Early Life and Career
George L. Willard was born in New York City on August 15, 1827. He served in the Mexican War. By the war’s end, Willard had reached the rank of sergeant in the 15th U.S. Infantry. For his part in the war, he was made a second lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Infantry. Willard remained in the regular service until the outbreak of the Civil War, rising to the rank of captain in the 8th Infantry. At the outbreak of the war, Willard was unwilling to give up his regular commission—by then a major in the 19th U. S. Infantry, and so he missed for a time any chance to command a regiment of volunteers.
Read more about this topic: George L. Willard
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or career:
“In the early days of the world, the Almighty said to the first of our race “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”; and since then, if we except the light and the air of heaven, no good thing has been, or can be enjoyed by us, without having first cost labour.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Conventional wisdom notwithstanding, there is no reason either in football or in poetry why the two should not meet in a man’s life if he has the weight and cares about the words.”
—Archibald MacLeish (1892–1982)
“Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.”
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)