George Varney (1834–1911) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and was awarded the grade of brevet

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and the ...

, in 1867 for his gallant service at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. Born in Levant, Maine, he was a wholesale grocer in Bangor, Maine when the war broke out in 1861. Varney enlisted as a major in the

2nd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment (also known as the Second Maine Regiment, Second Maine Infantry, or The Bangor Regiment) was a Union Army unit during the American Civil War. It was mustered in Bangor, Maine, for two years' service on May 28, 1861, ...

, which was the first unit to march out of the state in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion after the fall of

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...

.Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands,'' p. 543. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2001. . He was wounded and captured in the unit's first engagement, the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

, in July 1861, but exchanged for a captured Confederate officer a month later. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Varney was captured a second time (and exchanged a second time) at the

Battle of Gaines' Mill The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Following the inconc ...

in 1862. He suffered a head wound at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Lt. Colonel Varney led his regiment along an unfinished railroad cut to get closer to the stone wall on

Marye's Heights The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

. A shell fragment struck him on the head and dropped him senseless to the ground.O'Reilly, 2006, p. 372. Major Daniel F. Sargent assumed command of the regiment and led it out of the cut where it disintegrated almost immediately under withering rifle and artillery fire from the Confederates behind the stone wall on Marye's Heights. Lt. Colonel Varney recovered from his wound and was made colonel of the regiment on January 10, 1863, with the retirement of Colonel Charles W. Roberts. Colonel Varney was honorably mustered out of the United States Volunteers on June 9, 1863. Varney served a term in the Maine House of Representatives in 1864, representing Bangor, Maine. Varney was among a number of colonels and lower ranking officers who were awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier generals to rank from March 13, 1865. President Andrew Johnson nominated Colonel Varney for the award of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, on January 18, 1867, and the brevet was confirmed by the U. S. Senate on February 21, 1867, to rank from March 13, 1865.Eicher and Eicher, 2001, p. 760. Varney lived the rest of his life in Bangor and is one of eight union generals buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. Varney's letters and other papers were discovered by a descendant, Robert W. P. Cutler, in 1980 and published in the boo
''The Tin Box'' (Morris Pub., 1999)

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'' Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2001. . * Hunt, Roger D., and Brown, Jack R., ''Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue''. Olde Soldier Books, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, 1990. . * O'Reilly, Francis A., ''The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War on the Rappahannock''. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA, 2003, paperback edition, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, George 1834 births 1911 deaths Union Army colonels People of Maine in the American Civil War Politicians from Bangor, Maine Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine) Members of the Maine House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians People from Levant, Maine