Henry H. Bingham
Henry Harrison Bingham | |
|---|---|
 Henry Harrison Bingham, Medal of Honor recipient | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | Union Army |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War *Battle of the Wilderness |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Henry Harrison Bingham (December 4, 1841 – March 22, 1912) was a Union officer in the American Civil War, receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of the Wilderness. He was a postbellum long-time Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Bingham County, Idaho, is named in his honor.
Biography
Early life
Henry H. Bingham was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1862, where he became a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He later graduated from the law department of Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Civil War
Bingham enlisted in the Union Army and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on August 22, 1862. During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, he was serving as Captain and Judge-Advocate on the staff of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps.[1] During the battle he witnessed Pickett's Charge, and was near the "Angle" where the Confederates reached the "High Water Mark". He received the personal effects from the mortally wounded Confederate Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead and carried the news to General Hancock, Armistead's friend from before the war.[2] Bingham was a Mason (Chartiers Lodge #297, Canonsburg, PA), and the story of how he provided assistance to the dying fellow Mason, General Armistead, was used in Masonic literature, and commeortaed with the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial at Gettysburg National Cemetery.[3]
During the Battle of the Wilderness during the Virginia Overland Campaign, on May 6, 1864, as captain of Company G, 140th Pennsylvania Infantry, he "rallied and led into action a portion of the troops who had given way under fierce assaults of the enemy."[4] He was awarded a Medal of Honor on August 26, 1893, for these actions.
Bingham eventually became a brevet brigadier general of volunteers on April 9, 1865, as the war was winding down. He mustered out of the service and returned home to Philadelphia in mid-1865.
Postbellum
Henry Bingham was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia by President Andrew Johnson in March 1867 and served until December 1872, when he resigned to accept the clerkship of the courts of oyer and terminer and quarter sessions of the peace in Philadelphia. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1872 though 1900. He was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1878, and served until his death. In Congress, he served as Chairman of the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, and on the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Captain, Company G, 140th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Wilderness, Va., 6 May 1864. Entered service at: Cannonsburg, Pa. Born: 4 December 1841, Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 31 August 1893.
Citation:
- Rallied and led into action a portion of the troops who had given way under the fierce assaults of the enemy.
See also
References
- United States Congress. "Henry H. Bingham (id: B000469)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-11-07
- Henry H. Bingham at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2007-11-07