Benjamin Franklin Cheatham | |
|---|---|
 General Cheatham during the Civil War | |
| Born | (1820-10-20)October 20, 1820 |
| Died | September 4, 1886(1886-09-04) (aged 65) Nashville, Tennessee, US |
| Place of burial | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Allegiance | United States Confederate States of America |
| Branch | US Army Confederate Army |
| Years of service | 1846–1848 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
| Rank | Colonel (USA) Major General (CSA) |
| Battles / wars | Mexican–American War American Civil War |
Benjamin Franklin Cheatham (October 20, 1820 – September 4, 1886) was aConfederate general during theAmerican Civil War. He served in the Army of Tennessee, inflicting many casualties onGen. Sherman atKennesaw Mountain, Georgia, but took the blame for GeneralSchofield's escape atSpring Hill – a major factor in the Confederate defeat atFranklin, Tennessee in 1864. Later in life, he became a gold miner inCalifornia and a plantation owner in his home state of Tennessee.
Cheatham was born inNashville, Tennessee, on a plantation called Westover, which in its prime consisted of three thousand acres (12 km2). He was born into two of the most prominent families of the middle Tennessee elite of the slave society. His mother was descended from GeneralJames Robertson, the founder ofNashville and "father" of Middle Tennessee, who came from Virginia. The Cheathams had been in middle Tennessee for two generations and become established as plantation owners, lawyers, doctors and mayors of the city.
At the start of theMexican–American War, Cheatham joined the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment as acaptain and finished the war having been promoted tocolonel of the 3rd Tennessee. He moved toCalifornia in 1849 for theGold Rush, but returned toTennessee in 1853.
He managed his plantation and served as abrigadier general[1] in the Tennesseemilitia.
Cheatham joined the Confederate States Army as abrigadier general on May 9, 1861, fromStockton, California, becoming one of at least four generals from California who served the Confederacy in the war.[2]
Cheatham was brigade commander in the Western District of Department Number Two, underMaj. Gen.Leonidas Polk. His first test in the war was in Missouri on November 7 at theBattle of Belmont, leading three regiments in Brig. Gen.Gideon J. Pillow's division againstUnion Brig. Gen.Ulysses S. Grant, also in his first Civil War combat. In December, Cheatham and his division received the thanks of theConfederate Congress "for the desperate courage they exhibited in sustaining for several hours, and under most disadvantageous circumstances an attack by a force of the enemy greatly superior to their own, both in numbers and appointments; and for the skill and gallantry by which they converted what at first threatened so much disaster, into a triumphant victory."
Cheatham was promoted to major general, on March 10, 1862, and was appointed commander of the 2nd Division, First Corps,Army of Mississippi. He led his division at theBattle of Shiloh and was wounded, although it is unclear whether this occurred on April 6 or April 7, 1862.[3]GeneralBraxton Bragg became commander of the Army (soon to be designated theArmy of Tennessee) and Cheatham served under him atPerryville andStones River. At the latter battle, Cheatham performed sluggishly, ordering piecemeal assaults; observers claimed he had been drinking heavily and was unable to command his units effectively.[4] However, Pvt.Sam Watkins, author ofCompany Aytch, claims to have personally witnessed Cheatham leading a charge on the Wilkerson Turnpike during the battle, indicating that he performed gallantly during that part of the battle, at least.[5]
Cheatham continued as a division commander under Bragg at theBattle of Chickamauga and, following that rare Confederate victory in the West, in thebattles around Chattanooga, including Missionary Ridge, where Bragg was defeated by Grant. He helped block the Union Army in the final hours of the battle.
In 1864, Cheatham fought well in theAtlanta campaign under GeneralJoseph E. Johnston, and later Lt. Gen.John Bell Hood, inflicting heavy casualties onWilliam T. Sherman's Union Army at theBattle of Kennesaw Mountain, and was wounded at theBattle of Ezra Church. He took over command of Hood's corps when Hood was elevated to command the army on July 18, and led his corps in the battles around Atlanta.
Cheatham's most famous service came as a corps commander under Hood in theFranklin-Nashville Campaign. He was engaged in all the major battles of the campaign, receiving notoriety when the Union Army under Maj. Gen.John M. Schofield was able to slip by him and escape from theBattle of Spring Hill, which foiled Hood's plan and led to the disastrous Confederate defeat atFranklin the next day. Hood accused Cheatham ofdereliction of duty and the enmity between them lasted for the rest of their lives. Hood's recently discovered papers, which include numerous letters based on supposition and hearsay from high-level generals, fail to confirm that Cheatham refused to execute Hood's orders to block the turnpike and that he was against launching a night attack. After the collapse of Hood's army atNashville, Cheatham joined Johnston's motley command for theCarolinas campaign as a division commander, the highest position this small army could justify. He surrendered to General Sherman in North Carolina in April 1865.
During the war, Cheatham rode the horse Old Isham, named afterIsham Harris, the Confederate Governor of Tennessee.[6]
Shortly after the war, he married in his 40s for the first time, to Anna Bell Robertson of North Carolina (she was no relation to his line of Robertsons). She was the sister of one of his war-time aides. They had five children together: Benjamin Franklin Jr., Patton Robertson, Joseph Johnston, Medora Cheatham Hodgson, and Alice.[7]
Their son Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, Jr. (1867–1944) was a major general in the U.S. Army, serving in theSpanish–American War andWorld War I. In the former, he was defeated by GeneralJuan Cailles's forces in theBattle of Mabitac.[8] Cheatham, Jr. served asquartermaster general from 1926 to 1930. During his tenure in the latter position, he supervised landscaping improvements toArlington National Cemetery, including restoration of theLee Mansion and the building of theTomb of the Unknowns. He is buried at Arlington.[9]
Their daughter Medora marriedTelfair Hodgson Jr., the treasurer ofSewanee: The University of the South and a developer ofBelle Meade, Tennessee, whose own father,Telfair Hodgson, was Sewanee's third vice chancellor.[10]
After the war, Cheatham declined an offer of Federal civil service employment fromPresident Grant.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for theUnited States House of Representatives inTennessee's 1872 at-large congressional district special election, in which formerPresident Andrew Johnson, after seeing that the Democratic nomination for the district would likely go to Cheatham, ran as an independent, throwing the election toRepublicanHorace Maynard.
He served for four years as the appointed superintendent of a Tennessee state prison. He was appointed postmaster of Nashville (1885–1886). He died in Nashville and is buried there inMount Olivet Cemetery.
After the war, a camp of theAssociation of Confederate Soldiers Tennessee Division was named the Frank Cheatham Bivouac in honor of the Confederate general.
Cheatham County, Tennessee is also possibly named after him along with Edward Saunders Cheatham.
Cheatham Hill at Kennesaw Mountain in Cobb County, Georgia is named in honor of the Confederate general for his victory at theBattle of Kennesaw Mountain.
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