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Llewellyn Garrish Estes

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American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (1843–1905)

Llewellyn Garrish Estes
Born(1843-12-27)December 27, 1843
Old Town, Maine, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 1905(1905-02-21) (aged 61)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
BuriedArlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank
E-08First Sergeant

O-03Captain and Adjutant

O-07Bvt. Brigadier General
UnitMaine 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Awards Medal of Honor
Signature

Llewellyn Garrish Estes (December 27, 1843 – February 21, 1905) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Estes received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Flint River in Georgia on August 30, 1864. He was honored with the award on August 29, 1894.

Biography

Estes was born in Old Town, Maine on December 27, 1843. He joined the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a first sergeant in October 1861, and was commissioned as first lieutenant in March 1862. In May 1863 while serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. H. J. Kilpatrick, he was captured carrying a message to General Joseph Hooker. While part of a group of prisoners being escorted to Richmond, Virginia, they managed to overpower their captors during the night and instead returned with their Confederate prisoners to the Union lines.

Estes was promoted to captain in August 1863, and was appointed as assistant adjutant general the next month. Assigned with Kilpatrick's cavalry to Sherman's March to the Sea, he was commended by Generals Sherman and Kilpatrick for his skill in leading small raiding parties in Georgia. Part of the advance party that reached the Atlantic coast, Estes was the first to contact the Union naval forces waiting offshore. By the time he mustered out in September 1865 at the age of 21, he was a major, and had received a brevet promotion to brigadier general.

After contracting pneumonia, he died from heart failure at his home in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 1905, and his remains are interred at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Medal of Honor citation

Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

His Medal of Honor action occurred while serving with the 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain & Assistant Adjutant General Llewellyn Garrish Estes, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 30 August 1864, while serving with U.S. Volunteers, in action at Flint River, Georgia. Captain Estes voluntarily led troops in a charge over a burning bridge.

See also

Notes

  1. Citation misspelled first name as "Lewellyn".

References

  1. ^ Civil War (A-F) Medal of Honor Recipients (2013).
  2. ^ Military Medals Database (2005).
  3. Dyer (1908), p. 1216; Federal Publishing Company (1908), p. 47; Hodsdon (1867), p. 8.
  4. Merrill (1866), p. 394; Tobie (1887), p. 127.
  5. ^ "Gen. L. G. Estes Dead: Hero of Many Battles Succumbs to Heart Failure". The Washington Post. February 22, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Historical Register and Dictionary of the US Army
  7. The Evening Star (1905).

Sources

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