Bent, Charles definition of Bent, Charles in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Bent, Charles, 1799–1847, American frontiersman, b. St. Louis. He entered the fur trade of the Missouri River and became one of the mountain men. His interests turned to the Southwest, and he led expeditions on the Santa Fe Trail. Charles Bent was the senior partner of a trading firm that included Ceran St. Vrain as well as William Bent and others of the seven Bent brothers. The company was one of the most prominent on the frontier, and Bent's Fort Bent's Fort, trading post of the American West, on the Arkansas River in present-day SE Colorado, E of Rocky Ford and La Junta and several miles above the mouth of the Purgatoire. The trading company headed by Charles Bent and Ceran St.
..... Click the link for more information. was one of the most famous American trading posts. Because of his high standing, Charles Bent was chosen as governor of New Mexico after the American occupation in the Mexican War. He was murdered at Taos in an uprising of Native Americans and Mexicans.

Bent, Charles (1799–1847) trader; born in Charleston, Va. (now W.Va.). He entered the fur trade early, and with his brother, William Bent, and Ceran St. Vrain, built Bent's Fort (1828–32) in present-day La Junta, Colo. He became the civil governor of New Mexico in 1846 but was killed in an uprising of Mexicans and Pueblo Indians.