A southern family saves a Union soldiers life, he repays that family after the Civil War, First Bull Run where this happened. pic.twitter.com/Wkqfq6rttY
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Civil War in the East explains,
Another trailside marker, “A Debt Repaid,” tells the story of Private John Rice, who was wounded and left for dead after the battle but nursed back to health by local residents Amos and Margaret Benson.
John Price
Civil War Talk elaborates,
After the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, Amos and Margaret Benson discovered a wounded Union soldier, Private John Rice of the 2nd New Hampshire Infantry, left for dead near Sudley Church. For ten days, the Bensons dressed his wounds, provided him with food and water, and protected him from the elements. Rice eventually made a complete recovery. In 1886, Rice returned to the Bull Run battlefield and found the Bensons at their home, Christian Hill. When he asked how he might repay them, the Bensons, active members of Sudley Church, remarked that the congregation remained saddled with debt incurred from rebuilding their war-wrecked sanctuary. It had been used a hospital during the war. When Rice returned home, he took his story to the local newspaper. Within four days, residents contributed $235 – more than enough to cover the church debt. Rice sent the donation to the Bensons with the hope the gift "might dispel the last doubt of a complete and lasting reconciliation between North and South."
Amos Benson
