BENTLEY, C. S.

BENTLEY, Charles S. (Schoharie Co., N.Y.--Unknown). Bentley moved to Wisconsin in 1856 and enlisted as a private in the 2d Wis. V.C., Co. D at the start of the CIVIL WAR. He was promoted Sergeant, then First Lieutenant, and afterward to the captain of the company. He participated in several battles and served on Gen. E. B. Brown's staff. At the second battle of Springfield, Missouri he carried his wounded commanding officer from the field.

Capt. Bentley served nearly four years; the last year, being disabled from doing field duty, served on Gen. Osborn's staff as Acting Assistant Inspector General of the Cavalry Brigade. The captain was mustered out of service at Memphis. He and his wife settled in St. Louis for eighteen months; came to Galena, Ill., in 1869; and came to Dubuque in 1874. (1)

In 1876 under the militia laws of Iowa, the Rifles and Guards of Dubuque were incorporated into the Fourth Regiment of the Iowa National Guard. The Rifles were designated Company A and the Guards became Company B. In 1878 a cavalry company known as Company A, First Cavalry was formed in Dubuque. C. S. Bentley became its first captain. (2) He served seven years in the Iowa National Guard rising to the rank of brigadier general and led the Northwestern Brigade (the Second Iowa National Guard). (3)

In Dubuque, Bentley established the grain trading firm of C. S. BENTLEY & COMPANY. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois.

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Source:

1. Oldt, Franklin. History of Dubuque County. Chicago: Western History Company, 1880, p. 765-766

2. Ibid., p. 695

3. Powell, William Henry. Officers of the Army and Navy Who Served in the Civil War. L. R. Hamersley & Co., 1893, p. 105