Robert Catlett Cave

Robert Catlett Cave was born in 1843 in Orange County, Virginia, the third child of Robert and Sarah (Lindsay) Cave. His family was considered wealthy, owning four hundred acres and several slaves. Upon Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861, Cave and his two brothers enlisted in the Montpelier Guard, Co. A, 13th Inf., Army of Virginia, participating in the battles of First and Second Manassas, Winchester, Port Republic, and Fredericksburg. After the war, he worked in business for a short...See more

Robert Catlett Cave was born in 1843 in Orange County, Virginia, the third child of Robert and Sarah (Lindsay) Cave. His family was considered wealthy, owning four hundred acres and several slaves. Upon Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861, Cave and his two brothers enlisted in the Montpelier Guard, Co. A, 13th Inf., Army of Virginia, participating in the battles of First and Second Manassas, Winchester, Port Republic, and Fredericksburg. After the war, he worked in business for a short time, but soon left it to preach. He was ordained as a Disciples of Christ minister in 1867 and grew in popularity within the Restoration movement. In 1872, he went to Kentucky where he served as president of South Kentucky College. He later relocated to Saint Louis, Missouri to preach for the Central church, but was soon dismissed when he began to advocate views out of accord with the Christian faith. Having grown up under the influence of Jeffersonian ideas of civil liberty, Cave insisted that the Confederate's struggle for States Rights was the same as that of their forefathers in the Revolutionary War. He died on June 23, 1923 and was buried in Valhalla Cemetery, Saint Louis. See less