author

B. K. (Blackwood Ketcham) Benson

b. 1845

Best known for a Civil War spy novel, this little-known American writer left behind a dramatic tale of divided loyalties, memory loss, and wartime confusion. The few reliable records that survive place him in the American South and later in Texas, giving his work a distinctly regional backdrop.

1 Audiobook

Who Goes There?

Who Goes There?

by B. K. (Blackwood Ketcham) Benson

About the author

Blackwood Ketcham Benson, who published as B. K. Benson, was born on May 12, 1845, in North Augusta, South Carolina. FamilySearch records identify him as Blackwood Ketcham Benson and give his lifespan as 1845–1924.

He is associated with Who Goes There? The Story of a Spy in the Civil War, a novel published in 1900 and still circulating in reprint and digital editions. The book follows a Union spy caught in the confusion of war and memory loss, and it has remained Benson's best-known work.

The available biographical record is quite thin. FamilySearch indicates that he later lived in Georgia and died on February 6, 1924, in Austin, Texas. I wasn't able to confirm further widely documented literary or personal details from reliable web sources, so much of his life remains obscure.