George Maney George Earl Maney ( August 24 , 1826 – February 9 , 1901 ) was an American soldier , politician , railroad executive and diplomat . He was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a postbellum U . S . ambassador to Colombia , Bolivia , Uruguay , and Paraguay . Early life and education . George Maney was born in Franklin , Tennessee , to Judge Thomas Maney and his wife . His father was a prominent newspaper editor and circuit judge . Young Maney attended the Nashville Seminary before graduating from the University of Nashville in 1845 at the age of 19 . Military and law . Maney enlisted as a second lieutenant in the 1st Tennessee Regiment during the Mexican - American War ( 1846 – 1848 ) . When his three - months term of enlistment expired , he enrolled in the United States Army and served as a first lieutenant in the 3rd U . S . Dragoons , which participated in General Winfield Scott ' s march to Mexico City . When hostilities ceased , Maney returned home . He studied law , passed his bar exam in 1850 , and established a law practice in Franklin . It became quite successful . Maney subsequently entered politics and was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature . Marriage and family . Maney married Elizabeth T . " Betty " Crutcher of Nashville in 1853 ; they raised a family of five children . Civil War . Following the secession of Tennessee and the beginning of the American Civil War , Maney enlisted in the Confederate army as a captain in the 11th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry . On May 6 , 1861 , he was promoted to colonel of the 1st Tennessee . He served in western Virginia , first under Robert E . Lee at the Battle of Cheat Mountain and later under Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson at Bath and Romney . Maney asked for a reassignment to his native Tennessee , which was threatened by Union forces . As an officer in the Army of Tennessee , Maney participated in the Battle of Shiloh and was promoted on April 16 , 1862 , to brigadier general . He led his brigade in the battles of Perryville , Chickamauga , and Murfreesboro . In November 1863 , he was wounded severely in his arm during the Chattanooga Campaign . He was on medical leave for much of the rest of the year . In 1864 , Maney commanded a division in William J . Hardee ' s corps during the Atlanta Campaign . He was captured in August and later released , but he did not return to active field duty because of problems with his wounded arm . Hardee recommended that Maney be promoted to major general , but the request was not fulfilled . Maney surrendered following the Carolinas Campaign and was paroled on May 1 , 1865 , at Greensboro , North Carolina . Postbellum career . After the war , Maney returned to his Tennessee home . He became president of the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad in 1868 , serving in that executive post for nine years . Unlike many of his former Confederate compatriots , he became an active Republican . He was elected to the state senate . During the carpetbagger era , Maney held considerable influence over the Governor of Tennessee , Dewitt Clinton Senter . Maney helped restore the government to former Confederates once their civil rights were restored . Maney became active in a number of reconciliation efforts during Reconstruction , working to improve relations between the former enemies . In early 1876 , he was a candidate for governor , but withdrew his name from the ballot . In December of that year , his daughter Frances married a former Union officer in the 15th Massachusetts . During the presidential administrations of James A . Garfield , Chester Arthur , and Benjamin Harrison , Maney was appointed as ambassador to various countries in South America . He was the U . S . minister to Colombia ( 1881 – 1882 ) , and then was the Minister Resident / Consul General to Bolivia from November 4 , 1882 , until June 1 , 1883 . He returned home and was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1884 and 1888 . He spent four years ( 1890 – 1894 ) as the U . S . ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay . General George Maney died in Washington , D . C . , from a cerebral hemorrhage . He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville , Tennessee .