{⋆★⋆} BG Chilton, Robert H.

Robert Hall Chilton​

Born: February 25, 1815

Birthplace: Loudon County, Virginia

Father: William Orrick Chilton 1769 – 1861

Mother: Sarah Harrison "Sally" Powell 1771 – 1838

Wife: Laura Ann Thomson Mason 1829 – 1911

(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​

Children:

Laura Thomson Mason Chilton 1848 – 1911​

(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​

​

Emily Virginia Chilton Maverick 1850 – 1913​

(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)​

​

Robert Lee Chilton 1856 -​

Education:

1837: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (48th​ in Class)

Occupation before War:

1837 – 1842: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

​

1842 – 1846: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

​

1846: Captain and Assistant Quartermaster in United States Army​

​

1846 – 1854: Captain United States Army, 1st​ Dragoons​

​

1854 – 1861: Major and Paymaster for United States Army​

​

1861: Resigned from United States Army on April 29th​​

Civil War Career:

1861 – 1865: Served on Robert E. Lee's Staff rising to Chief of Staff​

​

1863 – 1865: Inspector General of Army of Northern Virginia

​

1864 – 1865: Brigadier General in the Confederate Army​

​

1864: Led troops expedition of attack against Richmond & James R.R.​

Occupation after War:

1869 – 1879: President of a manufacturing Company in Columbus, Georgia​

Died: February 18, 1879

Place of Death: Columbus, Georgia

Cause of Death: Apoplexy

Age at time of Death: 63 years old

Burial Place: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

 

[Pollaco]

He suffered a loss of rank when the Senate refused to confirm his appointment as a brigadier general. He reverted to rank of Lt. Col. He was granted relief from field duty on April 1, 1864.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Brig. General Robert H. Chilton! Salutes remembering General Chilton on his birthday.

 

[ErnieMac]

Chilton was serving as Lee's AAG during the Maryland Campaign and in that capacity signed Special Order 191 detailing the movements of the ANV into western Maryland. The order was discovered by Federal troops from the 27th Indiana Volunteers and passed up the chain of command. In one of the strange coincidences of fate, when the order reached BG Alpheus Williams, temporarily commanding XII Corps, one of Williams' aides, AAG Samuel E. Pittman recognized Chilton's signature. It seems that Pittman's prewar job was as a teller in a Detroit bank with which Chilton did business as an army paymaster. With the signature authenticated the document was sent to McClellan.

 

[Pollaco]

I can't find the exact date that he left Lee's staff but it appears to be April 1, 1864. Chilton then spent the remainder of the war as an inspector in Richmond.

 

[ErnieMac]

I can't find the exact date that he left Lee's staff but it appears to be April 1, 1864. Chilton then spent the remainder of the war as an inspector in Richmond.

That seems to be the right time frame. Quote from Freeman's R. E. Lee Volume III, Chapter 12, page 229.

Colonel Chilton remained titular chief of staff, but either because he was not suited for the post, or else because Lee was his own principal staff officer, Chilton gradually turned over the duties of that office to Taylor and acted as inspector general. The arrangement was not wholly satisfactory and least of all to Chilton, who was thoroughly devoted to the Southern cause. In March, 1864, following some failure on the part of the Senate to commission him at an acceptable date as brigadier general, he asked to be relieved that he might accept appointment with the adjutant general.68 When Chilton decided to leave, Lee wrote him a friendly, tactful letter, regretting his departure and praising his service, but saying frankly that he believed he would be of more general service with General Cooper than with him. "I shall always feel great interest in your welfare and success," he wrote, "and trust that in your future sphere of action, your zeal, energy, and intelligence will be as conspicuous as in your former."69 Lee occasionally used other staff officers for short periods of emergency, but he chose no successor to Chilton and during the winter of 1863‑64 merely divided the ever-increasing duties among the three who were constantly with him.​

 

[USS ALASKA]

Sirs, some interesting pages on the Gent...

The Lost Order Mystery Synopsis

The Strange Case of Robert Hall Chilton

A Short Biography of Robert Hall Chilton

Chilton's Suspicious Gaffes

The Text of Special Orders 191

The Lost Order Mystery Home Page

https://joeryancivilwar.com/Special-Order-191/Ruse-of-War.html

And then there is this from a Stargate Project 'remote viewer'...

Civil War Lost Order Mystery Solved by Seeds / McMoneagle

Civil War Lost Order Mystery Solved (The Evidential Details Mystery Series): Seeds / McMoneagle: 9780982692868: Amazon.com: Books

Civil War Lost Order Mystery Solved (The Evidential Details Mystery Series) [Seeds / McMoneagle] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Civil War Lost Order Mystery Solved (The Evidential Details Mystery Series)

www.amazon.com

Caveat emptor...

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[Pollaco]

Those links provided in USS Alaska's post certainly raise questions and suspicions about Chilton. Thank you USS Alaska for that input and I highly recommend it's reading, it's got me wondering.

 

[TerryB]

Chilton was serving as Lee's AAG during the Maryland Campaign and in that capacity signed Special Order 191 detailing the movements of the ANV into western Maryland. The order was discovered by Federal troops from the 27th Indiana Volunteers and passed up the chain of command. In one of the strange coincidences of fate, when the order reached BG Alpheus Williams, temporarily commanding XII Corps, one of Williams' aides, AAG Samuel E. Pittman recognized Chilton's signature. It seems that Pittman's prewar job was as a teller in a Detroit bank with which Chilton did business as an army paymaster. With the signature authenticated the document was sent to McClellan.

There's a very interesting theory out there that he was a closet Unionist who did many things to aid the Union cause. Oh, I see I've been preceded by USS ALASKA.