Riley, Bennett
soldier, was born Nov. 27, 1787, in Alexandria, Va. He received the brevet of brigadier-general in 1847 for gallantry at Cerro Gordo, and that of major-general in 1847 for Contreras. At the conclusion of the war he was placed in command of the Pacific department, with headquarters at Monterey. He was appointed military governor of California, and served as the first chief magistrate of the territory and until the admission of the state into the union. He died June 9, 1853, in Buffalo, N. Y.