George Allen Gilreath George Allen Gilreath ( September 26 , 1834 – July 3 , 1863 ) commanded the Confederate troops who had advanced the farthest during Pickett ' s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania during the American Civil War . He was killed in action during the charge which became known as the high - water mark of the Confederacy . Early years . The birthplace of Captain George Allen Gilreath , known as Old Gilreath , stretched across the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County , North Carolina . George was born September 26 , 1834 to Noah Gilreath , Sr . ( 1800 – 1853 ) and Elizabeth Allen of Wilkes County . He grew up on a family plantation where his grandfather Alexander Gilreath , Esq . ( 1755 – 1853 ) had settled in 1776 . His grandfather being a business man , owner of a Grist Mill , Blacksmith shop , and Post Office , he had been a Revolutionary War Veteran and was involved in early Wilkes County government . George was educated in the mountain schools and learned management skills on the family plantation where about a dozen slaves were owned . Later George bought land in Hempsted Co . , Arkansas . On July 30 , 1857 he married Lurana Gilbert but when his wife and young child died , he came back to Wilkes County . Civil War . In 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War , George ' s older brother Burrell C . died in Virginia by falling off a train . On March 1 , 1862 , at age 29 , George volunteered at Wilkesboro , NC in Company B 55th NC Troops as a 2nd Lieutenant . He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on May 19 . On September 15 , 1862 he was promoted to Captain after Captain Forester resigned as commander of the Wilkes County Company . His military record contains special requisitions for jackets , shoes , knapsacks and other items for his men . Little did he know , in less than a year his heroic effort as acting commander of the entire 55th regiment would go down not only in North Carolina history but the history of the entire American Civil War . The afternoon of July 3 , 1863 saw the Battle of Gettysburg reach its climax in the assault made on Union Troops clustered behind the stone wall on Cemetery Ridge . General Robert E . Lee would order Major General George Pickett to punch a hole in the center of the Federal Army , then attack the right and left flanks . The 55th was part of Davis ' Brigade , Heth ' s Division . Fifteen regiments of Tar Heels , including the 55th NC were part of the 12 , 500 man force selected . The 55th Regiment had all of its field and staff officers killed or wounded in the first two days of fighting at Gettysburg . The 55th was now under the command of senior Captain George A . Gilreath . On July 3 at 1 : 00 pm the artillery barrage from 140 Confederate cannons started . At 3 : 00 pm , the Confederates formed a battle line to march across a mile of open field . Lt . Joseph Hoyle of company F recalled " we moved forward exposed to a hot fire of grape shot and shells . When we came within range of their small arms , their fire became so destructive to the extreme , only 40 men made it out . " Another member of the 55th , Serg . Whitley later wrote : We charged across the field and crossed a road about from the federal works . Our line was cut down to a mere skirmish line . Our flag fallen a few yards back . I looked behind and saw our support in full retreat . The 55th brigade commander Brigadier General Joseph R . Davis said : " When we approached the stone wall , we were subjected to a most galling fire of musketry and artillery , that so reduced the already thinned ranks . . . in the assault upon the enemy ' s position , the coolness and courage of officers and men are worthy of high commendation " Although most of the Confederates failed to make it to the stone wall several members of the 55th made it to the wall and beyond . Federal Captain S . C . Armstrong of the 125th NY wrote : " I could not but admire the pluck of the enemy especially when after the fight I saw many of them who had rushed ahead of their fellows ; lying dead , a few paces from our breastworks , mostly North Carolinians , lean lank fellows in rusty old suits , but heroes . " Federal General Alexander Hayes wrote : " The angel of death alone can produce such a field . " On July 3 , 1863 , among the dead was 55th acting commander , Captain George Gilreath . Legacy . There are some alternative interpretations of the men which made it the farthest . Davis ' s Brigade also included the 2nd , 11th , and 42nd Mississippi regiments . The United States Official Survey and early historians with eyewitness accounts agree that those killed farthest to the front belonged to the 55th North Carolina Regiment . The men of the 55th , according to the Gettysburg Commission , advanced the farthest during Pickett ' s Charge , also known as the high - water mark of the Confederacy . This event contributed to the North Carolina saying " First at Bethel , Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga , and Last at Appomattox " . The Army of Northern Virginia retreated in the rain on July 4 , leaving Gettysburg for Virginia . Captain Gilreath was believed to be left on the battlefield . A monument was placed at the family burying ground high in the Brushy Mountains of his native Wilkes County , North Carolina , alongside are monuments to three other brothers , two of whom were also killed in action .