Thomas Hart Benton - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Thomas Hart Bent was born on March 14, 1782 near Harts Mill, North Carolina. As a young adult he moved to central Tennessee where he became friends with Andrew Jackson. There he continued his education and was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1805 and served as a Tennessee State Senator in 1809. During the war of 1812, Benton became the aide-de-camp to General Jackson and was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel. After the War of 1812, Benton moved to Missouri where he continued to practice law and became active in politics. Benton was a staunch supporter of westward expansion. He originally considered the westward boundary of the United State to be the Rocky Mountains but he expanded his view and support to include the Pacific Ocean. This cause of westward expansion became known as “Manifest Destiny.” Senator Benton was also instrumental in the United States being the sole administrator of the Oregon Territory and supported the current border at the at the 49th parallel and opposed the “Fifty-Four forty of Fight” movement. After serving 5-terms, Benton was denied a sixth term by the Missouri Legislature. In 1852 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives and opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and was defeated in 1854. Thomas Hart Benton died on April 10, 1858 in Washington D. C. His body was returned to Missouri and he was buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Description: Thomas Hart Benton was born in North Carolina, and moved to Tennessee as a young adult. While in Tennessee, he became a lawyer and was a close friend of Andrew Jackson. He served as Jackson’s aide during the War of 1812. Following the war he moved west to Missouri where he continued to practice law. In 1817 he was involved in a duel with another St. Louis lawyer. At 6:00 a.m. on August 12, 1817, Benton and a young Charles Lucas met on an island in the middle of the Mississippi near St. Louis. Benton first challenged Lucas to a duel after losing a court case where he believed he had been insulted. Lucas refused the first challenge. However, during the election of 1817, Lucas questioned Benton’s right to vote on the basis he had failed to pay his property taxes. Publicly humiliated, Benton responded by replying that he would not answer charges made by “any puppy who may happen to run across my path.” Such an indignity demanded satisfaction. The furious Lucas challenged Benton to duel and he accepted. From the distance of 30 feet, Benton hit Lucas in the throat, but was only grazed by Lucas’ bullet in the knee. Lucas was satisfied, but Benton insisted upon a second meeting after Lucas had time to heal. During the next few months, friends tried to reconcile the two men. Benton’s anger was refueled when gossip claimed he was afraid to duel at ten feet. When further reconciliation efforts failed, Lucas met Benton once again on the same island, but at the agreed upon distance of ten feet. Lucas missed again, but Benton’s bullet hit Lucas in the chest. Within minutes, Lucas was dead. The dueling grounds became known as Bloody Island. When Missouri entered the Union as a state in 1821, Thomas Hart Benton became the state’s first senator and served in that capacity for 30-years. He was a devoted follower of Andrew Jackson and pushed for the westward expansion of the United States and was a champion of the cause known as Manifest Destiny. Senator Benton also supported the establishment of the 49th parallel as the northern border of the Oregon Territory. After serving 5-terms in the United States Senate the Missouri Legislature failed to reappoint him. Thomas Hart Benton died in Washington D. C. on April 10, 1858. He is resting in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. Date of birth: 03/14/1782 Date of death: 04/10/1858 Area of notoriety: Politics Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   09/02/2012 frog1962 visited it