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George Wurtz Hughes (September 30, 1806 – September 3, 1870) was a U.S. Representative from the 6th Congressional district of Maryland.
Born in
George Wurtz Hughes (September 30, 1806 – September 3, 1870) was a U.S. Representative from the 6th Congressional district of Maryland.
Born in Elmira, New York
Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...
, Hughes received a liberal schooling. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1823 to 1827, but failed to graduate and became a civil engineer in New York City. He was appointed to the United States Army on July 7, 1838, as captain of Topographical Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of feder ...
, and served in the Mexican–American War. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers on August 4, 1847, and to colonel on October 1, 1847. He was honorably mustered out of the volunteer service on July 24, 1848, and commissioned lieutenant colonel on May 30, 1848, resigning on August 4, 1851.
Hughes became president of the Northern Central Railway, and was later elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth Congress from the 6th Congressional district of Maryland, serving one term from March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1861. He worked as a consulting engineer and planter at West River, Maryland
West River is an unincorporated community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States.
Notable person
*Joseph Galloway, First Continental Congressman
*Gerri Whittington, First African-American secretary in the White House
The Whit ...
until his death there. The son in law of Virgil Maxcy
Virgil Maxcy (May 5, 1785 – February 28, 1844) was an American political figure. He was born in Massachusetts and spent his adult years in Maryland. He was killed in 1844 in a shipboard accident, when a cannon exploded aboard .
Early life
The ...
, he is interred in the family burying ground of the Galloway and Maxcy families, '' Tulip Hill'', at West River.
References
1806 births 1870 deaths 19th-century American politicians American planters Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Politicians from Elmira, New York United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni {{Maryland-politician-stub