Kanawha Riflemen Lawyer George Smith Patton, (1833-1864) A Richmond Va. native and 1852 graduate of Virginia Military Institute, organized the Kanawha Riflemen, a Virginia militia company, after moving to Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia in 1856. As the Civil War approached, the group and its comrades were unabashedly pro-Southern. In 1861, the worst fears of the Kanawha Riflemen were realized as federal troops headed up the Kanawha River for Charleston. Led by Patton, their 24-year-old major, the Riflemen met the Yankees at Scary Creek, a tributary of the Kanawha, on July 17, 1861. During the brief but bloody skirmish which also involved other Confederate units, the federals lost 15 killed, 11 wounded, and seven captured. The Kanawha Riflemen were soon incorporated into the regular army of the Confederacy as Company H of the 22nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry, where they left a heroic record. Patton suffered a severe shoulder wound at Scary Creek but went on to lead the 22nd Virginia Regiment until his death in the Battle of Winchester, September 25, 1864. He was the grandfather of Gen. George S. Patton of World War II. wem The 1861 Kanawha Riflemen had a strength of from 75 to 100, of whom 20 were lawyers. The unit comprised the manhood of many of Charleston’s wealthy families. Many of the Kanawha Riflemen rest in Charleston’s Spring Hill Cemetery. GEORGE S. PATTON District Attorney 1886-1887 The father of the legendary World War II tank commander was District Attorney before running for higher office. George S. Patton was the first city attorney of Pasadena, in 1877. He also opened a Los Angeles law practice before being elected District Attorney in 1886. Patton would also be the first mayor of San Marino. He was less successful, however, standing for other public offices -- losing a bid for the U.S. Congress in 1894 and for the Senate in 1916. Patton swam against the tide as a stubborn opponent of women having the vote. GEORGE SMITH PATTON, Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a United States Army general, best known for his command of the Seventh United States Army, and later the Third United States Army, in the European Theater of World War II. Born in 1885 to a privileged family with an extensive military background, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute, and later the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He participated in the 1912 Olympic Modern Pentathlon, and was instrumental in designing the M1913 Patton Saber. Patton first saw combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916, taking part in Americas first military action using motor vehicles. He later joined the newly formed United States Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces and saw action in World War I, first commanding the U.S. tank school in France before being wounded near the end of the war. In the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of armored warfare doctrine in the U.S. Army, serving on numerous staff positions throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the U.S. 2nd Armored Division at the time of the U.S. entry into World War II. Patton led U.S. troops into the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch in 1942, where he later established himself as an effective commander through his rapid rehabilitation of the demoralized U.S. II Corps. He commanded the Seventh Army during the Invasion of Sicily, where he was the first allied commander to reach Messina. There he was embroiled in controversy after he slapped two shell-shocked soldiers under his command, and was temporarily removed from battlefield command for other duties such as participating in Operation Fortitudes disinformation campaign for Operation Overlord. Patton returned to command the Third Army following the invasion of Normandy in 1944, where he led a highly successful, rapid armored drive across France. He led the relief of beleaguered U.S. troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced his army into Nazi Germany by the end of the war. After the war, Patton became the military governor of Bavaria, but he was relieved of this post because of his statements on denazification. He commanded the Fifteenth United States Army for slightly more than two months. Patton died following an automobile accident in Europe on December 21, 1945 General George S Patton Car Crash Accident Patton died on December 21,1945 from injuries sustained in a car accident that happened in Occupied Germany on December 9, 1945. The accident occurred one day before Patton was to return to the United States. In one account Patton was riding in a 1939 Cadillac Model 75 with his chief of staff, Major General Hobart R. Gay while being driven by PFC Horace Woodring. Patton was sitting in the back seat with Gay. At some point a 2.5 ton truck driven attempted a left-hand turn towards a side road in fornt of the Cadillac near Neckarstadt, Germany. The Cadillac crashed into the truck throwing Patton violently forward. Pattons head hit a metal partition between the front and back seats resulting in severe injuries. Gay and the driver Woodring were unharmed. Patton was left paralyzed and died of a heart attack or embolism on December 21, 1945 at the military hospital in Heidelberg. His wife came but he wa sunable to speak to her. This is the offical version of the accident and death. There is much speculation that Patton due to his unpopular views and political potential was assassinated by either the USSR or US
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 03:25:35 +0000
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