Frederick Benteen - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Frederick Benteen was born August 24, 1834, in Petersburg, Virginia to Theodore Charles Benteen and his wife Caroline (Hargrove) Benteen. Benteen's ancestors had emigrated to America from Holland in the eighteenth century, settling in Baltimore. The family had moved to Virginia from Baltimore shortly after the birth of their first child, Henrietta Elizabeth, in October 1831. Frederick Benteen was educated at the Petersburg Classical Institute, where he was first trained in military drill. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1849. In 1856, he became acquainted with Catharine "Kate" Louisa Norman, a young woman recently arrived in St. Louis from Philadelphia.

The election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President in 1860 polarized the country. Theodore Charles Benteen, an ardent secessionist, vehemently opposed his son's associating with Unionists. A family crisis was ignited when Frederick joined the Union Army on September 1, 1861 as a first lieutenant in the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Frederick married Catherine Norman on January 7, 1862 at Saint George's Church in St. Louis. In July 1863, Catherine Benteen gave birth to the couple's first child, Caroline Elizabeth, but the daughter would die before reaching her first year.

Benteen participated in numerous battles during the Civil War, for which he was awarded the brevet ranks of major and then lieutenant colonel. Among his engagements were Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, Vicksburg and Westport. On February 27, 1864, Benteen was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of the 10th Missouri Cavalry. Benteen was mustered out at the war's end in the spring of 1865, and shortly thereafter was appointed to the rank of colonel as commander of a "Buffalo Soldier" regiment, the 138th U.S. Colored Volunteers. He led the regiment from July, 1865 to January, 1866, when it was mustered out. Later that year, he was appointed a captain in the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Meanwhile, the Senate finally approved awards of brevets to distinguished veterans of the Civil War. Benteen received brevets of major for the Battle of Mine Creek and lieutenant colonel for the Battle of Columbus.