Profile: Leander K. Baker

Born: April 9, 1839, Rowan County, North Carolina
Died: December 2, 1922, Crockett County, Tennessee
Relationship to me: 2nd great granduncle. Brother to 2nd great grandfather, James Henry Baker

Leander was born to Moses and Sophia Baker in North Carolina in 1839. Both of his grandfathers were German immigrants*. Around 1845, when he was only about 6 years old, he and his family headed west, settling briefly in Mississippi where his younger brother, James Henry, was born. A few years later, the family moved into Hardeman County, Tennessee.

When the Civil War broke out, Leander enlisted in the Confederate Army and was sent to Columbus, Kentucky. He first saw battle at Fort Donelson, TN. Serving in the 7th Tennessee E Company (a.k.a. Duckworth’s Cavalry) he also saw action at the battle of Shiloh. He recalled wearing few cloths and sometimes going for 9 days with only one biscuit to eat. His company started with 147 men and had only 9 living at the conclusion of the war. Leander was crippled by a runaway team of horses in Corinth, Mississippi and was discharged. He heard of Lee’s surrender while at home in Hardeman County, TN*.

After the war, he married Elizabeth Ann “Bettie” Fulghum and they had 6 children together. Leander was a farmer the rest of his life. After his wife died in 1886, Leander moved to Crockett County, Tennessee where he lived the remainder of his years.

Leander died in 1922 and is buried in the Cairo Cemetery in Cairo, Tennessee.

*Source: Civil War Veteran Questionnaire, Tennessee State Archives