Background
PICKETT, George Edward was born on January 28, 1825 in Richmond, Virginia, United States, United States. Son of Robert Pickett, a Henrico County planter.
General military insurance business
PICKETT, George Edward was born on January 28, 1825 in Richmond, Virginia, United States, United States. Son of Robert Pickett, a Henrico County planter.
Private school.
His wife Mary (Johnston). He attended Richmond Academy and studied law with his uncle inQuincey, Illinois, in 1842. Appointed to West Point, he graduated last in a class of fifty-nine in 1846.
First married to Sally Minge in January 1851, after her death, he married La Salle Corbell on September 5, 1863, by whom he had two children. During the Mexican War, he participated in the siege of Vera Cruz and fought at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and Mexico City. He was breveted first lieutenant and captain.
After serving on the Texas frontier from 1849 to 1855, he was promoted to captain of the 9th Infantry. Pickett spent the year 1856 at Fortress Monroe in Virginia before being assigned to duty in the Washington Territory from 1857 to 1861. He resigned his commission when the Civil War began and volunteered for service in the Confederate Army.
A colonel of Virginia troops, he was promoted to brigadier general on February 13, 1862. His brigade served gallantly under James Longstreet during the battle of Williamsburg and the Seven Days, where Pickett was wounded at Gaines’ Mills. Following his promotion to major general on October 11,1862, his division held the center for Lee at the battle of Fredericksburg the following December.
But his greatest fame came on the third day of the battle of Gettysburg, where he led his small division against the virtually impregnable federal center at Cemetery Ridge. The casualties were enormous and included all but one field and general officer in his division. The following September, Pickett was sent to recruit in southern Virginia and North Carolina.
In January 1864, he fought at New Bern, and in the spring of 1864, he saved Petersburg from capture. Defeated at the battle of Five Forks on April 1,1865, he was relieved and discredited by Robert E. Lee following the battle of Sayler’s Creek on April 6. He surrendered at Appomattox and was soon paroled.
After the war Pickett was a poor man. He became a life insurance salesman in Richmond.
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
Spouse La Salle Corbell.