Benjamin Harrison Blanton

He had made a fortune in the gold rush of 1849, and was said to have "owned much of the business section of down-town Denver" before the War. He sold it all for Confederate bonds. He was volunteer aide-de-camp (ADC) to General Hood during the Seven Days actions in Virginia in 1862. He was commissioned Lieutenant and ADC to Hood to rank from 1 April 1862. He was appointed Major and ADC on 10 July 1862.

From General Hood's Report:

Too much cannot be said of the members of my staff ... my two aides (Maj. B. H. Blanton and Lieut. James Hamilton), had their horses shot during the battle of Sharpsburg while most gallantly pushing forward the troops and transmitting orders.

He resigned his commission 1 August 1864, but apparently did not leave. He served in the Army of Tennessee in 1864, and was again with General Hood to April 1865.

He returned to Frankfort, and may have been a distiller there - possibly the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) distillery, c. 1865-69.

Basic information from Krick1 and the List.2 His gravesite is on Findagrave. His son Alfred Bacon Blanton was later president of the George T. Stagg Distillery (now Buffalo Trace).

12/16/1829; Franklin County, KY

06/29/1884; burial in Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY