George Wythe Randolph
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1818-1867
George Randolph, the Secretary of War for the Confederate States of
America during the American Civil War, was born in Charlottesville,
Virginia at Monticello to Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. {descendant of
Pocahontas} and Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter of U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson). Named in honor of George Wythe, he was a relative
of Edmund Randolph, who served in George Washington's cabinet as the
first Attorney General of the United States, as well as colonist
William Randolph through both his mother and father's sides of the
family.
Randolph briefly attended school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
served as a midshipman in the United States Navy. He attended the
University of Virginia before moving to Richmond and becoming a
lawyer. On April 10, 1852, he married Mary Elizabeth Adams (1830-
1871).
He joined the Confederate army serving as Major in the Battle of Big
Bethel, and was promoted to Brigadier General on February 12, 1862.
Randolph was appointed by Jefferson Davis as Secretary of War on
March 18, 1862, and he took office on March 24 1862, but on November
17 1862, Randolph resigned.
Randolph is buried in the Jefferson family graveyard at Monticello.
