Caleb P. Bennett
| Caleb P. Bennett | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 29th Governor of Delaware | |
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In office January 15, 1833 – May 9, 1836 |
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| Preceded by | David Hazzard |
| Succeeded by | Charles Polk, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 11, 1758 Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | May 9, 1836 (aged 77) Wilmington, Delaware |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Britton |
| Residence | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Occupation | soldier |
| Religion | Quaker |
Caleb Prew Bennett (November 11, 1758 – May 9, 1836) was an American soldier and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, and a member of the Democratic Party who served as Governor of Delaware.
Bennett was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, son of Joseph & Elizabeth Prew Willey Bennett. They moved to Wilmington when he was 3 years old. His father was a ship captain who sailed to the West Indies. Caleb Bennett married Catherine Britton in 1792 and they had thirteen children, Samuel Britton, Elizabeth, Caroline, Mary Ann, Henry Lisle, Livina, Joseph Eves, Susan, Charles Webb, William, Catherine, Edin R., and Boadicea. They lived at 841 Market Street in Wilmington and were members of the Wilmington Friends Meeting.
Bennett served as a lieutenant in the 1st Delaware Regiment, a unit of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He enlisted as a 17-year-old in 1775, and served throughout the war. Present at Valley Forge and the battles of Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, and Yorktown, he was wounded three times. After the disastrous Battle of Camden in August 1780, when the 1st Delaware Regiment was decimated, Lt. Bennett was sent back to Delaware to recruit. A year later, as General George Washington and the French were gathering everyone possible for the Siege of Yorktown, Bennett rejoined the army, and recalled it as follows:
“We remained at our post at Christeen (Cristiana), performing the duties required, until the French Army from Rhode Island, and other detachments of the army, with the commander-in-chief at their head, arrived at our rendezvous in the month of August, when we received orders from General Washington to prepare to follow on to Virginia. In a few days we took up our line of march for Baltimore; we remained in that city for some days, when small craft was prepared for our reception to proceed to Annapolis, where the French transports were waiting for the French army to embark.
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