The Civil War
HENRY R. GIBBAR was our 2X Great Grandfather through the Gibbar line. He was born on May 21, 1832, in Perry County, Missouri, the child of John Nicholas Gibbar (Gieber) and Anna Marie (nee Drouard) Gibbar.
Henry R. Gibbar enrolled in Perryville, Missouri, on September 17th, 1861 as a member of "Simpson's 6 Month Militia, Company C under Captain Nations. " This was most likely Regiment 4, as noted in other documentation of Henry's service records.
The muster document stated that Henry was 27 years old on the date of enrollment, but his actual age was 29.
He was appointed Corporal on October 3rd, 1861 and mustered out at the end of the six-month term on February 25th, 1862. His younger brother, Nicholas, also served in this unit.
As guerrilla warfare and recruiting increased, and as the state had been stripped of nearly all but the volunteer Missouri State Militia Cavalry regiments, a compulsory militia enrollment was declared on July 22, 1862, the Enrolled Missouri Militia. On August 16, 1862, Henry joined the 64th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia, Company B under Captain William H. Bennett in Perryville, Missouri. At this time his rank was Private. He was ordered into active service on April 23, 1863 in Cape Girardeau. He mustered out on May 20, 1863, after 27 days of service. One of Henry's fellow soldiers was James Peter Kline (our 2x great grandfather).
Simpson's Six Months Militia
Company C
64th Regiment - Company B
Enrolled Missouri Militia
Although Henry had already served, he was still required to enroll for the draft. The Consolidated List for the Draft in the Third Congressional District in the State of Missouri shows that Henry enrolled in Perry County in 1863.
Henry R. Gibbar
Enrolled Missouri Militia
Henry R. Gibbar's service was further documented in the 1890 Special Census Schedule of Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows (one of the few surviving censuses from 1890). On this census, he was listed as "Henry Gibear, Saline Township, Corporal, Company C, Regiment 4." It does not reference his service as a Private in the 64th Regiment, Company B under Captain Bennett.
Henry R. Gibbar
1890 Special Schedule Census
Henry R. Gibbar submitted the application for his pension on February 19 1891, when he 59 years of age, listing "Invalid" as the class. Whether he was injured in the war or not was unknown. In the census of 1880, seventeen years after his draft registration, Henry R.'s occupation was listed as "Blacksmith," which is a physically demanding job that one would assume would be difficult if one had suffered an injury significant enough to specify the class of "invalid" on a pension application.
Henry R. Gibbar
Civil War Pension Documentation
Henry R. Gibbar
Civil War Pension Documentation
On March 3, 1873, Congress passed an act that allowed for all honorably discharged veterans of the Civil War to be buried in national military cemeteries. In February of 1879 Congress passed another act which stated that the government would erect the same gravestones for Union soldiers buried in private cemeteries as those buried in national cemeteries. Ancestry.com
An application was completed and a headstone apparently supplied by the Vt. Marble Company Proctor, Vermont for Henry R. Gibbar. The middle initial on the headstone application appears to be an "A" but, judging by the handwriting on the "P" of Private, it is most likely a stylized "R. The rank of Private indicated on the stone application is not consistent with Henry's rank when he served in Regiment 4, Company C. The rank should have been listed as Corporal.
The cemetery indicated on the headstone application was St. Marys Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri. St. Marys of the Barrens Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Perry County. Although there are 249 graves documented online, Henry's grave is not listed among them. It is possible, however, that the online record is not complete and that he is, indeed, buried in the old pioneer cemetery.
Henry R. Gibbar
Military Headstone Application