Served as an officer in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War
Wounded and captured during the war!
Postmaster of Gettysburg
8 1/2 x 4 3/4, imprinted form, filled out in ink.
Gettysburg, Pa., Sep. 21, 1882. A.C. Creswell. To H.S. Benner, Dr., Produce Dealer And Forwarding Agent, Col. Buehler’s Warehouse, Carlisle Street. Terms Cash. To Freight. 200. 50. Recd. paymt. Signed at lower right by, H.S. Benner. Light age toning and wear. Very desirable item for collectors of material related to the town and citizens of Gettysburg, the site of the greatest battle of the Civil War.
Henry S. Benner: (1830-1904) Born in Straban Township, Adams County, Pa., he received a good education in the schools of Gettysburg. As a resident of Gettysburg, he learned the granite cutting trade which he worked in for 10 years, and then was employed as a railroad agent until the Civil War commenced in 1861. Benner enlisted into Co. K, 101st Pennsylvania Infantry, on September 28, 1861, and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant. He was wounded in action on May 31, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia. He was promoted to Captain, February 5, 1863, and captured on April 20, 1864, at Plymouth, North Carolina. Major Benner was confined in several Confederate prisons starting at Macon, Ga., for three months, at Savannah, Ga., for a month, two weeks at Charleston, S.C., five months at Columbia, S.C., then at Charlotte, N.C. where he escaped. Recaptured he was sent to Saulsbury, N.C., and paroled, March 1, 1865. He was promoted to Major, June 1, 1865, and mustered out of the Union service, June 25, 1865, at New Berne, North Carolina. In 1868, he worked as a teller at the Gettysburg National Bank, and served in this position for 5 years. He then went into the produce and warehouse business in Gettysburg. Appointed Postmaster of Gettysburg by President Grover Cleveland in 1885. Major Benner was a proud member of the Corporal Skelly, G.A.R. Post #9, in Gettysburg, Pa. He is buried in the famous Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg. Major Benner was esteemed and held in high honor by everyone who knew him.
WBTS Trivia: The 101st Pennsylvania Infantry suffered 14 killed, 60 wounded, and 4 were taken prisoner, at the battle of Fair Oaks, Va., May 31, 1862. The regiment lost 7 killed, 24 wounded, and 429 captured at the battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, April 20, 1864.
Located just east of Gettysburg is Benner's Hill, which played a prominent role in the 3 day battle of Gettysburg. At the time of the battle, the hill was part of the 200 acre farm of Susan and Christian Benner, the parents of Major Henry S. Benner.
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