Risden Tyler Bennett, the 12th and
youngest child of a prosperous Anson County, NC., plantation owner and
preacher, was noted from an early age for his sharp intellect. When 17
years old, Bennett made a journey to the West, where he reported staying
with Indians and viewing the Rocky Mountains. He also told the story of
attending a funeral at which they "lost the corpse and had to go back
three miles to find it; everybody was drunk but me and the corpse."
Bennett returned to the East and, after earning a law degree from
Cumberland University, began the practice of law in Anson County in
1860.
An ardent believer in Southern
rights, Bennett enrolled as a private in Company C (Anson Guards) in
April 1861. Fifteen months later, at the age of 22,, having demonstrated
sound judgment and ability as a leader, he was promoted to colonel of
his regiment, the 14th North Carolina. Bennett and the 14th faced their
baptism of fire at the Battle of Williamsburg. From then to the end of
the war, they found themselves in the hottest areas of some of the Army
of Northern Virginia's hardest-fought battles. They charged up Malvern
Hill, lost their colors in the valiant defense of Bloody Lane at
Sharpsburg, and were a part of Gen. Stonewall Jackson's flank attack
that routed the Union line at Chancellorsville.
The regiment also fought the first
day at the Battle of Gettysburg, helping to rout the federal force.
Positioned adjacent to the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania, Bennett led his
men in a daring charge on the morning of May 12, 1864, recovering and
stabilizing the Rebel lines. Later that year, not yet recovered from his
fourth wound (which he had received at Cold Harbor), Bennett had two
horses shot out from under him at Winchester and was captured on
September 19, 1864, while struggling to lead his men on foot. Bennett
was confined at Fort Delaware, Del., until he was transferred to City
Point, VA., for exchange on February 27, 1865. Fascinating Fact: A
powerful and dramatic orator, Bennett resumed his law practice after the
war, became a judge of the North Carolina Superior Court and served in
the U.S. Congress. He died in his native Anson County in 1913 at the age
of 73.
