Benjamin Franklin Tracy

SEO Title: He Seized the Colors and Held the Line

Benjamin Franklin Tracy was born on April 26, 1830, in Tioga County, New York. He became a distinguished American soldier, lawyer, judge, and public official whose extraordinary courage during the American Civil War earned him the Medal of Honor. Serving as Colonel of the 109th New York Volunteer Infantry, Tracy demonstrated exceptional battlefield leadership during the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. His actions under fire established his place among the Union Army officers recognized for military valor, while his later career as United States Secretary of the Navy contributed significantly to the modernization of American naval power.

Tracy grew up in a farming family near Owego, New York. His father, Benjamin Tracy Sr., operated a farm and a small sawmill and served as a local justice of the peace. As a young man, Tracy attended local schools and developed an interest in law through his father's legal books and his participation in public debates.

At nineteen, he began studying law in the office of Colonel Nathaniel W. Davis in Owego. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1851, beginning a legal career that would eventually bring him national recognition.

In 1853, Tracy was elected district attorney of Tioga County. He developed a reputation as an effective courtroom advocate and became increasingly involved in public affairs. His political career continued when he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1861, taking office the following year.

The outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861 brought new demands upon the nation. As the conflict intensified, the Union government called for additional volunteers to reinforce its armies.

In 1862, Tracy became actively involved in organizing military units for Union service. He helped recruit volunteers from Broome, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties and received a commission as Colonel of the 109th New York Volunteer Infantry.

The regiment was mustered into United States service on August 28, 1862, at Binghamton, New York. Under Tracy's command, the 109th initially performed military duties around Washington, D.C., and Maryland, including guarding important railroad lines that supported Union transportation and communication.

These assignments occupied much of the regiment's early service. In the spring of 1864, however, the 109th New York Infantry joined the IX Corps as Union forces prepared for renewed operations against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant launched the Overland Campaign in May 1864, beginning a series of major engagements intended to place sustained pressure on Confederate forces.

The campaign opened with the Battle of the Wilderness, fought on May 5–7, 1864, in the dense forests and tangled undergrowth of northern Virginia.

The battlefield presented difficult conditions for military operations. Thick vegetation restricted visibility, disrupted formations, and complicated communication between commanders and their soldiers. Both Union and Confederate troops struggled to maintain organized lines while fighting at close range.

On May 6, 1864, Colonel Benjamin Franklin Tracy led the 109th New York Infantry into its first major battle.

During the engagement, the Union position came under severe pressure. Other regiments withdrew, creating a dangerous situation for Tracy's command.

At this critical moment, Tracy seized his regiment's colors and personally led his soldiers forward.

The regimental colors represented the identity and unity of the military formation. Carrying them into battle placed Tracy in a prominent and exposed position, particularly during a confused engagement in heavily wooded terrain.

His action helped rally the men of the 109th New York Infantry when the surrounding Union formation had begun to give way.

Tracy subsequently reorganized his line and successfully held its position.

His leadership during this dangerous moment became the defining military achievement of his career. Rather than allowing his regiment to withdraw in disorder, he took direct action to restore its formation and maintain its fighting position.

The official Medal of Honor citation later recognized him for seizing the colors, leading the regiment after other units had retired, reforming his line, and holding it.

The Battle of the Wilderness was an exceptionally costly engagement for the Union and Confederate armies. The 109th New York Infantry suffered significant casualties during its first major combat operation, losing men killed, wounded, and missing.

Tracy's active command of the regiment ended shortly afterward. He resigned his position on May 20, 1864, following the physical demands of the campaign and difficulties with his health.

Despite leaving command of the 109th New York Infantry, Tracy's military service was not over.

In September 1864, he accepted a commission as Colonel of the 127th United States Colored Infantry. Before taking command of that regiment, however, he was assigned to administer the Union military depot and prisoner-of-war facility at Elmira, New York.

The Elmira facility housed large numbers of Confederate prisoners under difficult conditions. Serious shortages, overcrowding, disease, and inadequate supplies contributed to substantial suffering and mortality among prisoners.

Tracy's administrative responsibilities included managing military personnel, supplies, discipline, and prisoner-related operations during the final months of the war.

He continued serving until June 1865, after the conclusion of the main military operations of the Civil War.

In recognition of his wartime service, Tracy later received the honorary brevet rank of Brigadier General of Volunteers. This distinction represented his highest recorded military rank, while Colonel remained his rank during the Medal of Honor action at the Wilderness.

Following the war, Tracy returned to his legal and political career.

In 1866, President Andrew Johnson appointed him United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. During his years as a federal prosecutor, Tracy handled important cases involving federal law and developed a substantial reputation within the legal profession.

He subsequently returned to private legal practice in Brooklyn and New York City, participating in several prominent legal proceedings.

In December 1881, Tracy was appointed an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Although his judicial service lasted only until the end of 1882, he contributed to decisions involving transportation, property rights, and other important legal questions.

His public career reached another major milestone in 1889.

President Benjamin Harrison appointed Tracy Secretary of the Navy, a cabinet position he held from March 1889 until March 1893.

At the time of his appointment, the United States Navy was undergoing a significant transition from an aging fleet toward modern steel warships powered by advanced machinery.

Tracy supported an ambitious program of naval construction and modernization. He advocated developing battleships and other heavily armed vessels capable of protecting American interests across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

During his administration, Congress authorized important new warships, including vessels that would become central to the expanding American fleet.

Tracy also supported improvements in naval administration, reserve organization, ship construction, and professional military education. His work helped advance the development of the modern United States Navy during the closing years of the nineteenth century.

His years in Washington were also marked by personal tragedy.

In February 1890, a devastating fire at the Tracy family residence caused the deaths of his wife and daughter Mary. Tracy himself was overcome during the incident but survived. Despite this loss, he continued his responsibilities as Secretary of the Navy.

After leaving the cabinet in 1893, Tracy resumed his legal practice and remained active in public affairs.

His Civil War courage received formal national recognition on June 21, 1895, when Benjamin Franklin Tracy was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The decoration honored his actions as Colonel of the 109th New York Infantry during the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864.

More than thirty-one years had passed between the battle and the award.

Tracy's Medal of Honor recognized a moment of decisive personal leadership when he seized the regimental colors, rallied his soldiers, restored their line, and maintained their position despite the withdrawal of other Union troops.

The award permanently associated his name with the courage demonstrated by Union officers during the Overland Campaign.

Tracy remained engaged in public and legal work during his later years. He served as chairman of a commission responsible for developing the charter of Greater New York and was a candidate for mayor in 1897.

He also represented Venezuela in the international arbitration of its boundary dispute with British Guiana in 1899, extending his legal career into international affairs.

Even in advanced age, Tracy continued his involvement in the legal profession, maintaining the professional interests that had shaped his life before the Civil War.

Benjamin Franklin Tracy died on August 6, 1915, at the age of eighty-five. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

His accomplishments were recognized in both military and civilian life. The United States Navy later named the destroyer USS Tracy (DD-214) in his honor, reflecting his contributions to the modernization and development of American naval forces.

Tracy's historical legacy combines battlefield courage with decades of public service. As a Union Army colonel, he demonstrated remarkable leadership during the Battle of the Wilderness, restoring his regiment's position at a critical moment. As a brevet brigadier general, attorney, judge, and Secretary of the Navy, he continued serving the nation in military, legal, and administrative capacities.

His Medal of Honor remains the enduring recognition of his bravery on May 6, 1864, when he seized the colors of the 109th New York Infantry and successfully rallied his command under fire.

Benjamin Franklin Tracy is remembered as a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient whose military courage and subsequent public service left a lasting mark on American history.