Title: Army Lieutenant Colonel, Civil War
Birthdate: January 1, 1829
Death Date: January 8, 1893
Plot Location: Section 116, Lot 227

Faded black and white photo of Robert Emmet Winslow

Robert Emmet Winslow had a son named Robert Emmet Winslow who gave his son the same name. This story centers on the first Robert who served his country during the Mexican War as a private in the 5th Infantry. He came home to his father (also named Robert), went into business as an innkeeper, married Mary Tyson, and had his namesake son in 1857. Daughter Margaret arrived in 1860.

Once the Civil War began. Robert joined Company H of the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on April 30, 1861 as a 1st Lieutenant. It was a three-month commitment but, unlike many who reenlisted, Robert returned to his family and business.

A year later he had a change of heart and re-joined the war effort. Perhaps it was because he was commissioned as Captain and commander of Company C, 68th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on August 4, 1862. He was subsequently promoted to Major on January 10, 1863, and took charge of the unit in October when the commander of the 68th, Colonel Andrew Tippen, was captured by Confederate forces.

Appropriate to his duties, he became Lieutenant Colonel Winslow and led the regiment for nine months, relinquishing command when Colonel Tippen returned as part of a prisoner exchange. He served through the end of the war, and was honorably mustered out on June 9, 1865. As would often happen before an officer left service, Robert was awarded the honorary rank of Brevet Colonel and Brigadier General, for “faithful and meritorious service.”

Back in his hometown, Robert transitioned from innkeeping to running a tavern, then to liquor sales, although the occupation on his death certificate said he was still a hotel keeper. He succumbed to a coronary occlusion in 1893, and his wife Mary joined him at Mount Moriah in 1901.

Robert Emmet Winslow headstone at Mount Moriah Cemetery

 

Japanese maple tree in front of a monument at Mount Moriah Cemetery

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