George Washington Lafayette Ard

(1833 - 1894)
Home State: Georgia
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 2nd Georgia Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
Raised in Alabama, he was a farm superintendent in Georgia at the start of the War. He enlisted as Private - September 17, 1861 - in Company K of the 2nd Georgia Infantry.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He was wounded in the (right?) elbow and left leg - which was amputated - and captured in action on 17 September 1862 at Sharpsburg.

The remainder of the War:
"After the battle he fell into the hands of the Federals, and a member of the Ninth New York Infantry cared for him until he was exchanged. This strange friendship between two soldiers of the opposite armies was continued by correspondence until the death of the Federal soldier." He was paroled at Ft. McHenry, Maryland, and sent to Ft. Monroe, Virginia for exchange on 17 May 1863.

After the War:
After exchange he returned to Georgia and was elected tax collector of Stewart County. He served in that office - being continually reelected - until his death about 30 years later.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic service information from Ranger95 1, with further details and the quote above from a bio sketch in - Harden, William, HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA, Vol. II (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1913). Death info from his obituary in the Atlanta Constitution of 2 August 1894. His gravesite is on Findagrave.

Birth Date: 07/21/1833 Place of Birth: Dale County, AL
Death Date: 07/31/1894 Death Place: Lumpkin, GA Burial Place: East Side Cemetery, Lumpkin, GA

Notes

1 Fincham, Jr., Ray, Artillery, Cavalry, Infantry Regimental Histories - Georgia C.S.A., Published c. 2005, <http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war/georgia/index.html>, Source page: /infantry/2nd_regt_inf.html [AotW citation 2765]

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