George Bouldin was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, around 1840. He worked as a laborer before the war, although it is unclear whether he was free or enslaved. By 1864, however, he had traveled to the District of Columbia, where he enlisted in Company H of the 23rd USCT Infantry Regiment on April 8, 1864. Bouldin's service records describe him as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a brown complexion, brown hair, and black eyes. He deserted from the army on April 27, 1864, and disappeared from the historical record after the war.