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(July 12, 1821–September 24, 1889)
Confederate General
D. H. Hill was a gifted, hard-hitting Confederate corps commander who distinguished himself in many battles. However, his abrasive disposition and outspoken nature worked against his advancement, and he ended the Civil War only partially employed.
Daniel Harvey Hill was born in the York District, South Carolina, on July 12, 1821, the son of a farmer. His father died while Daniel was an infant, and he was raised by a stern, inflexible, Presbyterian mother. Hill was also struck by a childhood spinal ailment, from which he suffered intermittent pain throughout his entire life. However, he gained admittance to West Point in 1838 and graduated four years later in the middle of his class. Hill was subsequently commissioned a second lieutenant in the First U.S. Artillery, and over the next four years he performed routine garrison duty in the Southwest. During the Mexican-American War he accompanied the army of Gen. Winfield Scott’s in a march upon Mexico City and was brevetted twice for gallantry at Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. His native state also voted him an elaborate gold sword as a token of appreciation. But despite a promising military career, Hill resigned his commission in February 1849 to teach mathematics at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. In this capacity he helped secure Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s appointment at the nearby Virginia Military Institute; Jackson later became his brother-in-law. In 1854, Hill was appointed a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina, and he proved instrumental in raising disciplinary and academic standards there. In 1859, he left Davidson to perform similar work at the newly created North Carolina Military Institute in Charlotte.
In the spring of 1861 North Carolina seceded from the Union, and Hill gained an appointment as colonel of the First North Carolina Volunteers. On June 10, 1861, he led his regiment to victory over Gen. Benjamin F. Butler at Big Bethel, Virginia, one of the Civil War’s first major engagements. The following month he was rewarded with a promotion to brigadier general and command of the Pamlico District of his native state. In the spring of 1862 he reported back to Virginia as a major general and fought initially under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston during the Peninsula campaign. He was closely engaged at Seven Pines and later distinguished himself at Malvern Hill under Gen. Robert E. Lee. However, Hill’s irascible disposition alienated the general when he openly criticized Lee’s leadership over the costly repulse at Malvern Hill (“It wasn’t war, it was murder”). Moreover, he endured a minor controversy during the invasion of Maryland that fall by allegedly allowing a copy of Lee’s secret instructions (Special Order No. 191) to fall into enemy hands. This could have proven potentially disastrous, for the note outlined Lee’s dispositions, strength, and strategic intentions. Hill vehemently denied any role in the mishap, but the bitterness with which he pursued vindication did nothing to cultivate better relations with Lee. Chronic back pain may have contributed to his acerbic disposition, along with the inevitable complaining, or “croaking,” that he seemed always ready to indulge in.
Despite these missteps, Lee recognized Hill as an outstanding combat commander. On September 13, 1862, with only 5,000 men, he delayed the advance of Gen. George B. McClellan’s 80,000 men at South Mountain for four hours. This stand enabled Lee to concentrate his scattered forces behind Antietam Creek. On September 17 he was also conspicuously engaged at the bloody Battle of Antietam, holding his position at the famous Sunken Road against superior numbers. However, when Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia the following October, he chose not to recommend Hill for promotion to lieutenant general. Ill and feeling unappreciated, he threatened to resign his commission outright but was dissuaded by Stonewall Jackson to remain. By February 1863, Hill was back commanding the defenses of North Carolina, but Lee summoned him to Virginia during the Gettysburg campaign. Hill became entrusted with the defenses of Richmond, the Confederate capital, and he easily threw back a major Union attack. His good performance did not go unnoticed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who nominated him to lieutenant general and transferred him to the western theater as a corps commander.
As part of the Army of Tennessee, Hill became subordinated to Gen. Braxton Bragg, an officer equally renowned for his bad disposition. On September 19, 1863, Hill fought conspicuously in the bloody Confederate victory at Chickamauga, contributing to the success of Southern arms. However, as always, Hill was impolitic in criticizing his superior’s leadership. Furthermore, he joined several other generals in a petition to have Bragg removed as commander. Bragg was infuriated by Hill’s insubordination, and he pleaded with his good friend, President Davis, to have him removed. In the end both men were reassigned, with Bragg becoming Davis’s military adviser and Hill stranded without a command. Worse, a vindictive Davis deliberately withheld Hill’s nomination as lieutenant general to the Confederate Congress for approval. For nearly a year, Hill served as a voluntary aide to Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard at Petersburg, Virginia. In the spring of 1865 he was finally granted command of a division in Johnston’s army and fought valiantly at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina (March 19–21). He surrendered with Johnston at Durham Station the following April.
Hill returned to Charlotte after the war and resumed his teaching activities. However, he became well known throughout the South as the editor of a monthly magazine, The Land We Love, and a weekly newspaper, Southern Home, which strove to vindicate the Confederate cause. Hill also remained one of few Confederate commanders willing to criticize Lee, now enshrined as a sectional hero, for his wartime leadership. In 1877, he moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to serve as president of the Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas). Fighting poor health, he transferred to the Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College (present-day Milledgeville College) to serve as president in 1885. He was regarded as an excellent instructor and administrator; he was also active in Confederate veterans’ affairs by composing many essays on Civil War history—usually defending his own actions. By the time Hill died at Charlotte on September 24, 1889, he was regarded as one of the South’s foremost educators. He was also one of the best divisional commanders of the Confederacy, a talented leader whose advancement was compromised by tactless demeanor.
