The late Charles E. Bennett, who preferred to be called “Charlie,” was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1948. He was re-elected 22 times and served in Congress longer than any other Floridian. For 42 years and 18,000 votes, Bennett never missed a roll call.
He authored legislation establishing America’s motto “In God We Trust” as well as bills to establish the Fort Caroline National Memorial and the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Bennett also contributed to the Jacksonville Historical Society’s restoration of Merrill House and helped obtain funding for the statue of Andrew Jackson that’s in front of the Landing.
Prior to his service in Congress, Bennett resigned from the Florida House of representatives and volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War II. He led hundreds of resistance troops in the Philippines and it was there he contracted polio, which resulted in disabilities he fought for the rest of his life. A war hero, Bennett was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and was elected to the Infantry Hall of Fame.
In 2000 a public-private partnership was formed to raise money for a statue honoring Bennett for his contributions to Jacksonville. The $150,000 memorial was dedicated in Hemming Plaza April 23, 2004, seven months after Bennett died.
The artist sculpted the statue from a photograph taken of Bennett as he stood in the National Statuary Hall at the Capital Building in Washington, D.C. According to Jacksonville Historical Society Executive Director Emily Lisska, the reason the bronze statue faces northeast is “So Charlie can be forever looking toward his beloved Fort Caroline and Washington, D.C.”