George William Brent
| George William Brent | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the Alexandria, Virginia district |
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In office January 12, 1852 – December 4, 1853 |
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| Preceded by | Wellington Gordon |
| Succeeded by | James Keith Marshall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1821 Alexandria, Virginia |
| Died | January 2, 1872 Alexandria, Virginia |
| Occupation | planter, lawyer, Confederate officer |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | Confederate Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Staff officer to Generals Braxton Bragg, P. G. T. Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
George William Brent (1821–1872), was a Virginia lawyer and politician, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. He represented Fauquier County and Rappahannock Counties in the Virginia Senate and Alexandria, Virginia in the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861.
George William Brent was born in Alexandria, Virginia to George F. Brent (tax collector for the Port of Alexandria) and his wife Elizabeth Parsons Brent in August 1821. He studied law at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and graduated in 1842.
He married Cornelia D. Wood (1822-1848), daughter of Rice W. Wood and Sally Donahoe in Albemarle County on December 16, 1844. After her death, Brent married Lucy Goode (1830-1881), daughter of Dr. Thomas Goode, in Bath County, Virginia (where Dr. Goode operated a spa at the hot springs) on January 30, 1851. They had eight children, and Brent was ultimately survived by his widow Lucy, three sons and five daughters.
The 1850 federal census at Turners in Fauquier County, Virginia, lists Brent after fellow lawyer B. H. Shackelford among about two dozen people at what seems a boardinghouse. In late 1851, voters elected Brent to the Virginia Senate to represent Fauquier County, Virginia and Rappahannock County, Virginia; he served one year before fellow lawyer and former Virginia delegate James Keith Marshall won the seat. Brent also served on the board of visitors of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia in 1852 and 1853.
By the 1860 election, Brent had returned to his native Alexandria, Virginia. He unsuccessfully campaigned to become a presidential elector for Stephen A. Douglas. In 1861, Alexandria's voters elected Brent, a Unionist and pro-slavery, as the city's delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention.
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