George Walker Crawford (December 22, 1798 – July 27, 1872) was a licensed attorney turned politician from Columbia County, Georgia. Crawford was appointed attorney general for the state in 1827, by Governor John Forsyth, serving in that capacity until 1831. Crawford also served five years in the General Assembly's lower house as a representative of Richmond County on a platform of states' rights. George Crawford served in the U.S. House of Representatives, filling the seat vacated by Richard W. Habersham who died while in office. Crawford was elected Georgia's 38th governor – serving two terms from 1843 to 1847. He became the only Whig Party candidate in state history to occupy the Governor's Mansion. Crawford then served as United States Secretary of War from 1849 to 1850. Crawford's time in President Zachary Taylor's cabinet was marred by speculation regarding a probate claim he settled for George Galphin's heirs. Crawford received a gratuity of substantial remuneration for his services' – Crawford's political adversaries framed it as the Galphin Affair – marking the end of Crawford's political aspirations. When President Taylor unexpectedly died while in office, Crawford resigned his position as Secretary of War and entered political retirement. In 1861, however, Crawford was elected a delegate from Richmond County to the state's Secession Convention which brought him out of retirement to answer the call of his constituents. By the convention's first order of business, Crawford was elected Permanent President of the Convention by which he presided over Georgia's decision to secede from the Union and join the Confederate States of America. Early life George Walker Crawford was born on December 22, 1798, in Columbia County, Georgia. He was the fourth son of Peter and Mary Ann Crawford. His father was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War from Virginia who had settled in Georgia to claim a land share, known as a bounty grant, which the state of Georgia had set aside for "those who had fought for independence". Peter Crawford acquired a sizable tract of land that he called Belair Plantation. The homestead was situated close to his uncle, Joel Crawford. Peter's uncle Joel fathered William H. Crawford, soon becoming a politician renowned locally for his political service to the state and for two presidential bids – running in 1816, and then again in 1824. George Crawford grew up on the family's estate, heavily influenced by his father, and his cousin