George S. Patton Sr.

Colonel George Patton Sr. (June 26, 1833 – September 25, 1864) was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. He was the grandfather of World War II general George S. Patton. George Patton was also the great-grandfather of Major General George Patton IV, who died in 2004.

For other people named George Patton, see George Patton (disambiguation).
George S. Patton Sr.
Birth nameGeorge Patton
BornJune 26, 1833
Fredericksburg, Virginia
DiedSeptember 25, 1864 (aged 31)
Winchester, Virginia
Buried
Stonewall Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia
Allegiance United States of America
 Confederate States of America
Service/branch United States Army
 Confederate States Army
Years of service1852–61 (USA)
1861–64 (CSA)
Rank Colonel
Commands held22nd Virginia Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
RelationsWaller Tazewell Patton (brother)
George S. Patton (son)
George S. Patton (grandson)

Early life

George Smith Patton was born June 26, 1833, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and raised in Richmond. He was the son of politician John Mercer Patton.[1] George graduated from Virginia Military Institute (VMl), Class of 1852, second in a class of 24. After graduation, he studied law and practiced in Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia). He married Susan Thornton Glassell in 1855.

Civil War service and death

When the American Civil War broke out, he served in the 22nd Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States of America, rising from captain to colonel of the regiment. As lieutenant colonel he was wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Scary Creek in present-day West Virginia on July 17, 1861.[2] He was again wounded at Giles Court House, this time in the stomach. At the Battle of Opequon, also known as the Third Battle of Winchester, he was mortally wounded and died September 25, 1864. He is interred at the Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester.[3] The Confederate Congress had promoted Colonel Patton to brigadier general; however, at the time, he had already died of battle wounds, so that promotion was never official.

He had several brothers who also fought for the Confederacy, and one, Lt. Col. Waller T. Patton, another VMI graduate, was mortally wounded at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.[2]

Legacy

Patton left behind a son, George William Patton, one of four children, who was born in 1856 in Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia). To honor his late father, George William Patton changed his name to George S. Patton in 1868. Graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1877, this second-generation Patton served as Los Angeles County, California, District Attorney and the first city attorney for the city of Pasadena, California, and the first mayor of San Marino, California. He was a Wilson Democrat.

His home Elmgrove is now called the Craik-Patton House partly in his honor.[4]

Patton's grandson was the famous World War II "Old Blood and Guts" general George S. Patton.

Notes
  1. John Mercer Patton
  2. "On the Death of Col. George S. Patton", Cotton Boll Conspiracy, September 23, 2013
  3. Allardice, p. 300
  4. "Craik-Patton House". mysite. Retrieved 2018-09-27.

References
  • Richmond Daily Dispatch. Death of Colonel George Patton. October 3, 1864.
  • Allardice, Bruce (2008). Confederate Colonels: a Biographical Register. University of Missouri Press.
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