George Washington Rains

George Washington Rains (1817 – March 21, 1898) was a United States Army and later Confederate States Army officer. A skilled engineer and inventor; he was instrumental in providing the Confederacy with much-needed gunpowder throughout the American Civil War. He also was the younger brother of fellow Confederate general Gabriel J. Rains.

Life and career

Rains was born in Craven County, North Carolina in 1817. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842, third out of a class of 56; he was then commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. In the next year, he transferred to the 4th U.S. Artillery Regiment, and then became an assistant professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology back at West Point.

Rains participated in the Mexican–American War. He was the first American to enter Vera Cruz (to exchange prisoners on behalf of General Winfield Scott) and was assigned as a staff officer to Gideon Pillow's brigade. He fought at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey and Chapultepec. During his time fighting in the war, he served under General Scott. For his services, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and brevetted Captain.

Over the next years he frequently changed stations and often served on recruiting duty. His permanent promotion to Captain came in February 1856 when he was stationed in New York, but he married that year into one of America's wealthiest families (the Ramsdells, of Newburgh, NY), resigned his commission that October, and moved to upstate New York.