TERRY,Ben Dyer Capt. - C.S.A.

Captain Ben Dyer Terry, C.S.A.

 Ben Dyer Terry was born in Christian County in 1831 to Abner Robinson and Eleanor Dyer Terry.  In 1830, his family moved to the Wallonia precinct in Trigg County, Kentucky and to Cadiz in 1844. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the Confederate Army and first saw service in a company of cavalry commanded by Captain M.D. Wilcox, of which company he was elected 1st Lt. His company became part of Ben Hardin Helm's regiment, which was stationed at Hopkinsville and saw its first service at the battle of Fort Donelson. His entire company was captured in the general surrender at Fort Donelson on February 15, 1862, and went to prison at Johnson's Island.  In September of that year they were exchanged and upon the reorganization of the same company he was made Captain.

  His company was later transferred to Morgan's Command, D. Howard Smith's regiment and Kerpatrick's Battalion. He was in the battle at Chickamauga in 1863 and in several engagements up to the fight at Cynthiana, KY. Here his battalion was thrown out as a rear guard to cover the retreat and was again captured, with most of his command, and again taken as a prisoner to Johnson's Island. He was incarcerated there through the terrible winter of 1864-65 where the prisoners were made to suffer greater privation than was ever known before. The suffering here was so great that many of his fellow prisoners took the oath of allegiance to the Federal Government, but he was true to his convictions, and Scotch-Irish descent, gave up all but his honor. He was paroled in June of 1865, when he returned to Cadiz.

 When the Confederate Home was established at Pewee Valley Capt. Terry was appointed by Gov. Beckham as one of the commissioners, and at the time of his death was serving his second term.  He was also a member of Col. Bennett H. Young's staff of Louisville, which honored place he filled for several years, and always took great interest in the Confederate Reunions and other Confederate gatherings.

  He died in Cadiz in May of 1906, and was buried in the old Cadiz Cemetery in his Confederate Colonel's uniform, and was survived by a brother, Admiral Silas Terry of the U.S. Navy, and a brother, Confederate Army Capt. F. G. Terry, of Cadiz.  Two sisters, Mrs. Mary Burnett, Paducah, widow of the Hon. Henry C. Burnett who served several terms in Congress from the first district, and Mrs. W. C. White of Cadiz.

Submitted by Stan White of Cadiz, Kentucky - Great grand nephew