Captain Robert E. Haggard (1805-1885)

Captain Robert Elkin Haggard is the third great-grandfather of companion Robert Alvin Crum. Robert was born in Clark County, Kentucky on September 28, 1805. He married Rosaline Edmonson in 1830 in Clark County, and they had nine daughters. He obtained the rank of Major under the old Kentucky State Militia Laws before moving his family to Winchester, Illinois in 1840.

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was crisscrossing Illinois campaigning for the U.S. Senate. While in Winchester, Lincoln spent a few days at Robert E. Haggard's hotel. During his stay, Lincoln wrote poems to two of Haggard's daughters, Rosa and Linnie, and they can be found in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln.

Robert enlisted December 17, 1861 and was mustered into Company F of the 61st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned 1st Lieutenant on February 6, 1862, and promoted Captain on late March.

While fighting on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, Robert was wounded in the right arm and side and taken prisoner at Pittsburgh Landing. Captain Haggard was first imprisoned in Selma, Alabama and subsequently at Madison Prison near Atlanta, Georgia along with 63 other officers. He was paroled and exchanged at Aikens Landing, Virginia on October 12, 1862.

He returned to his regiment, but tendered his resignation in March 1863 due to his inability to use his right arm, and poor health as a result of his imprisonment. He went home to Winchester, Illinois, where he died on October 19, 1885. He is buried in Winchester City Cemetery.