May 12, 1864. He died one month later in a Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
hospital from complications of this wound. Jesse was also injured in the charge and lay three days on the battlefield. He died of his wounds in the hospital on May 28, 1864.
Accounts of the Battle
Here, throughout the afternoon and well into the night, Yankee and Rebel fought each other with relentless determination. Nearby, a 22-inch oak, whittled in two by the incessant musket and artillery fire, gave testimony to the tenacity of both sides.Nothing but the piled up logs of breastworks separated the combatants. Our men would reach over the logs and fire into the faces of the enemy, would stab over with their bayonets; many were shot and stabbed through crevices and holes between logs; men mounted the works and with muskets rapidly handed them kept up a continuous fire until they were shot down, when others would take their places. --General L.A. Grant, USA
The outnumbered Confederates eventually fell back to a new line, and the battle of May 12 ended. but the fight for the Bloody Angle stood out in sharp contrast from other battles. Its terrible slaughter seemed to signal a shift in each side's perception of this war. Never again would Lee have the strength to lead his men north; now, he fought to survive. Grant, too, left here with a clearer, albeit brutal, image of the future. No matter what the cost, he would fight Lee's army until he destroyed it.
Burial
Benjamin Brockman is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. After he was wounded, he wrote his sister, Mrs. Harris, wife of Dr. Harris of Rutherford, North Carolina, the following letter:- May 24, Richmond, Virginia
- Dear Sister Mary;
- I have been unfortunate in losing my left arm in the Battle of the 12th of May, the bloodiest fight of the War. Jesse was wounded, I suspect dangerously, and fell into the hands of the enemy. Poor fellow û the only brother I had is now perhaps cold in death, but we have to submit to such things. He was, I am informed, acting with distinguished valor, when shot. Excuse short note. My respects to the Doctor and a kiss to Edgar.
- Truly your brother
- B.T. Brockman
Captain Jesse K. Brockman
