George W. Parker served as lieutenant colonel of the 79th Indiana Infantry, commanding the regiment at the Battle of Nashville in December 1864 under Colonel Frederick Knefler’s brigade. The 79th Indiana fought through Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the Atlanta Campaign. After the war Parker returned to Indianapolis, serving two terms as Marion County sheriff between 1866 and 1870. He died in 1918 at age ninety-one.