George S. Patton, Sr.

Colonel George S. 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.

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. 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. He returned but was again wounded at Giles Court House on May 10, 1862; 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. 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.

Patton 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.

Patton's grandson was the famous World War II "Old Blood and Guts" General George S. Patton. His great-grandson was Major General George Patton IV, who died in 2004.