Confederate veteran and mining and civil engineer.
John R. Gibbons was born in Richmond, Va., in 1843. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the First Virginia Cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart. This unit was part of the Army of Northern Virginia, and as such, saw action in many of the important battles of the war, including Chancellorsville, Sharpsburg, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania, and Gettysburg. Gibbons was present when Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. After the war he moved to north Georgia, where he studied mining and mineralogy, eventually becoming a mining and civil engineer. He came to Arkansas at the turn of the century with the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, later the American Bauxite Company. He was a founder of the town of Bauxite, and superintended the construction of the Bauxite and Northern Railroad.
From the description of John R. Gibbons correspondence, 1913-1917 (bulk 1914-1915). (Arkansas History Commission). WorldCat record id: 123945303
