George Pickett was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, best known for his role in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He was born on January 28, 1825, in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1846. Pickett served in the Mexican-American War before joining the Confederate Army. Pickett commanded a division in the Army of Northern Virginia and is most famous for leading Pickett's Charge, a bold but disastrous assault on Union forces on the last day of the Gettysburg battle. After the war, he struggled with his post-war life and eventually became a successful businessman in Virginia.