Benjamin Ryan Tillman was born in South Carolina on 11 August 1847. He enlisted in the Confederate Army in June 1864 but left the service due to illness. Beginning in 1869 he was an active and successful farmer and was also deeply involved in often forceful measures to thwart the goals of southern Reconstruction. The success of these efforts made him an important figure in South Carolina politics. During the 1880s, he became the most powerful politician in the state and was Governor in 1890-1894. He was then elected to the United States Senate, where he championed agricultural interests and Southern racial policies, in addition to maintaining control of South Carolina politics well into the first decade of the Twentieth Century. He was also influential in the establishment of the Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina. Though in ill health by the Nineteen "Teens", he became Chairman of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee and held that position until his death in Washington, D.C., on 3 July 1918.
The Navy has named two ships in honor of Senator Benjamin R. Tillman, including: USS Tillman (Destroyer # 135, later DD-135) of 1921-1940; and USS Tillman (DD-641) of 1942-1972.
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Page made 7 September 2006