Benjamin Piatt Runkle

Benjamin Piatt Runkle
Benjamin Piatt Runkle
Born	(1836-09-03)September 3, 1836 West Liberty, Ohio
Died	June 28, 1916(1916-06-28) (aged 79) Hillsboro, Ohio
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–70
Rank	Major General (brevetted in November 1865)
Commands held	45th Ohio Infantry (1862–63); Cavalry brigade, Gilmore's division, Department of the Ohio (1863); 3rd brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps (1864)
Battles/wars	American Civil War Carnifex Ferry Shiloh Dutton's Hill Defense of Cincinnati Morgan's Raid Rocky Face Ridge Resaca
Relations	General Abram S. Piatt (Uncle)
Other work	Freedmen's Bureau Episcopal priest Miami University trustee

Benjamin Piatt Runkle (September 3, 1836 – June 28, 1916) was one of the seven founders of Sigma Chi fraternity and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served as Chief Superintendent of Freedmen's Affairs in Kentucky, and was plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Runkle v. United States. Runkle was also an Episcopal rector and twice served as trustee of Miami University.

Runkle was born in West Liberty, Ohio to Ralph Edwin Runkle and Hannah Isabella Piatt. He attended Geneva College and, later, Miami University, from which he graduated in July 1857. It was while attending Miami University that Runkle became one of the founders of the Sigma Chi fraternity. In Sigma Chi he is remembered most for his pugnaciousness; he threw his Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) badge on the table in disgust in the pivotal meeting between the founders of Sigma Chi and Whitelaw Reid. He stood up to Reid and said, "I didn't join this fraternity to be any one's tool. And that, sir, is my answer!" (Years after this heated meeting with Reid, Runkle said that had the situation been explained to him further and had Reid approached the situation in a more respectful way, there probably would have been a more reasonable resolution and, in effect, no Sigma Chi fraternity.) It is also said that he once was temporarily suspended from school for fighting in chapel with a Beta Theta Pi brother who publicly sneered at his badge.

Runkle married Venitia Reynolds on June 4, 1857 and their daughter, Maud Elizabeth Runkle, was born January 15, 1859 in Findlay, Ohio. After college, he studied law under General Samson Mason in Springfield and was admitted to the bar in July, 1859. He was the 1860 Democratic candidate for the Ohio State Senate. Runkle volunteered for an Ohio militia company and, when the Civil War began, it became a part of the 13th Ohio Infantry.