| George Paul Harrison Sr. | |
| Birth Date: | 19 October 1813 |
| Birth Place: | Effingham County, Georgia |
| Death Place: | Chatham County, Georgia |
| Placeofburial: | Savannah, Georgia |
| Branch: | Georgia militia |
| Serviceyears: | 1861 - 1862; 1864 - 1865 |
| Rank: | Brigadier General |
| Battles: | American Civil War |
| Laterwork: | Georgia State representative, court clerk |
George Paul Harrison Sr. (October 19, 1813 – May 14, 1888) was a brigadier general in the Georgia militia from 1856 - 1861,[1] commander of the 1st Brigade in the Georgia State Troops[1] and a colonel in Georgia's First Military District in 1864 - 1865 during the American Civil War (Civil War). He was a prisoner of war for several months near the end of the war.
George P. Harrison Sr. was a rice planter, brigadier general in the Georgia militia and member of the Georgia House of Representatives before the Civil War. After the war, Harrison was a state representative in 1865 - 1866, a delegate to the state constitutional convention, a clerk of the city court of Savannah, Georgia and clerk of the superior court of Chatham County, Georgia.
He was the father of George Paul Harrison Jr., a Confederate States Army colonel, who commanded a brigade late in the war and was later an Alabama State Senator and a two-term member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama.[2] [3] [4]
George Paul Harrison Sr. was born in Effingham County, Georgia on October 19, 1813.[2] [5] [6] He was the son of Colonel William Harrison, a colonel of Georgia militia in the War of 1812 and Mary (Keller) Harrison.[5] [7] Harrison was the father of George Paul Harrison Jr., a Confederate States Army colonel who commanded a brigade near the end of the Civil War and later was an Alabama state senator and a U.S. Representative from Alabama.[2] [3] [4]
Harrison was a rice planter on his Savannah River plantation, Monteith, now a location within Port Wentworth, Georgia, which is within the Savannah metropolitan area.[5] [8] Before the Civil War, Harrison was a representative for Chatham County in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1842, 1849 - 1850, 1853 - 1854; and 1857 - 1860.[5] He also became a brigadier general in the Georgia militia.[9] He was a delegate to Democrat state party conventions in 1858 and 1860.[3]
After the outbreak of the Civil War, Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown appointed Harrison a brigadier general of state troops to rank from September 14, 1861.[2] [3] [10] Harrison was assigned to establish a training camp near Savannah and to organize the regiments for the new troops.[3] Harrison did this, and led a force guarding the Georgia coast, during the winter of 1861 - 1862, after which his command was terminated.[3]
Under a new militia law in 1864, Harrison was appointed colonel in charge of Georgia's First Military District with the duties of destroying whiskey stills and tracking down deserters.[2] [3] Soon, Harrison's command was required to oppose Sherman's March to the Sea.[3] When they reached the Savannah area, Sherman's men pillaged Harrison's home and property at Montieth.[3] In December 1864, Harrison was taken prisoner while visiting his devastated property.[2] [3] Harrison was released from prison before the end of the war but refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States government.[3]
After the Civil War, Harrison returned to the Savannah area.[3] He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives for 1865 - 1866 and served as a delegate to the Georgia constitutional convention.[3] He was elected court clerk of the City Court of Savannah, Georgia and clerk of the Superior Court of Chatham County, Georgia.[2] [3]
George Paul Harrison Sr. died at his home on his farm in Chatham County, Georgia near Savannah, Georgia on May 14, 1888.[3] He is buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia.[2]