George Walton was born in Virginia and orphaned as a young child. Raised by an uncle with thirteen children, Walton taught himself by firelight at night while apprenticing as a carpenter. In 1769, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he studied law and joined the bar in 1774.

That year, Walton helped organize Georgia’s revolutionary movement, assembling at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah to denounce the Intolerable Acts. These meetings led to the first Georgia Provincial Congress in January 1775, followed by a second in July, where Walton served and rose in the Georgia militia.

In 1776, Walton was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress. Though he arrived after much debate, he heard John Adams’ speech and later wrote, “Since the 1st day of July, 1776, my conduct... has corresponded with the result of that great question which you so ably and faithfully developed on that day…”

Walton was commissioned a Colonel in 1778 and was injured and captured during the Siege of Savannah. After his release in 1779, he was elected Governor of Georgia, though he served briefly before returning to Congress.

In 1783, Walton became Chief Justice of Georgia, later serving another term as Governor in 1789, during which he helped adopt a new state constitution. Though invited to attend the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1787, he declined. He later served as a state superior court justice and briefly served in the U.S. Senate.

George Walton died in Augusta, Georgia, in 1804.