Class of 1842

James Gilchrist Benton: Born Sep. 15, 1823, Lebanon, NH.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1838, to July 1, 1842, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., Ordnance, July 1, 1842.

Served: as Asst. Ordnance Officer at Watervliet Arsenal, N. Y.,

(Second Lieut., Ordnance, Mar. 3, 1847)

1842‑48, — in Ordnance Bureau, Washington, D. C., assisting in the preparation of the System of Artillery for the Land Service, and of the

(First Lieut., Ordnance, Mar. 25, 1848)

Ordnance Manual, 1848‑49, — and at Harper's Ferry Armory, Va., 1849; in command of San Antonio Ordnance Depot, Tex., 1849‑52; as Assistant to the Inspector of Arsenals and Armories, 1852‑53; in command of Charleston Arsenal, S. C., 1853; on Special duty in Washington, D. C., and in making experiments to determine model of new Rifled Musket, 1853‑57; as Member of Ordnance Board, Mar. 21 to July 11, 1854, and

(Captain, Ordnance, July 1, 1856, for Fourteen Years' Continuous Service)

Oct. 8‑24, 1856; and as Instructor of Ordnance and Gunnery in the Military Academy, Feb. 27, 1857, to Apr. 26, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Principal Assistant to the Chief of Ordnance at Washington, D. C., Apr. 28, 1861, to Sep. 15, 1863; as Member of Ordnance Board, Sep. 24‑26, 1863;

(Major, Ordnance, Sep. 15, 1863)

and in command of Washington Arsenal, D. C., Sep. 15, 1863, to June 14, 1866.

Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., and Bvt. Colonel, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Faithful and Meritorious Services in the Ordnance Department.

Served: in command of Springfield Armory, Mas., Jan. 15, 1866, to Aug. 23, 1881; as Member of Board on Seacoast Rifled Cannon, Projectiles, Carriages, Implements, etc., Dec. 12, 1867, to Jan. 4, 1868, — and to examine Ordnance Officers for Promotion, Jan. 11, 1868, July 6, 1874, and Apr. 5, 1875, — to consider Proto­col of the International Military Commission, relative to the use of certain projectiles in war, and also upon results of Perrine shell, Jan. 25 to Feb., 1869; in superintending the arming of Seacoast fortifications from Charleston, S. C., to Mobile, Ala., 1872; and as Member of Board to determine proper Calibre of Small Arms, May 7, 1872, to Feb. 4, 1873, — to arrange details for the manufacture of experimental guns (as directed by Congress), Sep. 18 to Oct. 4, 1872, — on the manufacture of Rodman 15‑inch guns at South Boston foundry, Nov. 26 to Dec. 8, 1872, Nov. 26 to Dec. 8, 1872, — to examine the manufacture and construction of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores in the various countries of Europe, May 22 to Oct. 16, 1873, — on Army Revolvers, Jan. 6 to Mar. 12, 1874, — on Rock Island Water-Power, Apr. 18 to May 5, 1874, — on the causes of certain defects in Service Metallic Cartridges,

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Ordnance, June 23, 1874)

Sep. 21 to Oct. 2, 1874, — to examine a model Cavalry Cart, Jan. 20‑30, 1875, — to adjust Royalties to be paid by the United States on Ordnance Inventions, Mar. 9 to May 1, 1877, — and to select (as directed by Congress), a Magazine gun for the United States service, 1878.

Colonel, Ordnance, May 29, 1879.

Civil History. — Author of "A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery, for the use of the Cadets of the U. S. Military Academy," 1860.

Died, Aug. 23, 1881, at Springfield, Mas.: Aged 61.

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.