Governor George Izard

As with many of the rising stars of the new US military found  in this collection    (Meriwether Lewis and Zebulon Pike for example),  George Izard began his storied career in the junior officer ranks of the US Army. Born in Europe in 1776, George Izard’s father was Ralph Izard, a delegate to the Continental Congress and South Carolina Senator.  Young George attended Columbia University and the College of Philadelphia.  At the age of sixteen, he returned to Europe under the care of Thomas Pinckney, Minister to England. While in Europe he received formal  military instruction at academies in England, Germany, and France- where he studied military engineering.  When Izard returned to America, he was assigned to Charleston, South Carolina, oversaw the construction of Fort Pinckney, and held command over a regiment of artillerists and engineers until 1800.

In January 1800, Izard became Alexander Hamilton’s aide de camp. Later he accepted a position as secretary to William Loughton Smith, Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal.  During the War of 1812, he once was second in command to wealthy South Carolina plantation owner Wade Hampton.  Promoted to Major General, he received overall command of the Northern Army at Lake Champlain.  Here Izard, finding himself outnumbered and ill-supplied along the Canadian front, elected to pull his troops back into winter quarters in order to prepare for spring operations. Stung by criticism for excessive caution, Izard later published his correspondence with the War Department in order to vindicate his war record.   In 1825, Izard’s  public service career came to a close when he was appointed by President Monroe as Arkansas’s second territorial governor.  Here Governor Izard displayed great talent as an efficient, organized administrator and diplomat.