Caleb Benson

Portrait of Caleb Benson

History Nebraska RG1517-93-27

Quick Facts

Significance:

Buffalo Soldier, Nebraska Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida

Date of Birth:

June 24, 1860

Place of Death:

Crawford, Dawes County, Nebraska

Date of Death:

November 18, 1937

Place of Burial:

Fort McPherson National Cemetery

Cemetery Name:

Maxwell, Lincoln County, Nebraska

Caleb Benson was a Buffalo Solider stationed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska who decided to homestead near the fort after an injury prevented him from reenlisting.

Born at Jacksonville, Florida, on June 24, 1860, the Benson family moved to Charleston, South Carolina when he was six years old. After the death of his parents, Benson enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 25, 1875.

The legal age for enlistment was twenty-one and he was only fourteen years old at the time. During his recruitment he stated he was 21 years and 7 months old though he was actually seven years younger.

Caleb Benson served with the 9th Cavalry in Company D (1875-1880) & the 10th Cavalry in Companies B and K (1885-1904, 1907-1908). He served as a cook for much of his service. In 1903 during his sixth enlistment, Benson was burnt by his field stove and lost much of his eyesight. He also suffered a head injury that caused memory loss from the accident.

When his enlistment term ended in 1904, Benson wanted to reenlist to complete thirty years of service for full retirement pay instead of receiving a disability pension. He was already at twenty seven years since his overseas duty in Cuba counted as double for retirement. His reenlistment was denied due to his disabilities until a reevaluation in 1907 allowed him to go to the Phillippines for eighteen months in order to receive his thirty years of service.

During his service, Benson participated in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine American War. He served for seven enlistments before retiring as First Sergeant Benson on September 29, 1908.

In regards to the Indian Wars, Benson is quoted as saying, "People may think it isn't true, but the Indians never shot a colored man unless it was necessary. They always wanted to win the friendship of the Negro race, and obtain their aid in campaigns againist the white man."

Following the passage of the Kincaid Act in 1904, Captain Henry C. Whitehead and other officers at Fort Robinson filed homestead claims in Sioux County, Nebraska. The Kincaid Act allowed homesteaders to claim up to 640 acres in the sandhills of Nebraska.

A year later, Captain Whitehead relinquished his claim to Benson on July 6, 1905. Benson’s was soon was called away from his homestead to service the Philippines. When he retired from military service following this tour of duty, he returned to his homestead.

Benson settled down in Nebraska and soon married Percilla Smith on March 29, 1909. She was a graduate of the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute in Virginia.

Because of the 1872 Soldiers and Sailors Act, Benson’s military service reduced his homestead residency requirement. This meant that he only had to live on the land for one year.

On December 5, 1910, Benson and two witnesses went to the land office in Alliance, Nebraska to testify that he had fulfilled the requirements of the Homestead Act. Improvements made to the land included a frame house, a log barn, a cave-cellar, a well with a windmill and tank, chicken house, and an outbuilding. The Bensons had six acres in cultivation and grazing horses and cows in the pasture. There also was a significant amount of pine trees on his land. His homestead patent was issued on July 26, 1911.

A neighboring homesteader, James T. Mason, raised his concern about a potential deal Caleb Benson had with Captain Henry C. Whitehead. Mason claimed that Whitehead had told him that relinquishing the land to Benson was “a cheap way for him to get a section of land.” A special agent was sent in November 1914 to investigate the claim. He found that Benson was leasing most his land to Major Carter P. Johnson at that time.

Benson told the agent he had received around $600 from Whitehead to make improvements to the land and Whitehead wanted the first chance to buy the land if Benson decided to sell it. The agent believed this money was from the 1913 mortage in Benson's name for a thousand dollars that Benson appeared unaware of. The agent decided to close the case instead of pursuing further action as "nothing of the deal appears previous to the granting of the patent." (See attached land case file for details)

In 1923, Caleb Benson and his wife moved to Wisconsin to continue working for Lt. Col. Edwart Calvert. By 1925, they had moved to New York City and settled in Harlem, where they met thier foster son James "Jimmie" Benson, originally James Amos.

The Bensons returned to Crawford, Nebraska by 1934. Benson was was an honored guest at the dedcation of the Lieutenant Levi Robinson and Cheif Crazy Horse monuments at Fort Robinson in September 1934.

Group of veterans, 1934 (Caleb Benson in front row, middle)
Source: History Nebraska, RG2877-0803

Caleb Benson died of coronary thrombosis on November 19, 1937. His funeral was held at the African Methodist-Episcopal Church of Crawford. He was given a miltary burial at Fort Robinson. Caleb and Percilla are now buried in Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell, Nebraska.

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Further Information

NH1993Caleb_Benson.pdf (nebraska.gov) Thomas R Buecker, “One Soldier’s Service: Caleb Benson in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, 1875- 1908,” Nebraska History 74 (1993): 54-62.  

NH1997TenTroopers.pdf (nebraska.gov) Frank N Schubert, “Ten Troopers: Buffalo Soldier Medal of Honor Men Who Served at Fort Robinson,” Nebraska History 78 (1997): 151-157.

Caleb Benson [RG1575.AM] | History Nebraska  Finding Aid of his miltary papers

Benson, Caleb (pastperfectonline.com) Objects owned by Benson at History Nebraska

Sources

• Patent Details - BLM GLO Records 640 acre homestead patent
• Land Case Entry File (see below)
• United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, Nebraska Vol. 62, page 129; Records Improvement, Bureau of Land Management, Washington D.C.
• 1900 US Federal Census (Holguin, Cuva Miltary and Naval Forces)
• 1910 & 1920 US Federal Census (Andrews, Sioux County, NE)
• 1930 US Federal Census (Manhattan, NY)
• "Veteran of 18 Indian Battles Will Attend Crazy Horse Rites." Northwest Nebraska News. 9 August 1934, p. 5.
• "Caleb Benson Retired, Dies at Home Here." Northwest Nebraska News. 25 November 1937, p. 1.
• Thomas R Buecker, “One Soldier’s Service: Caleb Benson in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, 1875- 1908,” Nebraska History 74 (1993): 54-62. 
• Caleb Benson (1860-1937) - Find A Grave Memorial