Confederate General William Henry Talbot Walker was born in Augusta, Ga. After graduating from West Point in 1837, Walker served in both the Seminole and Mexican wars. He later became the commandant of cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In December 1860, Walker resigned from the U.S. Army and returned to Georgia. He first served as a major general in the Georgia state volunteers in April 1861, he was later appointed as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army in May 1861. Walker resigned his commission in Oct. 1861 to hold the post of major general of Georgia State Troops (March 1863). In May 1863, he returned as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army (May 1863) commanding Walker's Brigade in the Vicksburg campaign. After the fall of Vicksburg, Walker commanded the reserve corps at Chickamauga. During Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, Walker commanded a division of Hardee's Corps, dying in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864.