Wright, George, 1803-1865

George Wright was an American soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. He was born in Vermont in 1803 and died at sea on July 30, 1865. Wright attended West Point and graduated in 1822. He fought in the Mexican-American with the 8th infantry, and after being wounded was given the rank of colonel. In 1858 Wright oversaw the re-construction of Fort Dalles in Oregon Territory, and while in the Northwest also participated in the Yakima War and the Battle of Four Lakes near present-day Spokane. At the onset of the Civil War, Wright was transferred from his position as the commanding officer of the Department of Oregon to the position of the commanding officer of the Department of Southern California. In October 1861 he was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers and placed in command of the Department of the Pacific, with it's headquarters located in San Francisco. Despite his wishes to return East during the Civil War, Wright remained in California, were he commanded the largest force in the Far West. In 1865 Wright was given the command of the newly created Department of Columbia. While en route to his new command, he died when his ship, the Brother Jonathan, sank off the California coast.