Captain Matthew Talbot Nunnally was born on March 18, 1839, in Monroe, Georgia, the ninth child of William Branch Nunnally and Mary Hale Talbot. Raised in Walton County, he demonstrated exceptional promise as a young man and earned an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1859.

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Nunnally attended West Point during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. As the nation moved toward civil war following the secession crisis, many Southern cadets resigned from the academy. Nunnally left West Point on February 2, 1861, before completing his studies.

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Following his departure, he joined the Confederate Army and was commissioned as Captain of Company H of the 11th Georgia Infantry Regiment. The regiment served with distinction in the Army of Northern Virginia and participated in many of the war's most significant campaigns under Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

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Captain Nunnally's military service came to an end during the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 2, 1863, at the age of twenty-four, he was killed while leading his men during one of the conflict's most decisive engagements. Although his death was documented, his burial place was never conclusively identified, and he is generally believed to rest in an unknown grave on or near the Gettysburg battlefield.

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Despite his short life, Nunnally's memory endured in his hometown of Monroe. His sister commissioned a life-sized marble statue in his honor, ensuring that future generations would remember his service and sacrifice. The monument, located in Rest Haven Cemetery in Monroe, Georgia, remains one of the area's most notable Civil War memorials and is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution.

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At West Point, Nunnally was regarded as a capable and accomplished cadet, ranking 25th in a class of 42 in 1860. Had history taken a different course, he likely would have graduated and served as an officer in the United States Army. Instead, his life became intertwined with one of the nation's defining conflicts, leaving behind a legacy that continues to be remembered in Walton County and beyond.