George Washington Lafayette Fly was born on June 2, 1835, in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, to William Fly and Mary Mitchell. The family moved to Sharon, Mississippi, around 1846. He enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1851, but he transferred to Madison College after one semester. He graduated in 1853 and moved to Gonzales County, Texas.

 

He married Mary C. Bell on April 4, 1857, and they had at least five children: William, born around 1858; James, born around 1860; Mary, born around 1862; Frank, born around 1866; and Benjamin, born around 1869. By 1860, he was working as a planter, and he owned $3,000 of real estate. He supported Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge in the election of 1860.

 

He received a commission as a captain in Company I of the 2^nd Texas Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg. Union forces captured him near Corinth in October 1862. He eventually earned a promotion to major. He was captured again at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. In 1864, Confederate officials assigned him to Galveston, Texas.

 

He returned to Gonzales County after the war, and he resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $1,600 of real estate and $350 of personal property. He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1871, and he served in the Texas legislature in 1880. He moved to Victoria, Texas, in the late 1800s, and he died there on January 27, 1905.

SOURCES