Born into slavery in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 1839, George Bankhead resided in Pike County, Missouri, prior to joining the army. His owner, John Warner Bankhead, had moved his family and slaves from Albemarle County to Missouri in 1842. By the eve of the war he owned twelve slaves. John Warner Bankhead was Thomas Jefferson's great-grandson, and he was educated at the University of Virginia. Through his sister, he was a brother-in-law of John Coles Carter, a member of the illustrious Carter family, one of the First Families of Virginia. Many of his slaves ended up serving in the USCT, often in the 67th USCT Infantry Regiment.

George Bankhead enlisted in Company E of the 67th USCT in Louisiana, Missouri on January 18, 1864, for a period of three years. At the time, Bankhead was a 25 year-old farmer, and measured in at 5 feet, 7 3/4 inches tall, possessing black hair, eyes, and complexion. He mustered in as a private at the Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, on the January 29, 1864. Following his regiment's attachment to the Department of the Gulf, District of Port Hudson, Louisiana, in early March of 1864, Bankhead traveled with the regiment to Louisiana, arriving on March 19, 1864.

Following their arrival in Louisiana, Bankhead was promoted to corporal, effective May 1, 1864. The 67th USCT saw action at Mt. Pleasant Landing, Louisiana, on May 15, 1864, when a detachment from the regiment skirmished with Confederates. The newly promoted Corporal Bankhead again traveled with the regiment when it was reassigned to the Provisional Brigade, District of Morganza in the Department of the Gulf on June 1, 1864. Shortly thereafter, Bankhead contracted a lethal case of chronic diarrhea, and was deemed unfit for active duty on July 26, 1864, when the regiment was stationed in Port Hudson, Louisiana. While Bankhead was transferred to New Orleans to receive treatment for the disease, he did not improve, and passed away in the General Hospital New Orleans on August 24, 1864.