George W. L. Bickley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | George Washington Lafayette Bickley July 18, 1823 Russell County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 1867 (aged 44) Baltimore, Maryland or Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1863–1865 |
| Rank | Surgeon |
George Washington Lafayette Bickley[1][2] (July 18, 1823[3] – August 10, 1867) was the founder of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a Civil War era secret society used to promote the interests of the Southern United States by preparing the way for annexation of a "golden circle" of territories in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean which would be included into the United States as southern or slave states. Bickley was arrested by the United States government and it was during this time he wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln expressing his distaste for Lincoln's handling of the government.
- ^ Philip Alexander Bruce and William Glover Stanard, ed. (2000). The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Historical Society. p. 478.
- ^ Some sources, such as Ollinger Crenshaw's The Knights of the Golden Circle: The Career of George Bickley, published in The American Historical Review in October 1941, erroneously list Bickley's full name as "George William Leigh Bickley".
- ^ Keene, "Knights of the Golden Circle".