Walter Hampden Overton

Major General Walter Hampden Overton (1788 – December 24, 1845) was a United States Army officer and politician who represented Louisiana's 3rd congressional district in the 21st United States Congress.

Early life and army career

He was born near Louisa Court House, Virginia in 1788. His father Thomas Overton moved the family to North Carolina when Walter was an infant, and then moved to Tennessee in 1801. Overton attended the common schools. and transferred to the Artillery Corps in May 1815 before resigning his commission on October 31, 1815. Later, he was commissioned a major general of militia by the Louisiana Legislature. General Overton served one term and was not a candidate for renomination in 1830.

He returned to his plantation near Alexandria, Louisiana where he died on December 24, 1845.

Death and legacy

He was buried in McNutt Hill Cemetery in Rapides Parish. Thomas Overton Moore, Governor of Louisiana from 1860 to 1864, was his nephew; and the politician John Holmes Overton was his grandson. The politician Overton Brooks was his great-grandson.