Baldwin County AlArchives Photo person.....Capt. S. H. Dent October 30, 1835 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 12, 2004, 9:29 am Source: Brant & Fuller (1893) Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/baldwin/photos/dentgph267.jpg Image file size: 97.5 Kb S. H. DENT is a descendant of an old English family of the same name, whose loyalty to the cause of the Stuarts brought down upon them the displeasure of Cromwell. The result was the emigration of two brothers of the family to America, where they settled in what is now Maryland, between the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, Va. Upon the restoration of the Stuarts, they received a large grant of land in Charles county, Md., in the vicinity of which the family have continued to reside, taking an honorable part in the upbuilding of the free institutions of our country. Capt. S. H. Dent is the son of Dr. S. W. and Mary C. Dent. He was born in Charles county, Md., on the 30th of October, in 1835. His father was a prominent physician of that county and held for many years the responsible position of judge of the orphans' court. He was a man of decided opinions on questions of government, and suffered much during the Civil war on account of the vigor with which he supported the cause-of the south. He was outspoken and fearless, though his home was within the union lines. After securing a fair education, the captain began life in that "stepping stone to future greatness," the school room. After two years' swaying of the ferule in his native state, he came to Eufaula, where for a year he engaged in the same profession. The following year, 1856, found him a student in the law office of Pugh & Bullock, the present junior senator of the state being the senior member of the firm. He was admitted to practice after three months' study and he immediately formed a partnership with that distinguished lawyer, Judge John Cochran. This firm continued but a little more than a year, when Mr. Dent practiced alone until the breaking out of the war between the states. The principles instilled into the mind of the son by the father caused his early adherence to the fortunes of the confederacy, and in February of 1861 we find him a first lieutenant in the Eufaula Rifles, afterward a part of the Eigteenth Alabama regiment. The first ten months of service he passed at Pensacola, during which time he participated in the bombardment in November, 1861, and January, 1862. Not enjoying the inactive life at that point he assisted in the organization of an artillery company, of which he was elected first lieutenant, enlisted for "three years or the war," and joined the western army. In the battle of Shiloh he received a slight wound, but he did not leave the field, and on the evening of the second day was ordered to report to Gen. Breckenridge as a part of the rear guard of Bragg's army. He was with his command in the siege of Corinth, and his battery was particularly distinguished in the fight at Farmington, in May, 1862. He was with his command in the retreat from Corinth, and on the march into Kentucky. On the clay of the battle of Perryville, his command was engaged in a skirmish with Gen. Sill's division of the United States troops, and therefore did not participate in that battle. He was not present at the battle of Murfreesboro, being absent on furlough. He was made captain of his battery in 1863 and participated in the battle of Chickamauga. He and his command were specially mentioned for faithful service and gallantry in that battle. In the battle of Mission Ridge his command suffered very severely. They lost nearly all their guns and a large part of the command itself. His battery was re-equipped at Dalton and participated in the constant, and, in fact, almost daily, fighting from that point thence to Atlanta. Capt. Dent was severely wounded in the battle of July 22, 1863, near Atlanta. He was in the battle of Jonesborough and went with Hood in his march into Tennessee. He was in a skirmish at Shoal Creek and was in the battle of Franklin and the battles around Nashville. In the battle of December 16, 1864, near Nashville, he was again wounded but not severely. When he came out of Tennessee he was sent with his command to Mobile and was surrended at Meridian, Miss., under Gen. Richard Taylor. Capt. Dent's battery was, well known in the army of Tennessee and wherever hard service and stubborn fighting were necessary his command was always called on. He and his command were always commended for faithful service, and in many instances were specially commended for conspicuous gallantry. It was chaos come again after the war. Capt. Dent returned home, and there being no courts for a year he was engaged in operating a dray line, at first actually driving a dray himself. But in 1866 he resumed the practice of his profession, doing a lucrative and extensive business until his retirement in 1879 to accept his present responsible position as president of the Eufaula National bank. As a lawyer Capt. Dent established an enviable reputation in the general practice, and nothing but his firm determination not to engage in the work has kept his friends from placing him in the judicial chair of the circuit. Capt. Dent has always evinced the liveliest interest in public affairs, though it has thus far been manifested in a good-natured turning of the grindstone for his friends. He has been frequently importuned to accept public honors, but he has been contented to play an humble part. His superior qualifications as a presiding officer have given him a reputation in his party second to none. As chairman of the county convention of 1892, when a false move would have precipitated a bolt, his cool and firm demeanor prevented it. In its report of the convention the Eufaula Times says: "Almost any chairman in the world would have provoked and assisted a bolt, but Capt. Dent's wise and temperate words, delivered in a low tone with much feeling, quieted the waters as if by magic." Capt. Dent was made temporary chairman of the democratic state convention of 1892 and is at present a member of the state executive committee. He is a master Mason and a life long member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, in which he has been a steward for thirty-five years. He has twice filled the highest position to which a layman can attain, that of delegate to the general conference of his church. There he was always conspicuous for his practical good sense and prudent counsels. In the last general conference, that of 1890, he was chairman of one of the most important committees of the conference. Capt. Dent was prominent in the politics of his own county during the period of reconstruction, and was, at the earnest call of his people, a candidate for the legislature in 1872. The election was close, and on account of irregularities at some of the boxes he was given a certificate of election. This was the memorable campaign which resulted in a dual legislature. In the compromise which followed the seats from Barbour were given to the republicans. But the result of the election in 1872 gave such confidence to the party in Barbour that the radicals were routed in 1874, and the entire state was redeemed. After 1876, Capt. Dent, seeing his state in the hands of its people, took no active part in politics until 1890. He went into that campaign very heartily, and helped to carry his county for organized democracy. Capt. Dent was most happily married June 5th, 1860, to Miss Annie B. Young, the eldest daughter of the late E. B. Young of Eufaula, Ala. Six children are the fruit of their marriage, three boys and three girls. His eldest son, Edward Y. Dent, is assistant cashier and teller of the Eufaula National bank. His second son, S. H. Dent, Jr., is a promising young attorney, and his third son, Henry A., is taking a course in civil engineering. His eldest daughter, Nannie B. Dent, married Jackson E. Long. Their married life was brief and his widowed daughter, with her three children, form a part of Capt. Dent's household. His second daughter, Louise, is just budding into womanhood, and his third daughter, a young girl just entering her teens, is still at school. Capt. Dent is president of the Eufaula National bank-a bank which, although not one of the largest, is second to none as to credit and standing in the state. Capt. Dent is a fine specimen of southern manhood. He occupies one of the loveliest and most substantial homes in Eufaula, where he and his wife, assisted by his children, dispense a generous hospitality, typical of what is sometimes called the hospitality of the old south. Few men possess more completely the confidence, and esteem of his neighbors and fellow-countrymen than Capt. Dent. Additional Comments: from "Memorial Record of Alabama" This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 9.1 Kb