Scope and Content Note
The papers of Calvin Benjamin (died 1847) span the years circa 1838-1882 with the bulk of the material dating from 1843 to 1851. The papers consist of correspondence and transcribed excerpts and notes on the correspondence of Calvin and Judson Benjamin.
Calvin Benjamin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1842 and began working with the United States Coast Survey on the Chesapeake Bay. His correspondence includes a fragment of a letter from West Point and two letters written while he was assigned to the Coast Survey. The bulk of his correspondence concerns Benjamin's service as a lieutenant under General Zachary Taylor during the invasion of Mexico, 1846-1847. Benjamin's letters to his parents and his brother Isaac in Indiana provide detailed descriptions of battles, his daily experiences, and his impressions of Mexico. Benjamin was killed at Chapultepec during the assault on Mexico City in 1847.
The papers include letters written by Calvin Benjamin's brother, Judson, also written to their brother Isaac or their parents. After attending Brown University in the 1840s, Judson Benjamin went into the Baptist ministry and with his wife, Susan, served as a missionary in Burma, circa 1849-circa 1851. Most of his letters are from Burma and describe their daily life, spiritual concerns, health problems, and the death of their child.