Leciester Austin Webb (pictured here on the right) was born on December 26, 1842, at the Webb Settlement, Ridgefield Township, Huron County, Ohio. His family moved to Indiana in the late 1840's and then to Roscoe Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota in 1858, where his father and brothers were among the first settlers of that town. He studied at Hamline School in Red Wing from 1858 until 1861. When the news of the war arrived in Red Wing several students volunteered for service. It appears that Lester did not enlist during the first wave of emotion in April. He may have traveled home to discuss the situation with his family. With in a brief period of time, though, the 18 year old made the trip to Fort Snelling. His classmates had been put into Company F of the First Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. On May 15, 1861, he was mustered into service and placed in the same company. When mustered in it was reported that he had blue eyes, light hair and stood 5'8" tall. He traveled with the regiment to Washington, DC, and from there to their first battle at Bull Run. He sent several letters to his brother, Captain Loren Webb, Co F. 9th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, from Washington,DC, Edwards Ferry and Harpers Ferry. Lester was listed as sick at Hampton, Virginia early in the spring of 1862. He fought at the Battle of Antietam, in which he was wounded slightly according to his brother's diary. The source or typw of wound is not known. Shortly thereafter, on Oct 24, 1862, Lester transferred to the US Cavalry, when the men in the regiment were given the opportunity. 1st Sgt James Wright, also of Company F, wrote about this event. "Recruiting officers from the regular cavalry and artillery were allowed to seek recruits from among the infantry regiments-thus getting men that had 'seen service'. It was a rob Peter-to-pay-Paul method of doing business, and its only justification was that it strengthened the cavalry at once, with experienced men. This order was not popular with the company and regimental officers, whose men were taken away. But our Western boys, who were used to horses were easily interested by the representatives from the First Regular Cavalry, who had been through our camp more than once 'talking the matter up'. There had been much talk about transfering or detaching, and it looked at one time as if there might be a stampede to the mounted service." "At this time Company F was particularly open to these influences. The standing of a company or a regiment depends very much on its commander, and at this time the company was in a state of transition in that regard and scarcely knew 'where it was at'. It had lost all of its officers by promotion the day before Antietam, and the new ones had come from other companies under a new method of regulating seniority, which we did not fully understand. Now these were all gone but one lieutenant, and he was still comparatively a stranger. (Lieut John Ball, afterwards Captain, remained with us until the close of our enlistment and proved a most excellent officer, but at the time we scarcely knew him.) It was things like these that weakened the strength of company and regimental ties and prompted a number in Company F to change their arm of service." "Six were 'absent, detached,' and ten others transferred to the cavalry while we lay at Harpers Ferry. These ten were: Sergeant E Oscar Williams, Corporal Merritt G Standish, and Privates William H Burritt, George W Grinnell, Butler Olsen, Eli F Pitcher, James Scurry, Michael Shay, Amos Severson and Lester A Webb. These were all good soldiers, but their services may have been of as much or more value to the government in their changed position. Their going made a big hole in the company, and we who remained regretted their going." On October 26, 1862, while at Knoxville, Maryland, he was enlisted by Lieutenant Coates of the Regular Army into Company B, 6th Regiment US Cavalry; given a hefty bounty (possibly as high as $500) and allowed to finish his enlistment with no extension of term of service. He was present and participated in several battles and skirmishes while with the 6th. Lester was captured at Richard's Ford, on the rappahannock River in Virginia (about 10 miles from Fredericksburg) on Feb 14, 1863, while on picket duty several miles from the regiment's encampment. On the morning of the 15th of February, it was discovered that all nine men of the picket post at Richard's Ford, including Lester, were missing and it was later learned that they had been taken the previous night in a raid. He was paroled and released on Feb 20, 1863, at City Point, Va. The next day is was at Camp parole in Annapolis, Md. Arrangements weere made to send Lester to Fort Snelling. He probably started in March, stopping for a time in his home town of Milan, Oh, where he visited his father and many others in his family. He traveled with a convalescing soldier. Lester was the sole member of the 6th US Cavalry stationed at Ft Snelling. He must have been in poor health. He spent the remainder of his term assigned to the detachment of Invalids and Convalescents at the fort. In the same group of convalescing soldiers was his younger brother, Private Martin L. Webb of Co. D, 4th Minnesota Infantry. Lester was in the hospital during Nov and Dec of 1863. Lester was discharged on May 5, 1864, from the 6th US Cavalry at the expiration of his term of service. His comrades from the First Minnesota returned from their three year tour of duty in February and waited until they were mustered out of service on May 5th as well. Upon his discharge, Lester headed west with a comrade, Horatio Barber, who had also served in Company F of the First Minnesota. Lester is listed in the Oct, 1864, poll as being a resident in Silver City, Jefferson County, Montana. The two men were listed as farming together in Gallatin County in Montana Territory, according to the 1870 census. Lester was then 26 and Horatio was 40. By 1877 the two had moved to Deadwood, in Dakota Territory. Lester owned a part interest in a water project known as the Pioneer Ditch, which provided water flow to the gold miners of the area. The following excerpt is from Deadwood's local newspaper on Aug 12, 1876, which, interstingly enough was just after the Custer massacre. "The Pioneer ditch is furnishing water for Gold Run. The miners will commence operations Monday, and gold dust will circulate freely in the lacality in a few days." Later, Lester sold his ownership for $5000. In early 1880 Lester purchased a 1/2 interest in a frame building located at Lot 21, Block 2 on Sherman Street in South Deadwood. That too was sold. Lester may have sold his property because of failing health. Though only 37, he was not well. In 1880 he move to Argos, Indiana, to live with his brother, Francis, Francis' wife and their four daughters. Francis had served as the Principal Musician in the 73rd Indiana Inf during the war. He was there when the 1880 census was taken. Lester was listed as single (he never married), had no profession and was crippled with rheumatism. He didn't remain in Indiana very long, however. He returned to Dakota Territory. He entered the Post Hospital at Fort Buford on Feb 28, 1881, and remained there until he died at 6:15 AM, on August 27th. He was attended to by Ass't Surgeon L.W. Crampton. Lester was buried in the post cemetery. The cause of death was listed as hip disease. This is a disease of the hip joint, characterized by inflamation, fungus growth and decay of the bones. He was only 38 years old. Lester was buried at the post cemetery at Fort Buford. In the 1890's the Fort was closed. In 1896 the bodies in the cemetery were exhumed and re-interred at the Custer Nat'l Cemetery at Little Big Horn. When exhumed his gravestone was no longer legible and his body was not properly identified for reburial. It is possible that his grave marker had been made of wood and was no longer legible 15 years after he had died. He is probably buried along with 38 other unknowns in Section A, graves 50-79 and 139-159. The photo of Lester shown here was taken at Whitney's Photographic Studio in St Paul, Minnesota, in 1863 or 1864, either while he was recovering at the convalescent camp at Fort Snelling or else when he was mustered out in May of 1864. His companion may be Horatio Barber. All of Lester's four brothers also served in the war, as well as two brothers-in-law. -Harvey Webb, 1st Sgt, Co D, 11th Minn Inf, who later became a minister. -Francis D. Webb, Principal Musician, 73rd Indiana Inf. -Loren Webb, Captain, Co F, 9th Illinois Inf; Asst Adjutant to Colonel Sibley, August 1862; and Captain, Co D, 11th Minn Inf, Sept 1, 1864 - June 26, 1865, who also later became a minister. -Martin Luther Webb, Private, Co D, 4th Minn Inf 11th Indt Battery Ohio Light Artillery; Co A, 9th Regt US Veteran Volunteers, 1st Army Corps. George W. Van Syckle, 1st Sgt, Co D, 4th Minn Inf (brother-in-law). George Lautz, Private, Roscoe Militia, 1862; Co D, 11th Minn Inf (brother-in-law). Sources: 1857 Minnesota territorial Census, Township 109, Range 16 West (Roscoe), County of Goodhue, Minnesota Territory, p 1&2. 1860 Federal Census, Roscoe Township (Roscoe PO), Goodhue County, Minnesota, p 120. No More Gallant a Deed, James Wright, 2001, Minnesota Historical Society, p 214-215. Biography courtesy of Johnathon Webb Deiss, a descendent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
