Captain
William
Bentley
Born in Amelia, Virginia
Ancestors 
Son of Samuel Bentley Sr
and Mary Efford (Weldon) Bentley
Brother of
Samuel Bentley Jr, Elizabeth (Bentley) Anderson, Mary (Bentley) Booker, John Bentley, Rebecca (Bentley) Winston, Rachel (Bentley) Saunders and Efford Bentley
Husband of
Judith (Archer) Bentley
— married
14 May 1782 in Amelia, Virginia
Husband of
Lucy Gaines (Turpin) Bentley
— married
about 1805 in Virginia, United States
Descendants 
Father of
Henry Moss Bentley
Died
at about age 69
in Powhatan, Powhatan, Virginia, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 7 Apr 2013
This page has been accessed 1,801 times.
Contents |
Biography
Captain William Bentley served with 5th Virginia Regiment (1776), Continental Army during the American Revolution.
William was married two times.
William Bentley married Judith Archer in Amelia, County, Virginia on May 14, 1782.[1][2]
American Revolutionary War Service
William was elected a Second Lieutenant at a meeting of the "Council" held on January 29, 1776 in Hanover County.[3] He served in the 5th Virginia Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant beginning on March 7, 1776. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on December 18, 1776 and then to Captain Lieutenant on December 26, 1776. William then transferred to the 3rd Virginia Regiment on September 14, 1778. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1779 and served to the conclusion of the War. [4][5]
William's service in the war is documented in Captian George Stubblfield's book. During this time he served on six court martials, as Officer of the Day on two occasions, and as Officer of the Guard three times, including on July 2, 1776. [6]
William's 5th regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton which took place on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night. His regiment was also involved in the Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment was joined to the 3rd Virginia Regiment on May 12, 1779.[7]
William was present at Valley Forge while in the 5th Regiment. The 5th was was part Muhlenberg's Brigade. Captain Andrew Russell was his Company Commander. [8]
William Bentley is mentioned in a letter from General George Washington to Horatio Gates and Peter Muhlenberg, dated July 18, 1780. He is listed as being part of the "Exchange of the Officers and Men who are prisoners" captured previously by the British. A note indicates William "was taken prisoner at Charleston, S.C., in May, 1780, and prisoner on parole to the end of the war". [9]
William was granted a pensioned at the rate of $20 per month commencing April 16th, 1818, for seven years service as a Lieutenant and Captain in the 5th Regiment of the Virginia line. His application is accompanied by a statement from John Marshall, the 4th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In his statement, Justice Marshall states, "I was very well acquainted with Captain Bentley during the war of our revolution . . . I know that in Virginia, during the invasion of Arnold [Benedict Arnold], he served in the Regiment commanded by Colonel William Davies" [10]
A list of original members of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia include William Bentley, Captain ("The rank put opposite each member's name is the actual rank without regard to brevets"). [11] The Society of the Cincinnati was formed in 1783 by former American Revolutionary Army officers, George Washington was the society's first president. [12]
Sources
Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed November 26, 2016), "Record of William Bentley", Ancestor # A009459.
- ↑ Early Virginia marriages. Pt. I, by Crozier, William Armstrong, 1864-1913, 1907 page 64. available here
- ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed November 26, 2016), "Record of William Bentley", Ancestor # A009459.
- ↑ Virginia County Records, Vol. VI., March 1909 by Crozier, William Armstrong, 1864-1913. Page 241 [https://archive.org/stream/virginiacountyre61croz#page/240/mode/2up/ available here
- ↑ Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, page 84, by F.B. Heitman of the War Department in 1893. available here
- ↑ Virginia County Records, Vol. VI., March 1909 by Crozier, William Armstrong, 1864-1913. Pages 37 and 59 page 37 available here and page 59 available here
- ↑ ORDERLY BOOK OF THE COMPANY OF Captain George Stubblefield FIFTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT, FROM MARCH 3, 1776, TO JULY 10, 1776, INCLUSIVE. [available here]
- ↑ Wikipedia page on Virginia 5th Regiment [available here]
- ↑ The Valley Forge Muster Roll, a project of the Valley Forge Park Alliance [available here]
- ↑ Letter from George Washington to Horatio Gates and Peter Muhlenberg, July 18, 1780. [available here]
- ↑ Pension application of William Bentley S37745, Transcribed by Will Graves, rev’d 12/18/10 [Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters]
- ↑ Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, by Bruce, Philip Alexander and Stanard, William Glover, 1859-; Virginia Historical Society; Virginia Historical Society. Proceedings, 1893. [on page 23]
- ↑ Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia, Records, 1778-1941. Accession 26102, Organization Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. [available here]
- Source: S-1526354146 Repository: #R-1673975464 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Page: Ancestry Family Tree Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=54207083&pid=347
- Repository: R-1673975464 Name: Ancestry.com
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Lori Gordon for creating WikiTree profile Bentley-771 through the import of Jameson Family Tree(1).ged on Apr 5, 2013.
Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Lori and others.
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Featured National Park champion connections: William is 12 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 19 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 15 degrees from George Catlin, 11 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 19 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 15 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 17 degrees from Stephen Mather, 23 degrees from Kara McKean, 15 degrees from John Muir, 16 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 22 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Abridged_Compendium_of_American_Gene/W0RnAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=samuel+bentley+1709+virginia&pg=PA290&printsec=frontcover
Dear Sir The late Col. Wm Bentley who was a Captain in the revolutionary Army and who served to the end of that war is I am advised entitled to half pay during his life deducting the five years commutation pay which I believe he received – will you have the goodness to inform me if this is the case – being one of his legatees, having married his daughter induces me to make this inquiry. I wrote you on this subject some time ago but did not have the pleasure of hearing from you. Very respectfully Yr Obt. Sert. S/ James Ligin [Ligon gfb]
Lucy Gaines Bentley (Hart), daughter of Dr. Henry Moss Bentley and Cynthia Kent Bentley, was born January 24, 1846, Pulaski County, Va. She married William Thomas Hart on November 4, 1863. She died at the home of her daughter, Cynthia Hart Chappell, on December 4, 1907 and is buried at Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia
GREATGRANDAUGHTER OF SAMUEL will of 1784.
SISTER OF WILLIAM WELDON BENTLEY b1839 GRANDAUGHTER OF Col. WILLIAM BENTLEY b1754.
Cynthia Kent Hart (Chappell), daughter of William & Lucy Gaines Bentley Hart, was born November 11, 1872, Pulaski County, Va.
'Loretto Lamar Chappell, daughter of Lucius & Cynthia Chappell, was born March 22, 1895, Columbus, Ga. She was a graduate of The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr Pa and The Library School (later part of Emory University) in Atlanta, Ga. During her 46-year career as a librarian in Columbus, Ga, she was named the City Librarian in 1942. She was considered an authority on the works of Sidney Lanier, the history of Chattahoochee Valley, and the genealogy of Western Georgia. She died on October 6, 1987 in Columbus, Georgia, where she is buried at Linwood Cemetery.
[The Loretto Chappell Manuscript Collection at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga. includes information on the Bentley, Hart, Chappell and allied families.]
By Sharon Sampson: William Weldon Bentley, [Grandson of Col. William Bentley bc1754 and great grandson of the Samuel Bentley bc1710 will 1784 Amelia Co VA] son of Dr. Henry Moss Bentley and Cynthia Kent Bentley, was born June 27, 1839, Pulaski County, Va. When he was a student at Virginia Military Institute, he received instruction from Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, who was then a member of the faculty. While a cadet at VMI, William Bentley was called to Harper’s Ferry to maintain order at the execution of John Brown. He graduated from VMI and joined the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the war. He participated in Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, taking command of the brigade when all officers senior to him had been killed or wounded. He was paroled at Appomattox. On June 18, 1877 he married Sarah Parke Poindexter Perkins. She, the daughter of Thomas F. Perkins and Eliza, nee Poindexter, was born in Buckingham County, Va. on January 24, 1849. After the war Major Bentley retired to the family farm at Weldon until it was sold in 1911. He then moved to Richmond, Va, where he served as the fifteenth President of the Society of Cincinnati for the state of Virginia. He died on July 23, 1924 and is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Richmond. His wife lived in Richmond until her death on October 28, 1944. She is also buried at Riverview Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Sarah Parke Archer Bentley, daughter of William & Parke Bentley was born June 20, 1878, Pulaski County, Va. She was educated at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Va. She lived in Richmond, Virginia and died there on November 22, 1953. She is buried with her parents at Riverview Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
edited by George F. Bentley Jr.