Men of Distinction

Men of Distinction. . , Governor John LaRue Helm , 1802-1867 , John LaRue Helm, born July 4, 1802, was the eldest child of George and Rebecca LaRue Helm. Although he excelled in academic studies, he had to leave school when he was 16 to go work on the family farm. Soon he was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Hardin Circuit Court where he became interested in the Study of law. In 1821, Helm became a student in the law office of the Honorable Ben Tobin, of Elizabethtown, and was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1823. The next year Helm was appointed County Attorney in newly-formed Meade County, located northwest of Elizabethtown, and he continued in this office for sixteen consecutive years. In 1825 he was elected to the lower house of the State Legislature and was one of the youngest members ever to serve in the General Assembly. He continued to serve in the State House of Representatives by successive re-elections for a total of eleven years. For five sessions he was Speaker of the House, proving to be one of the most able presiding officers ever to fill that position., Helm continued his rise in Kentucky state politics by being elected to the State Senate in 1844. In 1848 Helm was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on the Whig ticket headed by the Honorable John Jordan Crittenden. In this capacity he served as the presiding officer of the State Senate from 1848-1850. Crittenden resigned his post July 31, 1850, resulting in the succession of Helm as the eighteenth Governor of Kentucky. Helm completed Crittenden's term until September 5, 1851., The presidential election of 1860 and the ensuing events of the Civil War resulted in the most trying period of Helm's life. Although his personal sympathies were with the South, Helm never favored secession from the Union. He was open in his condemnation of the war but was equally ardent in his opposition to acts of secession. The Civil War and its aftermath led Helm to change his political affiliation to the Democratic Party. In 1865 he was again elected to the State Senate where he continued to serve with honor and distinction. As chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations, he led a successful fight for the removal of all restrictive and punitive laws against ex-Confederates as well as offering a resolution for the benefit of the newly freed slaves in Kentucky., In February 1867 Helm received the nomination for governor on the Democratic ticket. He won a stunning victory at the polls by majority of 42,000 votes. Helm's strenuous campaign, however, resulted in complete physical exhaustion. The high price he paid for the overwhelming Democratic victory was his own death at the age of 65. Helm died on September 7, 1867, after serving as governor for only five days, the shortest term of a Kentucky governor except for that of William Goebel, inaugurated on his deathbed after being shot by an assassin in 1900., General Benjamin Hardin Helm , 1831-1863 , Benjamin Hardin Helm, son of Governor John LaRue Helm, was born at Edgewood, his grandfather's estate in Bardstown, on June 2, 1831. Residing at the family home of Helm Place in Elizabethtown, Helm completed his studies at the Elizabethtown Seminary by the age of 15. Directly following his graduation, Helm continued his education at the Kentucky Military Institute and from there secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy. He would graduate ninth in his class in 1851 and be brevetted a second lieutenant in the United States 2nd Cavalry. A promising career in the military was cut short, however, as Helm was only able to serve six months before he had to resign due to inflammatory rheumatism., Returning to Elizabethtown, Benjamin went on to graduate from the University of Louisville Law School and entered a law partnership with his cousin Martin Hardin Cofer. Acquiring a taste for politics much like his father, Helm was then elected to the Kentucky Legislature in 1855 and was appointed the Commonwealth Attorney for the 3rd District of Kentucky in 1856. In that same year he married Emilie Pariet Todd. Helm's new wife was a half-sister to Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of future President Abraham Lincoln. In 1860 Helm accepted a commission in the United States Army as Assistant Inspector General of the Kentucky State Guard. Shortly after the Civil War broke out in April of 1861, the Helms were invited to the White House where President Lincoln offered Helm a U.S. paymaster position with the rank of Major. Helm was honored, especially since he had opposed Lincoln's candidacy, but ultimately cast his lot with the fledgling Confederacy., Helm was appointed Colonel of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry Regiment in September 1861. This regiment received high acclaim for its actions, including being the rearguard during the retreat from Bowling Green and the guarding of the Tennessee River during the battle of Shiloh. Helm was consequently promoted to Brigadier General and saw action during the battle of Baton Rouge. On January 31, 1863, he was ordered by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to take the place of the fallen Brig. Gen. Roger W. Hanson. He now had command of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 9th Kentucky Infantry Regiments, the 41st Alabama, and Cobb's Kentucky Battery. This unit was known as the famous "Orphan Brigade" because of its concentration of Kentucky units largely cut off from their home state., Few generals during this time could have led as many men so effectively. His leadership qualities fostered great admiration and affection, creating a wonderful bond between him and his men. After drilling under their beloved commander for months, Helm's Brigade moved toward Chickamauga Creek in northern Georgia. On September 19-20, 1863, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg attacked the Federal battle line. Helm's men quickly found themselves in some of the heaviest fighting, sustaining heavy casualties. Urging his men forward, Helm pointed toward the front and yelled, "This is the road to Kentucky," and was wounded at that moment by troops of the U.S. 15th Kentucky Infantry Regiment. Helm had been shot through the liver and was told that there was no hope for a recovery. Lying there, waiting for death, he received word around midnight that the Federals had retreated and that the Confederates held the battlefield. He smiled, whispered "Victory," and was gone., General Helm's burial was held at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. His body was later moved to the family cemetery at Helm Place during an Orphan Brigade reunion in Elizabethtown in 1884., (captions) , Library at Helm Place. It was in this room that the Governor died shortly after his inauguration in 1867., Photo courtesy of the Filson Historical Society., Monument erected by the State of Kentucky at the grave of Governor Helm., Portrait painted by Ficim's daughter, Katherine., General Helm's monument at Chickamauga where he was killed., These markers are presented to the City of Elizabethtown by the General Ben Hardin Helm Camp 1703, Sons of Confederate Veterans., Helm as a young cadet at West Point., Contributors for these markers include: Mr. John LaRue Helm IV, City of Elizabethtown, First Federal Bank of Elizabethtown, Republic Bank, Central Hardin High School Student Council, Elizabethtown Tourism Center, Mary Cofer-Trigg Trust Fund, Dr. James Middleton Jr., Hughie Enoch Bowman Family, Capt. John H. Hamby descendants, Don Waters Family, The Sonora Goodfellas, CHHS Students Elizabeth Buford, Nicole Lally and Amber Morris, and The General Ben Hardin Helm Camp 1703 SCV