Gabriel C. Wharton

Gabriel Colvin Wharton (July 23, 1824 – May 12, 1906) was an American civil engineer and soldier who served as a general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After the war he was a politician and later resumed his engineering work.

Early life and career Wharton was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in the summer of 1824. He entered Virginia Military Institute in Lexington on September 1, 1845. Wharton graduated on July 5, 1847, finishing second out of 12 cadets as a "distinguished graduate."

After leaving Virginia Military Institute Wharton became a civil engineer. Later moving to the Arizona Territory to take up work as a mining engineer.

Civil War service At the start of the American Civil War in 1861, Wharton chose to follow his home state of Virginia and the Confederate cause, and joined the Confederate Army. He was appointed a major in the 45th Virginia Infantry on July 1, and soon afterward was given command of the 51st Virginia Infantry on July 17, with the rank of colonel. In September, he led a brigade in the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862. Wharton was later sent to the Western Theater, and commanded several brigades in various Confederate departments from February to September 1864.

During the Civil War, Pack's Ferry was a strategic river crossing for Federal troops in the area. On the morning of August 6, 1862, 900 men and 2 artillery guns of Confederate Col. G. C. Wharton's command fired on 23rd Ohio soldiers under Maj. Comly. Although the fight threatened Union control of the crossing, the Ohioans held until reinforcements neared and Wharton's men withdrew. Wharton was promoted to brigadier general, effective July 8, 1863.

In 1864 Wharton participated in the Overland Campaign, fighting in Breckinridge's division in the Confederate victory at Battle of Cold Harbor from May 31 – June 12.

Wharton was part of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's operations in his Valley Campaigns, and he participated in the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19. He also fought in the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, on March 2, 1865, at the end of which his command was largely dispersed and Early's army virtually destroyed. Wharton led what was left of his division until May 2. He was paroled at the end of the war from Lynchburg, Virginia, on June 4.

Wharton died in the spring of 1906 at Radford, Virginia, at the age of 81, and was buried in the Radford family cemetery located in Radford. He resided at Glencoe in Radford, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.