Benjamin McCulloch (11 November 1811 – 7 March 1862) was a Brigadier-General of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. McCulloch was a commander of Confederate forces during the western theater of the war, and he was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862.
Biography[]
Benjamin McCulloch was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee on 11 November 1811, the son of parents from prominent families in North Carolina and Virginia. His father squandered his inheritance, leading to Benjamin McCulloch being uneducated, and he decided to head to St. Louis to join some fur trappers during hunting season in 1834. In 1835, he grew tired of his failed attempts to become a farmer and an adventurer, and he decided to follow Davy Crockett to Texas. He joined Sam Houston's army during its retreat to eastern Texas, and he became a Lieutenant in the Texian Army after commanding one of the army's two cannons at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. In 1839, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and his right arm was crippled in a duel with Colonel Reuben Ross, who he would later kill in another duel. McCulloch took part in numerous battles against the Comanche Native Americans and the Mexican Army, and he was elected from Gonzales County to the Texas state legislature in 1845 after the state's annexation by the United States. McCulloch commanded mounted infantry during the Mexican-American War, and he became a Major after the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847. McCulloch would rise to the rank of Major-General in the Texas Militia by 1847.
On 14 February 1861, two weeks after Texas seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States of America, McCulloch became a Colonel of the Confederate States Army. On 16 February, he forced General David E. Twiggs and his installations to surrender after they were surrounded by 1,000 Confederate troops, and he was promoted to Brigadier-General on 11 May. McCulloch was given command of the Indian Territory, and he forged alliances with the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creeks of Oklahoma. He developed a rivalry with general Sterling Price, as he did not believe that Price's ill-trained Missouri troops were adequate for fighting against the US Army. McCulloch and Price defeated Nathaniel Lyon's Union army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861, and Earl Van Dorn was sent to take command of the Army of the West to resolve the dispute between the two generals. On 7 March 1862, he commanded the right wing of the Confederate army at the Battle of Pea Ridge, and he was shot out of his saddle by the 36th Illinois Infantry sharpshooter Peter Pelican as he scouted out enemy positions. His death led to the disaster at Pea Ridge and the loss of Arkansas to the Union.