George McDonald

George T. McDonald (1842 – April 25, 1864) was a Union soldier from who died in the Civil War. Despite being listed in Paul Roy’s Scott Countians in the Civil War, it does not appear that McDonald was from Scott County.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born in 1842, George T. McDonald may have been the son of Isaac McDonald (1800-1872) and Susan McDonald (1805-1857). If so, his siblings included Fidelia Elizabeth Richardson (1835-1864) and John Balaam McDonald (1872-1954), and he was not actually from Scott County. The McDonald family lived in Overton County, near Livingston.

Civil War

George McDonald mustered into the Union army at Camp Wildcat in Kentucky on October 24, 1861, at the age of 19. He may have actually enlisted on September 1, 1861 at Camp Dick Robinson in Kentucky. He was assigned to Co. D, 2nd Tennessee Infantry.

On November 6, 1863, the 2nd Tennessee was overwhelmed by Confederate forces at the Battle of Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tenn. All were taken prisoner, including many from Scott County. Many of those prisoners died in Confederate prisoners. McDonald was initially imprisoned at Belle Isle in Richmond, Va., and later transferred on Feb. 18, 1864 to Andersonville, Ga. He died on April 25, 1864 of diarrhea. He was buried at Andersonville National Cemetery in Grave No. 745.

McDonald’s brother-in-law, Corp. Martin Richardson (husband of Fidelia) also died at Andersonville on May 1, 1864. He served in Co. H, 3rd Kentucky Infantry and died of pneumonia.