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SELECTED BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE MEN OF COMPANY B OF THE 22ND REGIMENT
Captain Willis Alexander Benson
Willis Alexander Benson was born on May 24, 1831, and was the son of Silas and Nancy Benson. He was brought up on his father's farm and attended the country school nearby in Spartanburg county. He was married to Martha Ballenger. Soon after the outbreak of the war, he volunteered in Company B of the 22nd Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers.
Photo of Capt. Benson
This company was made up of the most part of men of Spartanburg county with a few from Greenville county. Captain Benson in course of time was elected one of its lieutenants and upon the resignation or discharge of Captain Robert G. Fleming, who was severely wounded in a fight between Richmond and Petersburg, May 22, 1864, he became captain of his company, which position he held until his death, which occurred in the trenches near Petersburg, June 18, 1864, caused by the explosion of a shell from the enemy's batteries in his front. He was said to be a man of high honor and a pure patriot on the battlefield.
Captain George Blocker Lake
George B. Lake was born in Edgefield county, South Carolina in January of 1841. His father, John Lake, was an eminent physician and Christian. At the beginning of the civil war he enlisted in Company C of the 1st South Carolina (Gregg's) Regiment, and was at Fort Sumter when the first gun of the war was fired. At the end of six months, the time for which it enlisted, Lake reenlisted for the Confederate service in the 22nd Regiment, S.C.V., of which he was made sergeant-major.
Photo of Capt. G. Lake
Some time toward the end of the war, in the scarcity of officers, Lake was created a lieutenant in Company B, and upon the death of Captain Benson, he was promoted to the captaincy of the company. Not long after this the incident at the crater in Petersburg occurred. He was completely covered up; and he, with Lieutenant W.J. Lake, was dug up and rescued by the Federals after two hours. He was then made a prisoner of war and sent to Fort Delaware, where he was kept until the end of the war.
Captain Lake, in his account of this terrible explosion, says: " My command was in the rear line of works, and we were asleep. I knew nothing of what had happened until most of the dirt had been taken off of us. Before I was taken out, however, I came to consciousness, and talked to Lieutenant Lake by my side... When I found out that nearly all my men had been killed and the few remaining with myself were prisoner, it was gloomy indeed. We were kept in the crater for a considerable time exposed to shells from our own batteries. These shells made terrible havoc with the Federal troops who had charged the break, but after being driven back stopped in the crater for protection." He said this of his other service, "I was in some of the hardest fought battles of the Confederate war, was for two weeks in Fort Sumter, where all the Federal iron-clads would steam up to within 800 or 1,000 yards of the fort, and they and the land batteries on Morris Island would hurl shell and shot by the ton, but I have never seen anything equal to the horror of the crater." After the war, Captain Lake returned home to Edgefield, South Carolina.
Lieutenant William J. Lake
William J. Lake was born in Newberry, South Carolina in the year 1832. He volunteered in the service of his country when about 28 years old, and was elected first Lieutenant of Company D of the 13th Regiment, S.C.V., afterwards joining Company C of the 23rd Regiment, where he remained until he was elected lieutenant of Company B of the 22nd Regiment.
Photo of Lieutenant Wm. Lake
He remained with this company until he was wounded in the crater on July 30, 1864. He was then disabled due to a fracture of the hip. Lieutenant Lake was rescued from the crater at Petersburg after several hours of intense suffering, having been completely covered up by timbers and earth. He was taken prisoner by the Federal troops and put in the prisoner of war camp at Fort Delaware. After the war, he returned to his native South Carolina. His remains are buried in his native Newberry.
Lieutenant Peyton Ballenger
Peyton Ballenger was born near Holly Springs, South Carolina in northern Spartanburg county on December 9, 1831. He was raised on his father's farm, was educated in the common schools of his neigborhood. He entered the Confederate service as a lieutenant in Company B of the 22nd Regiment, S.C.V., was engaged in several of the battles in which said regiment was engaged, and was in command of his company for fifteen months. Subsequently he resigned and entered the calvary branch of the service.
Photo of Lieutenant Ballenger
He was captured on December 1, 1864, at Stony Creek, Virginia, and carried to Point Lookout, where he was kept until the 23rd of June of 1865, when he was released. He then returned home. Before the outbreak of the war, he had served as a captain in the South Carolina militia for seven years. He was a devoted Christian and Baptist.
