George Albert Wheatley

WHEATLEY, GEORGE ALBERT (1842~1909) George Albert Wheatley, Confederate veteran, Texas Ranger, and state official, was born in Culpepper County, Virginia in 1842. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army on August 23, 1863, in Fauquier County, Virginia, and was mustered into service as a private in Company H of the 4th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry, which was often referred to as the "Black Horse Cavalry."

Wheatley, who served as a scout for General J. E. B. Stewart, was captured on April 14, 1864, in Stafford County, Virginia. He was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year before being released on June 16, 1865, at Fort Delaware, after taking an oath of allegiance to the United States.

Following his release, Wheatley moved to Texas and settled in Austin, where he worked as an accountant and was a proprietor in two different grocery businesses on Congress Avenue - Weyland and Wheatley and Burke and Wheatley, respectively.

On September 3, 1888, after being appointed by Governor L. S. Ross, Wheatley took his oath of office as a member of the Board of Managers of the Lunatic Asylum. Five years later, on July 5, 1892, at age 51, he joined the Texas Volunteer Guard, a forerunner to the Texas National Guard. He served in Company A, 1st Regiment Cavalry. That next year, he was appointed Quartermaster of the Frontier Battalion, which was another name for the Texas Rangers, by Governor James S. Hogg. Taking the rank of Captain, Wheatley took his oath of office on February 1, 1893, and appears to have served until 1897.

By August 4, 1897, Wheatley was once again serving in the Volunteer Guard, but resigned on April 25, 1898, the same day the U. S. Congress declared war on Spain. In a letter to Governor Charles Culberson, which was written the same day of the declaration of war, Wheatley officially tendered his resignation to answer President William McKinley's call for volunteers to fight. In his letter to the Governor, Wheatley stated that he was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Cavalry, Texas Volunteer Guard. He was mustered into U.S. service on May 5, 1898, at age 57, as a 1st Lieutenant and Quartermaster of the First Regiment, Texas Volunteer Cavalry (United States Volunteers). Wheatley's unit, which did not serve outside the United States during the War, was mustered out of federal service in November, 1898.

After seperating from the military, Wheatley, who was a member of the John Bell Hood Camp of Confederate Veterans, died on October 26, 1909. Because of his service to the Confederacy and the State of Texas, he was buried in the Texas State Cemetery the next day. He was survived by his wife, Harriet, and a daughter, Katherine.

Information taken from: Oath of Office, George A. Wheatly, Member of the Board of Managers of the Lunatic Asylum, September 3, 1888; The Austin Daily Statesman, Wednesday, October 7, 1909, Page 3, column 5; The Austin Daily Statesman, Thursday, October 28, 1909, page 3, column 3; Widows Application for a Pension # 33081.