American Civil War Bendell entered the service in the
39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a hospital steward in 1861 and was later appointed assistant surgeon. On September 1, 1861, he was commissioned as assistant surgeon to the
6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment. He then returned to
Albany Medical College to graduate with his class. His arrival was shortly after the infamous
Camp Grant massacre. His first task was to accompany Gen.
Oliver Otis Howard and members of various Indian tribes and the first Apache delegation to
Washington, DC. and resigned from his position on March 26, 1873.
Physician in Albany, NY After resigning from the superintendent position, Dr. Bendell received a consular appointment to Elsinore, Denmark.{{cite news |author= |title= Worthy Of It|work= The Arizona Sentinel After his posting in Denmark, Dr. Bendell spent a year studying ophthalmology under the noted professor
Otto Heinrich Enoch Becker in Heidelberg, Germany. He then returned to Albany, NY where he enjoyed a prominent medical career and civic activity for the rest of his life. He was president of the Board of Public Instruction from 1881 to 1882. As President of the New York State Medical Society, Dr. Bendell delivered the anniversary address in the state senate chamber in February 1894 on the topic "The Physician of Sacred History".{{cite news |author= {{cite news |author= |title= Mrs. Sulzer Suffers From Sinking Spell|work= The Washington Herald ==Family and death==