Benjamin Huddle was born September 22, 1840, near Rural Retreat, Virginia. With the beginning of the American Civil War, he enlisted on August 24, 1861, in Abingdon, assigned to Company B of the 29th Virginia Infantry, Confederate Army. He was first wounded in action on January 10, 1862, at Middle Creek, Kentucky, where he was shot through the hip. He returned to the 29th Virginia, which was involved in smaller campaigns in southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina, but also took part in the latter part of the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg. Huddle was wounded again in action again on March 31, 1865, at Five Forks, where he was shot in the arm. He was brought to a hospital in Farmville, Virginia, where his arm was amputated. Paroled, Huddle operated a general store in Wytheville for several years afterward, and taught. He married on March 24, 1872, and they had six children. He died November 29, 1916.

Randal Huddle of Rural Retreat, Virginia, is a descendent of Benjamin Huddle.

James F. Wilson is a descendant of Benjamin Huddle's sister Missouri Huddle Wilson.