George F. McFarland
| George Fisher McFarland | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 3, 1831 Dauphin County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | November 2, 1893 (aged 62) Tallapoosa, Georgia |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1862–1863 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant Colonel
|
| Unit | 151st Pennsylvania Infantry |
| Battles/wars | |
George Fisher McFarland (April 28, 1834 – December 18, 1891) was a schoolteacher from Juniata County, Pennsylvania and Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He was the lieutenant colonel of the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry and commanded the regiment in severe combat during first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
George McFarland was born on April 28, 1834, to John and Elizabeth McFarland at Todd's Mill in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. At age fifteen, the family moved to the city of Harrisburg, and he began working as a boat pilot with his father on the Susquehanna River. As early as age sixteen, he worked as an amateur teacher in the Harrisburg area. In the early 1850s, he attended Freeburg Academy in Snyder County. Following his graduation, he became an assistant teacher and later principal at Freeburg. In 1856, at age twenty-one, he married Adeline "Addie" Griesemer, who was two years senior to him. While serving as principal at the school in Freeburg, he started a family with Addie. Their first child, Clara, was born in August, 1857, but died in 1860.
In December, 1858, the McFarland purchased an academy in McAlisterville and moved his family there as he set to work as principal there. Upon taking over McAlisterville Academy, McFarland began expanding the school's curriculum and facilities. Under McFarland's administration, the academy taught mathematics, science, music, languages, art, and physical education. Enrollment at the academy between 1858 and 1862 ranged between 43 and 70 students. While living in McAlisterville, the McFarlands welcomed a son, John Horace, in 1859, and a daughter, Emma Viola, in 1862.
When the American Civil War began in April, 1861, McFarland chose to remain in McAlisterville and continue his duties as an educator. However in 1862, the war no longer appeared that it would come to a quick resolution. In July, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 additional volunteers to enlist in the Union Army. McFarland took up the task of recruiting a company of men from Juniata County for service to the Union. Countered in a rough recruiting race by cavalryman John K. Robison, McFarland gathered from the county roughly forty men and transported them to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg. Upon arriving in Harrisburg, McFarland was commissioned captain, and his company was placed alongside nine other companies to comprise what would thenceforth be designated as the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry. In an election by the other company officers, McFarland was then made lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Harrison Allen, formerly major of the 10th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, was made colonel of the regiment. The regiment went on to take part in Joseph Hooker's Chancellorsville Campaign, serving as skirmishers on the right flank of I Corps.
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