Benjamin Jones Tidwell was born on the March 9, 1844 in Meriwether County Georgia. He enlisted in the Confederate Army May 8, 1962 at Jones Mills, Georgia and served until the end of the Civil War. His unit surrendered at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee on September 9, 1863 and he was sent to Camp Douglas Prison where he remained until his discharge on June 15, 1865. While in Camp Douglas he contracted scurvy from which he suffered the rest of his life. After the War he farmed as long as he was able, first in Meriwether County in 1895 when he moved to Douglas County. In December of 1902 he moved to Fulton County, Georgia. He applied for a Confederate pension in 1907. He died on March 29, 1912.