Major George Warren Dresser (September 15, 1837 – May 27, 1883) was an American soldier and civil engineer who was prominent in New York and Newport society.
During the Civil War, he entered the Manassas campaign as first lieutenant and was involved in the Battle of Bull Run and in the defense of Washington.
In March 1862, he entered the Virginia Peninsular Campaign and was assigned to engineer duty at the Siege of Yorktown.
[4] For two months, he was acting Ordnance Officer of the Third Army Corps and from September 1862 until August 1862, he was Assistant Instructor of Artillery Tactics at West Point.
[4] After he resigned from the military, he started practicing as a civil engineer where he surveyed Block Island breakwater (which were constructed in 1870 to form what is known as "Old Harbor") and the defense of Narragansett Bay in 1866 to 1868.
[6] In October 1875, he began serving as editor of the American Gas Light Journal and retained this position until his death in 1883.
[4] Dresser was described as "a very enthusiastic member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and took and active interest in the discussions of papers, and also in its annual conventions.
[28] Through his daughter Natalie, he was a grandfather of John Nicholas Brown II (1900–1979), who was dubbed the "richest baby in America" after the death of his father and uncle within months of each other.