Benjamin Harrison was a resident of Tyrrell County. In 1777 he became a member of the Gourd Patch Conspiracy when Daniel Leggett approached him and had him swear an oath of secrecy. Leggett wanted him to swear further oaths to defend the plot's constitution and oppose the military draft, but Harrison refused as he could not read and confirm the constitution's contents for himself. When his uncle William Harrison expressed a desire to abandon the plot, Benjamin was among those members who were willing to abandon the plot as well to avoid further trouble. Harrison later appeared on a list of witnesses prepared to give evidence against Daniel Leggett before the Edenton District Court of Oyer & Terminer when all the leading members of the plot went on trial in the fall of 1777.