close up, 1  to come together in close array; converge: The enemy was closing up on us from both flanks. 2  to bring to an end; cease: The company is closing up its overseas operations. 3  to become silent or uncommunicative. 4  to reduce or eliminate spacing material between (units of set type).
For the US Navy officer, see George Washington Williams (naval officer). George Washington Williams (October 16, 1849 â August 2, 1891) was an American Civil War soldier, Christian minister, politician, lawyer, journalist, and writer on African-American history. Shortly before his death he travelled to King Leopold II's Congo Free State.
Williams was blind, nearly deaf, rail-thin, and confined to a bed in his daughterâs house. He had served as a Confederate forage master for Hoodâs Brigade, they said, and now he was bound and determined to be the last on either side still alive when Americaâs great Civil War Centennial commemoration began in 1961.