George Gibbs was born in Burke County, North Carolina, in 1838. In 1849 his family moved to Scott County, Missouri. Gibbs served six months in a Missouri State Guard cavalry regiment before joining an artillery unit (likely Captain Winston’s Company, Tennessee Light Artillery at New Madrid, Missouri); following the surrender of Island No. 10, Gibbs was taken prisoner and sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago. In 1863 he was paroled, moved to Sparta, Illinois, and resumed his trade as a carpenter, although he returned to Missouri in 1869 and settled in Bollinger County.

Carte-de-Visite by D. F. Grasdon, Camp Douglas, Ill.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11458