GEN. PRENTISS. Brigadier General BENJAMIN F. PRENTISS was born on the 23d day of November, 1819, at Belleville, Wood county, Virginia. In 1835, he, with his father, Henry L. Prentiss, removed from Virginia to Missouri, and whilst residing there, and before becoming of age, he commanded a company raised during the Mormon troubles in that State. In 1841, Gen. Prentiss, with his father's family, removed from Missouri to Quincy, Adams county, Illinois, where Gen. Prentiss has since resided. There he supported and educated himself by working at his trade, which is that of a rope maker. among the best drilled and most efficient of the volunteer companies in Gen. Taylor's column in the Mexican war. After the termination of the war, Capt. Prentiss returned to Quincy, and followed his business as a rope maker for several years, when he commenced business as a forwarding and commission merchant, which he continued until the breaking out of the rebellion. The news of the fall of Sumter reached Quincy on Sunday morning, and the next Sunday, Prentiss, with two hundred brave men, composed in part of the Quincy Rifles, which he reorganized, were on their way to Cairo, Ill. In 1844, the troubles between the authori- He was elected Colonel of the 7th Regiment, ties of Illinois and the Mormons, then under and as soon as a brigade could be got together, the leadership of Joe Smith, commenced. he was elected, by a large majority, Brigadier Prentiss at that time was First Lieutenant of General of the Illinois troops, in service under the Quincy Rifles, then and for some time af- the three months call. His old commander terwards under the command of Capt. (now and friend, James D. Morgan, who was Lieut. Brigadier General) James D. Morgan. He, Colonel of his regiment, became Colonel upon with his Captain and company, went to Han- Prentiss becoming Brigadier General. Morcock county, where the Mormons were, and gan could have been Colonel of another regiagain, in 1845, did good service in keeping ment at the same time Prentiss was made peace and preserving order. He was retained Colonel, but he preferred to serve under Prenfor several months in Hancock county, on tiss, and wished afterwards, when he became duty with his company during the continu- Colonel, to be assigned to Prentiss' brigade. ance of the Mormon difficulties. At the commencement of the Mexican war, he was among the first to volunteer, with his old Captain, James D. Morgan, and many of the former Quincy Rifles, and join the 1st Regiment Illinois Volunteers, under Col. Hardin. When the regiment was organized, he was appointed by Col. Hardin, Adjutant, and did duty as such with his regiment until they arrived at Monclova, when he was elected Captain of a company in the same regiment, which he commanded until its term of service expired. He was succeeded as Adjutant by William H. L. Wallace, who lost his life at Shiloh, fighting side by side with Prentiss, who was ever his warm friend. James D. Morgan and Prentiss were posted at Saltillo at the time of the battle of Buena Vista, and under orders from Gen. Taylor held that post against a greatly superior force of the enemy. The two companies under command of Morgan (who was the ranking Captain) and Prentiss (who was his junior), were regarded as When the three months service ceased, Gen. Prentiss was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers, by the President, for the war. During the three months service he was in command at Cairo. After that service ended, and almost as soon as he was appointed for the war, he was ordered into Southern Missouri, and there fitted out and conducted a large expedition from Pilot Knob, through Southern Missouri. Being relieved by Gen. Grant at Cape Girardeau, he was ordered to North Missouri, where, with a small command, he kept the secessionists and traitors of that region perfectly quiet, the only period since the rebellion commenced that quiet and peace have been thoroughly preserved there, except for a short time whilst Col. John Glover, who succeeded him, was in command. A short time before the battle of Shiloh, Gen. Prentiss was relieved from duty in North Missouri, and ordered to report to Maj. Gen. Grant, which he did at once at Pittsburgh Landing, where he arrived only two or three days before the bat tle. Gen. Prentiss was at once ordered to the front, and regiments assigned to his command, composed of good men, but they were mostly new troops, very few of whom had ever been under fire. Prentiss' command was not surprised on Sunday morning, April 6th, as has been erroneously stated, but, on the contrary, was in line of battle early in the morning, and fought, almost on their own ground, from nine o'clock in the morning until half-past four in the evening, when, being unsupported and almost surrounded by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, he was compelled to surrender. message was never received. About the same time, McClernand was forced back, and Prentiss, without knowing that his supports were gone, held his position. The enemy, both on his right and left, were nearly half a mile in his rear before he discovered it, and his capture was inevitable. In 1860, Gen. Prentiss was the candidate of the Republican party for Congress, in the Fifth Congressional District, in Illinois, but the district being largely Democratic, he was defeated by his competitor, William A. Richardson. Gen. Prentiss is an active, energetic In the thick underbrush where they made man, always ready for any emergency, and their last stand, with McClernand's division on perfectly temperate in his habits, having never the left and Hurlbut's on the right, almost drank any spirituous liquors. His personal every shrub and bush was struck by bullets, courage is undoubted. He does not know what and no spot on the field exhibited evidences of fear is. The writer has seen his courage tried more desperate fighting, excepting the "Bat- in many modes, and he has always proved himtalion Drill Ground." The last time Gen. self to be cool and prepared for whatever may Prentiss met Gen. Hurlbut, he asked him, occur, and equal to the occasion. Should "Can you hold your line?" and was answered, he be exchanged, he will be found, as ever "I think I can." Not long after, Hurlbut amongst the foremost, fighting for his governsent a messenger to inform him that he was ment and the country he loves so well. forced back, but he was probably killed, as the COL. ROBERTS. Col. GEORGE W. ROBERTS is a native of Westchester county, Penn., where he was born, October 2, 1833. After the necessary preparation, he entered the sophomore class at Yale College, and graduated in 1857. Adopting the law as his profession, he studied in his native county, where he was admitted to the bar, and continued to practice until the spring of 1859, when he removed to Chicago. There, while in the successful exercise of his profession, he determined to enter the army, and in company with David Stuart, began recruiting for the 42d Regiment Illinois Volunteers. On the 22d of July, he received his commission as Major of the regiment, and on the 17th of September was elected Lieut. Colonel. Upon the death of Col. Webb, Dec. 24, 1861, he was elected Colonel. With his regiment Col. Roberts took part in the well known march of Gen. Fremont to Springfield, after which the 42d went into quarters at Smithtown, Mo. After the fall of Fort Donelson, the Colonel proceeded with his regiment to Fort Holt, near Cairo, where he held command of the post, at that time garrisoned by the 42d Illinois, 8th Ohio, and a battery of the 2d Illinois artillery. From there Col. Roberts was ordered to Columbus, after its evacuation by the enemy, and next proceeded to Island No. 10, where he performed most valuable service during a night expedition, in spiking a number of guns. The regiment was next ordered to Fort Pillow, and from there accompanied Gen. Pope up the Tennessee, and took part in the engagement at Farmington. At the time of the evacuation of Corinth by the rebels, Col. Roberts had command of Palmer's brigade. GEN. BUFORD. The subject of this sketch, Brigadier General NAPOLEON B. BUFORD, was born on the 13th of January, 1807, in Woodford county, Kentucky. His father was Col. John Buford, a popular, patriotic and generous man, who was grealty esteemed, and filled many important public stations worthily. He was seven years a member of the Legislature in Kentucky, and four years a Senator of Illinois. His mother was Nancy Hickman of Bourbon county, Kentucky. In the year 1823, at the age of 16, Napoleon B. Buford was appointed a cadet, by the influence of Col. Richard M. Johnson, whose notice he had attracted while at school near his residence, and graduated at the West Point Military Academy with distinguished honor, in 1827, when he was commissioned a Lieutenant of Artillery. While in the army, which was for the period of eight years, he was a diligent student and an active officer. First stationed at the School of Practice at Fortress Monroe, it was here he commenced to employ his leisure in the study of law, and by the invitation of Col. Richard M. Johnson, he visited Washington, and was introduced by him to all the cabinet officers of the President, John Quincy Adams. In the delightful family of Mr. Wirt, the Attorney-General, he made the acquaintance, which has since ripened into a warm friendship, of the Hon. S. P. Chase, now Secretary of the Treasury, then a law-student of Mr. Wirt, and a cherished member of his family. Lieutenant Buford was next, on the requisition of the Governor of Kentucky, detailed as a Topographical Engineer, and made the first surveys of the Kentucky river, which led afterwards to its being converted into a noble canal, by a system of locks and dams. The following winter, at the instance of Mr. Bates, now Attorney-General, but then Member of Congress from Missouri, he was sent by the Secretary of War to survey the Des Moines and Rock Island rapids of the Mississippi river, which he executed with ability. In 1830, Lieut. Buford joined his regiment at Eastport, Maine, and with his regular garrison duties, resumed his legal studies. Gen. Scott granted him a leave of absence in 1831 that he might enter the Law School of Harvard University, then presided over by Judge Story of the Supreme Court. It was at this time he became acquainted with his present wife, Miss Mary Ann Greenwood, of Newburyport, Mass., a lady of rare merit, whose virtues have always shone brightly; who has always been beloved, but perhaps never so much as by the noble officers and men of the 27th Regt. Ill. Volunteers after the battle of Belmont, who were the witnesses of her ministrations to the wounded, and for a period of months, to her pious deportment. They were not married until after a separation of 27 years, and if we were permitted to tell the story of their pure intercourse, sweet remembrances, useful lives, and happy union, our short biography would grow into a romance, illustrating the adage, that "Truth is stranger than fiction." In 1833, Lieut. Buford was appointed one of the assistant Professors of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at West Point, the duties of which occupied him until 1835, when called by his native State as one of her Civil Engineers, he resigned his commission in the army, and was engaged in the public improvements of Kentucky, until 1842. During most of this time he was the resident Engineer of the Licking river slack-water navigation, and made his winter residence in Cincinnati. There he again enjoyed the society of the Hon. S. P. Chase, and also of Judge Burnet, Judge McLean, Bishop McIlvaine (who was his Professor at West Point), Hon. Larz. Anderson, Prof. (now Maj. General) Mitchell, Prof. Parker, Prof. Gross, Dr. Lyman Beecher, and others ever to be remembered. In 1843, Mr. Buford removed from Cincinnati to Rock Island, Illinois, his present home, where he engaged actively in business. He was a merchant, iron-founder and banker successively. The monuments of his industry still adorn the beautiful city of Rock Island. He was one of the originators of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad; for several years one of its directors, and subsequently President of the Rock Island and Peoria Railroad. The breaking out of the rebellion was ruinous to his banking business, as he had $200,000 invested in State bonds, which lost half |