Background
George Earl Maney was born on August 24, 1826, at Franklin, Tennessee. He was the eldest son of Thomas and Rebecca (Southall) Maney, and a descendant of James Maney, a French Huguenot, who settled in North Carolina.
Diplomat lawyer military politician
George Earl Maney was born on August 24, 1826, at Franklin, Tennessee. He was the eldest son of Thomas and Rebecca (Southall) Maney, and a descendant of James Maney, a French Huguenot, who settled in North Carolina.
Maney attended the Nashville Seminary and in 1845, graduated from the University of Nashville.
At the beginning of the Mexican War, Maney entered the United States Army, May 28, 1846, as the second lieutenant of Captain Foster's Company, 1st Tennessee Infantry, to serve one year; he was honorably discharged September 7, 1846, at Camargo, Tennessee, upon tender of his resignation, due to physical disability. On March 6 of the following year, he was appointed first lieutenant, United States Infantry, and in April, first lieutenant, 3rd United States Dragoons, and was honorably mustered out on July 31, 1848.
In 1850, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Tennessee, but upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the Confederate service as captain of Company D, 11th Tennessee Infantry. In May 1861, however, he was made colonel of the 1st (Field's) Regiment, Tennessee Infantry. He took part in the Cheat River campaign under Gen. Robert E. Lee and served at Bath and Romney under General Jackson, one of the few officers of the Army of Tennessee to have that distinction.
He distinguished himself at the battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862, and was made brigadier-general on April 18, the appointment to date from April 16, 1862. He commanded a brigade at the battles of Perryville, Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga, where he was wounded in the right arm. In the Atlanta campaign, he commanded a division and was engaged in the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864.
He was paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina, on or about May 1, 1865. Maney became president of the Tennessee & Pacific Railroad in 1868. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Tennessee in 1876, opposing James D. Porter, but withdrew before the election. He served in the state legislature and being an able speaker took an active part in presidential campaigns.
On May 19, 1881, he was appointed minister resident to Colombia. His predecessor had been recalled at the request of the Colombian government, and since it was a critical period in the relations of the United States with Colombia, owing to an attempt by European powers to establish a guarantee of neutrality over the inter-oceanic canal, Maney's duties were both onerous and delicate. He was transferred to Bolivia April 17, 1882, as minister resident and consul general at La Paz.
On June 20, 1889, he was made minister resident to Paraguay and Uruguay, and on September 23, 1890, his rank was raised to that of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. He remained at that post until June 30, 1894.
His death occurred suddenly on February 9, 1901, in Washington, D. C.
Maney was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a postbellum U. S. ambassador to Colombia, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He was a president of the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad in 1868, serving in that executive post for nine years. During the presidential administrations of James A. Garfield, Chester Arthur, and Benjamin Harrison, Maney was appointed as ambassador to various countries in South America. He was the U. S. minister to Colombia (1881–1882) and then was the Minister Resident/Consul General to Bolivia from November 4, 1882, until June 1, 1883. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1884 and 1888. He spent four years (1890–1894) as the U. S. ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay.
Maney was married at Nashville, Tennessee, June 23, 1853, to Bettie, daughter of F. G. Crutcher, and had two sons and three daughters.
