he declined to run for reelection. After leaving Congress, Bennett practiced law in Wadesboro, North Carolina. He was also an orator and wrote articles for the Charlotte and Wadesboro newspapers. Personal life Bennett married Kate Shepperd on August 26, 1863, while he was at home recovering from his wounds during the Civil War. They had two sons who died in infancy and three daughters, Mary, Effie, and Kate. Although raised a Baptist, he was baptized by a Methodist chaplain during the Civil War. Later in life, he joined the Episcopal Church. He donated a collection of a thousand books to start a library in Wadesboro. While at the Constitutional Convention in 1875, Bennett suffered from sciatica and had to be carried to the Capital on a cot daily, as he was unable to sit up. In 1913, He died at his home in Wadesboro from pneumonia at the age of 73. He is buried in his family cemetery in Wadesboro, North Carolina. References 1840 births 1913 deaths People from Wadesboro, North Carolina Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Cumberland University alumni North Carolina lawyers North Carolina state court judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Davidson College alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni St. Anthony Hall Deaths from pneumonia in North Carolina