Clarence Bennett: Distinguished Officer

Lt. Col. Clarence Bennett was born in New York in 1833. He graduated from West Point in 1855 and served in Utah with the 10th Infantry. He resigned from the Army in 1860 and moved to San Bernardino. In 1861, Bennett made Secretary of State William Seward and General Edwin V. Sumner aware of a Secessionist plot to seize Fort Yuma. He left California in April 1862 and made his way to Fort Yuma, where he met up with California Volunteers heading east. In September 1862, Bennett returned to California and was commissioned major, 1st California Cavalry. He served at Camp Morris, Ft. Yuma, Ft. Craig, Ft. Bowie and Ft. McDowell. He was mustered out of the California Cavalry in 1866 and transferred to the 6th Cavalry. He also served in the Quartermaster Corps, the 17th Infantry, the 19th Infantry and the 11th Infantry. Bennett retired in 1897 as a lieutenant colonel. His two sons served in the military and his two daughters married Army officers. Lt. Col. Bennett died Nov. 4, 1902, at Ft. McPherson, Georgia. Photo from the Roger D. Hunt Collection, United States Army Military History Institute.