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George Alexander Porterfield (November 24, 1822 – February 27, 1919) was a junior officer of United States forces in the Mexican-American War, colonel in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War and longtime banker in Charles Town, West Virginia after the war. He was in command of Confederate forces at Philippi in northwestern Virginia, later West Virginia, when they were surprised and routed, though with only a few soldiers wounded or captured, by Union Army forces on June 3, 1861 near the beginning of the Civil War. After serving in staff and temporary field positions for 11 more months, Porterfield resigned from the Confederate Army because he lost his position in a regimental election. In 1871 he helped found a bank at Charles Town, West Virginia which he served for many years. At his death he was the third-last surviving veteran officer of the Mexican-American War. ==Early life== George Alexander Porterfield was born in Berkeley County, Virginia on November 24, 1822. He was the son of George and Mary (Tabb) Porterfield and the grandson of William and Rachel (Vance) Porterfield. His grandfather was a captain〔Dandridge, Danske. (''Historic Shepherdstown'' ) Charlottesville, VA: Michie Publishing Company, 1910. . Retrieved May 7, 2011. p. 342〕 in the American Revolutionary War, a justice of Berkeley County in 1785 and high sheriff of the county in 1803. His father was a veteran of the War of 1812.〔Miller, Thomas Condit and Hu Maxwell. (''West Virginia and Its People, Volume 3'' ). New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913. . Retrieved May 4, 2011. p. 887〕 Porterfield was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the class of 1844.〔Wise, Jennings C. (''The Military History of the Virginia Military Institute from 1839 to 1865'' ). Lynchburg, VA: J. P. Bell and Company, 1915. . Retrieved May 7, 2011. P. 527〕 At Richmond, Virginia in May 1846, he helped organize the first company of Virginia volunteers for service in the Mexican-American War.〔Atkinson, George Wesley and Alvaro Franklin Gibbens. (''Prominent Men of West Virginia: Biographical Sketches, the Growth and Advancement of the State'' ). Wheeling, WV: W. L. Callin, 1890. . Retrieved May 4, 2011. p. 485〕 He was elected first lieutenant. Soon after arriving in Mexico, he was appointed adjutant of the 1st Virginia Regiment, then acting assistant adjutant general of his brigade and later assistant adjutant general of the division at Buena Vista, Mexico.〔〔Wise, 1915, p. 528〕〔Porterfield succeeded Captain Irvin McDowell, later Union commander at the Battle of First Manassas, as assistant adjutant general of his division.〕 He became an editor of the ''Martinsburg Gazette'' and a teacher after the war.〔 After a few years in a government job with the United States Coast Survey〔Bushong, Millard Kessler. (''A History of Jefferson County, West Virginia [1719-1940]'' ). Westminster, MD, Heritage Books, 2007 reprint of 1941 book. ISBN 978-0-7884-2250-8. Retrieved May 9, 2011. p. 301〕 in Washington, D.C., he returned to Jefferson County as a farmer in 1855. He was living with his family on his farm when the Civil War began.〔〔 On July 9, 1849, George Porterfield married Emily Cornelia Terrill.〔 She was the daughter of Elizabeth (Pitzer) Terrill and Colonel William Henry Terrill (1800–1877), a lawyer and prosecuting attorney in Bath County, Virginia, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Allegheny County, 1829–1831, and provost marshal for Bath County during the Civil War.〔 She was the sister of Confederate General James Barbour Terrill, Phillip M. Terrill, a lieutenant in Company B of the 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment〔A review of a book on the Terrill family, ''"God Alone Knows Which Was Right": The Blue and Gray Terrill Family of Virginia in the Civil War'' by Richard L. Armstrong (McFarland, 2010). ISBN 978-0-7864-4622-3, states that Phillip Mallory Terrill "joined the 25th Virginia infantry regiment as a lieutenant. He later resigned and enlisted in the 12th Virginia Cavalry." He had been a student at the University of Virginia when the war began. Note that the 25th Virginia Infantry was the regiment originally organized under the command of George A. Porterfield. http://cwba.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html. Miller simply identifies Phillip Terrill as a private, which perhaps was his rank at his initial enlistment.〕 and Union General William Rufus Terrill. All three brothers were killed in action.〔Miller, 1913, p. 888〕 A fourth brother, George Parker Terrill, who was an 1849 graduate of VMI and 1853 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania medical school, survived the war. George Parker Terrill started his Confederate service as Colonel of the 157th Virginia militia. Later in the war, Doctor Terrill served as a recruiter and post surgeon.〔 George and Emily Porterfield had four sons and three daughters.〔 Their son John followed George in the banking business.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George A. Porterfield」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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