Born in Kingston in 1841, George Lewis Gillespie, Jr., was selected to attend West Point in 1858 and graduated second in his class in 1862. Because of his standing, he joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers and was assigned as a cavalryman in the Army of the Potomac.

In May 1864, the Army of the Potomac attempted to turn the right flank of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, which, in turn, led to a series of movements and battles. The cavalry, as the advance party, was charged with identifying enemy weakness and forewarning of danger. Gillespie served as a messenger for the cavalry, running communications back and forth
behind enemy lines despite the constant threat of capture. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for this dangerous work.

After the American Civil War, Gillespie continued with the Army Corps of Engineers and oversaw harbor and river improvement, including six years as head of the Mississippi River Commission on levee construction. In 1901, he was promoted to brigadier general and head of the corps; three years later, he became assistant chief of staff. Gillespie redesigned the Medal of Honor in 1904, replacing
“Minerva Repelling Discord” with “Minerva.” He died in retirement in 1913 and is buried in the post cemetery in West Point, New York.