# Benjamin S. Roberts

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{{Short description|Union Army General (1810–1875)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Benjamin Stone Roberts
|birth_date= {{birth date|1810|11|18}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1875|1|29|1810|11|18}}
|image=Benjamin S. Roberts - Brady-Handy.jpg
|caption=Benjamin Stone Roberts
|birth_place=[Manchester, Vermont](/source/Manchester%2C_Vermont)
|death_place=[Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.)
|burial_place=[Dellwood Cemetery](/source/Dellwood_Cemetery), Manchester, Vermont
|burial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= [United States of America](/source/United_States_of_America)<br />[Union](/source/Union_(American_Civil_War))
|branch= [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)<br />[Union Army](/source/Union_Army)
|service_years=1835–1839, 1846–1870
|rank= 35px [Brigadier General](/source/Brigadier_general_(United_States))<br>35px [Brevet](/source/Brevet_(military)) [major general](/source/Major_general_(United_States))
|unit=
|commands=
|battles=
{{tree list}}
* [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War)
** [Siege of Veracruz](/source/Siege_of_Veracruz)
** [Battle of Cerro Gordo](/source/Battle_of_Cerro_Gordo)
** [Battle of Contreras](/source/Battle_of_Contreras)
** [Battle of Churubusco](/source/Battle_of_Churubusco)
** [Battle of Chapultepec](/source/Battle_of_Chapultepec)
* [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War)
** [New Mexico campaign](/source/New_Mexico_campaign)
*** [Battle of Valverde](/source/Battle_of_Valverde)
*** [Battle of Albuquerque](/source/Battle_of_Albuquerque)
*** [Battle of Peralta](/source/Battle_of_Peralta)
* [Northern Virginia campaign](/source/Northern_Virginia_campaign)
** [Battle of Cedar Mountain](/source/Battle_of_Cedar_Mountain)
** [First Battle of Rappahannock Station](/source/First_Battle_of_Rappahannock_Station)
** [Second Battle of Bull Run](/source/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run)
* [Indian Wars](/source/Indian_Wars)
{{tree list/end}}
}}

'''Benjamin Stone Roberts''' (November 18, 1810 – January 29, 1875) was an American lawyer, civil engineer, and a general in the [Union Army](/source/Union_Army) during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War).

==Early life==
Roberts was born in [Manchester, Vermont](/source/Manchester%2C_Vermont). He graduated from the [United States Military Academy](/source/United_States_Military_Academy) in 1835, ranking near the bottom of his class (53rd out of 56). He resigned four years later to pursue a career in [civil engineering](/source/civil_engineering) on railroads in New York and overseas in Russia. After his return from Russia, he settled in [Iowa](/source/Iowa), where he practiced law.

==Mexican-American War==
In 1846, at the beginning of the [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War), Roberts was reappointed a [first lieutenant](/source/first_lieutenant), Mounted Rifles, in the [Regular Army](/source/Regular_Army_(United_States)). He was promoted to [captain](/source/Captain_(United_States)) in 1847, and saw action at [Veracruz](/source/Battle_of_Veracruz), [Cerro Gordo](/source/Battle_of_Cerro_Gordo), [Contreras](/source/Battle_of_Contreras), [Churubusco](/source/Battle_of_Churubusco), and the capture of Mexico City, [Matamoros](/source/Matamoros%2C_Tamaulipas) and the Galajara pass. At Churubusco, he was [brevetted](/source/brevet_(military)) [major](/source/Major_(United_States)) for leading an advance party of stormers. He received a further brevet, to [lieutenant colonel](/source/Lieutenant_colonel_(United_States)) in 1847 for gallantry during the war. After the close of hostilities, he served on the frontier and in Washington, D.C.

==Civil War==
At the outbreak of the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), Roberts was major of the [3rd U.S. Cavalry](/source/3d_Armored_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)). He served in [Arizona](/source/Arizona_Territory_(Confederate_States_of_America)) and [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico_Territory_in_the_American_Civil_War) in 1861 and 1862. He was promoted to [brigadier general](/source/Brigadier_general_(United_States)) of Volunteers on July 16, 1862, and assigned to General [John Pope](/source/John_Pope_(general))'s staff as Chief of Cavalry and Inspector General for the Army of Virginia during the [Northern Virginia Campaign](/source/Northern_Virginia_Campaign). After Pope's defeat at the [Second Battle of Bull Run](/source/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run), Roberts was manipulated by [Secretary of War](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_War) [Edwin M. Stanton](/source/Edwin_M._Stanton) to [prefer charges of disloyalty, disobedience and misconduct](/source/Court-martial_of_Fitz_John_Porter) against [Fitz John Porter](/source/Fitz_John_Porter), and testified at the subsequent [court-martial](/source/court-martial), which ruined Porter's career. 

After Porter's court-martial, Roberts was briefly reassigned to Acting Inspector General of Pope's Department of the Northwest before being recalled to Washington in February 1863. Robert served the spring of 1863 commanding an independent brigade in West Virginia as part of the [VIII Corps](/source/VIII_Corps_(Union_Army)) and the [Middle Department](/source/Middle_Department), before being sent back to the Department of the Northwest in May, to command the District of Iowa for the remainder of the year.

In 1864, he commanded the District of Carrollton, Louisiana, as part of the [XIX Corps](/source/XIX_Corps_(ACW)) and ended the year as Chief of Cavalry for the Union Army's [Department of the Gulf](/source/Department_of_the_Gulf). He was subsequently sent to oversee the District of West Tennessee in 1865, where on March 13, 1865, he was brevetted [major general](/source/Major_general_(United_States)), Volunteers, for gallant and meritorious service during the war.

==Later life==
Roberts continued to serve in the Regular Army, as lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Cavalry, until 1868, then taught [military science](/source/military_science) at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) until his retirement on December 15, 1870. He died in Washington, D.C., and was buried at the [Oak Hill Cemetery](/source/Oak_Hill_Cemetery_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) there. He was later reinterred at [Dellwood Cemetery](/source/Dellwood_Cemetery), [Manchester, Vermont](/source/Manchester%2C_Vermont).

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
* [List of American Civil War generals (Union)](/source/List_of_American_Civil_War_generals_(Union))
* [Vermont in the American Civil War](/source/Vermont_in_the_American_Civil_War)

==References==
* {{Civil War Dictionary|pages=701–702}}
* Peck, Theodore S., compiler, ''Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861–66'', Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, p.&nbsp;680.
* Sifakis, Stewart, ''Who Was Who in the Union'', New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1988, pp.&nbsp;337–338.
* Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals In Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 1992, pp.&nbsp;405–406.

==External links==
{{commons category|Benjamin Stone Roberts}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=( "Roberts, Benjamin Stone" OR "Benjamin Stone Roberts" )}}
* {{Find a Grave|22682|accessdate=2008-02-12}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngr/roberts.htm |title=Photographs |accessdate=2006-08-14 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208215607/http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngr/roberts.htm |archivedate=2008-02-08 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Benjamin S.}}
Category:1810 births
Category:1875 deaths
Category:People of Vermont in the American Civil War
Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
Category:Union army generals
Category:United States Military Academy alumni
Category:People from Manchester, Vermont
Category:Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) <!-- later moved -->
Category:Burials at Dellwood Cemetery

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benjamin S. Roberts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_S._Roberts) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_S._Roberts?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.