George Varney was a colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and was awarded the grade of brevet

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

 brigadier general

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

, United States Volunteers

United States Volunteers

United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U. S. Vol., or U.S.V.Starting as early as 1861 these regiments were often referred to as the "volunteer army" of the United States but not officially named that until 1898.During the nineteenth century this was the United States federal...

, in 1867 for his gallant service at the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

 on December 13, 1862. Born in Levant, Maine

Levant, Maine

Levant is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,171 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally called "Kenduskeag Plantation", the town was founded in 1802 by Maj. Moses Hodsden, who built 3 houses, a sawmill, a grist-mill, a store, and a blacksmith shop in what is now...

, he was a wholesale grocer in Bangor, Maine

Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

 when the war broke out in 1861.

Varney enlisted as a major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the 2nd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment

2nd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 2nd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was mustered in Bangor, Maine for two year's service on May 28, 1861 and mustered out in the same place on June 9, 1863...

, which was the first unit to march out of the state in response to President Abraham Lincoln's

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion after the fall of Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...

. He was wounded and captured in the unit's first engagement, the Battle of Bull Run

Battle of Bull Run

Two conflicts during the American Civil War were known as Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Manassas:*First Battle of Bull Run - 1861*Second Battle of Bull Run - 1862Geographical Location of these conflicts:*Manassas National Battlefield Park‎...

, in July, 1861, but exchanged for a captured Confederate officer a month later. Promoted to lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

, Varney was captured a second time (and exchanged a second time) at the Battle of Gaines' Mill

Battle of Gaines' Mill

The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...

 in 1862. He suffered a head wound at the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

. Lt. Colonel Varney led his regiment along an unfinished railroad cut to get closer to the stone wall on Marye's Heights. A shell fragment struck him on the head and dropped him senseless to the ground. Major Daniel F. Sargent assumed command of the regiment and led it out of the cut where it disintegrated almost immediately under withering rifle and artillery fire from the Confederates behind the stone wall on Marye's Heights.

Lt. Colonel Varney recovered from his wound and was made colonel of the regiment on January 10, 1863 with the retirement of Colonel Charles W. Roberts

Charles W. Roberts

Charles Wentworth Roberts was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, who was awarded the rank of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, in 1866, to rank from March 13, 1865. He was born in Old Town, Maine and graduated from Bowdoin College, but lived most of his...

. Colonel Varney was honorably mustered out of the United States Volunteers on June 9, 1863.

Varney was among a number of colonels and lower ranking officers who were awarded the honorary grade of brevet brigadier generals to rank from March 13, 1865. President Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

 nominated Colonel Varney for the award of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, on January 18, 1867 and the brevet was confirmed by the U. S. Senate on February 21, 1867 to rank from March 13, 1865.

Varney lived the rest of his life in Bangor, Maine

Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

 and is one of eight union generals buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor

Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. It was designed by architect Charles G. Bryant in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated as a city, and likely modeled after Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts...