A.P. Hill - Confederate Civil War Commander
Next to Longstreet and Jackson, I consider A.P. Hill the best commander with me. He fights his troops well and takes good care of them. Robert E. Lee
While Confederate General A.P Hill was a household name during the Civil War, he is little known nowadays, despite the fact that he was considered among the most important of the Confederacy’s military officers during his time. Valued by both General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, A.P. Hill’s death just before the war’s conclusion was one of the final death blows dealt to the Confederacy.
Ambrose Powell Hill, known as “Little Powell,” was born in Virginia in 1825. A graduate of the United States Military Academy (15th in a class of 38), the slightly-built Hill was appointed after graduation to the U.S. Artillery as a second lieutenant, and went on to serve in both the Mexican-American War and the Seminole War, eventually being promoted to first lieutenant. He married Kitty Morgan McClung, a widow, in 1850, and found among his in-laws future brothers in arms John Hunt Morgan and Basil W. Duke.
Shortly after the secession of Virginia, Hill resigned from the U.S.
Despite the fact that the frail, high-strung Hill was prone to illness (which some attribute to the gonorrhea he contracted while at West Point) and would work himself into a nervous frenzy before battle, he quickly distinguished himself on the battlefield while also endearing himself to his soldiers and superiors. A feisty character, Hill would attire himself in a red wool hunting shirt, which he referred to as his battle shirt, when approaching battle, rallying his troops who would begin to prepare for battle, telling each other “Little Powell’s got on his battle shirt!” His high regard for and easy affection with the soldiers under his command prompted one officer to refer to him as “the most lovable of all Lee’s generals.”
Hill became increasingly important to the Confederacy in the Pennisular Campaign in 1862, working his way up to rank as a major general. Supported by his famous Light Division, Hill proved to be one of Lee’s most reliable generals, using his Light Division to shore up the Army of Northern Virginia on several occasions. Hill and his Light Division further distinguished themselves in battles such as Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, and Antietam.
While Hill was proving his worth to Lee, he fell afoul of his commanding officer, James Longstreet, the Old War Horse, who apparently took affront at the publicity that Hill was receiving. The men embarked on a feud that resulted in Longstreet arresting Hill, and shortly thereafter Lee intervened, sending hill and his Light Division to Stonewall Jackson.
Although Jackson eventually came to respect Hill’s military prowess, Hill didn’t get along much better with the taciturn, deeply religious Jackson, and the two of them clashed early on. However, by the battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson and Hill had made their peace, and after Jackson perished from wounds suffered at Chancellorsville, Hill himself briefly took charge of Jackson’s troops, although Hill, too was wounded.
Hill had once stated that he had no desire to see the defeat of the Confederacy, and unfortunately, that was the case. Recurring illness made his contributions as Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Courthouse less important than in other battles, but in the end, it was not illness that was to be Hill’s fate, but rather, a bullet; on April 2, 1865, only days before Lee’s surrender, Union Corporal John Mauck shot Hill as he rode to the front of the line at Petersburg, alone aside for a single staff officer.
A.P. Hill was mourned by the Confederacy, and especially his brothers in arms. One of the most interesting footnotes in the history of Little Powell, however, is the fact that both Lee and Jackson were said to have invoked Hill’s name on their deathbeds, Lee saying “tell Hill he must come up,” and Jackson saying, “Mr. Pendleton, Where is General Hill? Tell Hill he must bring his Brigade to the front and sweep around their Flank.”
