Orson W. Bennett

A Daring Rescue of Three Cannons at Honey Hill

Orson W. Bennett was a Union Army officer and recipient of the United States Medal of Honor whose military service during the American Civil War included three volunteer regiments, a battlefield wound, and exceptional courage while commanding African American soldiers. Serving as a first lieutenant in Company A of the 102nd United States Colored Infantry, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina, on November 30, 1864. After repeated attempts to recover three abandoned Union artillery pieces had failed, Bennett led a small force approximately 100 yards beyond the Union lines under enemy fire and successfully brought the guns to safety. His actions earned him the Medal of Honor on March 9, 1887.

Bennett was born on November 17, 1841, in Union City, Branch County, Michigan. His early life subsequently brought him to Dubuque, Iowa, where he attended public schools. Local historical records indicate that he completed the examinations required to qualify as a teacher in Dubuque County.

When the American Civil War began in April 1861, Bennett was nineteen years old.

On April 23, 1861, shortly after President Abraham Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers, Bennett enlisted as a private in Company I of the 1st Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

His company was associated with the Governor's Greys, a militia organization established in Dubuque before the war.

The 1st Iowa Infantry was organized for short-term service and sent to Missouri, where Union and Confederate forces were struggling for control of the state.

On August 10, 1861, the regiment participated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri.

Union forces under Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon confronted a combined Confederate and Missouri State Guard army. The engagement developed into a prolonged and costly battle.

The 1st Iowa suffered substantial casualties during the fighting. Bennett was among the soldiers wounded at Wilson's Creek.

His injuries interrupted his initial military service, but they did not end his participation in the war.

On December 12, 1861, Bennett reenlisted in Company G of the 12th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.

The regiment subsequently served in the western theater, participating in Union military operations along the Mississippi River and in the broader campaign against Confederate forces.

Historical accounts of Bennett's service associate him with the Army of the Tennessee and the operations that culminated in the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July 1863.

He later reenlisted as a veteran in the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, continuing his military service beyond his original term.

Bennett eventually sought a commission as an officer in the United States Colored Troops.

The expansion of African American military recruitment created a need for commissioned officers to command newly organized regiments. Candidates for these positions underwent examinations intended to establish their qualifications for leadership.

Bennett successfully passed an examination conducted by a military board of Regular Army officers.

He subsequently received a commission as first lieutenant in Company A of the 1st Michigan Colored Infantry.

The regiment had been organized in Michigan as an African American volunteer unit. On May 23, 1864, it was redesignated as the 102nd United States Colored Infantry.

The regiment's enlisted soldiers were African American, while its commissioned leadership included officers such as Bennett.

During 1864, the 102nd United States Colored Infantry served in the Department of the South. Its assignments included operations in Florida and South Carolina before the regiment became involved in the military expedition that led to the Battle of Honey Hill.

By November 1864, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was advancing through Georgia during his March to the Sea.

Union commanders along the South Carolina coast prepared a supporting expedition intended to disrupt Confederate transportation and communications between Charleston and Savannah.

Major General John P. Hatch commanded the Union force assigned to the operation.

The expedition departed Hilton Head Island on November 28, 1864, and traveled inland toward the Charleston and Savannah Railroad.

The objective was to damage the railroad near Pocotaligo and prevent Confederate forces from using the route to transport troops and supplies.

The Union force included white volunteer regiments, artillery units, and several African American infantry regiments.

Among these were the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry and detachments of the United States Colored Troops, including the 102nd.

The advancing Federal troops encountered Confederate defenders near Honey Hill, close to Grahamville, South Carolina, on November 30, 1864.

Confederate Colonel Charles J. Colcock commanded the defending forces.

The Confederate position occupied elevated ground protected by earthworks and artillery. Its location along a narrow approach restricted Union movement and made frontal attacks particularly dangerous.

Union troops attempted to advance along the road and through the surrounding swampy terrain, but Confederate artillery and musket fire repeatedly disrupted the attacks.

As the engagement intensified, Union artillery batteries attempted to support the advancing infantry.

One battery belonging to the 3rd New York Artillery suffered serious difficulties after its personnel and draft animals were struck during the fighting.

Several artillery pieces were left exposed between the opposing lines.

Their position created an immediate military problem.

The guns were valuable Union equipment, but recovering them required soldiers to advance into ground covered by Confederate fire.

Repeated attempts to retrieve the abandoned artillery failed.

As the battle continued, the 102nd United States Colored Infantry was assigned to assist in recovering the guns.

It was during this dangerous operation that First Lieutenant Orson W. Bennett performed the action for which he received the Medal of Honor.

Bennett organized and led a small force forward from the Union position.

The men advanced approximately 100 yards beyond their own lines toward the abandoned artillery.

Confederate troops continued firing across the exposed ground, placing the recovery party in immediate danger.

Despite the enemy fire and the failure of earlier attempts, Bennett continued the effort.

Under his leadership, the soldiers reached the abandoned guns and began moving them toward safety.

The recovery was particularly difficult because the artillery pieces could not simply be withdrawn by their original gun teams.

Historical research on the battle records that soldiers of the 102nd United States Colored Infantry dragged the artillery pieces back by hand, without the assistance of draft animals.

Bennett and his men succeeded in bringing three abandoned guns back into the Union lines.

The official Medal of Honor citation confirms that he personally led the small force beyond the Federal position and recovered the three artillery pieces, preventing their capture by Confederate troops.

The action demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership during a battle in which Union forces were suffering heavy casualties.

It also reflected the contribution of the African American soldiers under Bennett's command, whose efforts made the successful recovery possible.

Although Bennett's actions saved the artillery, the wider Union assault against Honey Hill did not succeed.

Confederate troops retained their defensive positions despite repeated attacks by the Federal infantry.

As darkness approached, General Hatch ordered his forces to withdraw.

The Union expedition failed to seize the Confederate defenses or accomplish its immediate objective of cutting the Charleston and Savannah Railroad.

The battle ended in a Confederate victory, with Union forces suffering substantially greater casualties than their opponents.

Nevertheless, Bennett's successful recovery of the guns became one of the individually recognized acts of courage during the engagement.

He continued serving with the 102nd United States Colored Infantry during the remaining months of the Civil War.

The regiment subsequently participated in operations in South Carolina as Union forces advanced through the region during the final stages of the conflict.

Bennett's later military record identifies his promotion to captain, while historical accounts also record his appointment as brevet major of United States Volunteers in recognition of gallant and meritorious wartime service.

The distinction between these ranks is important. Captain was his highest substantive rank, while brevet major represented an honorary military grade.

Bennett was mustered out of federal service on September 30, 1865, completing more than four years of Civil War service.

Following the war, Bennett returned to civilian life in Iowa.

Local historical accounts record that he worked in the hardware business in Le Mars, Iowa, for approximately ten years.

He later moved westward and pursued business interests in Fargo and Bismarck, in what became North Dakota.

His activities included the grain and real estate businesses, reflecting a transition from his wartime military career into civilian commerce.

Bennett eventually relocated to Washington, D.C., where he became involved in real estate and patent-related business.

More than twenty-two years after the Battle of Honey Hill, his extraordinary courage received formal national recognition.

On March 9, 1887, Orson W. Bennett was awarded the United States Medal of Honor.

The decoration recognized his leadership on November 30, 1864, when he directed a small force beyond the Union lines and recovered three abandoned artillery pieces under enemy fire.

His award preserved the memory of an achievement that occurred during a difficult and ultimately unsuccessful Union operation.

It also marked an important episode in the service of the 102nd United States Colored Infantry, whose soldiers helped prevent valuable Union artillery from falling into Confederate hands.

Bennett lived for nearly seventeen years after receiving the Medal of Honor.

He died on January 8, 1904, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of sixty-two.

He was buried at Westminster Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society identifies his resting place as the Lansdowne section, Lot 94, Grave 1.

Orson W. Bennett's military career extended from his first enlistment in Iowa in April 1861 through the end of the Civil War in 1865. During those years, he experienced battle as an enlisted soldier, suffered a wound at Wilson's Creek, served in multiple Union regiments, and became a commissioned officer in the United States Colored Troops.

His most distinguished achievement occurred at Honey Hill, where he led soldiers across exposed ground to recover three abandoned Union cannons.

That courageous action on November 30, 1864, earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the recognized heroes of the American Civil War.