I90296: Ambrose Powell HILL C.S.A.Gen. (9 Nov 1825

Notes

Ambrose Powell Hill (1825-1865)
(From the Virginia Volume of the Confederate Military History)

Lieutenant-General Ambrose Powell Hill, the brilliant Confederate corps commander, was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, November 9, 1825, and was trained for military life at West Point academy where, graduating with distinction in 1847, he began service in the First artillery, in which he was promoted second lieutenant the same year. His studies of the great masters of war gave him early reputation for accurate and extensive acquaintance with the art to which he had devoted his life. His services were required in Mexico during 1847 and afterward in the hostilities with the Seminoles. Detached from field duty by the government he was employed in the position of superintendent of the coast survey, having in the meantime received promotion to the rank of first-lieutenant.

In October, 1860, he obtained leave of absence, and in March, 1861, his devotion to the cause of the South as against armed invasion induced him to resign his commission in the United States army. Virginia was beginning at that time to organize its forces for defense against the threatened coercion, and conferred upon the accomplished soldier the rank of colonel, with assignment to the command of the Thirteenth regiment Virginia volunteers, which he industriously drilled and disciplined for the great service it afterwards performed. The regiment thus made effective became distinguished in the army of Northern Virginia.

Commissioned brigadier-general February 26, 1862, he acquired especial distinction at the battle of Williamsburg, and was promoted to the rank of major-general May 26, 1862. In the campaigns of this year he was constantly relied on by Lee for services requiring expedition, skill and courage. In the preliminaries to the battle of Mechanicsville, Lee assigned Hill to the duty of crossing the Chickahominy, and without waiting for Jackson ordered him to make an immediate attack. Hill's guns opened with effect June 26, 1862, and drove the enemy from their position. His command bore a great part of the "brunt of battle" at Cold Harbor, Frayser's Farm, and in the following movements by which McClellan was driven from Richmond.

The command of Hill was usually termed "the Light Division," a suggestive designation of which its commander seemed to be proud, and which it illustrated by the celerity and courage of its movements in the battles against Banks at Cedar Run, and Pope at the second Manassas. He participated in the capture of Harper's Ferry with its garrison of 11,000 troops and large supplies of artillery, small arms and general military stores, and was appointed to parole the prisoners and secure the fruits of the capture. This accomplished he hurried to the field of Sharpsburg, reaching the scene of that bloody battle in time to be of special service in a critical juncture. Attacking promptly at double-quick, with a part of his command, immediately on reaching the field, he joined other Confederate forces in a countercharge on Burnside's forces, which sent them back in confusion.

After remaining with Jackson in the valley he was ordered to join Lee at Fredericksburg, and was stationed on the right of Jackson's corps in the battle of the 13th of December. At Chancellorsville, in 1863, he commanded his division under Jackson at the moment of that great soldier's wounding. His orders from his daring chief were to "press right in," and while obeying the command he received the news of Jackson's fall. The command devolving on him, and perhaps freshly inspired by the heroic orders of his commander, he "pressed right in" with an impetuosity which was stayed only by the severe wound which disabled him from further service that day.

The army was reorganized after the battle of Chancellorsville and General Hill, made lieutenant-general May 24, 1863, was assigned to the command of the Third army corps, which he commanded at Gettysburg and in the subsequent operations in Virginia On the 2d of April, 1865, his thin line at Petersburg was overwhelmed, and while personally commanding a part of his rallied force he ventured on danger with daring that was natural to him, and was killed by a Federal command whose surrender he had demanded. The General's gallant escort and staff at once charged the enemy and recovered his body. He was buried while Petersburg and the capital of the Confederacy were aflame and occupied by the Federal armies, and his corps was on retreat to Appomattox. Without the usual military honors he was committed to the grave. His personal purity, his devotion to the South, his military renown, have become the heritage of his people.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/CMHaphillbio.htm.

Ambrose Powell Hill
November 9, 1825 - April 2, 1865

Virginian Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill and his large Rebel division (six brigades), called the "Light Division" for its ability to make rapid marches, were some of the Army of Northern Virginia's most reliable fighters.

A.P., or Powell Hill, as he was often called (to distinguish him from fellow general Daniel Harvey Hill), was a 35 year old West Point trained career officer in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the war. He resigned from that service in March 1861, and the next May he led a confederate brigade at the Battle of Williamsburg. His conduct in the battle was so distinguished that he was promoted to the command of the "Light Division," which had not yet earned that name.

The next month, Hill and his men opened the Seven Days' campaign and spearheaded Confederate attacks at Gaines's Mill and Frayser's Farm. But it was later that summer, when Hill's division teamed up with Gen. Stonewall Jackson's command, that they earned their reputation for fast marches and hard, dependable fighting.

Though Hill and Jackson seldom got along well personally, professionally they worked wonders. At the Battles of Cedar Mountain, 2d Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, Hill usually wearing his conspicuous red "battle shirt," led his men in the forefront of Jackson's command in this spectacular string of victorious marches and battles.

Upon Jackson's death at Chancellorsville and the army's subsequent reorganization, Hill was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the new III Corps. His succes as a corps commander, however, was checkered. He performed well at Gettysburg, disastrously at Bristoe Station, and his corps was almost routed in the Wilderness. After that he was seldom well enough to assume command. On April 2, 1865, one week before the Appomattox surrender, Hill was shot and killed in the fighting at Petersburg.

Fascinating Fact: In the delirium of their deathbeds, both Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson called for fellow general Ambrose P. Hill to bring up his troops.
http://www.us-civilwar.com/hill.htm.

"Known for his red battle shirt and his hard-hitting attacks at the head of the famed Light Division, Ambrose P. Hill proved to be an example of the Peter principle.

A West Pointer (1847) and veteran artilleryman, he resigned as a first lieutenant on March 1, 1861, and joined the South, where his services included: colonel, 13th Virginia (spring 1861); brigadier general, CSA (February 26, 1862); commanding brigade, Longstreet's Division, Department of Northern Virginia (ca. February 26 - May 27, 1862); major general, CSA (May 26, 1862); commanding Light Division (in lst Corps from June 29 and 2nd Corps from July 27, 1862), Army of Northern Virginia (May 27, 1862 - May 2, 1863); commanding 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 2 and 6-30, 1863); lieutenant general, CSA (May 24, 1863); and commanding 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 30, 1863-May 7, 1864 and May 21, 1864-April 2, 1865).

In reserve at lst Bull Run, he fought at Yorktown and Williamsburg before being given command of a division. On the day he assumed command he directed the fight at Hanover Court House. He then took part in the Seven Days, distinguishing himself. After fighting at Cedar Mountain, 2nd Bull Run, and the capture of Harpers Ferry, he launched powerful counterattacks at the right moment at both Antietam and Fredericksburg. At Chancellorsville he was on Jackson's famed march around the Union right flank. When Jackson was wounded, Hill took command of the corps but was wounded carrying out his chief's orders to "press right in." At the end of the month he was given command of the new 3rd Corps, which he led to Gettysburg where, suffering from a now unidentifiable illness, he put in a lackluster performance.

He was responsible for the disaster at Bristoe Station that fall and, again ill, was virtually circumvented at the Wilderness when Lee in effect took over command of the corps. He relinquished command temporarily after the battle and missed Spotsylvania but returned for the North Anna and Cold Harbor. Taking part in the siege of Petersburg, he was again ill during part of the winter of 1864-65. With the lines around the city collapsing on April 2, 1865, he was shot and killed in an encounter with a stray group of federal soldiers.

Interestingly enough, both Stonewall Jackson and Lee called for Hill and his division in their dying delirium. It must have been the old Hill they were recalling. (Hassler, William W., A.P. Hill: Lee's Forgotten General and Schenck, Martin, Up Came Hill.- The Story of the Light Division and of its Leaders)
Source: "Who Was Who In The Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis

Additional Biography Taken for the Virginia Volume of the Confederate Military History

Born November 9, 1825, in Culpeper, Virginia.
Entered West Point 1842.
Reentered West Point, and graduated with the Class of 1847.
Commissioned a brevet 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st U. S. Artillery Regiment.
Campaigned against the Seminoles in Florida.
Seven years in D.C., in Office of the Superintendent of U.S. Coast Survey.
Married Katherine "Dolly" Morgan McClung, July 18, 1859.
Resigned his Captaincy in the U.S. Army in March, 1861
Colonel, 13th Virginia Infantry.
Brigadier General, P.A.C.S., to rank from February 26, 1862.
Major General, P.A.C.S., to rank from May 26, 1862.
Lieutenant General, P.A.C.S., to rank from May 24, 1863.
Killed at Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865
April 4, 1865 interred in Winston family cemetery Chesterfield County, Va.
In 1867 his remains were moved to Hollywood Cemetery and buried in lot N-35.
His remains were again moved, in July of 1891 to a vault in the A.P. Hill
Monument which resides at the intersection of Laburnum Ave. and
Hermitage Road in Richmond's north side
The monument was officailly unveiled May 30, 1892
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STAFF
Adams, R. H. T., Captain, S. O., May to July, 1862; January to November, 1863
David, J. M., Major, V. A. D. C., June and July, 1862
Douglas, Henry T., Captain, E. O., June and July, 1862
Field, Henry M., Captain, A. Q. M.
Field, J. G., Major, Q. M., June and July, 1862
Frost, F. L., Dr., Assistant Surgeon
Gordon, _________, Captain, V. A. D. C., January, 1863
Hill, E. B., Major, C. S., June and July, 1862
Hill, Frank T., Lieutenant, A. D. C., March 23, June and July, 1862;
Captain, A. D. C., January, 1863 Howard, Conway R., Captain, E. O., January, 1863;
Major March 17, 1864 Masters, L., Major, A. I. G., January, November, 1864. Killed in battle April, 1865 Mayo, W. S. P., Captain, Assistant Commissary

Morgan, Richard C., Major, A. A. G., March 23, 26, June and July, 1862;

November, 1863 Palmer, William H., Maj, Adjutant, 1st Reg. VA Inf.;

Staff A. D. C., January 1863; A. A. G., May 2, July, 1863 to November 4, 1864;
Lt. Col, Feb. 19 1864 Powell, J. W., Dr., Chief Surgeon
Ratchford, J. W., Captain, A. A. G., September 11, 1861;
Major, A. A. G., September 30, 1861 Stanard, Robert C., Captain, O. O., January, 1863
Starke, W. N., Major, A. A. G., September 18 to November 4, 1864

Taylor, Murray F., Lieutenant, A. D. C., June 18, July, 1862;

August to November, 1863
Walter, R. Lindsay, Colonel, C. A., July, 1863
Tucker, George W., Sergeant, Chief of Couriers
Watson, _________, Surgeon, M. D., June and July 1862
Wingate, R. J., Major, A. I. G., May 26, 1862 to January, 1863; August to November, 1863; Major, A. A. G., November 4, 1864
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Organization of A. P. Hill's Light Division, July 23, 1862
First Brigade
Brigadier General Charles W. Field
40th Virginia, Col. J. M. Brockenbrough
47th Virginia, Col. R. M. Mayo
55th Virginia, Col. Francis Mallory
60th Virginia, Col. W. E. Starke
Second Brigade
Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg
1st South Carolina, Col. D. H. Hamilton
12th South Carolina, Col. Dixon Barnes
13th South Carolina, Col. O. E. Edwards
14th South Carolina, Col. Samuel McGowan
1st South Carolina Rifles, Col. J. F. Marshall
Third Brigade
Brigadier General Joseph R. Anderson
14th Georgia, Lieut. Col. R. W. Folsom
35th Georgia, Col. Edward L. Thomas
45th Georgia, Col. Thomas Hardeman
49th Georgia, Col. A. J. Lane

*3rd Louisiana Battalion, Lieut. Col. Edmund Pendleton

Fourth Brigade
Brigadier General L. O'Brien Branch
7th North Carolina, Col. R. P. Campbell
18th North Carolina, Col. R. H. Cowan
28th North Carolina, Col. J. H. Lane
33rd North Carolina, Lieut. Col. R. F. Hoke
37th North Carolina, Col. Chas. C. Lee
Fifth Brigade
Brigadier General James J. Archer
5th Alabama Battalion, Captain A. S. Van De Graaf
19th Georgia, Lieut. Col. T. C. Johnson
1st Tennessee, Col. J. C. Shackleford
7th Tennessee, Col. J. F. Goodner
14th Tennessee, Col. W. A. Forbes
Sixth Brigade
Brigadier General William Dorsey Pender
2nd Arkansas Battalion, Maj. W. N. Bronaugh
16th North Carolina, Lieut. Col. J. S. McElroy
22th North Carolina, Col. James Conner
34th North Carolina, Col. R. H. Riddick
38th North Carolina, Col. W. J. Hoke
22nd Virginia Battalion, Capt. J. C. Johnson
Artillery
Major R. Lindsay Walker (absent sick)
Lieut. Col. Lewis M. Coleman
Maryland Battery, Capt. R. S. Andrews
South Carolina (German) Battery, Capt. W. K. Bachman
Virginia Battery (Fredericksburg), Capt. C. M. Braxton
Virginia Battery, Capt. W. G. Crenshaw
Virginia Battery (Letcher), Capt. G. Davidson
Virginia Battery, Capt. Marmaduke Johnson
Master's Battery, Capt. L. Masters
South Carolina Battery (Pee Dee), Capt. D. G. McIntosh
Virginia Battery (Purcell), Capt. W. J. Pegram
http://www.fred.net/stevent/aphill.html.

Children:
Lucy Lee Hill d. 24 Nov 1931
Henrietta ("Nettie") Hill b. 1860 d. Dec 1862 in Enroute from Richmond to Culpeper VA.
Frances Russell ("Russie") Hill b. 1 Aug 1861 d. 21 Jul 1915 in Ashland, VA James P. Gay, Woodford Co. (Husband) m. 1895 Garland B. Hale (Husband) b. 2 Oct 1851 in Lexington, KY
Anne Powell Hill b. 6 Jun 1865 d. 3 Apr 1868

My Southern Family

Gen. Ambrose Powell HILL C.S.A.

9 Nov 1825 - 2 Apr 1865

ID Number: I90296

Notes

Sources

CATHERINE KNOLLYS

ABT 1550 - ____

ID Number: I57855

Sources

Margaret Waldrop LEWIS

1792 - 2 Feb 1829

ID Number: I61771

Sources

ISOBEL LINDSAY

ABT 1475 - ____

ID Number: I65092

Sources

Charlotte LOFTON

Isaac LUPTON

ABT 1790 - ____

ID Number: I72005

Sources

Timothy Wayne MCKISIC

WALTER ROKESLEY Esq.

ABT 1400 - ____

ID Number: I26396

Sources

Noel Sidney WHITMAN Jr.