CS Dixon, Robert Emmett, Sr.

Robert Emmett Dixon, Sr.
​

Born: 1832

Birthplace: Talbot County, Georgia

Father: Robert Henry Dixon 1800 – 1856

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Mother: Martha A. J. A. Marshall 1812 – 1851

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Wife: Mary E. McDougald 1835 – 1900

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Children:

Daniel McDougald Dixon Unknown – 1902​

(Buried: Green–Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York)​

​

Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dixon 1855 – 1855​

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

​

Robert Emmett Dixon Jr. 1858 – 1901​

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)

​

Bacon Adele Dixon Little 1861 – 1929​

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Occupation before War:

Attorney in Columbus, Georgia​

Civil War Career:

Clerk of the Confederate House of Representatives​

​

1863: Shot in the street by a clerk that Dixon had recently dismissed​

Died: April 24, 1863

Place of Death: Richmond, Virginia

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound

Age at time of Death: 30 or 31 years old

Burial Place: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Thought the tragic fatal shooting of Dixon by Forde reflected the fragile mindsets and sensitivities of an era whereby ready recourse to violence was considered a convenient means for resolving heated interpersonal disputes.

At first impressions, Forde's violent action upon receiving Dixon's notice of discharge from service, seemed to be a massive overreaction, even for the time.

Suspect there might have been other more deep-seated and long-standing reasons that could be found in antecedent relations between the pair that led to the drastic final action undertaken by Forde. (The notice of discharge might have served as the final trigger point between them).

These possible other reasons might have been hinted at the subsequent Coroner's Inquest held. At the Inquest, indirect witness, Gen. Henry E. Read (a Confederate Congressman from Kentucky) stated in his deposition that he was of the opinion that Dixon's manner of discharging Forde was the cause of the shooting. However, he added that he had heard there were other causes, but he did not know what they were. (Reported in 'Richmond Daily Sentinel'', April 27, 1863, at page 2).

Bottom line here is that there may also have been other deeper reasons that contributed to the final fatal act of aggression by Forde. (Forde was found guilty of Dixon's murder and imprisoned, then apparently, he was later sent to Georgia).

 

[lupaglupa]

What an awful scene. I'm thinking @Nathan Stuart that Forde must have been mentally ill - this is not just a massive overreaction, it's the act of someone who is unbalanced.

 

[Pollaco]

Any idea how close to one another they were during the shooting? It seems Forde did have the advantage. It's ashamed Dixon's derringer only had that 1 shot. Dixon's death may have been prevented he had managed to strike Forde with that 1 shot.

 

[Pollaco]

Any idea how close to one another they were during the shooting? It seems Forde did have the advantage. It's ashamed Dixon's derringer only had that 1 shot. Dixon's death may have been prevented he had managed to strike Forde with that 1 shot.

A second biography (actually a Richmond newspaper article) states that Dixon had a second derringer and was running toward Forde when he was shot in the heart.

 

[Pollaco]

This same article from the Richmond Enquirer states that one of Forde's bullets struck an unknown soldier in the groin.

 

[Sheltowee]

Thought the tragic fatal shooting of Dixon by Forde reflected the fragile mindsets and sensitivities of an era whereby ready recourse to violence was considered a convenient means for resolving heated interpersonal disputes.

At first impressions, Forde's violent action upon receiving Dixon's notice of discharge from service, seemed to be a massive overreaction, even for the time.

Suspect there might have been other more deep-seated and long-standing reasons that could be found in antecedent relations between the pair that led to the drastic final action undertaken by Forde. (The notice of discharge might have served as the final trigger point between them).

These possible other reasons might have been hinted at the subsequent Coroner's Inquest held. At the Inquest, indirect witness, Gen. Henry E. Read (a Confederate Congressman from Kentucky) stated in his deposition that he was of the opinion that Dixon's manner of discharging Forde was the cause of the shooting. However, he added that he had heard there were other causes, but he did not know what they were. (Reported in 'Richmond Daily Sentinel'', April 27, 1863, at page 2).

Bottom line here is that there may also have been other deeper reasons that contributed to the final fatal act of aggression by Forde. (Forde was found guilty of Dixon's murder and imprisoned, then apparently, he was later sent to Georgia).

Can you/ anyone expound on Gen. Henry E. Read? His obituary also asserts he was a general in the army- but a Wikipedia list of confederate generals does not include his name.
Just curious…..

 

[Pollaco]

Can you/ anyone expound on Gen. Henry E. Read? His obituary also asserts he was a general in the army- but a Wikipedia list of confederate generals does not include his name.
Just curious…..

Apparently he was not a General. Not only Wikipedia but he is also not listed Stewart Sifakis' book.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Can you/ anyone expound on Gen. Henry E. Read? His obituary also asserts he was a general in the army- but a Wikipedia list of confederate generals does not include his name.
Just curious…..

This summary might be useful.

Henry English Read, a Kentucky native, was born in LaRue County, KY, on 25 Dec., 1824 and died (by suicide) in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, KY, on 9 Nov. 1868.

Read was one of twelve children born in a family who were prosperous yeoman planters and slave holders. His various occupations included blacksmith, soldier, sheriff, attorney and politician.

As an ensign with U.S. Volunteers in the Mexican War (1847-48), Read served with distinction, where he was wounded several times and displayed conspicuous leadership on the field. His war wounds disabilities prevented him from returning to his original trade of a blacksmith.

He was elected by LaRue County to the Kentucky House of Representatives by in 1853 and in the following year he married Charlotte Doran, the daughter of a Kentucky planter and slave holder. The couple had three sons and a daughter (however, one son and the daughter both died as infants).

At the start of the war, Read advocated for the neutrality of Kentucky and was in support of the Union. When he was soundly defeated in running for a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1861, he seems to have changed his allegiances in favor of the Confederacy. For a brief initial period in that same year, he operated under orders from Confederate B-G Simon Buckner, and commanded an infantry battalion within the State. However, his military service was short-lived due to the effects of his previous wounds sustained during the Mexican War. He switched his attention back to politics again and represented Kentucky in both the 1st​. and 2nd​. Confederate States Congress at Richmond (from Feb., 1862 to Mar., 1865).

At the end of the war, Read was arrested and tried for treason, but was acquitted in early 1866.

When he subsequently returned to Kentucky, Read tried unsuccessfully to resume his legal practice. Apparently, the Southern defeat, the agonies of his previous war injuries and personal family tragedies, all combined to take a toll on his mental health. He committed suicide on 9th​ Nov. 1868, aged 43 years. He shot himself in the head with a derringer and his corpse was discovered by his 11 year old son. He is buried in Elizabethtown City Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Hardin County, KY (see link below).

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6865338/henry-english-read

Found nothing in his above history, to indicate that he was appointed to the rank of 'General'. There is also no mention of Henry Read attaining this rank in the list of 'High Commanders' and 'Might-Have-Beens' in 'Civil War High Commands' by Eicher & Eicher.

Presumably, any title of 'General' was some sort of honory title freely bestowed upon him in social settings.

 

[Pollaco]

Kentucky had 12 representatives to the C.S. House, Read was one of them.

 

[ErnieMac]

Forde was tried, convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Apparently, this was the Confederacy's version of the trial of the century as the hearings and appeals continued until the end of the War. He died in Kentucky on June 1, 1866. Article below from the 10 March 1865 edition of the Richmond (VA) Dispatch.

Article from the 6 Jun 1866 Louisville (KY) Courier.

 

[mcDougaldDixon]

Robert Emmett Dixon, Sr.
​

View attachment 451434

Born: 1832

Birthplace: Talbot County, Georgia

Father: Robert Henry Dixon 1800 – 1856

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Mother: Martha A. J. A. Marshall 1812 – 1851

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Wife: Mary E. McDougald 1835 – 1900

(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Children:

Daniel McDougald Dixon Unknown – 1902
(Buried: Green–Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York)

Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dixon 1855 – 1855
(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)

Robert Emmett Dixon Jr. 1858 – 1901
(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)View attachment 451435

Bacon Adele Dixon Little 1861 – 1929
(Buried: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia)​

Occupation before War:

Attorney in Columbus, Georgia​

Civil War Career:

Clerk of the Confederate House of Representatives

1863: Shot in the street by a clerk that Dixon had recently dismissed​

Died: April 24, 1863

Place of Death: Richmond, Virginia

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound

Age at time of Death: 30 or 31 years old

Burial Place: Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia

I'm new here, RED was my GGGF. I have tons of info on him - I assume you got his photo from something I posted. My uncle has the original. I have all? new newspaper articles about his assassination - and I've typed them all. I thought I read that Forde had a sick wife, and couldn't afford to be fired. He certainly had a hard job, with a ton of writing!