Robert Henry Ledbetter
Company A, 29th Illinois Infantry August 19, 1861 -- March 06, 1963
On July 29th 1861, at Elizabethtown, Hardin County Illinois, Robert Henry Ledbetter, son of John and Elizabeth (Wright) Ledbetter of Hardin County Illinois, enlisted in the Illinois Infantry for a period of Three Years. Robert Henry, a married man at the age of 25, stood 6 foot in height with fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair. His occupation was that of a farmer. Robert Henry and his wife Manervia, was the parents of two sons. One of which (James) had died at less than one year of age. When Robert Henry, left his home to serve his county, he left his wife Manervia and son John at their home in Hardin Co. Illinois.
On this date: August 19th 1861, at the age of 25, Robert Henry Ledbetter, was mustered into the 29th Illinois Infantry, at Camp Butler, near Springfield, Illinois. He was placed in the 29th Inf. Company A, as a private to serve under, Capt. Ferrell. He was detailed to serve as a Teamster. In March 1862, he was wounded and sick. He was sent to the "New House of Refuge USA, General Hospital," at St. Louis, Missouri. Known also as, Jefferson Barracks Hospital. Robert Henry, remained at this location until March 1863. When he became able to work, he was assigned duty at the hospital as a nurse and cook.
When the Mississippi Marine Brigade, was formed to patrol the Mississippi and any river flowing into it which were navigable, General Alfred Washington Ellet, solicited recruits from this Hospital. Robert Henry, signed up to serve in this unit.
Robert Henry, was discharged from the regular army and enlist into the Marine Brigade. His papers for discharge from the Illinois 29th caught up with him at Nachez, Miss. in 1864, along with a statement he transferred into the Marine Brigade in Sept. 2, 1863. According to the Company Muster Pay Roll, Robert Henry was enlisted in the Marine Brigade March 06, 1863. This March payroll date would place Robert Henry among the first to sign up for the Marine Brigade duty.
Records from the War Department Washington.
Transfers Robert Henry Ledbetter, to the Marine Brigade General Order No. 312, Date Sept. 2, 1863. His pay records are transferred to Company C, Marine Regt. U.S. Vols.
Reading through the pension application documents filed with the government for a disability pension; I learned two of two campaigns Robert Henry was a part of. One was the Fort Donaldson campaign, in the winter of 1862. Another, was a skirmish at Walnut Ridge Arkansas, in the fall of 1863. It appears Robert Henry was wounded in the right side from a piece of shell during the skirmish at Walnut Ridge.
Purpose for the Marine Reg't
The Mississippi Marine Brigade, was created in November 1862, for the purpose of keeping down the guerrilla warfare which was raging along the rivers at that time. This was an army unit on water, complete with infantry, cavalry, and artillery.
According to an account written by: Anne J. Bailey in the book titled, " Military History of the
Southwest," Brigadier General Alfred Washington Ellet, appointed to take control of this unit, also received permission to recruit from the hospitals. He ask for volunteers among the men who was about to be sent back into battle from the hospitals.
His Poster promised
No trenches to dig.
No rebel houses to guard,
No picket duty,
No danger of camps in the mud, but a chance to sleep under cover
No short rations
A Command which will always be kept together.
No hard marches, no camping, no heavy knapsacks, instead they was to have comfortable quarters, and good facilities at all times.
Those who joined could have a two-dollar premium, advance pay and all their back-pay. For many this seemed to be an answer. They could fulfill their military obligation and avoid the physical suffering they had endured.
They were not reminded they would share their quarters with horses stalled on the deck beneath the soldiers quarters. Although the brigade did not reach maximum strength, they took to the field in March 1863.
Robert Henry Ledbetter assigned to serve aboard the
Steamer Autocrat
The Regimental Descriptive Book for the Marine Reg't., shows Robert Henry to be 27 years of age, height five feet eight inches, complexion fair, eyes blue, hair light.
His enlistment record shows he enlisted March 6, 1863 at St. Louis Mo.,
Robert Henry was present for duty March through October, 1863 taking time out for a furlough in August. During this time his Company was engaged in several skirmishes. His pay records show he was serving on the Steamer Autocrat at this time.
November again finds Robert Henry absent on sick leave. He was placed aboard the U.S. Hospital Steamer Woodford at Vicksburg. He remained in the sick bay through Feb. 1864.
March 1864 again finds Robert Henry with his Company C, being transferred back to his company at Alexandria LA.on March 2, 1864.
The pay records show his name was listed as Robert J. and Robert H. Ledbetter. This was probably a transcription error at some time when the record was written. No where else do I find this mistake.
In August 1864, Robert Henry paid for his Tin Cup and Plate a sum of Twenty Cents.
Robert Henry received his discharged from military service on , Jan. 19, 1865.
A Book mark: Le-209-1868 is mentioned on the Company Muster-in Roll and on the list of Card Numbers for Private Robert H. Ledbetter Co. A, 29th Illinois Infantry.
Inv. ctf. 206 633: was the number found on several documents as I find Robert Henry applying for a disability pension. Along with having been wounded two times from shell casings, chronic diarrhea, lumbago, kidney disease, he contacted a lung infection which plagued him through out his lifetime. In August 14, 1875 I find Robert Henry applying for a disability pension, for all of the reasons stated above. December 1876, he is still applying for the pension. In 1888, Robert Henry applied for an increase in his pension. The request for an increase from Eight ($8.00) per month. The year of 1899, at the age of 64, Robert Henry is granted an increase in his pension to the amount of Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per month.
A Few Accounts of the, Mississippi Marine Brigade
Admiral Porter, in command gave his orders to Ellet later that month.
He also warned Ellet to keep his men under control. The first trouble appears to come between Porter and Ellet. Admiral Porter, accuses Ellet of disregarding his orders.
It is written the men picked to serve in the Mississippi Marine Brigade are daring and excellent qualities, brave, venturous, intelligent engineers, though not always discreet or wise. They refused to come under naval orders.
June 1863, the Mississippi Marine Brigade saw their first action. General Ellet, was ordered by Admiral Porter, to assist General Grant in the burning of Richmond. Later that month they again saw action in the NE Louisiana. Ellet's men became known as "Horse Marines." They used the horses which was kept aboard the Steamers to track down the guerrillas. There appeared to be bickering between the leaders of the Union troops and the leaders of the Marine Brigade. The Marine Brigade encountered guerrillas in the south and apparently fought them on their own level and style of fighting. These tactics was disapproved of by the leaders of the regular Union Army.
Therefore, the credit which the Marine Brigade might have received, fell under a dark cloud.
The situation became so bad, when Admiral Porter ordered the brigade to land and seek guerrillas, he was though to be infringing on the territory of the army. Command became a very delicate situation. In September, Admiral Porter was informed his Marine Brigade had "committed numerous unnecessary depredation," in the State of Mississippi. In an attempt to gain better control of the situation, the Marine Brigade was transferred to General Grant in late summer. General porter was not notified of this change and more confusion was to plague the Marine Brigade.
The Brigade finally fell into the command of, General William T. Sherman. As soon as the brigade returned to army control, it became a full-time river force, It's primary mission of searching out and destroying rebel guerrillas along the Mississippi River.
Instead of a soft river ride through the civil war, the Marine Brigade was plagued with flies in the day, mosquitoes at night, and short skirmishes with roving bands of guerrillas, for which they were to receive no credit. After Vicksburg and Port Hudson fell, and the river was in Union hands, the Marine Brigade was a problem for both the army and navy. The Southerners complained about the men from the brigade as much as the complaints was made about the southern guerrillas.
A historian of the brigade concluded that if it had included disciplined soldiers rather than "convalescents and glory seekers," it might have become "an important contribution to the Union's war effort and an accepted tactical innovation. Instead, as a result of events and the conduct of the unit, the brigade was considered a misfit and the experiment a failure.
A skirmish reported by Brig. Gen. Alfred W. Ellet, US Army, commanding Mississippi marine Brigade. April. 1863
Cairo, Ill, April 30, 1863
I have the honor to report that, in compliance with instructions received from Admiral Porter, I proceeded with my command up Tennessee River to Eastport, Miss., without interruption from the enemy. Returning in consequence of low water, I made several raids into the country, and destroyed a number of important mills and considerable amount of subsistence and supplies belonging to the enemy. At the mouth of Duck River my boats were attacked by 700 cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, commanded by major R.M. White, of Sixth Texas Rangers. The fight was spirited for a few moments only. The enemy were driven back and pursued some 12 miles in the interior, with the loss of Major White, mortally wounded and left near the field, and 1 lieutenant and 8 men killed. They carried off a large number of wounded in wagons and on horses. We buried their dead. Our loss was 2 men killed and 1 wounded. The west bank of the Tennessee River was lined with refugees, who have been driven from their homes for love to the old Union. I exhausted my supplies in providing for their necessities. The Tennessee River is too low for my boats to operate in with safety. My orders from Admiral Porter do not provide for this emergency. I shall hope to receive instructions from the Department.
Alfred W. Ellet, Brigadier-General, Commanding Mississippi Marine Brigade.
The Military History of the Southwest Vol.22, No. 1 page 31 - 42, we learn a bit about the Mississippi Marine Brigade: Fighting Rebel Guerrillas on Western Waters
Control of the Mississippi River was vitally important to the United States government during the Civil war, and the pressure to reopen the waterway to western commerce played a significant role in determining policy. As Union victories in 1862 extended Federal rule over river ports, it became necessary to provide protection for ships navigating the waterway and its tributaries. Confederates had become a problem.
Guerrillas are described by Dr. Francis Lieber in 1862, as warring by means of raids, extortion, destruction, and massacre, they generally gave no quarter. Technically, most of the Confederates along the Mississippi River were not guerrillas, they were regular Confederate soldiers whose often unorthodox method of fighting simply resulted in their designation as guerrillas. Many innocent civilians suffered at the hands of troops on both sides. Mississippi River and its tributaries was not the only place for this kind of fighting, as the Slicker Wars between the Kansas and Missouri borders proved.
Matthew Ledbetter's Civil War Account, younger brother of Robert Henry Ledbetter
.
Written by: Mary Agnes LEDBETTER Hudson,
Written By: Kenneth Byrd a great-great-grandson
a Great Granddaughter of Robert Henry Ledbetter
A bio of Robert Henry Ledbetter
April, 16, 1999