Unusual (& Unsubstantiated) Advancement

Peculiar details regarding the actual rank of Risden Tyler Bennett
appear contradictory with different sources.

All official sources in history say that it never happened,
but the tales of other Planters’ sons claim that it did.

The truth shows the pervasive deceit carried out by the affluent
at the expense of many poor southerners’ lives.

From the article:
“He enrolled as a private in Company C (Anson Guards) in April 1861.
Fifteen months later, at the age of 22, he was promoted to colonel of the 14th North Carolina.“

‘After Malvern Hill, the 14th Regiment welcomed its new and third regular colonel:
Risden Tyler Bennett of Wadesboro, Anson County. He received his colonel’s commission July 5 [1862].'”

Fourteenth Regiment, Company C – NC Volunteers Roster

Bennett’s Wikipedia Page

Screenshot below is linked to the source of biography:

From this piece:
“He refused to comply with a request of Chief Justice Clark
that he furnish photographs of the officers if the 14th North Carolina,
because those of the privates were not to be included,
and this “disturbed my democratic sense of equality.”

Risden Tyler Bennett is NOT found on this list…

A few details draw attention in this photo. A couple are Bennett’s position in the stirrups
and the trench coat seems a bit much for June 1 in the Piedmont of North Carolina.

Judge Bennett looks to deceptively position himself to appear taller than he really was.

‘Midnight’ must have been thin or had some other physical characteristic
that made it easier for a short man to stand in the stirrups without it being very noticeable.

Midnight does look very lean towards the rear and seems much more muscular in the forward portion.

There are no official records showing Bennett ever attained the rank of Colonel,
and there also aren’t any official records on the wounds he claimed to sustain in combat.
He was apparently married on one of his ‘convalescent’ trips to Anson County to ‘heal.’ A Methodist chaplain claimed to have given Bennett, a primitive Baptist and later in life Episcopal, his Last Rites at Gettysburg after he was supposedly wounded in the groin. In a time without antibiotics, a gunshot to the groin would almost certainly end in death. Neither of the men were Catholic, so ‘Last Rites’ seems a little far-fetched.

Unique in North Carolina

This property map from the early 1880s shows that
Judge Risden Tyler Bennett basically owned the North side of Wadesboro.

The image of Bennett removed from atop his horse
and slightly rotated to show his standing position.

Reportedly from the mind of Risden Tyler Bennett:

Are they your principles and social institutions?
That’s what is being said here.

An Iscription on this Lost cause memorial too

Take Notice Of The Significantly Smaller Chair That T.J. Watkins Is Seated In.

To Be Continued…

The Myths of Our History