{{Short description|American Civil War soldier awarded the Medal of Honor}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox military person |name = William Bensinger |image = William Bensinger.jpg |birth_date = {{birth date|1840|01|14}} |death_date = {{death date and age|1918|12|19|1840|01|14}} |birth_place = Waynesburg, Ohio |death_place = McComb, Ohio |burial_place = |allegiance = {{flag|United States of America|1861}} |branch = {{army|USA}} |service_years = 1861 - 1866 |rank = Captain |unit = {{Flagicon|Ohio}} 21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry - Company G |battles = Great Locomotive Chase |awards = {{Flagicon image|Medal of Honor ribbon.svg}} Medal of Honor }}
'''William Bensinger''' (January 14, 1840, to December 19, 1918) was an American soldier who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. On March 25, 1863, he was the second person given the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Great Locomotive Chase in Georgia in April 1862.{{sfnp|''Congressional Medal of Honor Society'' (1918)}}{{sfnp|DOD, ''Medal of Honor Recipients'' (2023)}}{{sfnp|VA, ''Medal of Honor History'' (2013)}}{{sfnp|Hall of Valor, ''William Bensinger'' (2020)}}{{sfnp|victoriacrossonline.co.uk, ''William Bensinger MOH'' (2022)}}
==Biography== thumb|left|Andrew's Raiders - William Bensinger is at #6 (Front row, 2nd from left) Bensinger was born on January 14, 1840, in Waynesburg, Ohio, and enlisted into the 21st Ohio Infantry at Hancock County, Ohio.{{sfnp|Hall of Valor, ''William Bensinger'' (2020)}}{{sfnp|victoriacrossonline.co.uk, ''William Bensinger MOH'' (2022)}} He was among a group of Ohio men (19 soldiers and 2 civilians) who volunteered for a secret mission to disrupt Confederate communication. In April, this group led by James J. Andrews, which later came to be called ''Andrews' Raiders'', boarded a train in Georgia. On April 12, after it stopped in Big Shanty, they commandeered its engine and three boxcars and headed toward Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pursued by the Confederates, they destroyed track and telegraph lines along the way. They never made it to Chattanooga and abandoned the engine, before all were captured within a week. Some were hanged and some, including Bensinger, were taken to prison camp.{{sfnp|ohiocivilwar150.org, ''William Bensinger's Sword''(2010)}} He eventually escaped and arrived in Washington, D.C., later moving to McComb, Ohio, where he died on December 19, 1918.{{sfnp|Hall of Valor, ''William Bensinger'' (2020)}}{{sfnp|victoriacrossonline.co.uk, ''William Bensinger MOH'' (2022)}}
==Medal of Honor citation== {{quotation|One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and track between Chattanooga and Atlanta.{{sfnp|''Congressional Medal of Honor Society'' (1918)}}{{sfnp|Hall of Valor, ''William Bensinger'' (2020)}}{{sfnp|victoriacrossonline.co.uk, ''William Bensinger MOH'' (2022)}} }}
==See also== {{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}} *Great Locomotive Chase *List of Andrews Raiders *List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
==References== <!--'''Notes''' {{NoteFoot|50em}} -->
'''Citations''' {{Reflist}}
'''Sources''' {{refbegin |50em}} * {{cite web | title=Medal of Honor Recipient | website=Congressional Medal of Honor Society | date=December 19, 1918 | url=https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/william-bensinger | ref={{sfnref|''Congressional Medal of Honor Society'' (1918)}} | access-date=March 4, 2024}} * {{cite web | title=William Bensinger's Sword | website=ohiocivilwar150.org | date=December 31, 2010 | url=http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka/items/show/1725 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231014611/http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka/items/show/1725 | archive-date=December 31, 2010 | url-status=dead | ref={{sfnref|ohiocivilwar150.org, ''William Bensinger's Sword''(2010)}} | access-date=March 4, 2014}} * {{cite web | title=U.S. Military Awards for Valor | website=Medal of Honor Recipients | date=September 13, 2023 | url=https://valor.defense.gov/Recipients/Army-Medal-of-Honor-Recipients/ | ref={{sfnref|DOD, ''Medal of Honor Recipients'' (2023)}} | access-date=March 4, 2024}} * {{Cite web |title=William Bensinger |work=The Wall of Valor Project |publisher=Hall of Valor: The Military Medals Database |date=August 8, 2020 |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/3127 |access-date=May 12, 2010 |ref={{sfnref|Hall of Valor, ''William Bensinger'' (2020)}} }} * {{cite web |author=Veterans Affairs Administration |title=Medal of Honor History | website=National Cemetery Administration | date=April 19, 2013 | url=https://www.cem.va.gov/history/Medal_of_Honor_History.asp | access-date=March 4, 2024 |ref={{sfnref|VA, ''Medal of Honor History'' (2013)}} }} * {{Cite web |title=William Bensinger MOH |work=Medal of Honor Recipients |publisher=The Comprehensive Guide to the Victoria & George Cross |date=September 29, 2022 |url=https://victoriacrossonline.co.uk/william-bensinger-moh/ |access-date=May 2, 2010 |ref={{sfnref|victoriacrossonline.co.uk, ''William Bensinger MOH'' (2022)}} }} {{refend}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensinger, William}} Category:1840 births Category:1918 deaths Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War Category:Union army soldiers Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Category:People from Waynesburg, Ohio Category:People from Hancock County, Ohio Category:Great Locomotive Chase