George Smith Patton, Jr.

George Smith Patton is the third of that name, grandfather to father, father to son, but was always referred to as "Junior." That is the way the military did it, and that is the way it is. Both he and his father used "Junior." The last George Smith Patton is referred to as the 4th (IV). The general of WWII fame was born on 11 November 1885 in San Gabriel, California, to George William Patton and Ruth Patton (nee Wilson). Patton had one sibling; a younger sister, Anne. The family was of Scots-Irish and English descent.

Patton's family had an extensive military background. His paternal grandfather was George Smith Patton who commanded the 22nd Virginia Infantry in the American Civil War and was killed in the Third Battle of Winchester, while his great uncle Waller Tazewell Patton was killed in Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Patton also descended from Hugh Weedon Mercer, who had been killed in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution. Patton's father graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), but did not pursue a military career, instead becoming a lawyer and later the district attorney of Los Angeles County. Patton's maternal family included Benjamin Davis Wilson, who had been Mayor of Los Angeles and a successful merchant. The Patton family was prosperous, and Patton lived a privileged childhood on the family's 2,000-acre (810 ha) estate.

Was a great General during WWII. If Eisenhower and Bradley let him do his thing instead of playing politics with the British waiting for Montgomery to catch up in Sicily, Normandy, France and Germany many live would have been saved and the War would have ended sooner. WGA

Citations

1. D'Este 1995, p. 29.
2. Brighton 2009, p. 17.
3. Axelrod 2006, pp. 9–10.
4. Axelrod 2006, pp. 13.

Links

• Official George S. Patton website
• Wikipedia entry
• Find-A-Grave Memorial
• http://ww2gravestone.com/people/patton-george-smith/