General West was the 2nd Great Grandfather of Leslie kay Nazak Spencer
George Warren West was born July 19, 1832 in Lowell, Massachusetts. His parents were Henry Nason and Sarah Ann Gordon West. George attended schools in Somerville MA and Portland, ME. As a youth he displayed a fondness for military life by joining a company in Old Cambridge, then in Somerville, MA. At the onset of the 1861 rebellion, he was Fourth Lieutenant in the Boston City guards, from which he immediately resigned. He proceeded to Northern Maine where he organized a company of infantry at or near Fort Kent soon becoming its Captain. He soon thereafter tendered the company to the Governor for service in the Civil War.
The Company was assigned to the new 10th Maine Regiment in October, 1861 and was designated as Company D; the Regiment was commanded by Gen George L. Beal. The attention to military discipline of the company gained the attention and admiration of 10th’s leadership. The Regiment served in Baltimore, Harper’s Ferry, and in Maj General Bank’s Army at Winchester, VA. Captain West’s company completed a bridge construction on the Shenandoah River near Front Royal, VA, through the skill of the lumberman in the Company. While in camp near Little Washington, VA, he received a commission of Major of the 17th ME, a new Regiment being organized in Portland. The military experience and energy of Major West proved a great value in perfecting the organization of the new regiment.
The 17th participated in many of the Army of the Potomac (AOP) actions through the 1862 and 1863 engagements. By late 1863, Col Thomas W. Roberts, then in command of the 17th, submitted his resignation; Major West was promoted to the Colonelcy of the Regiment with rank as of October 22, 1863. He led the Regiment in the battles of Kelly’s Ford, Locust Grove and Mine Run, and then the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness. It was there with the Regiment assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division of the 2nd Corps, that Col West received a severe wound in the thigh. The wound removed him from further field service until the following October; he then resumed command of the 17th. During the following winter he received an appointment as Brevet Brigade General of Volunteers to date from December 2, 1864. He continued serving and while serving as Brigade Commander, he participated in the action at Hatcher’s Run, February, 1865. He resigned his commission April 17, 1865 and was honorably discharged for physical disability on account of wounds received in action.
General West died May 28, 1899 at Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Cumberland County, Maine. He was survived by his wife Sarah A. (Frost) West and three children.