Lewellyn G. Estes

Llewellyn Garrish Estes (December 27, 1843 – February 21, 1905) was an American soldier who fought in the Civil War. Estes received the United States' highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Flint River in Georgia on August 30, 1864. He was honored with the award on August 29, 1894.

Biography Estes was born in Old Town, Maine on December 27, 1843. He joined the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a first sergeant in October 1861, and was commissioned as first lieutenant in March 1862. In May 1863, while serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. H. J. Kilpatrick, he was captured carrying a message to General Joseph Hooker. While part of a group of prisoners being escorted to Richmond, Virginia, they managed to overpower their captors during the night and instead returned with their Confederate prisoners to the Union lines.

Estes subsequently served in the North Carolina House of Representatives, representing New Hanover County. He resigned in July 1869. The vacancy spawned significant disputes in the local Republican Party before John S. W. Eagles won the seat in an August special election.

After contracting pneumonia, he died from heart failure at his home in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 1905, and his remains are interred at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Medal of Honor citation

His Medal of Honor action occurred while serving with the 92nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry.