Year: 1877




Benny Havens, ohl'' is dead. Ben
ny as is widely known, kept in the Vi
cinity Of the academy at West Point, a
tavern from the beginning of the pre-
sent century until some eighteen years
ago, when he became involved in trou-
BILE with the government and gave up
the business. To the heart of many a
gallent officer serving his country be-
meath the shadow of the Black Hills or
the sultry Gulf will come pang as he
reads of of the old mans death, and
recalls the happy hours when a light
hearted cadet, he thronged with his
comrades around Benny's tavern board
and in his honor chorussed, 'Benny
Havens, oh!' He filled as large a
space in the experience of many cadets
as did their professors, and whenever
and wherever group of officers meet
to talk over old times, they never part
without relating the story of some frolic
or scrape at Benny's.


Aside from the celebrity given TO the
old man by generation after generation
of cadets, from Maine to Georgia, and
the thousands of enlisted men stationed
there from time to time and then scat
tered abroad, he was known to the pub
lie through the famous conyivial song
which was composed and sung in his
honor by the cadets.


Come fill your glasses fellows, and stand up
To sing sentinentalIy, were going for togo;
In the army there's sobriety, promotions


very slow,


So we'll sing our "reminiscences OF Benny


Hayens oh.


So ran the first Of the chief lyric Of the
school, and there is about fifty-nine
more of them all told. O'Brien made
it popular by singing it at Benny's to
thetune of 'The Wearing of the Green"
O'Brien belonged to the Eighth, and
afterwards died in Florida. The fol-
lowing obituary is taken from the New
York Herald in relation to him.


Benjamin Havens was born at New
Windsor, near Newburg, on the 9th of
January, 1889, and at the age of fifteen
removed to West Point and became a
clerk in the store of Il trader named De
Witt, who was then allowed to carry
on business inside of the lines. There
is a tradition that the young clerk dip
some unlawful act, for which he was
forbidden to come upon the govern
ment land; but the truth is that as an
employe Of Dewitt he sold liqour to a
cadet one Christmas Day, not knowing
it was against the rules, and the en-
bryo hero getting drunk was placed in
in the guardhouse, and upon his telling
where the rum was procured Dewitt
was obliged to give up his store. After
some time Beny rented a little frame
cottage outside the government land
and below Fort Putnam, and there he
settled and remained for many years.
1t was while there that he entertained
many of the cadets who have since be-
come famous, and perhaps there are
more interesting "reminiscences associ-
ated with that portion of his career
than any other. About the year 1843 he
removed hence to little house down
the river below Buttermilk Falls, near
an old mill, the ruins (Which still mark
the spot, and in 1S47 he built and oc-
cupied the house in which he thereafter
lived and in which he died. While he
lived at the mill he became particularly
obnoxious to the officers of the post,
who alleged than he contrived to sup
ply the cadets with liquor, cigars and
other contraband luXuries by coming
up the river in his boat and depositing
the viands in n designated spot upon
the banks within the limits. A sharp
lookout was kept on the river, and then
Benny, it is said, turned his attention
to the woods and used to hide his arti-
cles there. In consequence, he and all
his family were forbidden to come upon
the Point. Sometime afterward his
wife landed there from steamboat,
whereupon one of the subordinate Off
GERS, generally thought to be Sergeant
Twist, had her rowed across the river
and landed upon Constitution Island.
Benny attributed this insult to Sergeant
Owens, who was always on the watch
for him, and meeting that officer in the
village of Cod Springs few weeks later
he beat him almost to death with a
hoop pole. For this offence the gov
ernment prosecuted Benny, and long
law suit ensued which cost the old man
early all he had saved for years. The en-
nifty of the officers followed Benny for
years until the suit ended in his paying
soma 5000 damoras