Lincoln, George

Born: 1816-10-19 Worcester, Massachusetts

Died: 1847-02-23 Buena Vista, Mexico

George Lincoln was an American army officer and the son of Levi Lincoln, Jr., former governor of Massachusetts. Lincoln received his pre-collegiate education at Leicester Academy. In 1832, he matriculated to Harvard College. After his second year, he left Harvard to take the first of two voyages to India. He returned home from his second voyage as the War Department was increasing the U.S. Army to combat the Seminole Indians in Florida. Soliciting a commission in the infantry, Lincoln received a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Fourth Infantry. He immediately joined his unit on active duty in Florida. In September 1840, Lincoln earned promotion to first lieutenant and transferred to the U.S. Eighth Infantry. He commanded a unit of mounted troops in the latter stages of the Second Seminole War. At the end of the war, Lincoln engaged in garrison duty with units of his regiment at forts around the country. When the Mexican War commenced in May 1846, he marched with his regiment to Mexico. Lincoln distinguished himself at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. In July 1846, he received appointment as assistant adjutant general with the rank of brevet captain. The War Department assigned him to the staff of Colonel William Worth, commander of the Eighth Infantry. Lincoln died during combat at the Battle of Buena Vista.

The Mexican War and its Heroes (Philadelphia: J. P. Lippincott, 1860), 266-67; William Lincoln, History of Worcester, Massachusetts, From its Earliest Settlement to September 1836: With Various Notices Relating to the History of Worcester County (Worcester: Charles Hersey, 1862), 385; Wm. Hugh Robarts, Mexican War Veterans: A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846 to 1848 (Washington, DC: Brentano's, 1887), 5, 24; Gravestone, Worcester Rural Cemetery, Worcester, MA.