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Since George Edward Walker has
no biography in the National Archives, below is my biography of the
man.
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George E. Walker was born in
South Carolina in 1828. He became an accomplished civil engineer and
architect, with several buildings of note being designed by him. He
also took part in the surveys and construction of the Greenville
& Columbia RR. In 1850, he married Agnes M. Frost, who was born
in South Carolina in 1831. They had son John, in 1852. In the 1860
Census, the family was living in Columbia and George was listed as
an Architect.
When he died, his estate included 187 shares in
various businesses, worth $40,000 and bonds worth another $17,000. |
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During the war, George worked as
a civilian engineer on the defenses of Charleston, including the
building of Battery Bee on the west end of Sullivan's Island. In the
spring of 1862, he requested a commission as a member of the Army's
Engineer Corps and was so appointed. In the early summer of 1863, he
was appointed a member of the Commission for the Removal and
Distribution of Railroad Iron. Very few details are known of his
work on the Commission and he died in Columbus, Ga., while on
Commission travel on September 16, 1863.
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| November 17, 1861 -
April 30, 1862 |
Worked as assistant engineer on defenses of
Charleston and Savannah
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| May 1, 1862 |
Served as Assistant Engineer at Fort Sumter
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| May 7, 1862 |
Applied for commission in the Engineer Corps of
the Army
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| June 4, 1862 |
Appointed Captain in Engineer Corps, to rank
from June 1 |
| October 17, 1862 |
Ordered to do a detailed inspection of the
Alabama River and Mobile defenses and report to the Engineer Bureau
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| June 4, 1863 |
Appointed a Commissioner to determine which RRs
should have their iron removed and which roads should receive the iron
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| June 8, 1863 |
Removal of Roanoke Valley RR iron
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| June 9, 1863 |
East Tennessee & Virginia RR requested
iron; referred to Iron Commission
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| June 11, 1863 |
Commissioners request authority to replace
taken rail with replacement new iron plus seven percent per year.
Forwarded to Secretary of War
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| June 13, 1863 |
South Side RR wants to remove the
Petersburg to City Point rail to use in maintaining their main line;
Commission to investigate
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Commissioners recommend Virginia &
Tennessee RR be given 25 tons pig iron
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Port Walthall iron
removal to be reviewed
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| June 15, 1863 |
Makes proposals for Commission procedures
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| June 16, 1863 |
Funds to pay Commissioners' expenses
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| June 17, 1863 |
Recommends an agent
be sent to save RR materials uncovered by Lee's movements
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| June 18, 1863 |
Commissioners directed to work with the
Richmond & Danville RR to remove some just-removed Seaboard
& Roanoke RR iron
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| June 19, 1863 |
Removing iron from Fredericksburg to
Acquia Creek
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Received State of Virginia appraisal of RR iron
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| June 20, 1863 |
Received response from Secretary of War
and Secretary of Navy regarding removal of Atlantic, Tennessee &
Ohio RR iron
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| June 25, 1863 |
Special Order: visit leading lines of railways
in the Confederacy |
| July 1, 1863 |
Ordered to save new rails and have only
old ones rolled for gunboat armor
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| July 18, 1863 |
Ordered to buy or impress the iron of the
Mississippi, Gainesville & Tuscaloosa RR
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| July 24, 1863 |
Pays for Commission support
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| July 25, 1863 |
Makes recommendation
regarding connection between Georgia and Florida railroads
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| July 27, 1863 |
Authorized to remove the iron from the Laurens
RR
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| August 31, 1863 |
Requisitioned material for the removal of the
railroad iron of the Brunswick & Albany RR
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| September 16, 1863 |
Died in Columbus, Ga.
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| September 8, 1864 |
A claim for his expenses that had not been
reimbursed when he died is approved
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