Charles Bent

Charles Bent (born Nov. 11, 1799, Charleston, Va. [now in West Virginia], U.S.—died Jan. 19, 1847, Taos [New Mexico]) was a fur-trading pioneer who became civil governor for the United States of the newly captured province of New Mexico.

After moving from Charleston, Va., to Marietta, Ohio, in 1805, the Bent family settled in St. Louis the following year. Charles and his brother William developed an interest in the fur trade, and they probably worked for John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company during the early 1820s.

In 1824 the two brothers joined with Ceran St. Vrain on a fur-trapping expedition on the upper Arkansas River. In 1828 the three organized the company of Bent & St. Vrain and built Bent’s Fort near La Junta, in the Louisiana Territory (now Colorado). It became the most famous of the mountain trading posts.

Leaving William behind to manage the post, Charles Bent and St. Vrain moved on to the Mexican province of New Mexico, where they directed the field operations of their company. In 1835 Charles settled at San Fernando de Taos. Eleven years later, during the Mexican War, U.S. forces took over the province, and Bent was appointed civil governor. After four months, the U.S. troops withdrew, and Charles Bent was one of several U.S. civilians killed in a revolt by Mexican and Pueblo Indians in the territory.