george douglas ramsay was born in dumfries, virginia, on 21 february 1802, the son of a scottish merchant who had been in business in alexandria, virginia, for some time. the family subsequently moved the short distance into washington, d.c., and george entered the military academy in 1814 at the unusually early age of 12. he graduated six years later as the 26th man in the 31 man class of 1820.