Brevet Brigadier General George Bell, USA - Hagerstown, Maryland
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 38.636 W 077° 43.460
18S E 266231 N 4391785
Marker with information about Civil War General Bell from Hagerstown, Maryland
Waymark Code: WMKEJF
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 03/31/2014
Views: 4
Text marker:
Brevet Brigadier General George Bell, USA 1828-1907
George Bell was the son of William Duffield Bell, developer of South Prospect Street and editor of the Hagerstown Torchlight newspaper. He grew up in this neighborhood. An 1853 graduate of West Point, Bell served at several posts in Texas and on the east coast, including Fort McHenry. His accomplishments include:
1861 - Courier for General-in-Chief Winfred Scott, carrying secret dispatches to Texas. He was then assigned to the field artillery, but soon was transferred to the Commissary Department.
1861 - As a lieutenant and commissary officer, he arranged to proved food for General McDowell's army during the First Manasssas Campaign.
1861-1865 - Stationed at the Annapolis, Alexandria and Washington DC, depots as the regional commissary officer. Arranged for the purchase, preparation and distribution of the food necessary to daily feed tens of thousands of soldiers and prisoners of war held in the region. Promoted several times.
1865 - Brevetted (honorary) promotion to brigadier general for meritorious service.
1892 - Retired with the rank of colonel. When he died his remains were returned to Hagerstown and interred in Rose Hill Cemetery.