Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1831 Bardstown, Kentucky |
| Died | September 21, 1863 (aged 32) Chickamauga, Georgia |
| Place of burial | Helm Family Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Kentucky |
| Allegiance | United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Branch | United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1851–1852 (U.S.) 1861–1863 (C.S.) |
| Rank | 1st Lieutenant Brigadier General |
| Commands | 1st Kentucky Cavalry 1st Kentucky "Orphans" Brigade |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Hardin County | |
| In office August 6, 1855 – August 3, 1857 Serving with Robert B. English | |
| Preceded by | Jacob B. Haydon Charles G. Wintersmith |
| Succeeded by | Vene P. Armstrong Wilford Lee Harned |
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.