William Benton Leach

He went west to Minnesota in 1857, studied law there, was admitted to the bar in 1858, and was in practice at Hastings, MN by 1860. He enrolled at Hastings on 29 April 1861 and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant of Company H, First Minnesota Infantry. He was appointed Adjutant the next day and was promoted to First Lieutenant on 29 July. He was briefly Regimental Quartermaster in January 1862, but was discharged on 16 May 1862 to accept a commission as Captain and Assistant Adjutant General (AAG), US Volunteers and was detailed as AAG to Brigadier General Dana.

He was with General Dana on the Maryland Campaign and of his service at Antietam the General noted:

To the officers of my staff ... I am greatly indebted. Their conduct was unexceptionable, and I desire to commend them in unmeasured terms for coolness, bravery, and activity; but I beg leave to recommend Captain Leach especially for promotion for habitual industry, intelligence, and activity during the whole term of his service and for distinguished bravery on this field.

He later served as Inspector General of the 13th US Army Corps, Army of the Gulf, and resigned his commission on 11 February 1864.

He went to Cedar Rapids, IA and was elected to a term in the Iowa House in 1868. He was Mayor of Cedar Rapids (1869), owned a mill there in 1870, and was later elected Superior Court Judge (1877-1885). He moved to Minneapolis, MN in 1887 and was an insurance manager and adjuster there to at least 1900.

His service from Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars1 and Heitman.2 His staff role in Maryland also from Dana's Report. Personal details from family genealogist, the US Census of 1860-1900, the General Catalogue of the University of Vermont (1901), and his Iowa legislative biography. His gravesite is on Findagrave. His photograph is from the Iowa Legislature.

07/04/1832; Lisbon, NH

12/05/1903; Minneapolis, MN; burial in Oak Hill Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, IA