I68428: Mary Clay BASS (2 Feb 1733

Notes

"Pleasant M. Benning, married a Miss White, and became the father of General Henry Lewis Benning, whose gallantry on the field won for him the soubriquet of "Old Rock." He afterwards became a judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia. he married a daughter of Honorable Seaborn Jones, a member of Congress. One of his daughters, Louisa Vivian, married Samuel Spencer, afterwards president of the Southern Railway System, and one of the South's industrial captains. He lost his life in 1906 in a railway wreck on one of his own lines. Another daughter, Mary, married Reese Crawford, Esq., a bright young lawyer, and a son of Judge Martin J. Crawford, of Columbus, for many years a judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia."

Henry L. Benning, best known as a Confederate general, was born in Columbia County, Georgia, and moved with his father, a prosperous planter to Harris County in 1832. Two years later he finished first in class at the University of Georgia. He read law under former Governor George W. B. Towns in Talbotton, moving to Columbus in 1835, was admitted to the bar, married Seaborn Jones's daughter (Mary Howard) in 1839, and entered his father-in-law's firm. While successful by almost any measure, Benning always felt he should have had a more distinguished political career and always envied his classmate Howell Cobb, who served as Speaker of the U. S. House and whose grades had not been as high as Benning's. In 1840, Benning lost a race for the General Assembly. Ten years later, he attended the Nashville Convention and advocated secession; espousing the same philosophy Benning was soundly defeated in the 1851 Congressional race by Unionist James Johnson. The state legislature elected Benning to the Supreme Court in 1853. There, he claimed that state supreme courts were "coequal" with U. S. Supreme Court, but Benning was removed from the court by the legislature because of his involvement with a bank scandal. Benning supported secession in the Georgia Convention and went to Richmond to urge Virginia to follow suit. When war came, he raised the 17th Georgia Infantry and therefore, served as its Colonel. He served in 21 engagements starting with the Seven Days in the summer of 1862. He commanded Robert Toombs's brigade when Toombs was absent, which was frequent. At Sharpsburg, his unit held the high ground beyond the bridge over Antietam Creek and inflicted heavy casualties on Ambrose Burnside's troops, thus earning Benning the nickname of "Old Rock." He led an attack on Little Round Top on the second day at Gettysburg. Later, his troops were shifted to the West where they participated in the Confederate break-through at Chickamauga and later in the battle of Knoxville. In May 1864 he was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness, but returned to the army before Petersburg. By that time he was commanding a division and would have been promoted to Brigadier had the war not ended. After the war, Benning returned to Columbus and resumed the practice of law, dying on his way to the court in 1875.
http://archives.colstate.edu/findingaids/mc6.shtml

Biographies of Jones and Benning can be found in the Dictionary of Georgia Biography and in older biographical works of famous Georgians.

General Henry Lewis Benning: This Was a Man
A Biography of Georgia's Supreme Court Justice and Confederate General
by J. David Dameron

This biography is the premier and definitive story of Georgia's stalwart judge, statesman, and military commander. Affectionately known as "Old Rock," General Henry Lewis Benning led his brigade of dogged Southern warriors to numerous victories against overwhelming odds. Their achievements at the defense of Burnside's Bridge, the capture of the Devil's Den, and many other victories legendary in the annals of the American Civil War. Yet little has been written about the man who led them. His story delves deeply into political affairs, court cases, and the societal woes that he and his peers were forced to address. Through the words and deeds of Henry Benning, explore the impact of religion, slavery, and the critical roles these institutions played in antebellum society. As his story unfolds, the reader will learn how Benning's background and experiences shaped him into one of the most admired men of the South.
Set in the tumultuous era, Benning's story is filled with real-life drama. His personal triumphs and tragedies as well as the important events of his day are supported by bountiful resources for further investigation. Original maps, charts and rare photographs enhance the narrative, which is also supported with detailed chapter notes, references and little-known facts. For example, discover why Margaret Mitchell used Benning's Beautiful wife as a character model for her bestseller, Gone with the Wind. Examine how Benning surpassed his classmates Howell Cobb and Herschell V. Johnson (Georgia governors) and became Valedictorian of his class at Franklin College (now the University of Georgia). Find out why Henry Benning was so respected in Columbus, Georgia that his fellow citizens recorded, "No man in this city is loved like he."
Upon his death, Benning was sincerely mourned by the affluent, the poor, and even his former slaves. Moreover, discover for yourself why Benning's friends and family recorded on his tomb, General Henry Lewis Benning, "This Was a Man!"
http://henrybenning.tripod.com/
5 ¼" x 8 ¼" format, 438 pages, color cover, 92 internal illustrations, bibliography, comprehensive index, maps, charts, graphs. Paperback. Iberian Publishing.
* Personalized copies are available from the author @ $19.95 each
Send check or money order to: Dave Dameron
7175 Midland Chase Loop
Columbus, GA 31909
[email protected]

In 1861, he was Colonel of 17th Georgia fighting in Seven Days and Second Manassas. He commanded Toombs' brigade at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. In March 1863, he was promoted to Brig. Gen. (in Hood's division) fighting in Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Knoxville. While commanding in Field's division, he fought in theWilderness campaign where he was wounded.
http://www.knology.net/~cgautry/Benning.html

Manuscripts Department Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION #M-2225
HENRY LEWIS BENNING PAPERS Inventory

Abstract: Confederate Army officer, having served as colonel with the 17th Georgia Volunteers and after as brigadier general of the 15th, 20th, and 2nd Georgia regiments (Toombs' Brigade), 1st Division, Army of Northern Virginia.

Primarily military papers of Benning in southside Virginia and in North Carolina, including resignations; reassignments; reports of casualties; items relating to the arrest of Lt. Henry McCauley; lists of persons having available supplies and produce; and correspondence concerning a riot in Raleigh, N.C., in September 1863, and the alleged involvement of one of Benning's officers, Lt. Col. W. S. Shepherd. Correspondents include Robert A. Toombs, Zebulon B. Vance, James A. Seddon, John D. Whitford, Samuel Cooper, and Jerome Bonaparte Robertson.

Prewar items consist of miscellaneous legal papers, including the marriage contract, 1834, of Elijah Cook and Mary V. Walker of Harris County, Ga., and several items
relating to the sale of slaves. Postwar items pertain to the compilation of records and histories of the war and include Benning's notes for Edward P. Alexander's history of Longstreet's Corps.
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/b/Benning,Henry_L.

Notes

"One of the children of the old patriarch was Thomas Cobbs, Jr., who was an officer of the Revolution. Dr. White, in his Collections of Georgia, states that he was an officer of the Revolution, and this is the information which his descendants have received by way of tradition.

Thomas Cobbs, Jr. married when quite young. His wife's name is unknown, but he left issue: Robert H., Napoleon B., Catharine, Nancy, Julia, James, Stirling, and Mary.

Nancy married a Smith and from her descended, in the second generation, General Edmund Kirby Smith, one of the most distinguished of Confederate Generals, who, in 1863, became commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department. He was also noted after the war an an educator, was President at one time of the University of Nashville, and died while holding a professorship in the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee."

Children:
William Cobb b. About 1785 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA
Thomas Cobb b. About 1789 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA

John L Cobb b. About 1793 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA

Nancy W Cobb b. 1796 in Buckingham County, Virginia, USA
Augustus Cobb b. About 1797 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA
James Cobb b. About 1799 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA
Martha Cobb b. About 1801 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA

Sallie Cobb b. About 1803 in Of Buckingham County, Virginia, USA

^[S2387]

My Southern Family

Mary Clay BASS

2 Feb 1733 - ABT 1772

ID Number: I68428

Notes

Sources

Mary T. BASS

ABT 1810 - ____

ID Number: I15082

Sources

Gen. Henry Lewis "Old Rock" BENNING C.S.A.

2 Apr 1814 - 10 Jul 1875

ID Number: I72344

Notes

Sources

Thomas COBBS Jr.

ABT 1760 - ____

ID Number: I63061

Notes

Sources

J. J. CROUCH

ABT 1900 - ____

ID Number: I11761

Sources

Thomas FLETCHER

ABT 1620 - ____

ID Number: I55824

Sources

Christine Lynn HIGGINBOTHAM

Elizabeth HUNT

ABT 1685 - BEF Jan 1726

ID Number: I39903

Sources

James Lafayette KING Jr.

Claude Watson LAMBERT

____ - ____

ID Number: I104218

Sources

Harry J. LAWSON

Lucy C. VIA

1837 - ____

ID Number: I40286

Sources

Catherine WALKER

ABT 1740 - 1772

ID Number: I47140

Sources

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