Gen. Benjamin J. Hill

Gen. Benjamin J. Hill. "Lion of Ben Lomond" (1825-1880). Benjamin Jefferson Hill was nicknamed the "Lion of Ben Lomond" (for Ben Lomond Mountain, near which he lived as a boy). His affection for his home inspired his battle cry, "Come on Boys, recollect the mountains.", Hill became a merchant and the proprietor of McMinnville's Warren House Hotel and served in the Tennessee State Senate in the 1850s. When the war began, Hill joined the Confederacy as colonel of the 5th (later 35th) Tennessee Infantry and helped organize the 16th Tennessee Infantry at Camp Smartt near McMinnville. Hill served under Gen. Patrick Cleburne from the April 1862 Battle of Shiloh until Cleburne's death at the Battle of Franklin in November 1864. Hill was then promoted to brigadier general. Other engagements included Corinth, Richmond (where Hill was wounded in the fighting), Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge., Hill served as provost marshal under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston between February and August 1864. Until the end of the war, he served in Gen. William H. Jackson's division of Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry corps and participated in the Battle of the Cedars near Murfreesboro and at Decatur and Selma, Alabama., Paroled on May 16, 1865, Hill came back to McMinnville, read law and operated rebuilt Warren House. He urged all former Confederates to "take the oath" and return to a normal life. He became president of the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad and formed alliances with Reconstruction-era Republicans, such as former President Andre Johnson. Hill died in 1880 and is buried in the historic City Cemetery., (Captions) , Lower left: Detail map of Middle and East Tennessee, 1862, showing McMinnville and Ben Lomond south of town - Courtesy Library of Congress , Upper left: Benjamin J. Hill - Courtesy W. H. Maghness Community House and Library , Lower right: Confederate Camp - Courtesy Library of Congress , Upper right: Warren House Hotel - Monty Wanamaker and Southern Museum and Galleries