Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm (June 2, 1831 – September 21, 1863) was an American politician, attorney, and
Confederate brigadier general. A son of Kentucky governor
John L. Helm, he was born in
Bardstown, Kentucky. He attended the
Kentucky Military Institute and the
West Point Military Academy and then studied law at the
University of Louisville and
Harvard University. He served as a
state legislator and the state's attorney in Kentucky. Helm was offered the position of
Union Army paymaster by his brother-in-law, President
Abraham Lincoln (Helm was married to Emilie Todd, the half-sister of
Mary Todd Lincoln), a position which he declined. Helm joined the
Confederate States Army. As a brigadier general, Helm commanded the 1st Kentucky Brigade, more commonly known as
The Orphan Brigade. He died on the battlefield during the
Battle of Chickamauga.
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