Ringgold, George H. (army officer)

Died: 1864-04-04 San Francisco, California

Ringgold was an American army officer. He entered the U.S. Military Academy in July 1829, graduating thirty-third in the class of 1833. The War Department commissioned him as brevet second lieutenant in the Sixth U.S. Infantry and stationed him at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. In August 1836, he received promotion to second lieutenant. He transferred to garrison duty in Louisiana, and in May 1837, he resigned his commission. In civilian life, he worked as a farmer and flour manufacturer. From 1842 to 1846, he was employed at the U.S. Army Ordnance Bureau. When the Mexican War began, the War Department re-appointed him to the army with the rank of additional paymaster. In July 1847, he received promotion to major and staff paymaster. After the war, he served in the Paymaster Department in Washington, DC (1848-50), Charleston, South Carolina (1850-55), San Diego, California (1855-58), and San Francisco (1858-61). In May 1862, Ringgold received promotion to lieutenant colonel and deputy paymaster general. During the Civil War, he commanded the paymasters in the Department of the Pacific. He served in this capacity until his death.

Obituary, Daily Alta California (San Francisco), 1 June 1864, 1:5; George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, 3rd ed. (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891), 1:562-63.