Editing Bennet C. Riley (section)

{{Short description|United States Army general and politician (1790–1853)}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Bennet C. Riley
| image               = Bennett Riley, 1852 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = 1852 portrait of Riley
| order               = 7th
| office              = Military Governor of California
| term_start          = April 12, 1849
| term_end            = December 20, 1849<ref>{{cite book|last=Bandini|first=Helen Elliott|title=History of California|date=1908|publisher=[[American Book Company (1890)|American Book Company]]|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LugXAAAAIAAJ|page=292|isbn=978-1-4219-2750-3 }}</ref>
| lieutenant          =
| predecessor         = [[Persifor Frazer Smith]]
| successor           = [[Peter Hardeman Burnett]] as first Governor of California {{efn|California joined the U.S. as a state the year after he took office, in 1850.}}
| order2              =
| term_start2         =
| term_end2           =
| predecessor2        =
| successor2          =
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1787|11|27}}
| birth_place         = [[St. Mary's County, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1853|6|9|1787|11|27}}
| death_place         = [[Black Rock, Buffalo|Black Rock]], near [[Buffalo, New York]], U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo, New York)|Forest Lawn Cemetery]], Buffalo
| party               =
| spouse              = Arabella Israel Riley
| profession          = Soldier
| allegiance          = United States of America
| branch              = [[United States Army]]
| rank                = {{plainlist|
* Colonel
* [[brevet (military)|Bvt.]] Major General
}}
| serviceyears        = 1813–1850
| unit                = {{plainlist|
* [[Regiment of Riflemen (United States)|U.S. Regiment of Riflemen]]
* [[5th Infantry Regiment (United States)|5th U.S. Infantry]]
* [[6th Infantry Regiment (United States)|6th U.S. Infantry]]
}}
| commands            = {{plainlist|
* [[2nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|2nd U.S. Infantry]]
* Riley's Brigade
* Department of Upper California
* [[1st Infantry Regiment (United States)|1st U.S. Infantry]]
}}
| battles             = {{plainlist|
* [[War of 1812]]
* [[Arikara War]]
* [[2nd Seminole War]]
* [[Mexican–American War]]
}}
| signature           = Bennetcrileysignature.JPG
}}
'''Bennet C. Riley'''{{efn|His name is sometimes written as Bennett, but his own correspondence uses the spelling of Bennet. For an example, see here.<ref>United States. Congress. House. 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress. House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents: 13th Congress, 2d Session-49th Congress, 1st Session, [https://books.google.com/books?id=tYoFAAAAQAAJ&dq=Bennet+Riley&pg=PA821 p. 822.]</ref>}} (November 27, 1787 – June 9, 1853) was the seventh and last military governor of [[California]]. Riley ordered the election of representatives to a state constitutional convention, and handed over all civil authority to a governor and elected delegates at the end of 1849; the following year, California joined the U.S. as a [[U.S. state|state]].{{efn|Unlike most western states, California was never a [[U.S. Territory]]<ref>{{cite web|title=California 170th Anniversary of Statehood (1850): September 9, 2020|date=2020-09-09|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/california-admission-anniversary.html|accessdate=2024-03-04}}</ref>}} He participated in the [[War of 1812]] on [[Lake Ontario]]. He also served in the [[United States Army]] during the [[Seminole War]] in Florida, and [[Mexican–American War]].