In the thirty-year period preceding the American Civil War, some southern politicians advocated disunion. Prominent among these was a young lawyer from Columbus, Georgia, Henry Lewis Benning. Ambitious and keen on rising within planter society, Benning married well and used his position to further his political aims. Early in his career, Benning would be identified with the fire-eaters who preached disunion as a means of solving the South's problems. As a delegate to the several secession conventions, Henry Benning lent his organizational skills to promoting secession. When the American Civil War commenced, Benning was among the early volunteers, rising from Colonel to Brigadier General in the Army of Northern Virginia. He participated in most of the famous campaigns in the Eastern Theater during the conflict. After the war, he returned to Columbus, Georgia, where he died in 1875.
","abstract_html":"<p>In the thirty-year period preceding the American Civil War, some southern politicians advocated disunion. Prominent among these was a young lawyer from Columbus, Georgia, Henry Lewis Benning. Ambitious and keen on rising within planter society, Benning married well and used his position to further his political aims. Early in his career, Benning would be identified with the fire-eaters who preached disunion as a means of solving the South's problems. As a delegate to the several secession conventions, Henry Benning lent his organizational skills to promoting secession. When the American Civil War commenced, Benning was among the early volunteers, rising from Colonel to Brigadier General in the Army of Northern Virginia. He participated in most of the famous campaigns in the Eastern Theater during the conflict. After the war, he returned to Columbus, Georgia, where he died in 1875.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chuites, Michael D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Specialist in Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Teacher Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Bob Henderson","Dr. John Lupold","Dr. Harold Whitman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1992,"date_issued":"1992-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1992-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:45:18Z","subjects":["American Civil War","Henry Lewis Benning","Fire-Eaters","Army of Northern Virginia","Eastern Theater","Columbus Georgia","History","Other Education","United States History"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/584","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Bob Henderson","Dr. John Lupold","Dr. Harold Whitman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chuites, Michael D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Teacher Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Specialist in Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American Civil War","Henry Lewis Benning","Fire-Eaters","Army of Northern Virginia","Eastern Theater","Columbus Georgia","History","Other Education","United States History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/584"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the thirty-year period preceding the American Civil War, some southern politicians advocated disunion. Prominent among these was a young lawyer from Columbus, Georgia, Henry Lewis Benning. Ambitious and keen on rising within planter society, Benning married well and used his position to further his political aims. Early in his career, Benning would be identified with the fire-eaters who preached disunion as a means of solving the South's problems. As a delegate to the several secession conventions, Henry Benning lent his organizational skills to promoting secession. When the American Civil War commenced, Benning was among the early volunteers, rising from Colonel to Brigadier General in the Army of Northern Virginia. He participated in most of the famous campaigns in the Eastern Theater during the conflict. After the war, he returned to Columbus, Georgia, where he died in 1875.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Henry Lewis Benning: Fire-eating Confederate General 1837-1865"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Bob Henderson","Dr. John Lupold","Dr. Harold Whitman"],"dc:creator":["Chuites, Michael D."],"dc:description.abstract":["In the thirty-year period preceding the American Civil War, some southern politicians advocated disunion. Prominent among these was a young lawyer from Columbus, Georgia, Henry Lewis Benning. Ambitious and keen on rising within planter society, Benning married well and used his position to further his political aims. Early in his career, Benning would be identified with the fire-eaters who preached disunion as a means of solving the South's problems. As a delegate to the several secession conventions, Henry Benning lent his organizational skills to promoting secession. When the American Civil War commenced, Benning was among the early volunteers, rising from Colonel to Brigadier General in the Army of Northern Virginia. He participated in most of the famous campaigns in the Eastern Theater during the conflict. After the war, he returned to Columbus, Georgia, where he died in 1875.
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