On July 21, 1861, Private John L Rice with the 2nd New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, was wounded and left by his comrades for dead as the Union troops retreated across Sudley Ford on The Bull Run. Local residents, Amos and Margaret Benson, found the young Private and nursed him back to health.

Today, the Benson Rice Storytellers share this story of reconciliation and compassion. Based upon true events that occurred both during and after The Civil War, this is a story of two men who, from opposite sides of the battlefield, fought for their respective ‘countries’.

United States Major General John Newton, however, may still harbor his doubts about the veracity of their story, as the recollection of this native Virginian who remained loyal to the Union, weave in and out of the story.

The Benson Rice Storytellers have appeared and performed their story sixty times over the past eight years, both locally and nationwide. They include the following organizations:

• The United States Army Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB Tampa, FL
• The United States Eleventh Judicial Circuit Conference, Point Clear, AL
• The United States Clerk’s Conference, Southern District of Alabama, Pensacola, FL
• The Sons of Union Veterans
• The United Daughters of the Confederacy
• United States Park Service, National Battlefield Park(s)
• The City of Manassas, Parks and Recreation
• The Prince William County Office of Preservation and History
• The Fairfax County Historic Commission
• The Mooresville and Brazil, Indiana Chamber(s) of Commerce
• The Winery at The Bull Run
• Sudley United Methodist Church
• Fairfax County Public Schools
• The Life Long Learning Institute, George Mason University
• Heritage Hunt and Dominion Valley History Club(s)
• Hoffman Institute, Oahu and Honolulu, Hawaii