Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton | |
|---|---|
| Confederate States Senator fromMissouri | |
| In office February 18, 1862 – September 3, 1863 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Waldo P. Johnson |
| Member of theMissouri State Senate | |
| In office 1858-1861 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1822-02-08)February 8, 1822 Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | September 3, 1863(1863-09-03) (aged 41) Bladon Springs, Alabama, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Miami College University of Virginia |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861-1863 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Commands |  3rd Cavalry Regiment,8th DivisionMissouri State Guard[1] |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton (February 8, 1822 – September 3, 1863) was aMissouri attorney, politician and Confederate States Army officer who served as aConfederate States Senator from February 18, 1862, until his death in Alabama of malaria contracted while defendingVicksburg, Mississippi in 1863.
Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton was born inLoudoun County, Virginia to Townsend Dade Peyton (1774-1852) and his second wife, the former Sarah Yates (1800-1864). His grandfatherFrancis Peyton (who died before the boy's birth) had been a prominent planter and politician in Loudoun County, representing it in the House of Burgesses, all five Virginia revolutionary conventions and both houses of theVirginia General Assembly. The family owned slaves in Virginia,[2] but reportedly freed them before 1840 when Townsend Dade moved his family toOxford inButler County, Ohio, where they lived first with a free Black woman and her two children, then retired with his wife and a 12 year old free mulatto servant.[3][4]
Meanwhile, Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton studied both atMiami College in Ohio, and theUniversity of Virginia.[5] He never married.[6]
By 1850, the 23 year old Peyton was an attorney and he and a 35 year old Ohio-born attorney boarded with merchant Squire Allen inCass County, Missouri (near modern Kansas City).[7] A decade later, he was among the dozens of people boarding with landlord W.J. Taylor in Harrisonville, the Cass County seat.[8]
Missouri voters elected Peyton to theMissouri State Senate in 1858. He became one ofMissouri's delegates to theProvisional Confederate Congress and afterwards won election to theConfederate States Senate.
On July 16, 1861, days after the victory of theMissouri State Guard commanded by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson over federal forces at theBattle of Carthage, Peyton organized a cavalry troop that became known as the 3rd Missouri cavalry, with Peyton as itscolonel, but would resign that commission on December 13, 1861.[9] He joined theConfederate States Army and died inBladon Springs, Alabama on September 3, 1863, after catchingmalaria while defendingVicksburg, Mississippi.
| Confederate States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Confederate States Senator (Class 2) from Missouri 1862–1863 Served alongside:John Clark | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
