Benjamin Piatt Runkle - Sigma Chi Fraternityhistory.sigmachi.org/files_resources/founders/Nate-Runkle-Bio.pdf · M. Jordan, who was to become a fellow-Founder with him of Sigma Chi

Benjamin Piatt RunkleJoseph C. Nate1

Benjamin Piatt Runkle was in some respects the leader of the group of seven college boys who founded Sigma Chi at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, in 1855. He was quick and positive in thought and

action, and earnest in his convictions. There were several critical situations as the movement for the new Fraternity developed when these qualities proved a mainstayofinfluenceinthegroup.Hissubsequent relations to the Fraternity, which he served as Grand Consul for the biennial term which marked the opening of thefifth decade of the organization,were unique as among all the Founders. His whole career was one of notable influence and conspicuous usefulness.Men of high standing in educational and other forms of public life who knew him long and well, regarded him as a man of

most outstanding and unique character and personality. Benjamin Piatt Runkle was the son of Ralph Edwin and Hannah Piatt Runkle, and was born at West Liberty, Ohio, on [Saturday] September 3, 1836. His early life accordingly was in the environment of pioneer conditions in Ohio. On the side of both the father and the mother there was a distinguished lineage, going back to French and German sources, and noteworthy for devotion to country and to cause. Light is town upon his own career by the following sketch of his parents and the place they won in the early development of Ohio. Ralph Edwin Runkle (father of Founder Runkle) was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, March 31, 1806, where he passed his early youth, receiving such instruction as the school system of that day furnished.Hisfirst step in the seriousbusinessof lifewas toundertakelearning the trade of a wheelwright in the establishment of his brother-in-law at New Germantown, New Jersey. This calling he found, on closer acquaintance, was not to his taste. The brain power and untiring energy that distinguished him later in life began to assert themselves, and urged him into broader andmore promising fields.Hewent toNewOrleans,then by reason of its water communications the emporium of the rapidly

1 N.B. Unpublished. Runkle’s biography would be included in Vol. V of The History of Sigma Chi.

Benjamin Piatt Runkle, circa 1856

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Benjamin Piatt Runkle 131growing West. There he attracted the attention of Colonel John H. Piatt, a wealthy and highly distinguished merchant and banker of Cincinnati, Ohio. Colonel Piatt was quick to discover merit and to encourage it. Following his advice, young Runkle proceeded to Cincinnati where he secured employment with Colonel’s brother-in-law, a Mr. Graden; and there he made the acquaintance of the Hon Benjamin M. Piatt at that time one of the judges for Hamilton County, Ohio, and at one time United States district attorney for the Northwest Territory. Judge Piatt removed to Mac-A-Cheek near West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio, and there on October 16, 1829, Mr. Runkle married his eldest daughter, Hannah Isabella, the judge giving her as a wedding present, nearly five hundred acres of beautiful and fertile land on the Mac-A-Cheek. The young couple settled in West Liberty, Mr. Runkle opening a general store, something like a modern department store on a small scale. He prospered in the business, and in 1837 erected a comfortable dwelling – indeed quite a mansion for that day–on the farm, whither he removed. He didnotconfinehimselftoroutinefarmingbutemployedasuperintendenttolook after the crops while he engaged in stock business, buying and driving hogs to Cincinnati and cattle to New York City. By this means he rapidly accumulated capital, took a leading part in all prominent enterprises of this locality,andcommandedtheconfidenceofallsortsandconditionsofmen.He introducedbettergradesof stock, importing thefirstDurhamcattle,andhealsobroughtthefirstMediterraneanwheatintothatsectionofOhio. When the question of railroad construction began to be agitated, Mr. Runkle was live to the importance of its early accomplishment. He gave all his energies to pushing the building of what was then called the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, running from Sandusky, Ohio, toDayton,Ohio,whichwaspartof thefirst lineofconnecting theEastand the West. He was the president of this pioneer railroad for eight years, and under his administration it had its most prosperous period. Mr.RunklelosthisfirstwifebydeathonMay13,1839;andonDecember 2, 1840, he married Eva Eliza Sieg (born January 24, 1821).

After completion of the railroad through West Liberty, (Mr. Runkle, who had invested largely in real estate in the town and vicinity), took up his residence there and engaged in the grain business, building a large and commodious shipping warehouse. By his manly ways and fair and honest dealings he inspired such universal confidence that he transactedalmost the entire business of that section of the country—no competition ever succeeding in making any headway. Mr. Runkle was a sterling Democrat of the Jackson type.


The Founders of Sigma Chi132Though his party in that district was in a decided minority (some thousands), yet in 1852, when the people were called upon to select a member of the State Board of Equalization of Taxes, Mr. Runkle was elected by an overwhelming majority over his Whig opponent, as a high and well-deserved tribute to his sterling integrity and great business ability. Mr. Runkle supported the Government during the Civil War, as a War Democrat, liberally with his means and with all the energy of his character. He establishedthefirstbankinWestLiberty,andpassedthelatterpartof his life in looking after his interests therein. He was a true type of banker, as he ought to have been, for he made the interests of his customers his own. He counted the character of a borrower as of more worth than his property; the latter he might lose, but the former was eternal. Among his customers were many Dunkards, Omish, and Quakers; and no more touching sight was ever seen in the little maple shaded village than the gathering of these honest-hearted people, from far and near, when they followed their “friend Ralph,” as they were wont to call him, to his last resting-place.2

Ralph Edwin Runkle died February 15, 1874, being survived by his wife and several of the sons and daughter of the home. There were in all six children of the home, Benjamin Piatt Runkle being the second of three bornduringthefirstmarriage,therebeingalsothreechildrenofthesecondmarriage. A few miles from West Liberty is the Runkle-Piatt Cemetery, near the Mac-A-Cheek mansion and farm, where the elder Runkle is buried.

His mortal remains rest on the beautiful hilltop which overlooks the charming valley where he passed so many well-spent years. He was a splendid development of pioneer manhood. In him, the red blood of a strong race made itself manifest, and in his career obstacles were but stepping stones to success. Physically, he was the image of the perfect man: six feet two inches in stature, large, andinfineproportion.Whereverhewentamongmenheneededno introduction, for he bore both in his carriage and countenance the proof that “an honest man’s the noblest work of God.”3

The story is from The Runkle Family, a genealogical work by Benjamin Van Doren Fisher, published in New York City in 1899. The work traces the New Jersey branch of the family back to its remoter Dutch

2 N.B. Benjamin Van D. Fisher. The Runkle Family. (New York: T. A. Wright, Publisher, 1899), pp. 84-85. Available online: http://www.google.com/books Search: The Runkle Family.

3 N.B. Ibid., p. 85.


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 133

and German origins, the name being variously spelled Runkle, Runkel, and Runckle. A remote center of the family was in north-central Germany and there was an imposing coat-of-arms. So far as the founder of Sigma Chi was concerned, however, it is clear from many of his utterances, his interest was far greater in the Revolutionary and soldier background, and in things which make for democracy, than in more ancient heraldries. His grandfather, on the mother’s side, Jacob Piatt, was a colonel of the New Jersey line, Continental Army and was a member of the staff of General Washington, being present at the celebrated controversy between Washington and Lee at Monmouth. A great-uncle, Colonel John H. Piatt, was commissary for the Army of the West during the War of 1812, and furnished from his private resources necessary funds and provisions. Another relative, William Piatt, was on the staff of General Jackson at New Orleans, while another laid down his life at the defeat of St. Clair. During the Civil War, nine members of the family fought on the Northern side, while an equal number were in the armies of the South. The soldier life of Benjamin Piatt Runkle was almost a heritage. BenjaminP.Runklewasborninthefirst“mansion”builtbyhisfather, on the beautiful farm tract two miles eastward on the main pike from West Liberty, and known in later years at the “Nash Farm.” After the death of his mother in 1839, the lad and a brother had their home with their grandparents, the family of Judge Benjamin M. Piatt at Mac-a-cheek, an imposing neighboring estate. “Mac-A-Cheek,” or “Castle Piatt,” as it was sometimes called, was an imposing place known throughout Ohio. It had its name from the Indian word for the surrounding countryside and stream

Portraits of Founder Runkle’s Ancestors including his Grandfather, Judge Piatt, right portrait


The Founders of Sigma Chi134which traversed it—“smiling valley.” The place has continued until the present time in the possession of members of the Piatt family, and contains notable treasures of family portraits, armor, trophies and antiques. After his father became established in business at West Liberty, young Ben lived at the town home for the school terms, although his grandfather, Judge Piatt, continued a devoted interest

in him throughout his youth and college years, and into manhood. The schoolhouse in the country was that which Runkle was wont todescribeinlateryearsas“thelogschoolhousewithitspuncheonfloor,its backless benches, the schoolmaster’s switches always in plain sight, and six-plate stove.” The schoolhouse in the village was perhaps a little more pretentious. ItwasatWestLiberty that theboyRunklefirstknewIsaacM. Jordan, who was to become a fellow-Founder with him of Sigma Chi. Jordan came to the town with his parents in about 1850, and when perhaps fifteenyearsofage.ThreeyearslaterthetwoenteredGenevaHall,theOldCovenanterAcademyatNorthwood,Ohio,andfinishedtheirworktherewith the Commencement of 1854. Together they entered Miami University that Fall. “My father,” as Runkle afterward stated it, “a stern Presbyterian elder, who approved of Jordan, took us both there, and placed us in a boarding house.” The interesting affairs of the boyhood years of these two Founders at West Liberty and at Geneva Hall, and their association, and the founding of the Fraternity at Miami are related in former Volumes of the History of Sigma Chi. After all the records of those years at old Miami are gathered up, however, much must still be left to be pictured in fancy. The wooded campus, the old time buildings, the earnest youth from pioneer homes, and faculties devoted to the training of mind and heart make up the wonder-stories of the time. A remaining story of Runkle’s own, of his later years gives us something of the picture:

Todaywe havemagnificent universities, vast piles of brickand stone filled with the wondrous modern inventions that aresupposed to furnish more brains where the so-called student has a few, and to grind out all sorts of specialists from every kind of material. It was different in that bygone time. We had the little brick college with its limited faculty, wretchedly poor in money but wonderfully rich in the treasures of human sympathy, in the love of their fellow-men, and in rich the beautiful classical culture

Founder Runkle’s Birthplace West Liberty, Ohio


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 135of the olden time. Oh, my comrades and brothers, those were men that a boy could love.Thoseweremenwhose spirits filled thevery air that we breathed and stirred within us mighty hopes and ambitions which, even if never realized, made us better, stronger, and more useful men. Not one of us ever ceased to feel that mighty moldinginfluence. I do not believe you young men can—I only wish you could—understand how we of those long agone days love that little college down among the Ohio hills, that holy spot with its golden memories of precious hours and loving hearts. A man is not strong because of what he knows, or thinks, or says, or does, but because of what he is. The faculty of that little college was the college.

RunkleandJordanoccupiedtheirfirsthumblequartersatMiamifor only a few weeks. Then, they removed just across the street, High Street of Oxford, to the dwelling which in more recent years, and remodeled, serves as the chapter home of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Miami. The opening of the second term, following Christmas holidays, found him with James Parks Caldwell as his room-mate in the Crystal Palace, as then known, now famous as the “birthplace of Sigma Chi.” These changing rooming places, and the fact that some meetings of the early organization were held in the rooms of Lockwood, Cooper, and others have led to various conflicting traditions as to the actual place of origin of thenew Fraternity. Actually, the facts as stated in the several Volumes of this History are so fully authenticated by written and other evidence as to be established beyond question. Even in the group of Founders all marked for their qualities of personality, young Runkle was recognized as a leader. To his spirit and energy his associates who survived into the later years, credited much of the foundation secure and in originating the measures of expansion which were to make their new-born Fraternity national in character. If a certain time and place were to be taken as marking the origin of Sigma Chi, it must probably be the eventful supper gathering early in 1855, when the six Sophomores who became Founders of the new Fraternity met with the six upperclassmen of Delta Kappa Epsilon. That was the meeting to

Founders Jordan and Runkle’s first lodging at Miami University. Shown above is Runkle during a visit to

Oxford in 1913.


The Founders of Sigma Chi136which Whitelaw Reid, leader of the latter group, brought Minor Millikin, of Hamilton, Ohio, the alumnus of their chapter, to force conclusions. When Ben Runkle removed his DKE badge from his coat, tossed it upon the table, and exclaimed “I did not join this fraternity to be anybody’s tool,” Sigma Chi was on the way to its founding. In all the subsequent

correspondence with the parent-chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale, Franklin H. Scobey and Runkle represented the sophomores. Scobey had beenthefirst initiateof theSigmaChisix intoDKE, and the two were named in the letters of the upperclassmen to Yale as the leaders of the “rebellion.” After William L. Lockwood of New York City was recruited, he gave his energies to the new organization with unlimited devotion. Runkle and Lockwoodmade the then difficultjourney to Delaware, Ohio, to install the second chapter, at Ohio Wesleyan, on Christmas Eve of 1855. Thereafter, the old records show these two

often working together upon such projects as the “Sigma Chi Alphabet,” the First Grand Chapter, at Cincinnati, and measures of expansion which followed until the graduation of Runkle, a year earlier of that of Lockwood. Founder Runkle was graduated with the Miami class of 1857, Bell, Caldwell, and Jordan of his fellow Founders being among his classmates that year. On June 4, 1857, he was married to Miss Veritia (also written Venitia) Reynolds of West Liberty. A social favorite wherever known, she has frequently visited Oxford on Commencement and other occasions at the University, always wearing the badge of Sigma Chi and greatly interested in the success of the new Fraternity organization. The social circles at Oxford included Adelaide Rollins who became the wife of Founder William L. Lockwood, and a large company of other young people of the village, and of its two young ladies’ seminaries, who shared in the social affairs of old Alpha. Following his graduation, Runkle took up the study of law at Urbana, Ohio. The place was the county seat of Champaign County, adjoining Runkle’s native county, Logan. He was admitted to the bar in 1859. After some beginnings as a legal practitioner at Urbana, he removed to Cincinnati, and for more than a year studied and practiced law in that city. Thereafter, he returned to Urbana for the practice of his profession, and where he soon became somewhat prominent as one of the younger political leaders in the Democratic party. In 1860, “he was a candidate for State Senator from his district on the Democratic ticket, but was signally

Runkle at about the time of the Founding of Sigma Chi


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 137defeated.”4 He had likings for military work, and before the outbreak of the Civil War was captain of the Douglas Guards, a local military unit at Urbana. The company was named in honor of Stephen A. Douglas, then United States Senator and a national leader in the eventful councils of the Democratic party of the era. As the war opened, with its tremendous issues and national excitements, Stephen A. Douglas visited Urbana. He addressed this company, and urged their united loyalty to the government at Washington in the great issues that were then trying the heart of the nation. Only a little later the entire company enlisted as the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. All these stirring incidents are to be foundnarratedinthecontemporaryfilesofpapersofUrbana,Ohio,andin old letters which have been obtained for the historical archives of the Fraternity.

BENJAMIN P. RUNKLE IN THE CIVIL WAR

Benjamin P. Runkle, soldier-founder of Sigma Chi, is the outstandingmilitaryfigureinthehistoryoftheFraternity.Followinghisgraduation in 1857, Founder Runkle studied law and had entered upon its practice at Urbana, Ohio. The place was the county seat of Champaign County, adjoining Runkle’s native county, Logan. The young lawyer, an ardent political adherent of Stephen A. Douglas, became a “War Democrat.” He was the captain of the “Douglas Guard” of Urbana, a company organized on a military basis. When the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter came, Runkle immediately volunteered for the national service, as did also his entire company. They were ordered to Camp Jackson at Columbus, where the organization became Company C of the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry as formed at that camp. Runkle was commissioned as captain of Company C on April 19, 1861. It was the day following the adjournment of the Third Grand Chapter of Sigma Chi at Wheeling, Virginia, which Runkle had fully planned to attend. The regiment was transferred to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, on May 9, and there drilled until June 7, 1861. At that time the original enlistment of three months, under which the Ohio companies had entered the service, expired, and the regiment was reorganized under new three-

4 N.B. Whitelaw Reid, Ohio in the War; Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers, p. 866.

Urbana, Ohio, circa 1920


The Founders of Sigma Chi138year enlistments of its members. The new commission of Runkle as captain under his re-enlistment was of date June 1, 1861. On June 30, the regiment embarked on the Ohio River, having been ordered into western Virginia to reinforce Generals George B. McClellan and William S. Rosecrans. The Thirteenth Ohio served in this campaign until its close in December, 1861, when what was afterward “West Virginia” was in possession of the Union forces. It participated in engagements at Gauley Bridge, Cotton Mountain, and Fayetteville. On October 25, 1861, Runkle was promoted to rank of major for meritorious conduct at the battle of Carnifex Ferry. Thereafter, the regiment joined General Don Carlos Buell in Kentucky for campaigning which followed in that state and in Tennessee.

While the forces of which the Thirteenth Ohio was a part were at Nashville, the order came to proceed with all haste to join General Grant then moving southward from Kentucky. There was a terrible march, endured with many other troops, to Savannah, Tennessee, a place on the Tennessee River ten miles. below Pittsburg Landing. The arrival at Savannah was early on Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, and the battle had alreadyopenedonShilohfield.Theregimentwasatoncehurriedforwardandintothestruggle.Itwastobethefirstgreatbattleofthewar,andofvast importance both in military results and in its effect upon the country, North and South. The momentous events of the Battle of Shiloh are a part of history. Onthefirstday,thebattleragedforthirteenhoursthroughoutthewholefield,andwithoutcessation.Thousandswerekilledandwounded,thelossofofficersbeingespeciallyheavyonbothsides.Itwasonthisdaythatthe“Hornet’s Nest” received its name. It was a strong natural fortress and was held by the Union forces against repeated assaults during some six hours.

Benjamin Piatt Runkle, probably from the winter of 1864-1865. Reproduced from a photograph by famous Civil War photographer, Matthew Brady.


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 139There, on Sunday afternoon, occurred the great loss to the Confederate cause—the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander-in chief of the southern forces. Later in the day, the Union reinforcements fromNashville,Buell’sarmy,wereinactioninpartsofthefield.Asnightfell, however, the Confederates had forced back the Union lines and had gained much ground. It was a night of rain and storm. Both armies lay down exhausted to gain what rest they could, and with little regard to battle lines or the building of defenses. Runkle at Shiloh is one of the great memories of Sigma Chi. His valiant leadership of his men on the second morning of battle, until he fell twice-wounded, won for him honor and promotion as a soldier of the nation, and the work of his regiment that day is recorded among the high points in the history of Ohio in the war. The regiment had bivouacked Sunday night in front of the siege guns. About eight o’clock in the morning it faced the famous Washington Battery of New Orleans. The fierce strugglewhich followed resulted in the capture of the entire battery by the regiment. Later, the gallant southern men reformed in larger numbers and made a heavy counter charge. The fightingwhich followed was most desperate. It was in this action that Major Runkle was wounded. He had been shot through the feet but fought on. Presently, he fell, shot through the face, a wound which marked him for life. In the retirement of his comrades from that part of the field, he was left fordead, to be cared for later by the burial squad. In that action, the Confederate forces recaptured their guns. At noon that day, and as a part of the general advance of the Union lines, the shattered forces of the Thirteenth were reformed and again attacked the Washington Battery. Once more they captured it, and its famous guns became the permanent trophies of the regiment. A few weeks later, on May 15, 1862, Benjamin P. Runkle was promoted to the lieutenant colonelcy, with special commendation of his

Monument to the 13th Ohio


The Founders of Sigma Chi140courageous and gallant conduct in the battle.5

Theactionwas inoneof themostvitalcentersofconflict.Themonument to the Thirteenth Ohio in the Shiloh National Military Park stands on a ridge a few hundred feet from the “Hornet’s Nest.” At a little distancewasthePeachOrchard,famousfortheterrificfightingthereonboth days of the battle. Near at hand was Bloody Pond. On Monday morning its banks were found lined with the bodies of men, both Union and Confederate, who had crawled thither to quench their thirst or bathe their wounds, and had died there. A mile away, westward, was the Shiloh Church, which gave name to the battle. The losses for the two days in killed, wounded, and prisoners were 13,000 of the Union Army and 11,000 of the Confederates. The latter withdrew their forces southward, toward Corinth, Mississippi. Among them was Boyd McN. Cheatham, Original Epsilon ‘57, and Holmes Cummins, Original Sigma ‘61, the latter severely wounded. Other southern Sigma Chis were doubtless in the ranks. The withdrawal to Corinth was covered by the famous cavalry of General Nathan B. Forrest. With him, were a half dozen of the lads who were to become wearers of the White Cross and rebuilders of the Eta at the University of Mississippi after the war. Whitelaw Reid, Miami’ 56, Runkle’s opponent erstwhile in Delta KappaEpsilon,closely followed theactionon thebattlefieldofShilohas the correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette. In the preparation of his famousdescriptionof thebattle,hecameto thatpartof thefieldwhereRunkle had fallen. One of the great records of Sigma Chi is the tribute which Reid in his report paid to the memory, as he supposed, of his former college rival: “He died a hero; green grow the grass above his grave.” The salient features of Reid’s report of the Battle of Shiloh were

5 This account of the taking of the New Orleans Battery follows the official reports and the recollections of General Runkle, and is confirmed by Whitelaw Reid in Ohio in the War, Vol. II, p. 94. In the Chicago Tribune of February 3, 1896, a Madison, Wisconsin, correspondent stated that one of the guns of this battery was located on the Capitol grounds at Madison, the Fourteenth Wisconsin Infantry having shared in its final capture. This led General Runkle, then residing in Chicago, to write to an old comrade in the Thirteenth Ohio, Captain Ranson R. Henderson, Minneapolis, Minnesota, also wounded in the struggle for the Battery, for his recollections of the action. The reply of Captain Henderson, February 20, 1896, is now in the possession of the author [Nate] of this History. It is a vivid narrative of the fight of the Thirteenth Ohio on that day, a complete confirmation of the story as here told, and a beautiful tribute to the valor of Runkle and also to that of their Confederate foes.

The Old Shiloh Church that gave its name to the battle fought nearby on April 6-7, 1862.


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 141later incorporated in his volumes, Ohio in the Civil War , 1866. The tribute toRunkleis,ofcourse,modifiedintheprintedvolumes,whichmakethisreference to Runkle at that period.

He was next engaged at Pittsburg Landing, where he distinguished himself by an almost reckless bravery , and was borneoffthefieldmortallywounded,aswassupposed,beingshotthrough the face and feet; the greater portion of his [right] jaw, and a part of his tongue, being shot a way. He returned to Ohio until he should recover from his wounds; but immediately he was appointed Colonel of the 45th Ohio. At once he set about recruiting and organizing his regiment, and before his wounds were healed hewasagaininthefield.6

On August 19,1862, Runkle was appointed colonel of the Forty-fifthOhio Infantry. Although his wounds were not yet healed, he set about the

organization of his new command andwassoonagaininthefield.Hisfirstactiveservicewasinthe“Siegeof Cincinnati,” as it became known, in September, 1862, being the defense of that city under General Lew Wallace against the Kentucky invasion of Generals Kirbe Smith and John Morgan. Later, during Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky, Runkle commanded a brigade of infantry and was commander of a brigade of mounted infantry and cavalry under General Quincy A. Gillmore. Often, he displayed his high order of executive ability as well as the intrepid character of his courage.

In the summer of 1863, being under disability from his old wounds and from a sunstroke, Colonel

Runkle returned to Ohio. But despite his weakened condition, he was soon inthefieldagain,attherequestofGovernorTodofOhiothatheassumecommand of the state militia during the Morgan Raid. That campaign, which ended with the capture of the raiders, was followed by a serious

6 N.B. Ohio in the War by Whitelaw Reid, published by Moore, Wilstach, and Baldwin, Cincinnati, 1868. Vol. I, p. 866.

In the summer of 1863 while recovering from wounds received at Shiloh.


The Founders of Sigma Chi142attack of fever resulting from exposure. Thereafter Colonel Runkle served for some months on the military staff of Governor Tod, and was theconfidentialaidandagentofthegovernoratWashington.Rejoininghis command at Mount Sterling, Kentucky, early in 1864, he was placed in command of a brigade. His forces joined the Army of the Ohio in front of Tunnel Hill, Georgia. In the Atlanta campaign, Runkle was commander of infantryandartilleryattheBattleofSomerset,orDutton’sHill.HisfinalactionofnoteonthefieldwasinleadingtheassaultatResaca,andwasone of the heroic incidents of the war. After the Union forces had crossed the Etowah Rover, Runkle was transferred to the command of a brigade in East Tennessee. OnJuly21,1864,thisfightingsoldierofSigmaChiwasoncemoredischarged from active duty, “on account of wounds received in action.” It was at this time, and because of the esteem he had won among his superiors, that his appointments in the regular army began. On August 22, 1864, he wasmadelieutenantcoloneloftheTwenty-firstVeteranReserveCorpsandcontinued to command that regiment until January, 1866. Then, on July 28,1866,RunklebecamemajoroftheForth-fifthRegiment,UnitedStatesInfantry. Meanwhile he had been brevetted colonel, brigadier general, and major general of United States Volunteers on November 9, 1865, “for meritorious services.” Thus the founder of Sigma Chi of ten years before hadfinishedthegreatwarasageneralinthearmyofhiscountry. Not only with his sword, but also with pen, was General Runkle enabled to serve the nation. While he was on the staff of Governor Tod of Ohio, his literary contributions to the Union cause were noteworthy. A pamphlet in support of the re-election of Lincoln in 1864 attracted wide attention as a trenchant discussion of the McClellan candidacy. In Runkle’s literary work of later years the stirring activities of his own military career enabled him to write with unusual vividness of scenes of battle. A work picture from an address upon “Miami in the Civil Way” illustrates this gift andfurtherexemplifiesthepartwhichMiamiplayedinthosemomentousyears:

This night, how well I remember that 15th of May, 1864, now more than forty years since, when at Resaca the Division in which I was serving swing into column and moved to the support of the 4th corps attacking the enemy’s entrenchments. Wounded men were streaming to the rear, ambulances streaming blood drove rapidly past us. Moving into line we, there in full view, waited and watchedtheebbandflow,thesurgingrushofbattle;sawthelongbluelineswithcolorsflying-nowheredothosecolorsstandoutsomagnificentlygrandas in the tumultofbattle-withflyingcolors


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 143moveupthroughthewitheringfire,whilethethrobbingguns,liketremendous heartbeats, kept time to the battle stride. Forward and back and forward, again and again, swayed the lines; heavier grew the pall of gray smokewhile the deadly rattle of the rifles andshriek of shells told that men were dying in red anguish by the hundred. At last the Union lines swept over the works; the battle-flagsleapedclearofsmokeastheirbearerssprangontheparapets.The enemy gave way. Cheers rang down the charging lines and rolled back to the supports as out of the confusion and carnage came the remnant of a volunteer brigade with four captured guns; and the leader who took them in, and brought them out, victorious, was Ben Harrison of Miami when he was made President of a saved Republic a great man found his reward.7

His great bravery at the Battle of Shiloh, and in other crises of the long struggle, will remain imperishable in the story of the nation as well as in that of Sigma Chi. A number of additional facts have come to light since those former writings, which have special interest for the Fraternity. It is now known that in the Washington Battery of New Orleans, beneath whose guns Runkle fell all but mortally wounded, was young William F. Pinckard who became a member of Zeta, Washington and Lee University, at the organization of that chapter after the Civil War. It is also known that among the soldiers of the South engaged at Shiloh was James Parks Caldwell, fellow-Founder with Runkle, and his room-mate at the founding of Sigma Chi. There, also, came Whitelaw Reid, and learned of the supposed death of his old associate in DKE at Miami and in his report of the battle for the Cincinnati press paid him high tribute. The first active service following the battle of Shiloh was the“Siege of Cincinnati,” as it became known, in September, 1862, being the defense of that city under Gen. Lew Wallace against the northern invasion led by Generals Kirby Smith and John Morgan of the Confederate Armies. A month earlier, Runkle, his wounds not yet healed, had been appointed Colonel of the 46th Ohio Infantry. At Cincinnati, he found Isaac M. Jordan, classmate and fellow-Founder of the Fraternity at Miami, vigorously at work on the defense being prepared at Cincinnati. Runkle recalled Jordan from the work to which he had been assigned and attached him to his own staff. Bell, Lockwood, and Scobey, of the Founders, were then all in the armies on the Northern side, and James Parks Caldwell was in the

7 From an address at a student and alumni banquet at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, February 28, 1908, in response to the toast, “Miami in the War.”


The Founders of Sigma Chi144confederate service. Striking indeed were the changes which a few brief years had brought to these college boys of old Miami. During the year which followed, Runkle served in the department of Kentucky, under Generals Wright, Burnside, and Gillmore, commanding during that period a brigade of mounted infantry. He led his command in numerous engagements, and repeatedly won distinction both for his intrepid courage and for his military ability. On March 30, 1863, he was thanked on the field at Somerset,Kentucky, for the conduct of himselfand command in breaking the Confederate lines. Gen. Gillmore afterward wrote, “I shall always remember with pleasure your conduct at Somerset, for to the charge of your command, so gallantly led by yourself, was due the victory of that day.” In the Summer of 1863, Runkle was under disability from his old wounds and from a sunstroke. He returned to Ohio, and despite his weakened condition, and at the request of Governor [David] Tod, he assumed the command of the state militia during the Morgan Raid. Thereafter, he served for some months on the military staff of Governor Tod, and was made theconfidentialsideandagentof theGovernoratWashington. Inthe archives at the Capitol may be found the letter of Governor Tod, dated September 19, 1863, introducing Runkle to President Abraham Lincoln, with the words: “The bearer, Col. Benjamin P. Runkle of the 45th Ohio VolunteerInfantry,commandsmyfullconfidence,andisworthyofyours.”It is a tribute which, by reason of its import and historic setting, may well be preserved in the annals of the Fraternity. The story of Runkle’s continuing military service, of his command in the Atlanta campaign, and of his heroic leadership of the assault at Resaca,hasbeen told.On July21,1864, thisfighting soldierofSigmaChi was once more discharged from active duty, “on account of wounds received in action.” It was at this time, and because of the esteem he had won among his superiors, that his appointments in the regular army began. OnAugust22,1864,hewasmadelieutenantcoloneloftheTwenty-firstVeteran Reserve Corps and continued to command that regiment until January, 1866. Then, on July 28, 1866, Runkle became major of the Forty-fifthRegiment,UnitedStatesInfantry.Meanwhilehehadbeenbrevettedcolonel, brigadier general, and major general of United States Volunteers on November 9, 1865, “for meritorious services.” Thus the Founder of SigmaChioftenyearsbefore,hadfinishedthegreatwarasageneralinthe army of his country. It was almost inevitable, that, following the war, Runkle continued in the military service of his country. Of this decision Whitelaw Reid wrote, in his Ohio in the War, published in 1868, said: “In becoming a soldier, General Runkle has adopted the profession for which he is by


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 145

nature fitted. Gifted with a firm will, energy, talents, and a cultivatedmind, he has entered upon his duties with a devotion which cannot fail of success.”8HisfirstworkfollowingtheWarwasinchargeoftheBureauof Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands for the District of West Tennessee. What became known as the Memphis Riots were one of the many troubled aftermaths of the great struggle of the sixties, and Whitelaw Reid in the work named describes the appearance of Runkle among the rioters in full uniform, and pays high tribute to his whole administration of thedifficultworkassignedtohim.Thereafterhewasinchargeoftheworkof the Bureau of Kentucky. The years which soon followed then were to findhiminperhapsthemostheroicofhisbattles—involvingastheydidthe one of those struggles which are fought and won in the hearts of men. In it, was involved his membership in the army itself, and his honor herein. It is a story which has never been related except in fragmentary ways, and it was the desire of Gen. Runkle that it might sometime be fully known and underscored by the Fraternity. As with many men of high spirit and perhaps especially in greatly troubled times, Runkle had always drawn to himself either the intense loyalty or the sharp opposition of those with whom he worked. In his young manhood he was an earnest Democrat, the political faith of his parental home. In 1864, as a soldier in the army, he was intensely zealous for the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, and certain of his pamphlets in denunciation of the candidacy against Lincoln of General McClellan had wide circulation. The close of the war found him, as with

8 N.B. Reid, p. 867.


The Founders of Sigma Chi146nearly all soldiers of the North aligned with the Republican party and earnest for the election of Grant as President in 1868. Thereafter, however, his observation of the reconstruction situation in the South led to frank criticism of certain policies involved. His fleeing toward the Southernsoldiers was that they had been as sincere for their cause as those of the North; that they had fought nobly; and that the national policy should be governed by all possible measures of amity. Toward the end of the first termofPresidentGrant a feelingdeveloped thatnationalprogress,North and South, would be better served by a change of administration. Runkle was a delegate, and became a leader in Ohio in the movement for the organization of the Liberal Republican Party, which was formed at Cincinnati in 1872, and nominated Horace Greeley against President Grant for the Presidency. Whitelaw Reid was also a delegate to this convention. The platform of the party, and its entire campaign, was a denunciation of the administration of President Grant. It thereafter became the conviction of Runkle and his friends that the hostility of the adherents of Grant, thus incurred,figuredlargelyinthedevelopmentswhichfollowed. It will be remembered that Runkle was placed permanently on the retired list of the United States Army on December 15, 1870, with the rank of Major, because of disability through his wounds received in the service. His direction of the Freedmens’ affairs had then continued since April 11, 1867. Whitelaw Reid spent some time with Runkle at his Memphis headquarters. It subsequently became a part of the record of his case that this direction was carried on both while Runkle “was under great infirmity inconsequenceofwoundsreceivedinbattle,”andunderworking conditions which compelled large reliance upon the functioning of assistants and subordinates throughout the field of administration.Following his retirement he devoted himself to personal interests in Ohio, and during the year 1872 was on the staff of the Capitol at Washington, and thenceforth his political activities were marked. The charges brought against him during the summer of 1872 involved the former disbursements of relief funds in Kentucky, and sought to hold Runkle responsible for various irregularities as being the administrator in charge. The hearing on these charges was by court-martial held at Covington, Kentucky. Counsel for Runkle pleaded the irregular and inadmissible character of parts of the evidence; the deprivation of constitutionally guaranteed rights and immunities of the soldier; and the record of bravery and wounds which had won the commendation of Governor Tod of Runkle’s native state and the confidenceofAbrahamLincoln.Nevertheless,thedecisionofthatcourt-martial, announced on October 5, 1872, was adverse to the soldier who had never held even life itself dear as against the needs of his country. The decision of the court-martial required the formal approval of


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 147President Grant which, interestingly enough, it never received. Meanwhile, Runkle’s status was that of dismissal from the Army. He quietly returned to Urbana, Ohio, there to enter upon the long and patient struggle for the complete vindication which ultimately came to him at the hands of the Supreme Court of the United States and under the orders of two Presidents of the Republic. As a committee of many prominent citizens of Urbana afterward wrote to President Grant, “He did not go among strangers, but returned to dwell among those who knew him best and, following his return,soconductedhimselfastoholdtheesteemandconfidenceofallwho know him.” He entered upon a career of journalism at Urbana, in 1873 becoming the editor of the Urbana Union, an influential organ ofCentral Ohio, when the paper was in its tenth year. He continued for the next several years in the editorship, and after a time also in the ownership, of the Union. During those same years, also, he and many friends were developing theendeavorfor thereversalof thefindingrenderedagainsthim in the army hearing at Covington, and for his restoration to his rank in the Army. TheeditorialwritingsofRunklewerewidelyinfluential,andmanyof them were striking discussions of the events of that stirring period. One such editorial has special interest to Sigma Chi because of an incidental personal statement contained in it of the manner in which his life was saved following the Battle of Shiloh. There are various traditions as to that event growing out of press telegrams of the time, and this is the one authentic statement known to have been made of it by Runkle himself. The general theme of the editorial is a condemnation of religious intolerance, and it was primarily a rebuke of a visiting lecturer and his message as recently delivered in the city.After starting in the fine way his own Protestantparentage and early training and his distaste for all religious controversy, he referred to the Battle of Shiloh, and said:

The writer of this in common with thousands of soldiers who wore the blue and are ready to wear it again, owes his life to the Sisters of Charity. Of the two who cared for him when half-naked, bloody and dirty, he was taken from the deck of a steamer to the hospital, one was a niece of one of Ohio’s greatest statesman, and the other one of the schoolmates of his early youth. For thirteen years he has awaited an opportunity to give them some faint assurance of his gratitude, and he here says that nothing but the respect he has for the house of God prevented him from denouncing the lecturer where he stood.

The utterance is one of many during those editorial years, which


The Founders of Sigma Chi148reveal the independence and moral courage of the soldier-editor. The success of his journalistic undertaking and its popularity with all classes of the community meant much to him, but, as at the Founding of Sigma Chi, his sense of fairness and justice meant more. GeneralRunkle’s first great victory in the long struggle for hisposition in the Army, with the vindication as to the whole matter of his Freedmen’saidadministration,cameafterfiveyears, in1877.PresidentGrant had never entertained any degree of personal ill-will toward General Runkle because of the attitude of the latter in the political campaign of 1872. A report of the judge advocate general on the whole case fully cleared the way for a presidential order in Runkle’s favor. This, however, came too lateforactionbyGrantbeforehisretirementfromofficeinMarch,1877.The case, however, received the early attention of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who made the following order, issued from the Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C., August 4, 1877:

Whereupon, having caused the said record, together with said report, to be laid before me, and having carefully considered the same, I am of opinion that the said conviction is not sustained by the evidence in the case, and the same, together with the sentence of the court thereon, are hereby disapproved, and it is directed that the said Order No. 7, so far as it relates to said Runkle, be revoked.

The years of mental suffering and injustice had still further broken Runkle’shealthandstrength,butnothiscourage.Thefinalandcompletere-establishment of his rights was to be achieved after almost another decade of endeavor before departments at Washington and in the highest courts. It was following the events last narrated that Runkle wrote from his parental home at West Liberty to the Gamma Chapter at Ohio Wesleyan the letter of February 26, 1879, which led to the renewal of his contacts with the life and work of Sigma Chi. He became the guest of honor of Gamma at its annual reunion of June 24, 1879, at Greenwood Lake, Delaware, and there delivered an address which, more than any other early record has preserved the circumstances and purposes of the founding of Sigma Chi in 1855. In that era, also, Founder Runkle

Ben Runkle in 1879


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 149became an active communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the church of his mother’s people, the Piatt’s. He also developed the contacts with Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, even then widely known as a favored institution of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In 1879 he moved to Gambier and became the professor of military science for Kenyon College. A member of the faculty of the associated Divinity School was the Reverend Doctor C. S. Bates, who had been the chaplain of Runkle’s regiment during the Civil War and was his life-long friend. It may be re-called that the membership of Benjamin P. Runkle and Isaac M. Jordan, and perhaps that of others of the Founders of Sigma Chi, in Delta Kappa Epsilonseemsnottohavebeenfinallyterminatedbythedifferenceswhichled to the Founding of Sigma Chi. This record is fully stated in Volume I of this History, with the fact that the Quarterly of Delta Kappa Epsilon in its issues of the early eighties carried news items relating to Runkle and Jordan as being alumni of the Kappa (Miami) Chapter of that fraternity. While at Kenyon College, Runkle was accorded every honor by the Lambda Chapter of DKE at that institution as a frater in facultate. An interesting outcome was a movement then developed by Runkle and the DKE’s of Kenyon for a union of the two national fraternities. The suggestion followed a proposal known to have been favored some years before by Whitelaw Reid, leader of the “DKE six” at Miami in 1854–1855. At Kenyon, Runkle formally recommended the plan to the Gamma parent-chapter of Sigma Chi, at Delaware, but the project failed of further promotion. The Kenyon years also marked another turn in the varied activities of the Founder of Sigma Chi. The Fraternity has not always understood the many phase of Runkle’s public career suggested by formal recitals of his life-callings as “lawyer, soldier, editor, teacher, poet, preacher, and statesman.” The list does reveal the remarkable ability and versatility of the man. As a sequence of events in his life, however, there must be kept in mind the background of continuous struggle to regain his place under his choice for his life-work which grew out of the Civil War—that of a soldier of his country. Under some of the discouragements of that struggle Benjamin P. Runkle experienced forms of life’s possible bitterness, needless nowtorecount.Inlateryearshetestified,also,thatthereweretimeswhenhe could have yielded even his cherished ideals of life had it not been for memories of Miami and those days when as college boys the Founders had taken the White Cross as a symbol which must continue to be the quest of their lives as against every failure of defeat. These circumstances may more fully explain the adoption by Runkle of the clerical calling. He was ordained as a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church in October, 1882, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio, the ordination sermon being preached by Dr. Bates, his faculty associate at Kenyon College. He


The Founders of Sigma Chi150served as the rector of churches in Ohio and Indiana until 1864, when he resigned the diaconate. The privilege of that service was one which he always held as a grateful memory. He has entered upon it under the urge of some of the deepening experiences of his own life. He was hungering to say to the youth of the world what he continued consistently to say to them throughout his honored life in Sigma Chi that nothing ever pays but goodness, and rightness, and truth. He continued active in the lay service of the church throughout his life. At that time the renewals of his claims before governmental agencies at Washington were demanding his available time as well as strength under the permanent impairments of his health. On September 14, 1882,hehadfiledhisclaimsforlongevitypayasanofficerintheArmyofthe United States retired from active service. It was his constant contention thatjusticeinhiscasecouldneverbefulfilledexceptonthebasisofsuchcompensation as would recognize his status as that of one who had never legally been out of the national army. Under various disallowances of this claim by boards, claim-courts, and officials, Runkle never faltered. Hecarried his case to the Supreme Court of the United States where it was argued on April 22, 1897. The decision of that Court was handed down on May27,1887,byChiefJusticeMorrisonR.Waiteandfinallyandforeverdecided the issues of the court in Runkle’s favor. In the meantime, the military committee of the United States Senate, of which General John A. Logan was chairman, had reported a bill extending complete relief to Runkle. The bill was passed by the Senate and unanimously reported favorably to the House of Representatives by its military committee. Final action thereon, however, was never necessary for immediately following the decision of the Supreme Court, President Grover Cleveland issued a veryunusualandremarkableorderdirectingtheimmediateandunqualifiedrestoration of Benjamin P. Runkle to all his rights, compensations, and honorsintheArmyoftheUnitedStates.Thelongestandhardestfightofcourageous Ben Runkle was won at last. Runkle then turned his attention again to literary pursuits. In May, 1888, he became associated with the publishing house of Belford, Clarke & Co. of Cincinnati, and with Belford’s Magazine, the firm’s literarypublication. One literary achievement of the period requires special mention. Itwas awork of fiction, issued by theBelford,Clarke housein 1888, and entitled, “Why Was IT?” The work was published under the nom de plume of Lewis-Benjamin. A co-laborer was the friend of the Runkle family for many years preceding, Lalla McMicken Lewis. Mrs. Lewis, then a widow, was the niece of Charles McMicken, founder of the University of Cincinnati, and was also associated with the Belford, Clarke publishing interests at Cincinnati. The work was conceived as essentially


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 151a part of that ministry to his fellowmen which was so largely possessing the soul of Benjamin P. Runkle. The underlying purpose was to make vivid the ruin and havoc wrought in life and society by intemperance. The wholeplot,however,asaworkoffictionwasbaseduponRunkle’syearsat Miami University, his fraternity, and other associations there, and the subsequent events of the Civil War years and those which followed. The story of the Founding of Sigma Chi and of many of the events in the lives of Runkle and the other Founders are interwoven in the narrative. Even the namesofheleadingcharactersmaybeidentifiedasamongtheFoundersatMiami and their associates. Runkle himself is the Pitt Benton of the story. Yet it must be particularly noted that the college activities and subsequent careers of the several Founders are frequently so transposed, as among them, that only the most careful study can relate them accurately to the actual events. The romance of Runkle’s courtship and marriage is a part of thestory.ThebeautifulbadgeofSigmaChifigureslargelyinit,andonechapter has for its title “Sigma Chi.” There is a description of the supposed death of Pitt Benton at the Battle of Shiloh which is clearly that of Runkle himself in that battle. It may here be restated both for its striking quality of battle description and as a Fraternity record. General Runkle continued with the Belford, Clarke interests until 1891 when he removed to Los Angeles, California, largely for the re-building of his health following the trying ordeals of the years. In the Golden State, also, he renewed his work in social philanthropy as the head of an institution for the help and healing of men broken and defeated in the struggles of life. For those labors, more than one home blessed by his faithful helpfulness long gave honor to his name. As an outcome of the residence in Los Angeles, it proved that Founder Runkle was given anew to the service of the White Cross everywhere. The Fraternity had enlarged its active chapter roll until the number of such chapters then exceeded two score, three of which were in California. Especially grateful to the heart of Founder Runkle was the welcome extended to him by Alpha Upsilon, of the University of Southern California, Ben Runkle at the time he became Grand

Consul of the Sigma Chi Fraternity in 1895


The Founders of Sigma Chi152and by the alumni circle of that city. In 1895, the fortieth anniversary year of Sigma Chi, Alpha Upsilon made him its delegate to the Twenty-Second Grand Chapter, at Cincinnati. He served as Orator of that Grand Chapter, and by it was elected seventh Grand Consul of the Fraternity. Thereafter, his contacts with the organization continued in many historic ways until his death. The story of his Grand Consulship marks the outset of the present Volume,9 and the subsequent Volumes of this History continue to reveal the important character of his labors for the White Cross. With a characteristic interest in his every undertaking General Runkle upon his election as Grand Consul at once removed to Chicago, theofficialheadquartersoftheFraternity.TheadministrationofFraternityaffairs which followed was one of remarkable zeal and progress. The period may fairly be said to have inaugurated a new era of growth and development. The Twenty-Third Grand Chapter at Nashville, Tennessee, 1897, which concluded his Grand Consulship was marked by the adoption of a comprehensive revision of the Constitution and Ritual, and by the official completion of some half-dozen other Fraternity projects ofpermanent importance. During the years which immediately followed his officialterm,hisheadquarterswerelargelyatWashington,D.C.,devotinghimself to literary pursuits and public interests. In 1899 this soldier-Founder was appointed by the national government,asaretiredarmyofficer,totheworkofinstructioninmilitaryscience at Miami University. He served there for two years a period of most interesting renewals of his fellowship with Alpha Chapter, and with Sigma Chi in Ohio at large. Thereafter he was similarly a professor of military science at the University of Maine, Peekskill Military Academy, New Jersey Military Academy, and Germantown, Ohio, Military Institute. During the Civil War he had served upon the military staff of Governor David Tod of Ohio, and lad then represented the Commonwealth of Ohio as a member of the board of trustees of Miami University. Again, during the period 1909–1913 he served upon the military staff of Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio, and again as trustee of Miami. In 1899, the University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. While at the University of Maine, General Runkle became the Founder of the Rho Rho Chapter as established at that institution in 1902. Hewasactiveandinfluential,also,intheestablishmentofseveralotherchapters founded prior to 1916, the year of his death, and was the guest of honor at notable Fraternity occasions. His closing years were of a larger degree of retirement, and his home gravitated, Winter and Summer, between Washington, the capitol of the nation, he had served so faithfully, and Southern Ohio, whose hills and valleys he had known as “home” in

9 N.B. Volume VI, not yet published.


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 153youth, manhood, and age. Hillsboro, his Ohio residence of the later years, became a mecca sought out by younger and older members of Sigma Chi who desired to know this Founder and to learn from him of the ideals of the White Cross. Runkle was one of the four Founders surviving at the Fiftieth Anniversary of his Fraternity. The others were Thomas Cowan Bell, James Parks Caldwell, and the Rev. Dr. Daniel W. Cooper. The Grand Chapter at Cincinnati and the celebration at Miami University on June 28, 1905, marked the first reunion of the four since tier college days together atOxford. Runkle and Daniel W. Cooper attended the Twenty-ninth Grand Chapter at Chicago in 1909, and both were again present at the dedication of the Founders’ Memorial House at Oxford, Ohio, in 1913. During the finalOhio years it was his delight to re-visit “oldAlpha” on initiationoccasions, and to share in giving welcome to the new lads ever coming on as wearers of the White Cross.

No one ever met General Runkle without being impressed with his strikingpersonality,hisstalwart,erectfigure,thefine,expressiveface,thesoldierly bearing, and the sterling character of the man. His hair was worn full and long, and because perhaps prematurely grey, so as often to cause remark at the active, erect bearing of one of his seeming years. The beard, also worn full, concealed the permanent scars of Shiloh. Steady, searching eyes of blue and firmmouth bespoke traits of character.Not all of theremaining pictures of the years, however, reveal certain lines wrought not only upon the face, but within the spirit, by the chastening of the years of mental and physical suffering which he had undergone. A portrait favored

Runkle on one of his many visits to Sigma Chi’s undergraduate chapters. Here he and Mrs. Runkle visit the University of Michigan’s Theta Theta chapter on their tenth reunion in June of 1896.


The Founders of Sigma Chi154by his closer fiends for its revelation of all these characteristics is the“Maine” portrait, taken while he was a the University of Pine Tree State. Norhavesuchfriendsuniformlyfavoredtheportraitureofhisfinalyears,and more broken strength, chosen for the Memorial oil painting of Runkle at Oxford. The last visit to Miami and old Alpha was in 1916. Runkle was accompanied from Cincinnati by Charles H. Eldridge, Delta Delta, Purdue, ’85, and the occasion was the annual initiation event of Alpha. The nine men then initiated, most of them of the Class of 1919, were Robert J. Schweizer, Otto D. Steil, Harold I. Balyent, John H. Goodwin, Robert M. Hale, Howard E. Hanstein, Lawrence P. Leyshon, John McDowell Mathews, and Howard C. Washburn. The heroic old Founder was in his eightieth year, and considerably broken. Yet in his address to the active members and alumni that night, he seemed to rise to new heights of inspiration and prophecy for Sigma Chi. The last illness of General Runkle was not extended. The active and vigorous character of his life, despite the old disabilities of severe wounds received in battle, continued to characterize all of his closing years. Just two months before his death, on April 28, 1916, General and Mrs. Runkle were the guests of honor of Beta Theta Chapter, at a reception at the Edgewood Community Club, Pittsburgh. The occasion was marked by the presentation of a beautiful loving cup to the General and Mrs. Runkle. This proved to be the last of the memorable social affairs of Sigma Chi which, through so many years and in all parts of the country, had been graced by his honored presence. His final illness developedonly a few days before the end. His years “by reason of strength,” were fourscore, and in the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 28, 1916, God touched him and he slept. The day was theSixty-firstanniversaryof thefoundingof the Fraternity. The funeral services at Hillsboro were held at the Protestant Episcopal Church in which he has long faithfully served as vestryman, the service being conducted by Rev. Louis E. Durr, his pastor, assisted by Rev. George E. Becher. Past Grand Consul J. Howard Ferris of Cincinnati, accompanied by Mrs. Ferris, together with other Sigma Chis, was in attendance as representing the Fraternity. The remains, accompanied by his bereaved companion, and by relatives and friends, were conveyed to Washington, D.C. From The Runkle gravesite in the early 20th

century


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 155the railway station in the latter city, under due military escort assigned by the War Department, the casket, draped with the national emblem as for all soldier dead, was borne upon an army caisson to Arlington Cemetery. Here the party was met by Rev. N. Hez Swem, Xi, DePauw, 1882, pastor of Central Baptist Church, of Washington, and a company of Sigma his of the capital city. The impressive memorial service of the Sigma Chi Fraternity was read by Dr. Swem, and, as regularly concluding this beautiful service of our Ritual, each member of the Fraternity present placed his white rose uponthecasket.Thus,flag-drapedandflower-covered,themortalremainsof the honored Founder of Sigma Chi were lowered into the grave. The stately committal service of the Episcopal Church was read by the Rev. Dr. WilliamSnyderTayloe,ofWashington.The troopersfired threevolleysabove the grave. A bugler sounded taps. The last marks of honor and respect, national and fraternal, were paid. At the Twenty-Fifty Grand Chapter, Cleveland, Ohio, 1921, John G. Harlan, Beta Theta, Pittsburgh, and Epsilon, George Washington, ’16, of Washington D.C. presented a plan for the erection of monuments of the Founders which met with immediate favor. A permanent Founders’ Monument Commission was given charge of the undertaking, and has pursued its task with a devotion and success which is now known throughout theFraternity.Thefirstmonumentcompletedwasthatfortherestingplaceof Runkle in Arlington Cemetery. It was dedicated on September 29. 1923, and was accepted for the Fraternity by Harry S. New, Rho, Butler College, ’77, then Postmaster General of the United States and Grand Consul of the Fraternity. The exercises were of notable character, and were attended by manyGrandOfficers,representativesofalumniandactivechapters,andmembers of the Fraternity at large. General Runkle was twice married. Of his first marriage, thatto Miss Veritia Reynolds of West Liberty, Ohio, one child was born, a

daughter who grew to womanhood, married, and whose only child, a son, had a successful business career in the Central West. On September 10, 1894, he was married at Riverside, California, to Mrs. Lalla McMicken Lewis of Cincinnati. It was a quiet wedding performed in the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Community, and in the little group of nearer friends in attendance was Milton Vernon, Alpha, Miami, ’59. Runkle had helped to make him the seventh initiate of the early Alpha, and the two were life-long Mrs Lalla McMicken Runkle


The Founders of Sigma Chi156friends. Mrs. Runkle shared faithfully with her husband in the fortunes of all the remaining years, her death following that of General Runkle after some two years, in 1918. Throughout all the period of his activities in the Fraternity beginning with his Grand Consulship, and upon social occasions, the gracious presence of Mrs. Runkle was his inspiration, and wasanabidinginfluenceforgoodamongwidecirclesofthemembership.With her companion, and ever by his side, her interest and love for Sigma Chi grew and deepened with the years. The literary work of Founder Runkle is deserving of more extended statement than is here possible. The wide range of writing upon matters of public interest fairly entitled him to the highest meanings of the title of publicist. The poetic vein within him found expression in a small number of writings of enduring value. He was a poet for the Diamond Jubilee of Miami University in June, 1899. His production upon that occasion was entitled “The Work of Old Miami,” and was a writing both of great beauty andremarkableasahistoricalstudyoftheinfluenceofhisAlma Mater. A poem written in the year 1909 was entitled “Human Sunshine,” and has enduring interest in Sigma Chi as having been inspired by Runkle’s memories of his fellow—Founder of the Fraternity, Franklin Howard Scobey. A number of the enduring songs and hymns of Sigma Chi also are the product of his pen. The oration of General Runkle delivered at the Twenty-Second Grand Chapter of the Fraternity, Cincinnati, 1895, had for its subject “True Manhood.” The same utterance formed the substantial structure of addresses delivered at subsequent Fraternity and college occasions, andwasinRunkle’sfinestveinasanorator.Hisaddressandthoseofhisthree fellow-Founders at the Semi-Centennial celebration at Cincinnati–Oxford in 1905 were noteworthy. An address of permanent interest for the Fraternity, also, was that which he called “We Seven.” It was the story of the Founding of the Fraternity, and of the college years of the Founders at Miami,andwasfirstdeliveredatanotableFraternityreunionatColumbus,Ohio, in 1907, and on several later occasions. Impressive in appearance, choice in diction, and possessed of the qualities of personal magnetism and of voice for public utterance, Founder Runkle held rank throughout his life as one gifted in oratory. Sigma Chi is accustomed to identify the name of Benjamin Piatt Runkle with the quality of courage. In one of his own Fraternity addresses is preserved for us the distinction that is ever to be made between the courage in the moral realm and that which is only physical.

By courage I do not mean the savage animal instinct that makes a man insensible to danger—a bulldog has that—but I mean


Benjamin Piatt Runkle 157that strong conviction which keeps ever before the mind the true aim of life, and unswerving loyalty to that conviction. You must have not the courage of Alexander, but the courage of Socrates; not the courage of Caesar, but the courage of Washington; not the courage of Frederick the Great, but the courage of Lincoln; not the courage of Napoleon, but the courage of George H. Thomas and of Robert E. Lee. The most magnificent example of courageous self-sacrificethat has ever lifted up humanity, was seen in our Civil War, when true manhood reached the extreme height possible in an era of war. It matters not for this example who was right or who was wrong, those unequaled soldiers—I mean the men who carried theknapsacksandhandledtherifles—whometinadeath-grapplethat lasted four long years, were men of whom the race may well be proud—Jena and Eylau were terrible, and in a sense glorious; but Shiloh and Chickamauga stand as eternal monuments of self-sacrificing courage. Austerlitz was brilliant, but its star palesbefore Gettysburg. McDonald’s charge at Wagram, bloody and desperate as it was, will be forgotten; but the constant courage ofHancock’sUnionveterans,andtheself-sacrificingdevotionofPickett’sConfederates,willliveaslongasOldGloryfloatsinthesunlight. Oh, ye sons and successors of the heroic dead, can you, can any young American, in the face of these examples of true manhood, make the mere getting of money, the enjoyment of luxury, the climbing into place by the disgraceful means in common use, the aim and end of life? I tell you no! The power of such manhood cannot be lost. One cause, that of union, has triumphed, and must live in the splendid growth of a united people. The other was lost, but the mighty spirit of manhood that strove to uphold it will live—live in the love of country, live in the strength of fraternal feeling, under the stars and stripes, under the White Cross!

The words are from an oration, “True Manhood,” delivered before the Twenty-Second Grand Chapter, 1895. Illustrations from the “Great Conflict”werepopularintheorationsoftheday,andthewholeutteranceis in Runkle’s characteristic vein of oratory.

The Fraternity missed him much in the years which followed. Frequently in memorial tribute there were quoted the words of Whitlawe Reid,hisopponentinΔKEinthecollegeyearsatMiami,inreportingforthe Cincinnati Press the Battle of Shiloh, where brave Ben Runkle, as close comrades ever knew him, had been left supposedly dead on that hard-fought


The Founders of Sigma Chi158field:“Hediedahero;greengrowthegrassabovehishonoredgrave.”TheFraternity he helped to found, however, can not so conclude the record. In his influenceasaFounderandhissixty-oneyearsasahouseholdnamein Sigma Chi, he will live on – forever! We shall think of his heroic spirit as in the land which is without sunset, bidding us “Fare on” as he bade us do here. And in the decades yet to come the Founder-soldier spirit of BenjaminPiattRunklewillcontinuetobetypifiedinSigmaChijustasinyore, a blazing star–at the foot of the Cross.

In His WordsBenjamin Piatt Runkle

[To the Alumni of Gamma Chapter, June 24, 1879] “The Sigma Chi was not the offspring of chance, or the creature of mere boyish fancy; it was the child of rebellion, honorable rebellion, which success has dignified into a revolution. ..The influence of theseassociationscannotbeotherthanhealthfulandbeneficial.Thefriendshipformed in these fraternities, whenmen’s hearts are pure and unselfish,endure through life, and the hours passed in these halls are the most fondly cherished memories of our college days. As long as the standard oftheWhiteCrossisupheldbyloyalhearts,solongwillitflourishandendure, respected and esteemed by all men who honor honest ambition, gentlemanlycourtesyandtruemanhood.Mayitflourishandendurelongafter I, that speak to you.”

[To the Sigma Chi Quarterly, 1908] “This carries me back to the olden and perhaps primitive times when we had an essay, and a supposed poem at every session of the chapter, and prepared our brothers for the literary society work and the college debates—when the question asked about a prospective brother was: ‘How does he stand in the classes, and can he write and debate?’ There is where Jordan was made an orator, Cooper a preacher, Bell a college president, and Caldwell and Scobey were trained for writers.”

[To the San Francisco Grand Chapter and Grand Consul Newman Miller; June 28, 1916] For each Founder there are now two thousand hearts that throb under the emblem of faith and hope—Faith in Sigma Chi ideals, and hope


Documents

Benjamin Piatt Runkle - Sigma Chi Fraternityhistory.sigmachi.org/files_resources/founders/Nate-Runkle-Bio.pdf · M. Jordan, who was to become a fellow-Founder with him of Sigma Chi