1823 ; d. there, 29 Jan., 1877. became in 1840 Mrs. Nelson Glover, and in 1805 Mrs. Lewis Jervey, her first husband having died in 1846. She wrote, chiefly for the young, many tales, poems, and novels, which appeared in southern magazines and in the volume mentioned above. Among her pub- lished fictions are "Vernon Grove" (New York, 1859). and "'Helen Courtenay's Promise" (1866).
GILMER, George Rockingham, lawyer, b. in
Wilkes (now Oglethorpe) county, Ga., 11 April, 1790 ;
d. in Lexington, Ga., 15 Nov., 1859. He studied
law, and began practice at Jjexington. In 1813
he became a lieutenant in the 43d U. S. infantry,
which served against the Creeks, and was disband-
ed after the conclusion of peace with Great Britain
in 1815. He served in the legislature in 1818-'20,
was elected to congress as a Democrat, and served
from 3 Dec, 1821, to 3 March, 1823, was again
elected to the state house of representatives in
1824, and served in congress a second time from 3
Dec, 1827, to 3 March, 1829. In 1829-'31 he was
governor of Georgia. He was elected again to
congress in 1832, and served from 2 Dec, 1833. tc
3 March, 1835, was a presidential elector on the
Hugh L. White ticket in 1830, and in 1837-9
served a second term as governor. In 1840 he was
a presidential elector on the Harrison ticket. By
his will he left valuable bequests to Georgia uni-
versity, of which he was a trustee for thirty years.
He published a historical work entitled " Geor-
gians," containing information in relation to the
early settlement of the state (1855).
GlLMER, Jeremy Francis, soldier, b. in Guil-
ford county, N. C., 23 Feb., 1818 ; d. 2 Dec, 1883.
He was graduated at the U. S. military academy,
joined the engineers, and was engaged in building
forts and making surveys, and in river and harbor
improvements, till the beginning of the civil war,
when he resigned his commission as captain of en-
gineers, and entered the Confederate army. He
was appointed major of engineers in September,
1861, and was chief engineer on Gen. Albert S.
Johnston's staff. In the battle of Shiloh he was
severely wounded. After his recovery he was
appointed chief of the engineer bureau at Rich-
mond. On 20 Aug., 1863. lie was promoted major-
general, and ordered to Charleston to direct the de-
fences of that city, but in June, 1864, he returned
to Richmond and resumed charge of the bureau of
engineering. After the war he engaged in railroad
and other enterprises in Georgia.
GILMER, John Alexander, jurist, b. in Guil-
ford county, N. C, 4 Nov., 1805 ; d. in Greensbor-
ough, N. C, 14 May, 1808. He received a classi-
cal education, taught for three years, studied law,
and was licensed to practise in 1833. He was
elected to the state senate in 1840, and successively
re-elected till 1850. He was the Whig candidate
for governor in 1850, but was defeated by Braxton
Bragg. The same year he was elected to congress,
and in 1858 was re-elected, serving as chairman of
the committee on elections. He was mentioned
for the place of secretary of the treasury in Mr.
Lincoln's cabinet, but, withdrawing from con-
gress, embraced the cause of secession, and was
elected a member of the Confederate congress.
GILMER, Thomas Walker, statesman, b. in
Virginia ; d. near Washington, D. C, 28 Feb.,
1844. He studied law, practised in Charlottesville,
Va., and served for many years in the state legis-
lature, for two sessions as speaker. In 1840-'l he
was governor of Virginia. In 1841 he entered
congress, and, although he had been elected as a
Whig, sustained President Tyler's vetoes. He was
re-elected as a Democrat in 1842 by a close vote.
His competitor, William L. Goggin, contested the re-
sult without success. On 15 Feb., 1844, he was ap-
pointed by President Tyler secretary of the navy,
and resigned his seat in congress on 18 Feb. to en-
ter on the duties of the office, but ten days later
was killed by the bursting of a gun on board the
United States steamer '• Princeton."
GILMOR, Harry, soldier, b. in Baltimore
county, Md., 24 Jan., 1838 ; d. in Baltimore, 4
March, 1883. He was educated under a private
tutor, and engaged in business in Baltimore and in
the west until the beginning of the civil war, when
he joined the Confederate army, under Col. Ashby
Turner, at Charleston, Va. He soon became con-
spicuous for his daring, especially as a scout, and
was appointed sergeant-major for gallantry af-
ter the action at Harper's Ferry in December,
1861. In February, 1802, he was severely wound-
ed, and on his recovery he was put in command
of a company. He was engaged in several battles.
In September, 1802, he was captured and impris-
oned as a spy for five months at Fort McHenry,
but in February, 1803, was exchanged. He took
part in the battle of Kelly's Ford in March,
1803, rejoined the 13th Virginia regiment in
April, and in May raised a battalion of horse,
and was commissioned major. In June he com-
manded the 1st Maryland Confederate regiment,
captured, and held for a few days, Frederick,
Md., and the towns of Chambersburg, Carlisle,
and Gettysburg, and was appointed provost-mar-
shal of the last-named place. In February, 1864,
he raided on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and
was court-martialed for destroying a train and per-
mitting his command to rob the passengers ; but
he was honorably acquitted of this charge and re-
stored to his command, which was reorganized as
the 2d Maryland cavalry. In July, 1864, he led
Gen. Jubal A. Early's advance into Maryland, was
engaged throughout tliis campaign, and in the
fight at Bunker Hill was severely wounded. He.
rejoined his command at Woodstock, and was cap-
tured while defending his guns. He spent three
years in Europe, and in 1874 was elected police
commissioner of Baltimore. He published " Four
Years in the Saddle " (New York, 1866).
GILMORE, James Roberts, author, b. in Boston, Mass., 10 Sept., 1823. His father was a cousin of Gov. Joseph A. Gilmore, of New Hampshire. The son was prepared for college in Utica, N. Y., but entered a counting-room at the age of fourteen, and became a partner in the business before he was of age. He made annual business trips to the south, and at the age of twenty-five became the head of a new cotton and shipping firm in New York city, from which he retired before the beginning of the civil war with a competency. In the early years of the war he published several novels, containing realistic portrayals of southern life and feeling, under the pen-name " Edmund Kirke." He also wrote numerous war-songs and ballads. His writings about the south, by their graphic and unexaggerated pictures of slavery, helped to decide the northern mind in favor of emancipation and the continuance of the war. In 1862 he founded the "Continental Monthly " magazine, to advocate emancipation as a political necessity : but discontinued his connection with it soon after the issuing of President Lincoln's proclamation. In July, 1864. with Col. Jaquess, he was intrusted with an unofficial mission to the Confederate government, with a view to arranging a peace. They only succeeded in eliciting from Jefferson Davis a declaration that he would not consent to peace except on the basis of the independence of the Confederate
