Benjamin Franklin Cheatham (1820-1886)

Civil War Confederate Major General. He was regarded as one of the Confederate Army's most outstanding commanders. A farmer, during the Mexican War he served as the Colonel of the 3rd Tennessee. At the start of the Civil War he was a senior officer in the Tennessee Militia when appointed Brigadier General of Provisional Army of Tennessee, in July 1861. Serving throughout the Civil War, he commanded divisions in the Army of Tennessee at Belmont, Shiloh where he was wounded and during the defense of Corinth, Mississippi, he was promoted Major General. After participating in the Tullahoma Campaign, he fought in the Confederate victory at Chickamauga and then in the Atlanta Campaign. During the battle of the Carolinas in April 1865, his division was consolidated in size and he led until the surrender near Durham Station, North Carolina. After the war, he returned to farming for a while and latter served as a prison official and a postmaster.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith