George Gifford Symes (April 28, 1840 – November 3, 1893) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin, Montana, and Colorado.

[1] At the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined up with a company of volunteers for the Union Army, known as the "La Crosse Light Guard".

The 44th Wisconsin Infantry was called to service before fully organized, and five companies were sent forward under their lieutenant colonel in November 1864.

Symes completed the organization of the regiment and joined the advance battalion at Nashville, Tennessee, in February 1865.

He and another Republican candidate challenged their defeat in the election, claiming that Union voters had been intimidated and alleging that Trimble should be disqualified for having aided the rebellion.

[6] Symes continued working as a lawyer in Paducah until 1869, when he was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory, by U.S. president Ulysses S.

The legal community of Montana threw him a banquet at his departure in February 1874, where his career was celebrated by prominent Montanans.

Symes had been wounded near the spine during his Civil War service, and had experienced significant discomfort and depression in the subsequent years.

[citation needed] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress