appointed as the first civilian Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory by military Governor Stephen Watts Kearny in September 1846. Charles Bent had been working as a fur trader in the region since 1828, with his younger brother, William and later partner Ceran St. Vrain. Though his office was in Santa Fe, Bent maintained his residence and a trading post in Taos, New Mexico Territory, now in present-day New Mexico. On January 19, 1847, Charles Bent was scalped and killed by Pueblo warriors, during the Taos Revolt.
