George A. Porterfield

Who was George A. Porterfield?

George Alexander Porterfield 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.