Civil War

Robert Baker had three sons and a brother who served in the Civil War. Fielding H., George W. and William T. Baker, sons of Robert and Mary (Humphrey) Baker all enlisted in Co. K, 48th Tennessee Infantry (CSA) in 1861. In December, 1863 they were all captured and sent to Rock Island Military Prison in Rock Island, Illinois. The prison was over-crowded and one group of arriving prisoners was sick. Soon smallpox spread through the camp infecting both prisoners and guards. The Baker boys all became ill. Fielding and his brother, William, died within a few days of each other. George W. Baker recovered and remained in the prison until the end of the war. In 1865 he signed an oath of allegience to the United States and was released to return home.

Robert's brother, Perry G. Baker, also enlisted in Co. K, 48th Tennessee Infantry. In 1863 he was reported as being absent since the fall of Fort Henry in 1862. What happened to him is not known. He may have been injured, captured or returned home for some reason. He died in 1900, so we know he wasn't killed in action.