Balch, George Beall 1821-1908

George Beall Balch (1821-1908) of Tennessee received an appointment in 1837 from Alabama as midshipman in the U.S. Navy. On the Princeton and the Falcon he took part in the Mexican War. As a lieutenant on the Plymouth he was a member of the Perry expedition to Japan. Balch remained in the Navy through the Civil War, commanding the Pocahontas and the Pawnee in operations along the East coast from Jacksonville, Fla. to Georgetown, S.C. After the war, Balch held a series of posts with the Navy, retiring as a rear admiral in 1883 and living in Baltimore, Md. Admiral Balch was twice married: to Julia Grace Vinson in 1844, and to Mary Ellen Booth in 1865.

From the guide to the George Beall Balch Papers, 1830-1924, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

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