F. E. Garnett Letter,

Gabriel Colvin Wharton was born in Culpeper County, Virginia on July 23, 1824. After graduating from Virginia Military Institute in 1847, Wharton became a civil engineer, working in Arizona and elsewhere. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Wharton was appointed a major within the 45th Virginia Infantry. Soon after, he was promoted to colonel, commanding the 51st Virginia Infantry. In July 1863, Wharton was promoted to brigadier general, commanding a brigade guarding southwestern Virginia railroads and participating in the battles of New Market and Cold Harbor, among others. Wharton married Nannie Radford in 1863; following the war, the couple made their home in Radford, Virginia.

Wharton resumed his civil engineering career and was instrumental in building a railroad in the New River Valley. In 1871, he began the first of several terms in the Virginia General Assembly. From 1874-1877, he served on the Board of Visitors for Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, including a term as Rector from 1875-1877. Gabriel Wharton died in Radford in 1906.