Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

George Patton Sr. (June 26, 1833 – September 25, 1864) was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

colonel during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. He was the grandfather of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

general

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

. George Patton was also the great-grandfather of Major General

George Patton IV George Smith Patton IV (December 24, 1923 – June 27, 2004) was a major general in the United States Army and the son of World War II General George S. Patton Jr. He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Military career Patton was e ...

, who died in 2004.

Early life

George Smith Patton was born June 26, 1833, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and raised in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He was the son of politician

John Mercer Patton John Mercer Patton (August 10, 1797October 29, 1858) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. Patton served in the United States House of Representatives representing two different Virginia Districts and was the acting gove ...

. George graduated from

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(VMl), Class of 1852, second in a class of 24. After graduation, he studied law and practiced in Charleston, Virginia (now

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

). He married

Susan Thornton Glassell Susan Thornton Glassell (March 2, 1835 – November 16, 1883) was the wife of Col. George Patton and later of Col. George H. Smith, the sister of Andrew Glassell and the paternal grandmother of Gen. George S. Patton. Early life Susan Thornton G ...

in 1855.

Civil War service and death

When the

broke out, he served in the 22nd Virginia Infantry of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

, 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."On the Death of Col. George S. Patton", Cotton Boll Conspiracy, September 23, 2013
/ref> He returned but was again wounded at Giles Court House on May 10, 1862; this time in the stomach. At the

Battle of Opequon The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate ...

, 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. 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.

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

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 Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, California, and the first mayor of

San Marino, California San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househo ...

. He was a Wilson Democrat. His home Elmgrove is now called the Craik-Patton House partly in his honor. Patton's grandson was the famous

"Old Blood and Guts" general

Notes

References

* Richmond Daily Dispatch. ''Death of Colonel George Patton''. October 3, 1864. *

External links

* *
The Craik–Patton House
historic house of Confederate Col. George S. Patton I in Charleston, West Virginia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, George S. Sr. 1833 births 1864 deaths Military personnel from Fredericksburg, Virginia Patton family Confederate States Army officers People of Virginia in the American Civil War Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia Military personnel from Charleston, West Virginia Virginia lawyers Mercer family of Virginia Virginia Military Institute alumni Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War