George Izard

George Izard (21 October 1776 - 22 November 1828) was a General in the United States Army during the War of 1812 and a Governor of the Arkansas Territory.

George Izard was born in London. He was the son of Ralph Izard who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and United States Senator from South Carolina. He graduated from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1792. He attended military schools in England and Germany and received military engineering instruction in France.

Izard served as aide-de-camp to Alexander Hamilton and engineer of Fort Pinckney. He served in a diplomatic position in Lisbon, Portugal for a time.

During the War of 1812 Izard served in the United States Army where he rose to the rank of General. He served as Wade Hampton's second in command until Hampton's resignation when he succeeded him.

Izard was in charge of U.S. land forces protecting Lake Champlain in 1814 until ordered to reinforce the Army of Niagara.

Izard was appointed Governor of Arkansas Territory in 1825 and served until his death in 1828.

George Izard died of complications of gout in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was originally buried in an unknown location but his body was moved in 1843 to the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock. [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10399 See Find A Grave]

Izard County, Arkansas is named for George Izard. General Izard's original artillery unit still exists as the [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-3ada.htm 1st Battalion of the 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment] .