06/13/2026
– June 13, 1825, Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin Jefferson Hill was born in McMinnville, Tennessee. A successful merchant, state senator, and soldier, Hill served throughout nearly the entire Civil War, earning a reputation as one of the Army of Tennessee’s dependable regimental commanders.
Before the war, Hill was a prominent businessman in McMinnville and served in the Tennessee Senate from 1855 until Tennessee's secession in 1861. When war came, he entered military service as colonel of the 5th Tennessee Volunteers, which became the 35th Tennessee Infantry after entering Confederate service.
Assigned to the brigade of Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne, Hill and the 35th Tennessee fought in some of the Western Theater's most significant campaigns. The regiment saw action at Shiloh, Corinth, Richmond, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. Hill was wounded during the Kentucky Campaign and frequently assumed greater responsibilities, including leading Cleburne's brigade during portions of the battles of Richmond and Perryville after Cleburne was wounded.
Following the Chattanooga Campaign, Hill served as provost marshal of the Army of Tennessee before receiving a temporary promotion to brigadier general on November 30, 1864, the same day Cleburne was killed at the Battle of Franklin. Although an infantry officer by experience, Hill was transferred to the cavalry corps of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest and participated in the final campaigns of the war in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.
After the war, Hill returned to McMinnville, where he resumed his business career, practiced law, and served as president of the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad. He also served as mayor of McMinnville and remained active in civic affairs during Reconstruction. Contemporary accounts recall Hill publicly opposing efforts to organize the Ku Klux Klan in his region, urging local citizens to work together through lawful community leadership rather than secret organizations.
Benjamin Jefferson Hill died at his home in McMinnville on January 5, 1880, at the age of 54. He is buried in the Old City Cemetery in McMinnville, Tennessee.
