Benjamin Watkins Leigh Jr. (1831-1863)

Confederate States Army officer and son of Sen. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Sr.

Leigh married Helen Leckie Jones on March 27, 1855, at St. Leon, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Helen was the daughter of the late James Y. Jones, formerly of Jefferson County, West Virginia.

A wealthy businessman and slaveowner, he embraced the Confederate cause and raised Company A of the 1st Battalion, Virginia Infantry in 1861. He led that company until detailed to command the 42nd Virginia Infantry as Acting Colonel in December 1862. A few months later, he was promoted Major and assigned as an adjutant on the staff of Gen. A. P. Hill. On May 2 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Leigh was with Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson when Jackson was hit by friendly fire. Leigh secured a surgeon to treat him, then helped carry Jackson from the field.

Leigh was reassigned to the staff of Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson in June 1863, and participated in the Gettysburg Campaign. On July 3, 1863, while riding forward of the line to stop a group of Confederate soldiers from surrendering, Leigh was shot and killed. He was first buried on the battlefield, then later in the National Cemetery in Gettysburg (possibly in the mistaken belief they were the remains of a Federal soldier). His remains were disinterred again and moved to Baltimore in 1864, then finally in 1866 to the Leigh family plot at Shockoe Hill.

Bio by: Jeffry Burden