George W. Yates
George W. Yates was born on February 26, 1843, in Albany, New York, to Richard Yates and Margaret Mancius. His father was a farmer who owned at least $50,000 of real estate in Albany in 1850. His father died around 1855, and he moved to Michigan sometime before 1861.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on June 20, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company A of the 4th Michigan Infantry later that day. He was promoted to quartermaster sergeant on February 28, 1862. The regiment took part in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor.
 
He was appointed to the staff of General Alfred Pleasanton in the summer of 1863, and he mustered out in Detroit, Michigan, on June 29, 1864. Yates, however, was determined to continue his military service. As he explained, “I entered the service as a private with a desire to continue in it so long as the war should last—I still desire to serve to the best of my ability so long as there is an armed Rebel in the land, and shall feel very much chagrined if mustered out at what appears to be a crisis of our troubles.” He eventually secured a commission as a 1st lieutenant in the 45th Missouri Infantry in August 1864. A month later, he was promoted to captain and transferred to the 13th Missouri Cavalry. He remained in the army after the war, becoming a captain in the 7th United States Cavalry.
 
He married Lucretia Irwin on January 5, 1865, but they divorced on January 31, 1867. He then married Annie Gibson Roberts on February 12, 1872, and they had at least three children together: George, born around 1872; Bessie, born around 1874; and Milnor, born around 1875. Yates died at the Battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876.
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DATABASE CONTENT
(326)Yates, George W.1843-02-261876-06-25
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Captain
  • Rank highest: Captain
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 15

  • (4560) [associated with] ~ Instructions for Firing a Musket, undated
  • (169) [associated with] ~ Robert M. Morris et al. to Lorenzo Thomas, 24 March 1864
  • (170) [associated with] ~ Robert M. Morris et al. to Lorenzo Thomas, 24 March 1864
  • (175) [writer] ~ George W. Yates to Lorenzo Thomas, 3 June 1864
  • (4377) [associated with] ~ George W. Yates Discharge, 28 June 1864
  • (4378) [associated with] ~ George W. Yates Muster In Certification, 24 August 1864
  • (4375) [associated with] ~ George W. Yates Commission, 17 September 1864
  • (4557) [associated with] ~ List of Ordnance & Ordnance Stores, 8 May 1865
  • (4558) [writer] ~ George W. Yates Statement, 30 December 1865
  • (174) [associated with] ~ Washington L. Elliott to Edwin M. Stanton, 8 January 1866
  • (171) [associated with] ~ Washington L. Elliott to Edwin M. Stanton, 8 January 1866
  • (168) [associated with] ~ Alfred Pleasonton to Ulysses S. Grant, 20 January 1866
  • (167) [associated with] ~ H. L. Craig Letter of Transmittal, 14 February 1866
  • (172) [associated with] ~ George W. Yates Transmittal Letter, 18 April 1866
  • (166) [associated with] ~ John K. Mizner to Edwin M. Stanton, 19 November 1866

Places - Records: 2

  • (572) [birth] ~ Albany, Albany County, New York
  • (573) [death] ~ Big Horn County, Montana

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Regiments - Records: 3

  • (8) [enlisted] ~ 4th Michigan Infantry
  • (9) [officer] ~ 45th Missouri Infantry
  • (10) [officer] ~ 7th United States Cavalry
SOURCES

Andrew S. Bledsoe, Citizen-Officers: The Union and Confederate Volunteer Junior Officer Corps (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2015); Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Veterans’ Gravesites, 1775-2019, available from Ancestry.com; Missouri Marriages, 1766-1983, available from Ancestry.com; New York Marriage Index, 1866-1937, available from Ancestry.com.