Charles H. Bennett (soldier)
| Charles H. Bennett | |
|---|---|
Charles H. Bennett gravemarker
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| Born | August 18, 1811 |
| Died | December 7, 1855 (aged 44) Walla Walla, Washington |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1835-1844, 1855 |
| Rank | Sergeant, Captain |
| Unit | Company A United States Regiment of Dragoons |
| Commands held |
Oregon Rangers Company F, Oregon Mounted Volunteers |
| Battles/wars | Yakima War |
Charles H. Bennett (18 August 1811 – 7 December 1855) was present at the discovery of gold that initiated the California gold rush in January 1848. Earlier he served in the United States Army and was captain of a militia unit of the Provisional Government of Oregon. In later years he operated a hotel in the Oregon Territory before dying in the Indian Wars as a captain of a cavalry unit.
In 1835 Bennett was a Sergeant in Company A United States Regiment of Dragoons, at Fort Leavenworth, under General Stephen W. Kearny. He moved to Oregon from Fort Leavenworth in 1844. In May 1846 while in Oregon he was involved with forming the Oregon Rangers mounted rifle company, where he was selected as the captain of the group.
In 1847, Bennett moved south from Oregon Country to California where he was then employed by James Marshall as a carpenter at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered. Marshall claimed that at the time that he discovered gold in the mill's tail-race Bennett was half a mile away at the house. This version of events is disputed by Stephen Staats, a lifelong acquaintance who was with him at the time, and later wrote a letter to the Oregon Statesman stating: "In 1847 we furnished Bennett with an outfit and he traveled with us to California. He assisted Marshall in building a mill on the American fork of the Sacramento, and he was the first one that beheld the glittering dust when water was turned into the race for the purpose of clearing it out. Notwithstanding that Marshall has gained worldwide fame as the first discoverer of gold in California, we have always claimed that an Oregon man, Bennett, was the first one whose eagle eye beheld the shining ore as it sparkled through the rippling of the water. Bennett, Salem’s pioneer citizen, first gazed upon and held in his hand the gold which made San Francisco what she is today, and had it not been for that discovery the Bennett house never would have been built."
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Wikipedia