Class of 1854

Benjamin Franklin Davis: Born Nov. 1832.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1850, to July 1, 1854, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut. of Infantry, July 1, 1854.

Served: on frontier duty at Ringgold Barracks, Tex., 1854‑55, — Ft.

(Second Lieut., 1st Dragoons, Mar. 3, 1855)

Stanton, N. M., 1856, — Camp Moore, N. M., 1856, — Ft. Buchanan, N. M., 1857, — Gila Expedition, 1857, being engaged with Apache Indians in an Action on Gila River, June 27, 1857, where he was wounded, — Ft. Buchanan, N. M., 1858, — March to California, 1858, — Ft. Tejon, Cal., 1858‑59, — Colorado River, Cal., 1859, — Ft. Tejon, Cal., 1859‑61,

(First Lieut., 1st Dragoons, Jan. 9, 1860)

and Los Angeles, Cal., 1861.

Captain, 1st Cavalry, July 30, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑63: in the

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 1st California Cavalry Volunteers, Aug. 19 to Nov. 1, 1861)

Defenses of Washington, D. C., Jan. to Mar., 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Mar. to June, 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, — and Battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862; in command of Regiment at Relay

(Colonel, 8th New York Cavalry Volunteers, June 25, 1862)

House, Md., July‑Aug., 1862; in the Maryland Campaign, Sep. to Nov., 1862, being engaged in the Defense of Harper's Ferry, Sep. 12‑14, from which he cut his way through the enemy's lines and reached Greencastle, Pa., Sep. 15, 1862, — and several Skirmishes on the March to Falmouth,

(Bvt. Major, Sep. 15, 1862, for Meritorious Services in the Withdrawal of the Cavalry Force from Harper's Ferry, Va., at the Surrender of that Place)

Va., Nov., 1862; in the Rappahannock Campaign (Army of the Potomac), at Belle Plain and vicinity, Dec., 1862, to Jan., 1863, — and guarding the Rappahannock, Feb. to June, being engaged in several Skirmishes, — and Combat at Beverly Ford, June 9, 1863.

Killed, June 9, 1863, at the Combat of Beverly Ford, Va.: Aged 31.

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.