Major General George E. Pickett

George Edward Pickett was born January 16, 1825 at his grandparents’ home on Main Street in Richmond, Virginia. His family, having lived in Virginia since 1639, was part of the Colonial American aristocracy. Prior generations of Picketts were landowners and planters, but young George Pickett broke family tradition by being the first to choose a military career as his vocation.

An 1846 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Lt. Pickett, 8th U. S. Infantry, joined American forces in Mexico where he gained a warrior’s reputation throughout several engagements. After the war with Mexico, the U. S. Army assigned him to western outposts to quell hostilities. When Congress expanded military forces during the 1850’s to include, among other units, the 9th Infantry, Lt. Pickett was appointed Captain, Company D of that unit and transferred to the Oregon Territory. During that tour of duty, Capt. Pickett’s name became a familiar one to both American and British citizens due to his handling of the San Juan incident known as the Pig War. Pickett, with his company of 59 men, prevailed in a dispute with a large segment of the British Navy.

At the outbreak of the War Between the States, Capt. Pickett remained at his post in the Oregon Territory, but when Virginia seceded from the union during April 1861, he cast his lot with his home state and resigned his commission. To his credit, Pickett remained at his post until his replacement arrived.

During February 1862, George E. Pickett was commissioned as a Brigadier General and, after the Seven Days Battles, he was promoted to Major General. Serving with the First Army Corps, he was the tactical field commander during the famous charge on July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg.

At the conclusion of the war, George E. Pickett returned to Richmond, Virginia where he worked as General Agent for the Washington Life Insurance Company, managing agents in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. After Gen. Pickett’s death July 30, 1875, his former soldiers organized Pickett’s Division Association and attended soldiers’ reunions as a group. One of their accomplishments was to erect a grand monument over the grave of their old commander in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

His wife, Sallie Corbell Pickett, their son, George E. Pickett, Jr., a brother, Maj. Charles F. Pickett of Norfolk, and a sister, Mrs. Virginia P. Burwell of Richmond, survived Gen. Pickett.