Benjamin F. Davis

Benjamin Franklin Davis
Nickname(s)	"Grimes"
Born	November 1832/December 1831 Alabama
Died	9 June 1863 (aged 30–31) near Brandy Station, Virginia
Buried at	West Point Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1854–1863
Rank	Colonel
Unit	U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment
Commands held	8th New York Cavalry
Battles/wars	American Civil War Peninsula Campaign Northern Virginia Campaign Chancellorsville Campaign Battle of Harpers Ferry Battle of Brandy Station

Benjamin Franklin "Grimes" Davis (1832 – June 9, 1863) was an American military officer who served in Indian wars, and then led Union cavalry in the American Civil War before dying in combat. He led a daring escape from the Confederate-encircled Union garrison at Harpers Ferry.

Born in Alabama, Davis was appointed from Mississippi to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1854. Among his classmates was Jeb Stuart. Wounded while fighting the Apache in frontier New Mexico, at the outbreak of war Davis decided to stay with the Union, and was promoted to captain, 1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment, July 30, 1861. Davis had two brothers who served in the Confederate States Army in the 11th Mississippi Infantry; neither survived the war. Davis served as lieutenant colonel, 1st California Cavalry, in the fall of that year, first in Washington, D.C., then in the Peninsula and Rappahannock campaigns.