Explore the life and legacy of George Walton, a man whose journey began far differently from most of the founding generation. Orphaned at a young age, he rose through the ranks to become a leading voice for the Revolutionary cause. This timeline traces his path—from his dedicated military service and time as a prisoner of war to his pivotal role in the Continental Congress, where, at just 26 years old, he became a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Follow the key moments that defined his family life and his enduring contribution to American history.
The Council proceeded to the election of a President by ballot, when George Walton, Esq., was found to be duly elected and took his seat accordingly. From the Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, Vol. I
On May 1, George Walton receives a letter from Lachlan McIntosh to deliver to Button Gwinnett. Walton would also carry a letter from Archibald Bullock to John Adams, which he would deliver to him in Philadelphia on June 29. From Walton’s own correspondence, we know he spent time in Williamsburg along the way, where he worked to recruit troops for Georgia.
In a letter to John Adams, many years later, George Walton recalls how inspired he was by Adams’ speech in the Congress on July 1, 1776.
The delegates to the Second Continental Congress sign the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence.
After signing the Declaration of Independence, George Walton spent his Christmas in Philadelphia. With British forces closing in, the Continental Congress adjourned from Philadelphia for safety on December 12 and reconvened in Baltimore on December 20. Three delegates remained behind: George Walton, Robert Morris, and George Clymer. The men were appointed as a Special Committee to Execute the Necessary Business of Congress in Philadelphia.
Late in 1777, George Walton would return from Philadelphia to Savannah. Through the next months, he would restart his law practice, be made a Colonel in the Georgia Militia, purchase a house on Heathcote Ward – what is now Telfair Square – and marry Dorothy Camber.
During the Christmas season in 1778, more than 3,000 British soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell approached Savannah by sea. George Walton was a Colonel with the Georgia forces of not much more than 800 men under American Major General Robert Howe. In the battle, Col. Walton is shot in the leg then captured by the British. He is held as a prisoner of war at Sunbury for 10 months.
With Savannah under British control, George Walton arranges to send his wife Dorothy to go by sea to Charleston to stay with family, probably her older sister Mary Camber Brisbane. With Dorothy is an enslaved woman named Cloe; Cloe’s infant son Charlie; and another enslaved woman, Clarissa. The first night at sea, the ship encounters a storm, which badly damages the ship. Dorothy’s ship was then captured by the British Frigate Guadeloupe. By a later account, Dorothy Walton “bore all her troubles with the greatest fortitude.”