John
Benton
Callis

John Benton Callis was born in North Carolina and spent his childhood in Tennessee, before his family moved to frontier Wisconsin. After working in Minnesota,seeking gold in California and living in Central America, he returned to Grant County, Wisconsin. In Lancaster, he married, ran a store and started a family. When war came, he raised a company in what would become the 7th Wisconsin, part of the Iron Brigade. While still a captain, he led the regiment in battle, notably at South Mountain and Antietam. After being seriously wounded at Gettysburg, he was mustered out. Recovering, he re-enlisted and served in Washington, DC until the end of the war, ending up a lieutenant colonel. For his service he was double breveted to brigadier general. At the war's end, he was appointed a captain in the regular Army, serving in Alabama as part of the Freedmen's Bureau. When that state was readmitted to the United States, he served as term as their first Reconstruction congressmen. This website exists to flesh out his story, with the goal of developing a book. If you have comments or suggestions, contact us.

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