Major General Walter Hampden Overton was a United States Army officer and politician who represented Louisiana's 3rd congressional district in the 21st United States Congress.
Walter Hampden Overton (1788December 24, 1845) was a U.S. Representative representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district.
Personal life
He was born near Louisa Court House, Virginia in 1788. His father Thomas Overton moved the family to North Carolina when Walter was an infant, and then moved to Tennessee in 1801. Overton attended the common schools.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1808, and served in the War of 1812. He rose through the ranks to major in the Third Rifles on February 21, 1814. Major Overton was brevetted a lieutenant colonel on December 23, 1814, for actions at the Battle of New Orleans and transferred to the Artillery Corps in May 1815 before resigning his commission on October 31, 1815. Later, he was commissioned a major general of militia by the Louisiana Legislature.
