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380:, Sheridan's division caught the brunt of the Confederate army's opening assault on the morning of December 31, 1862. As the Confederates pushed back the Union army, Roberts, on horseback, personally led a bayonet charge that stabilized the line, giving Sheridan time to regroup. As Roberts' brigade conducted a fighting retreat, repulsing charge after charge from the rebels, the colonel was shot three times. Roberts died moments after ordering that he be tied onto his horse to lead yet another counterattack. He was the last of Sheridan's three brigade commanders to die at Stones River—Colonel
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General
Phillip Sheridan later wrote in his memoirs that Roberts "was an ideal soldier both in mind and body. He was young, tall, handsome, brave, and dashing and possessed a balanced wheel of such good judgment that, in his sphere of action, no occasion could arise, from which he would not reap the
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interred
Roberts' body with military honors on the field where he fell. A large stone with a rough-hewn inscription was placed atop his hastily dug grave. Roberts' remains were later disinterred and returned for burial to his home state of Pennsylvania. Final interment was at
311:, in December 1861, Roberts faced a court-martial for, among other charges, shaking a German-American civilian named William Beck and calling him a "damned liar" and "infernal Dutch hound." Roberts was promptly acquitted. He went on to command garrisons at
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and gained admittance to the bar on
January 8, 1858. He practiced law in West Chester until March 1, 1859, when he moved to Chicago and joined the law firm of E. S. Smith, where he swiftly developed a reputation for professional excellence.
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of volunteers. On July 22, 1861, he received a commission as regimental colonel and on
September 17 was elected lieutenant colonel. After Colonel William Webb's death from illness, he was promoted to full colonel on Christmas Eve 1861.
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Genealogy of the Hannum Family: Descended from John and
Margery Hannum, Settlers in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Brief Notices of Other Families Allied with the Name, and Abstracts of Early Wills
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Battle of Stones River: The
Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland
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had been killed earlier that day. Roberts' brigade suffered 566 casualties, but the Army of the
Cumberland held the field.
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During the summer and fall of 1862, the 42nd
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262:. He was the eldest son of Pratt and Ann Wilson Roberts, of Welsh descent. He graduated with high honors from
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for a more active role. Rosecrans put him in command of the 3rd
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Curmudgeons, Drunkards, and Outright Fools: Courts-martial of Civil War Union Colonels
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218:(October 2, 1833 – December 31, 1862) was an American soldier who served as
444:. Murfreesboro, TN: Rutherford County Historical Society. pp. 22–48.
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596:. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 104–129.
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American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
353:), assigned to the 20th Army Corps commanded by Major General
528:. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 204–207.
234:. Roberts was killed in action leading his troops to repel
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Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, in Two Volumes, Vol. I
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Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War
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558:"Island No. 10 Hero Dies Valiant Death at Stones River"
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On the night of April 1, 1862, Roberts fought in the
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491:. West Chester, PA: H.F. Temple. pp. 576–578.
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307:'s Missouri campaigns in 1861. While billeted at
319:. At Holt he commanded the 42nd Illinois, the
156:3rd Brigade of the 3rd Division, 20th Corps,
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706:People of Illinois in the American Civil War
287:When the Civil War erupted, Roberts helped
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623:. London: Chatto and Windus. p. 210.
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570:from the original on 2022-11-15
293:42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment
147:42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment
485:Hannum, Curtis Hoopes (1911).
16:Union Army colonel (1833–1862)
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666:19th-century American lawyers
676:Burials at Oaklands Cemetery
505:Wilson, James Grant (1863).
266:in 1857 and was a member of
222:and commanding officer of a
328:Battle of Island Number Ten
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321:8th Ohio Infantry Regiment
301:Department of the Missouri
176:Battle of Island Number 10
588:Daniel, Larry J. (2012).
556:West, Mike (2008-01-27).
522:Lowry, Thomas P. (2003).
438:Riley, Harris D. (1994).
216:George Washington Roberts
41:George Washington Roberts
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617:Sheridan, P. H. (1888).
456:"Col. George W. Roberts"
361:. Roberts commanded the
462:. 1863-01-10. p. 4
339:Farmington, Mississippi
76:Murfreesboro, Tennessee
711:Yale University alumni
384:and Brigadier General
378:Battle of Stones River
359:Army of the Cumberland
240:Battle of Stones River
228:Army of the Cumberland
186:Battle of Stones River
158:Army of the Cumberland
563:The Murfreesboro Post
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337:and a sharp fight at
125:Years of service
691:Pennsylvania lawyers
686:Lawyers from Chicago
681:Burials in Tennessee
373:Infantry Regiments.
343:Nashville, Tennessee
252:East Goshen Township
726:Union Army colonels
716:Delta Kappa Epsilon
268:Delta Kappa Epsilon
382:Frederick Schaefer
317:Columbus, Kentucky
232:American Civil War
171:American Civil War
637:George W. Roberts
603:978-0-8071-4517-3
535:978-0-8032-8024-3
403:Oaklands Cemetery
398:Army of Tennessee
347:William Rosecrans
270:. He read law in
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71:(1862-12-31)
661:1862 deaths
656:1833 births
236:Confederate
230:during the
650:Categories
574:2022-11-14
466:2022-11-14
413:References
291:raise the
246:Early life
224:Union Army
203:Alma mater
118:Union Army
96:Allegiance
52:1833-10-02
38:Birth name
283:Civil War
242:in 1862.
128:1861–1862
114:U.S. Army
568:Archived
309:Stockton
153:Commands
108:Service/
376:At the
357:in the
220:colonel
137:Colonel
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315:, and
274:under
110:branch
83:Buried
78:, U.S.
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101:Union
598:ISBN
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133:Rank
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