Benjamin Hardin Helm was a general in the Confederate Army.
Pre-War Profession Graduated West Point 1851, resigned 1852, lawyer, politician.
War Service 1861 recruited 1st Kentucky Cavalry, October 1861 Col., March 1862 Brig. Gen., Baton Rouge expedition, commanded Helm´s Bde/Breckenridge´s Divn at
Tullahoma, Chickamauga (mw).
Notes Married the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Benjamin was mortally wounded in the battle of Chickamauga.
In September, 1863, a fierce and ugly battle was fought at Chickamauga, Georgia. The Union Army, commanded by Rosecrans, and the Confederate Army, led by Bragg, were approximately evenly matched in manpower, an unusual occurrence in major Civil War battles. Each army had approximately 65,000 men.
Battles tend to get memorialized in some way by historians, and Chickamauga was called the "bloodiest two days in American History." Casualties at Gettysburg were greater, but that battle went on for three days. The battle at Antietam is known as the "bloodiest single day."
The heavily-wooded battlefield left little room for maneuvering and the two-day battle seemed as if it would degenerate into a simple slugging match. On September 20, confusion in orders left a gaping hole in Rosecrans' right flank which Longstreet exploited with an assault by four divisions. Almost half of the Federal army was routed and hastily retreated towards Chattanooga along with Rosecrans and most of his staff. A total Union disaster was averted by the stand of Thomas' corps on Snodgrass Hill which held the left wing together long enough to organize an orderly retreat. This earned Thomas the nickname of "The Rock of Chickamauga".
It was a great Confederate victory, but a very costly one. Although Federal losses had exceeded 16,000, the Southern army had lost more than 18,000 casualties. Bragg felt his troops were in no condition to implement a rapid pursuit of the retreating Federals, who were allowed to fall back into defensive positions in Chattanooga. Occupying the heights overlooking the city, Bragg confidently waited for the Federals to either leave or starve.
A VICTORY FOR THE GALLANT HELM
On September 20th, 1863 , the Helm family members living in Elizabethtown were still blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had befallen their family. The firstborn son of Gov. John LaRue Helm and his wife, Lucinda Barbour Hardin, the noble Ben Hardin Helm, had succumbed to wounds suffered on the bloody field of Chickamauga, but word of his death would not reach his family here for three more weeks.
Ben Hardin Helm, who although born at his grandfather' home in Bardstown was raised here in Hardin Co., had been educated at West Point, graduating in 1851 as brevet 2nd Lt. His original intention of following a military career was abandoned after little more than a year and he instead turned to the study and practice of law, attending both Harvard and the University of Louisville. First practicing in Elizabethtown with his father, he then entered into a law partnership with his cousin, Martin Hardin Cofer.
From 1855 to 1856, Helm represented the people of Hardin County in the state legislature and it was while serving in that body that he met and married Emilie Todd of Lexington, a union that would last even beyond his death.
At the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and the Confederacy, Ben Hardin Helm weighed his actions carefully. Although there could be no real doubt in which directions his sympathies lay, his strong sense of honor and duty kept him from acting impulsively. He would do nothing that might harm Kentucky's fragile neutrality as long as there was the slightest chance it might succeed, but once convinced of the futility of such a course, he moved with determination, organizing the First Kentucky Cavalry and presenting it to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston on Oct. 19, 1861. Ben Hardin Helm entered Confederate service with the rank of Col., but less than 6 months later was promoted to Brigadier General.
After the mortal wounding of General Hanson at Murfreesboro and the unexpected death of Col. Robert Paxton Trabue in Richmond, Kentucky Confederates learned that Gen. Ben Hardin Helm had been ordered to take command of the 1st Kentucky Brigade. He was accepted completely by the men, who had implicit faith in his soldiership and according to Ed Porter Thompson of the 6th Kentucky, "loved him like a brother." They nicknamed him "the gentle general" and loyally thought no other officer his equal. In this they were right.
On the morning of Sept. 20, 1863, General Helm approached the day's battle calmly, laughing and joking as he mounted his horse for the attack. Only the purest in heart and spirit can face the enemy's bullets with a smile. Leading his brave Kentuckians forward, the General waved his sword toward the LaFayette Road in their front and cried out "THIS is the road to Kentucky!" Soon after, he was hit in the right side by a bullet from the 15th Kentucky Infantry. At first he refused to dismount and attempted to continue the charge but soon, weakened by loss of blood he allowed himself to be helped to the ground and was carried on a litter more than a mile to the rear .
The doctors gave him immediate attention but after examining the wound and realizing that the bullet had passed through his liver, they were gravely silent. Gen. Helm asked quietly, "Is there hope?" and reluctantly came the reply, "My dear General, there is no hope."
As the battle of Chickamauga raged on and his gallant Kentuckians continued to pour out their blood on Georgia's blood-red soil, General Helm lay suffering and silent, preparing himself for death. That evening, as the firing ceased and shouts were heard in the distance he roused himself to ask the outcome of the fight. Upon being told that the day belonged to the Confederates, his eyes glowed with satisfaction for just a moment and he whispered the single word, "Victory!" He lived but another hour or two, dying with the satisfaction that his men had fought bravely and that their efforts had been rewarded by victory. He could not know (and we are grateful that he did not), the enormous price paid by the Kentucky brigade for that victory and the irreplaceable men, like himself, who were lost to the Cause forever on the banks of the "River of death".
Mrs. Helm, who was visiting in Selma, Alabama, barely arrived in Atlanta in time for her husband's funeral which was held in St. Paul's Episcopal Church. She remained a week longer as a guest of Col. Dabney, in whose home the General's body had been prepared for burial. Then she set about the task of raising her children as her husband would have expected of her. She never remarried but wore mourning for "the love of her life' as long as she lived.....another 67 years. General Breckinridge wrote Mrs. Helm after her husband's death and said "He loved them and they loved him", speaking of the soldiers of the Orphan Brigade.
General Helm's memory was preserved by his men as well as his widow. In 1884, members of the Kentucky Brigade, now known as "the Orphan Brigade" traveled to Atlanta to oversee the disinterment of the General's remains. He was reburied here in his family's cemetery near the father whose heart had broken at this death. Confederate Veterans served as his pallbearers, who were selected by General Joe H. Lewis.
Now 135 years after his death, the General Ben Hardin Helm SCV Camp and the Emilie Todd Helm OCR Chapter meet at this sacred spot to pay homage to a man whose name is synonymous with courage, nobility, self-sacrifice, duty. We thank all of you for being here today and we hope that you will take away from here a deeper appreciation for this husband, father, son and brother; this Hardin Countian, this Confederate, this Kentuckian: General Ben Hardin Helm.--From the 1998 Memorial Service marking the 135th anniversary of Gen. Helm's death at Chickamauga, GA
Source: http://gbhhelmcampscv.freeyellow.com/
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 1
1. Benjamin Hardin Helm was born 2 JUN 1831 in Hardin, KY, and died 20 SEP 1863 in Chickamauga, GA. He was the son of 2. John Larue Helm and 3.
Lucinda Barbour Hardin. He married Emilie Todd.
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 2
2. John Larue Helm was born 4 JUL 1802 in Hardin, KY, and died 8 SEP 1867 in Hardin, KY. He was the son of 4. George Helm and 5. Rebecca Larue.
3. Lucinda Barbour Hardin was born 2 FEB 1809 in Bardstown, KY, and died 25 DEC 1885 in Elizabethtown, KY.
Child of Lucinda Barbour Hardin and John Larue Helm is:
1. i. Benjamin Hardin Helm was born 2 JUN 1831 in Hardin, KY, and died 20 SEP 1863 in Chickamauga, GA. He married Emilie Todd.
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 3
4. George Helm was born 2 APR 1773 in Prince William Co., VA, and died SEP 1822 in Texas. He was the son of 8. Thomas Helm and 9. Jane Pope.
5. Rebecca Larue was born 2 MAY 1774 in Frederick, VA, and died 9 FEB 1860 in Hardin, KY.
Children of Rebecca Larue and George Helm are:
2. i. John Larue Helm was born 4 JUL 1802 in Hardin, KY, and died 8 SEP 1867 in Hardin, KY. He married Lucinda Barbour Hardin. She was born 2 FEB 1809 in
Bardstown, KY, and died 25 DEC 1885 in Elizabethtown, KY.
ii. Louisa Helm was born 1813, and died 1834. She married Isaiah Miller 13 JAN 1831. He was born 1800, and died 1863.
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 4
8. Thomas Helm was born 14 SEP 1731 in Prince William Co., VA, and died 21 APR 1816 in Helm Place, Hardin, KY.
9. Jane Pope was born ABT 1744 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1821 in Hardin, KY. She was the daughter of 18. Worden Pope and 19. Hester Edrington.
Children of Jane Pope and Thomas Helm are:
i. Susannah Helm.
ii. Ann Elizabeth Helm.
iii. Henry Helm.
iv. Thomas Helm.
v. Celia Helm.
vi. Mary Helm.
vii. William Helm.
viii. Martha Helm.
ix. John Helm was born 26 NOV 1761 in Pineton, Prince William Co, VA, and died 1840. He married Sarah Brown.
x. Benjamin Helm was born 8 MAY 1767 in Virginia. He married Mary Edwards. She was born 14 MAR 1777, and died 1871.
4. xi. George Helm was born 2 APR 1773 in Prince William Co., VA, and died SEP 1822 in Texas. He married Rebecca Larue. She was born 2 MAY 1774 in Frederick,
VA, and died 9 FEB 1860 in Hardin, KY.
xii. Charles Helm was born JUL 1777 in Virginia, and died 1831. He married Sallie Crutcher. She was born ABT 1780.
xiii. Sarah Helm was born 27 APR 1782 in Virginia, and died 1843. She married Isaac Crutcher.
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 5
18. Worden Pope was born 1705 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1748 in Westmoreland Co., VA. He was the son of 36. Nathaniel Bridges Pope and 37. Jane Browne.
19. Hester Edrington was born 1716 in Stafford Co., VA.
Children of Hester Edrington and Worden Pope are:
9. i. Jane Pope was born ABT 1744 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1821 in Hardin, KY. She married Thomas Helm. He was born 14 SEP 1731 in Prince William
Co., VA, and died 21 APR 1816 in Helm Place, Hardin, KY.
ii. William Pope was born ABT 1745, and died 1825. He married Penelope Edwards. She was born 1750 in Stafford, VA.
Ahnentafel, Generation No. 6
36. Nathaniel Bridges Pope was born ABT 1660 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1719 in Westmoreland Co., VA. He was the son of 72. Nathaniel Pope and 73. Mary Sisson.
37. Jane Browne was born 1672 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1752 in Westmoreland Co., VA.
Child of Jane Browne and Nathaniel Bridges Pope is:
18. i. Worden Pope was born 1705 in Westmoreland Co., VA, and died 1748 in Westmoreland Co., VA. He married Hester Edrington. She was born 1716 in Stafford
Co., VA.
