The son of Robert & Mary (Todd) Sneath, in 1860 Benjamin was a laborer living with his family in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 6" tall and had dark hair and brown eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he served two terms of service:
- Enlisted at the stated age of eighteen in Lancaster September 27, 1861, and mustered into federal service there October 1 as a private with Co. E, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. On December 3, 1863, he transferred to Co. A, 11th Veteran Reserve Corps, and apparently discharged from that organization, although so far no compiled military service record has been found.
- Enlisted at the stated age of twenty-one at Lancaster January 14, 1865, and mustered into federal service that day as a private once more with Co. E, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. He is listed as in arrest since June 29, 1865. His compiled military service records assert that he faced a general court-martial that found him guilty of being AWOL but that the decision was disapproved, and he was returned to duty. However, no evidence of a general court-martial was found in an index of those trials, so the court-martial may have taken place at the regimental level. He honorably discharged with his company July 12, 1865, near Alexandria, Virginia. The company register lists only his second enlistment. His brother John Wylas Sneath served in the same company, although their available service dates suggest never at the same time.
Benjamin reportedly married Elizabeth Singer but children, if any, remain to be found. On January 21, 1873, he applied for a disability pension and received it but died shortly thereafter. No obituary was found in any online newspaper archive. On September 24, 1874, following the death of his brother John, his mother applied for a pension based on Benjamin's military service. Given that she received it, Elizabeth either was out of the picture or reports of their marriage are inaccurate. Exactly seven years later, his father applied as well, also successfully.
The son of Robert & Mary (Todd) Sneath, in 1860 Benjamin was a laborer living with his family in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 6" tall and had dark hair and brown eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he served two terms of service:
- Enlisted at the stated age of eighteen in Lancaster September 27, 1861, and mustered into federal service there October 1 as a private with Co. E, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. On December 3, 1863, he transferred to Co. A, 11th Veteran Reserve Corps, and apparently discharged from that organization, although so far no compiled military service record has been found.
- Enlisted at the stated age of twenty-one at Lancaster January 14, 1865, and mustered into federal service that day as a private once more with Co. E, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. He is listed as in arrest since June 29, 1865. His compiled military service records assert that he faced a general court-martial that found him guilty of being AWOL but that the decision was disapproved, and he was returned to duty. However, no evidence of a general court-martial was found in an index of those trials, so the court-martial may have taken place at the regimental level. He honorably discharged with his company July 12, 1865, near Alexandria, Virginia. The company register lists only his second enlistment. His brother John Wylas Sneath served in the same company, although their available service dates suggest never at the same time.
Benjamin reportedly married Elizabeth Singer but children, if any, remain to be found. On January 21, 1873, he applied for a disability pension and received it but died shortly thereafter. No obituary was found in any online newspaper archive. On September 24, 1874, following the death of his brother John, his mother applied for a pension based on Benjamin's military service. Given that she received it, Elizabeth either was out of the picture or reports of their marriage are inaccurate. Exactly seven years later, his father applied as well, also successfully.
