Benjamin Franklin Ficklin (1827–1871) was a soldier, adventurer, and entrepreneur known for his help in starting the Pony Express and for establishing other stage coach and mail routes in the United States during the nineteenth century.
One night, he filled a howitzer with gunpowder, turned it toward the cadet barracks, and discharged it (Virginia Military Institute Archives, 2005).
Ficklin was ubiquitous at a number of important moments during the Utah War, including the raid on Fort Lemhi which signaled Deseret's demise.
In 1859, Ficklin returned to the express and stage business which now boomed with the western expansion precipitated in the wave of Gold Rush fever.
In 1860, the Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 called for the facilitation of communication between the east and west coasts of the United States of America.
In 1861, Ficklin joined Hiram Sibley in helping to form the Pacific Telegraph Company of Nebraska.
At the same time, Jeptha Wade was asked by Hiram Sibley to consolidate smaller telegraph companies in California.
With their connection in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 24, 1861, the final link between the east and west coasts of the United States of America was made.
In the course of his final business venture, which included a U.S. Post Office subcontract, Ficklin frequently visited Washington, DC.