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 Abt 1749 - 1804 (55 years)
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| Name |
George Walton |
| Birth |
Abt 1749 |
Cumberland CO, Virginia  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
2 Feb 1804 |
Augusta, Richmond, GA |
| Burial |
Rosney Plantation Cemetery, Richmond CO, Georgia |
| Person ID |
I294 |
Georgia Revolutionary War Graves |
| Last Modified |
2 Aug 2018 |
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| Notes |
- George Walton was one of three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence. He served in numerous capacities for the state of Georgia after the American Revolution (1775-83). The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749 in Virginia. In 1769, he moved to Savannah, where he pursued a legal career. By the eve of the American Revolution he was one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia. Active in Georgia's Revolutionary government, he was elected to the Provincial Congress and then became president of the Council of Safety in 1775. In 1776 he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where in August he signed the Declaration (along with Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall of Georgia). Returning to Savannah, Walton was captured during the 1778 British assault on the city, led by Archibald Campbell. After his exchange, he returned to Georgia and was elected governor in 1779, having switched allegiances from the conservative to the radical faction. He served for two controversial months before reelection to Congress. After the Revolution Walton served as chief justice of Georgia, as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1788 that ratified the new federal constitution, as a presidential elector in 1789, as governor that same year, as U.S. senator (appointed by the legislature when James Jackson stepped down to fight the Yazoo Land Act), and as a justice of the state superior court. He eventually retired in the 1780s to his Augusta home, where he died on February 2, 1804. Walton is buried in Augusta. Walton County is named for him.
- Source: Deaton, Stan. "George Walton (ca. 1749-1804)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 19 July 2017. Web. 02 November 2017.
- On January 9, 1778, Walton received a commission as colonel of the First Georgia Regiment of Militia. During the Battle of Savannah in 1778 led by Archibald Campbell, Walton was injured in the battle and taken prisoner. He was hit in the thigh by a ball that threw him from his horse. He was subsequently captured by the British, who allowed his wound to heal before sending him to Sunbury Prison, where other colonial prisoners were held. Walton was eventually exchanged in October 1779.
- Dorothy Camber was the daughter of Thomas Camber of St. Peter?s Parish, South Carolina, and Dorothy Butler Camber of Chatham County, Georgia. George Walton married Dorothy Camber in 1775, and they had two sons: Thomas Camber Walton and George Walton, Jr.
- Monument marked 19 May 2018 by Col. William Few, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton Chapters GA SAR
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