(1817-98) Born in North Carolina, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy from Alabama and graduated in the class of 1842. He was awarded 3 brevets for bravery during the Mexican War; in the battles of Contreras, Churubusco and Chapultepec. He resigned his commission in the U.S. Army in 1856 to become president of the Washington Iron Works at Newburgh, N.Y., a position he retained until returning to the South at the commencement of the Civil War. In July 1861, he was commissioned major in the Confederate artillery, and assigned to the Ordnance Department. There he was placed in charge of procuring gunpowder and quickly became the Confederacy's leading expert in gunpowder manufacture. In search of a suitable location for a powder works and arsenal, he made a quick tour of the Confederate States and selected Augusta, Ga. As the Union blockade forced the Confederacy to become self sufficient, Rains' mission took on critical importance. He created the Niter and Mining Bureau to collect niter from limestone in the caves of the lower South, developed highly efficient production methods of his own design, and used his experience as a chemist to introduce numerous improvements in the processing of gunpowder. Promoted to colonel in 1863, he had charge of all munitions operations and general command of troops in Augusta until late 1864. After the war he taught chemistry at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. His brother was Confederate General Gabriel J. Rains.

Autograph With State: 2 x 1, in ink, Geo. W. Rains, Alabama. This came from an 1842 West Point autograph album. Excellent. Scarce.