George Hillyer was an American politician, serving as the 29th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a state representative and senator. He was an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Hillyer was born in Athens, one of eight children of Judge Junius Hillyer, a United States Congressman and solicitor of the U. S. Treasury, Jane Selina Watkins, he graduated from Mercer University in July 1854, "securing honors in all branches of study". He studied law under the supervision of his father, Judge Hillyer, in Monroe, Georgia and in 1855 was admitted to the state bar. For the first two years of his legal career he practiced with his father set up a partnership with the Hon. Hope Hull until the start of the Civil War. At the age of 21, Hillyer ran for a seat in the state legislature, was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1856, he served one two-year term. Hillyer served as Clerk of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1859-1860. In 1860 he was selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he supported the nomination of Howell Cobb for President.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hillyer raised a Walton County company known as the "Hillyer Rifles" in the late spring of 1861. The men were mustered into the Confederate Army on June 13, with Hillyer elected as the captain of what became Company C of the 9th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, he and the regiment were sent by train to Virginia and assigned to the newly created brigade of George "Tige" Anderson in the newly organized Army of Northern Virginia. Hillyer saw extensive fighting at Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where he fought at the famed "Wheatfield" on July 2, 1863; the 9th Georgia lost half of its 340 men in the fight, Hillyer's company suffered considerable losses. With all the senior officers wounded or killed, Hillyer assumed command of the regiment for the rest of the Gettysburg Campaign, wrote the official report of the 9th Georgia's service in the battle. Union General Joseph Hooker remarked that Confederate Captain Hillyer was "a most able, efficient & gallant officer". Hillyer resigned his captain's commission in November 1863 to become an auditor for the Western & Atlantic Railroad at the request of Governor Joseph E. Brown, who preferred a military man for the role as the railroad was the main supply route for General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army.

Early in 1864, Hillyer organized the State Road Battalion and he was placed in command of the defenses of the railroad with the rank of major. Seeing action against cavalry raiders during the Atlanta Campaign, Hillyer performed well, but the railroad fell to the Union Army, he and his remaining men surrendered to Federal officers on May 10, 1865. After the war, Hillyer set a law practice in Atlanta with Henry; the two worked together for a number of years before George joined the law firm of Hillyer, Alexander & Lambdin. In June 1867, at the age of 32, Hillyer married Ellen Emily Cooley, together they undertook to raise a family having 8 children. Starting in 1870, he served four years as a Democrat in the Georgia Senate, representing the 35th District, which included Fulton and Cobb counties, he served as the Georgia delegate to the United States Centennial Commission that planned and organized the country's Centennial celebrations and the International Exhibition of 1876. He was appointed to the Fulton County Superior Court by Governor Alfred H. Colquitt, serving from 1877-1883.

In 1885 Hillyer served one term as mayor of Atlanta, during which time he became an expert on municipal water services, publishing several related articles and serving on the Atlanta Water Commission for many years. Hillyer played an active role in the establishment of the Atlanta University System to provide higher education to the freed slaves, he was on the board of trustees for Spelman Baptist Seminary, as well as Vice-Chairman for the Georgia Railroad Commission. He was buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery. My Gettysburg Battle Experiences, 2005, Thomas Publications Judge George Hillyer papers - Atlanta History Center Hillyer Civil War page and photograph Two letters and a telegram from Capt. Hillyer to his father - Hillyer Rifles stationary Political Graveyard Confederate Army Captain George Hillyer Print Wall Art - at WalMart George Hillyer at Find a Grave

The Statue of Edward VII stands in Stanley Park, Sefton, England. It was erected to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII and consists of a bronze statue of Edward VII on a granite pedestal; the sculptor was George Wade. The statue was given to the borough by the local Member of Parliament, stands on land given to the borough by Lord Derby, it was unveiled by Lady Derby in 1904. The statue commemorates the Coronation of King Edward VII, which took place on 9 August 1902. Edward VII acceded to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. In March 1902 the Member of Parliament for Bootle, Colonel Thomas Myles Sandys offered to give a statue of the king to the borough; this would be a copy of statues made for other locations by George Wade, a personal friend. The borough council accepted the offer, it was agreed to place it in Stanley Gardens, on land, donated to the council by Lord Derby to commemorate the coronation. The statue was made in the foundry of J. W. Singer and Company, the builder was G. Woods and Son of Bootle.

The statue was unveiled on 18 July 1904 by Lady Derby on the same day that Stanley Gardens were opened. In 2010 the statue was damaged by vandals, was repaired and restored by the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool; the statue consists of a bronze figure standing on a granite pedestal. The figure is about 2.5 metres high and the pedestal is about 2.4 metres in height. The figure depicts Edward VII in the uniform of a field marshal wearing a cloak and with a crown on his head. In his left hand he is holding the orb, cradled in his right arm is the sceptre; the pedestal stands on four octagonal steps. It is square with four angular fluted pilasters. On each side are inscribed panels. Above the panels is a cornice with dart moulding; the memorial is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed building having been designated on 17 January 1986. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest".

Listed buildings in Bootle Notes Citations Sources