Background
Robert Horatio George Minty was born on December 4, 1831, in County Mayo, Ireland. He was the son of a British officer.
Robert Horatio George Minty was born on December 4, 1831, in County Mayo, Ireland. He was the son of a British officer.
Minty served under his father as ensign in the British army (1849 - 53) in Africa, Honduras, and the West Indies. In 1853, he emigrated to Michigan and upon the outbreak of the Civil War entered military service. Within a few months, he had been commissioned major, 2nd Michigan Cavalry, lieutenant-colonel, 3rd Michigan Cavalry, and colonel, 4th Michigan Cavalry. During 1863-64, he brilliantly commanded a cavalry unit known as the Sabre Brigade and led a division in General Kilpatrick's raid around the city of Atlanta, being promoted brigadier-general of volunteers in 1864. Subsequently, in Wilson's final raids through Alabama and Georgia, he commanded a division in the march upon Macon. He declined proffer of a majority in the regular army and was mustered out of the military service, August 15, 1865. After the close of the war he became general manager of the Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad, making his home at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and later was connected in various capacities with railroad administration in the West and Southwest. He passed away in 1906 at Jerome, Arizona, and was interred at Ogden, Utah.
A noteworthy incident of Minty's service was his participation in the capture of President Jefferson Davis, and the latter's confinement at Fortress Monroe. Minty received the brevets of brigadier-general and major-general of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services, and on two different occasions received the thanks of Congress.
Quotes from others about the person
Gen. James H. Wilson wrote: "Minty was an educated soldier of great intelligence and enterprise. He was in every respect a modest and obedient officer, an excellent disciplinarian, and as good a leader as Murat himself"
Twice married, Minty was survived by his second wife, Laura Abbott Minty, to whom he had been married at Maysville, Kentucky, on May 14, 1871, and by three children.
5 January 1836 - 23 May 1920
28 July 1844 - 3 August 1909
6 February 1874 - 22 September 1898
1860 - 19 September 1881
1876 - 13 April 1951
29 September 1858 - 19 February 1912
6 February 1876 - 1 October 1939
8 December 1874 - 18 November 1963
18 April 1873 - 30 December 1891
14 April 1869 - 8 August 1955
1861 - 10 November 1911
17 May 1867 - 24 January 1871
