Portal:American Civil War

Thomas Carmichael Hindman, Jr. (January 28, 1828 – September 27, 1868) was a lawyer, United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas, and a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Shortly after he was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Hindman moved with his family to Jacksonville, Alabama and later Ripley, Mississippi. After receiving his primary education in Ripley, he attended the Lawrenceville Classical Institute (now known as the Lawrenceville School) and graduated with honors on September 25, 1843. Afterwards, he raised a company in Tippah County for the 2nd Mississippi regiment in the Mexican–American War. Hindman served during the war as a lieutenant and later as a captain of his company. After the war, he returned to Ripley. He studied law, and was admitted to the state bar in 1851. He then started a law practice in Ripley, before moving it to Helena two years later.

Hindman then served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1854 to 1856. He was elected as the Democratic representative from Arkansas’s 1st congressional district in the Thirty-sixth Congress from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861. He was re-elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress, but declined to serve after the onset of the Civil War and Arkansas’s secession from the Union. Instead, Hindman joined the armed forces of the Confederacy. He commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department, and later raised and commanded “Hindman’s legion” for the Confederate States Army. He was promoted to brigadier general on September 28, 1861 and later to Major General on April 18, 1862. After the war, Hindman avoided surrender to the federal government by fleeing to Mexico City. He worked in Mexico as a coffee planter, and attempted to practice law. After the execution of Maximilian I of Mexico, Hindman submitted a petition for a pardon to President Andrew Johnson, but it was denied. Hindman, nonetheless, returned to his former life in Helena. He became the leader of the “Young Democracy”, a new political organization that was willing to accept the Reconstruction for the restoration of the Union. Unexpectedly, he was assassinated by an unknown individual on September 27, 1868 at his Helena home.

During the American Civil War, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania played a critical role in the Union, providing a huge supply of military manpower, materiel, and leadership to the Federal government.

Over 360,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union Army, more than any other Northern state except New York. (some other states sent a larger proportion of their population but not a larger number). Beginning with President Lincoln’s first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Pennsylvania mustered 215 infantry regiments, as well as dozens of emergency militia regiments that were raised to repel threatened invasions in 1862 and 1863 by the Confederate States Army. Twenty-two cavalry regiments were also mustered, as well as dozens of light artillery batteries.

The vast majority of Pennsylvania troops fought in the Eastern Theater, with only about 10% serving elsewhere. The thirteen regiments of the Pennsylvania Reserves fought as the only army division all from a single state, and saw action in most of the major campaigns and battles of the Army of the Potomac.

Dabney Herndon Maury (May 21, 1822 – January 11, 1900) was an officer in the United States Army, instructor at West Point, author of military training books, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Maury was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the son of Naval officer John Minor Maury, who died of yellow fever in the West Indies when Dabney was two years old. He was brought up by his uncle, Matthew Fontaine Maury, studied law in Fredericksburg and graduated from the University of Virginia in the class of 1841. He finished his studies at the United States Military Academy in 1846 and was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the Mounted Rifles. Maury served in the Mexican–American War at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, and suffered a painful wound that almost resulted in the amputation of his arm. He later authored a book, Tactics for Mounted Rifles, which became the standard textbook.

When the Civil War began, Maury was the Assistant Adjutant General in the New Mexico Territory, based in Santa Fe. Hearing the news of the firing on Fort Sumter, he resigned from the United States Army and travelled back to Virginia. He entered the Confederate Army as a colonel, serving as an Adjutant General, then was Chief of Staff under General Earl Van Dorn. Following the Battle of Pea Ridge, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and assigned to field command. Maury led a division at the Second Battle of Corinth, and was appointed major general in November 1862. He participated in army operations around Vicksburg, Mississippi, and in the defense of Mobile, Alabama. In the latter military campaign, Maury commanded the Department of the Gulf.