Charles Bent, the subject of this sketch, was born in Chicago, Illinois,
December 8, 1844, at the family residence,
No. 185 Michigan avenue, upon which lot,
with others, the Leland Hotel is now situated.
At the time of his birth Chicago contained a
population of less than nine thousand people, and during the year in which he was
born the first public school building in the
city was erected. In his childhood days
the shore of Lake Michigan, which fronted
his home, was not obstructed by railroads
or breakwater, but its water laved the sandy
beach as in the days of the early discoveries. Before the construction of water
works, he remembers seeing large two-
wheeled carts, surmounted by a large hogshead, backed into the lake to be filled, and
then driven to residences, to fill the home
barrel for a stipulated price. The city's
boundaries were not so extensive then as
now. Quite a resort until into the `fifties was known as the Bull's Head,'' which
was the sign of a tavern located at what is
now the intersection of Madison and Halstead streets. Adjoining this locality was
the country where picnics and celebrations
were held.
In his native city young Bent attended
school until eleven years of age, when the family moved to Morrison, Illinois. Here
he first attended school in what was known
as Jacobtown for one winier, and then
in the school house one mile east of
the present city of Morrison. His school
life ended with 1857, and in June,
1858, he entered the office of the Whiteside Sentinel and served a three years' ap-
prenticeship, receiving for the first year
thirty dollars, for the second year, fifty dollars, and for the third year one hundred.
dollars. The paper was not quite one year
old when he entered the office, and with it
he has virtually been connected ever since.
After finishing his apprenticeship he worked
in the office as a journeyman until in April,
1864, when he enlisted as a private in Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, and was appointed third
sergeant of his company. The regiment
went into the camp at Dixon, Illinois, from
where it was sent to Camp Butler, near
Springfield, where it was mustered into service. It enlisted under the call for one hundred days, and was sent to Lafayette,
Tennessee, to hold the outposts while the veterans pushed ahead. It remained in that
vicinity until about the time of the expiration of the term of service, when it was ordered to Chicago to be mustered out.
While enroute, General Price gave the citizens of St. Louis a scare, the people
fearing an attack, and so the regiment was ordered there, where it remained a number of
weeks doing guard duty until all danger of
attack from Price was over. It was then
sent to Chicago and duly mustered out.
Returning to his home in Morrison, Mr.
Bent again entered the office of the Sentinel, in the capacity of foreman, and there
remained until February 2, 1865, when he
again enlisted in the army as a private in
Company B, One Hundred and Forty-
seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under
the call for one year. The regiment was
mustered in at Camp Fry, Chicago, and
was sent south, being attached to the
First Brigade, Second Division, Army of the
Cumberland. It was first stationed at Dalton, Georgia, and as General Sherman
had cut loose and commenced his march to
the sea, it had considerable guerrilla fighting to do.
Mr. Bent, on the organization
of the company, was appointed first sergeant and was later commissioned second
lieutenant of the company. His brigade
received the surrender of the rebel army of
northern Georgia, and, later his regiment
was at Albany, Georgia, and a part of the
brigade were among the first troops at
Andersonville alter the surrender.
Immediately after the surrender of the
southern army, the cities of the south were
so overrun with negroes that the troops had
to be detached to keep them on plantations.
Lieutenant Bent was detailed with a number of men to go to Newton, Georgia, as
assistant provost marshal and agent of the
Freedmen's Bureau, his duties being to protect citizens in their homes, and as agent of
the Freedmens Bureau to go through the
country and make contracts between former
slaves and their old masters, and to require
them to work. After being there a short
time he was appointed assistant provost
marshal of his brigade and stationed at
Americus. Going to Hawkinsvmlle, Georgia, he was later detailed to go to the region
where Jeffrson Davis was captured, and
his headquarters were in the saw mill where
Davis spent his last night before capture.
After that he went to Savannah, Georgia,
and there received orders for the faithful execution of which mention is made in the
History of the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, published in
the adjutant general's state reports, as
follows: `December 6, 1865, Lieutenant
Charles Bent and twenty men of Company B
were sent to Fort Pulaski, as a garrison,
Lieutenant Bent being responsible for the
government property, amounting to several
in million dollars, and which he satisfactorily
turned over to his successor when relieved."
With his regiment, Lieutenant Bent was
mustered out of service January 20,1866,
and was paid off at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois. He at once returned home,
and once more resumed his position in the
office of the Whiteside Sentinel, serving as
foreman until in July, 1867, when, in company with his brother-in-law, Maurice Savage, he purchased the Sentinel office from
its original proprietor Alfred McFadden.
The partnership between Bent & Savage
continued until May, 1870, when Mr. Bent
purchased his partner's interest and published the paper alone until February, 1877,
when he sold the office, and at once commenced collecting the material for a history
of Whiteside county, which is considered
authority in matters pertaining to the county's history, and which enters into detail
coucerning the early development of the
county. as well as its growth and progress.
The history was published in 1878.
In March, 1879, Mr. Bent repurchased
the Sentinel office and has since been sole
proprietor and editor of the paper, which
is one of the oldest county papers in the
state. A well equipped job office is connected with the paper, and is supplied
with modern material and type. The paper
is Republican in politics, and neither paper
or editor has ever bolted the party ticket.
In 1887, Mr. Bent erected the office building
-- and the rest is lost.
Whiteside County Biographical Record 1900 pg 106
