Daniel Harvey Hill - Facts

Full Name:

• Daniel Harvey Hill

Birth Date:

• July 12, 1821

Birth Location:

• York District (now York County), South Carolina

Parents:

• Solomon and Nancy (Cabeen) Hill

Education:

• United States Military Academy (1842)

Occupation:

• Educator
• Soldier

Career Summary:

• First lieutenant (USA)
• Professor Washington College (now Washington and Lee University)
• Professor, Davidson College
• Superintendent, North Carolina Military Institute
• Major general (CSA)
• President and professor, Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas)
• President, Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College (now Georgia Military College)

Spouse:

• Isabella Morrison (1848)

Nickname(s):

• D.H.

Place of Death:

• Charlotte, North Carolina

Date of Death:

• September 24, 1889

Place of Burial:

• Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina

Significance:

• Daniel Harvey Hill is more commonly known as D.H. Hill
• Daniel Harvey Hill preferred to be called Harvey by friends and family.
• Daniel Harvey Hill was the youngest of eleven children born to Solomon and Nancy (Cabeen) Hill.
• Daniel Harvey Hill’s paternal grandfather, Colonel William Hill, was an early ironmaster in South Carolina and a distinguished veteran of the American Revolution.
• Daniel Harvey Hill’s father died in 1825, leaving his family in debt.
• With the help of her children, Nancy Hill maintained ownership of the family’s small farm where she continued raising Daniel Harvey Hill and his siblings.
• Daniel Harvey Hill graduated from the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1842
• After graduating from the United States Military Academy, Daniel Harvey Hill was brevetted to the rank of second lieutenant on July 1, 1842, and assigned to duty with the First Artillery at Fort Kent, Maine.
• Between 1843 and 1845, Daniel Harvey Hill served at various posts in the South (Savannah, Georgia; Fort Moultrie, South Carolina; and Fort Monroe, Virginia).
• On October 13, 1845, Daniel Harvey Hill was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the 4th Artillery, and deployed to Texas to serve with Zachary Taylor’s Army of Occupation.
• Daniel Harvey Hill received his first taste of combat in northern Mexico with the Fourth U.S. Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican-American War.
• Daniel Harvey Hill was promoted to first lieutenant in the U.S. Army on March 3, 1847.
• Daniel Harvey Hill served under General Winfield Scott at the Siege of Veracruz (March 9-29, 1847).
• During the war with Mexico, Daniel Harvey Hill was brevetted to captain on August 20, 1847, “for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco” and brevetted to major on September 13, 1847, for “Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Storming of Chapultepec.”
• After the Mexican-American War, the South Carolina Legislature presented Hill with a sword in honoring him as one of the three bravest South Carolinians to participate in the conflict.
• Daniel Harvey Hill married Isabella Morrison on November 2, 1848. Their marriage produced nine children.
• On February 28, 1849, Daniel Harvey Hill resigned his military commission to accept an appointment as professor of mathematics at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), in Lexington, Virginia.
• Daniel Harvey Hill remained at Washington College until 1854 when he accepted a position as professor of mathematics and civil engineering at Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina.
• In 1859, Daniel Harvey Hill received an appointment as Superintendent of North Carolina Military Institute, at Charlotte, North Carolina in 1859.
• When the Civil War erupted, Daniel Harvey Hill received a commission as colonel of the First North Carolina Regiment.
• As commander of the Department of the Peninsula, Daniel Harvey Hill gained nearly immediate notoriety for his leadership during the Battle of Big Bethel.
• The Confederate government promoted Daniel Harvey Hill to the rank of brigadier general on July 10, 1861.
• Daniel Harvey Hill commanded the Department of the Peninsula (May 31 – June 1861).
• Daniel Harvey Hill commanded the Department of Fredericksburg (July 17 – July 1861).
• Daniel Harvey Hill commanded the District of Pamlico (October 4 – November 16, 1861).
• The Confederate government promoted Daniel Harvey Hill to the rank of major general on March 26, 1862.
• During the Peninsula Campaign, Daniel Harvey Hill served as a division commander under Major General James Longstreet with the Army of Northern Virginia.
• During the Peninsula Campaign, Daniel Harvey Hill took part in the Siege of Yorktown (April 5–May 4, 1862) and Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862).
• Daniel Harvey Hill distinguished himself during the battles of Seven Pines (May 31–June 1, 1862), Gaines’ Mill (June 27, 1862), and Malvern Hill (July 1, 1862).
• On September 14, 1862, Daniel Harvey Hill’s Division stubbornly defended Turner’s and Crampton’s gaps through South Mountain.
• During the Battle of Antietam, Daniel Harvey Hill’s division fought valiantly, defending the sunken road, also known as the “Bloody Lane.”
• The Battle of Antietam marked the beginning of Hill’s military demise.
• After the Battle of Antietam, Confederate General Robert E. Lee accused Daniel Harvey Hill of losing a copy of Lee’s secret orders, thereby aiding Union General George B. McClellan. Hill adamantly denied Lee’s accusation.
• At the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11 – 15, 1862), Daniel Harvey Hill’s Division was held in reserve. Hill’s participation, minor as it was, proved to be his last major action as a member of Lee’s army.
• On February 7, 1863, Daniel Harvey Hill assumed command of the Department of North Carolina. His duties included defending eastern North Carolina against Union coastal incursions, securing staples for the Confederate armies, recruiting soldiers, and rounding up deserters.
• On May 28, 1863, Confederate authorities expanded Daniel Harvey Hill’s department to include southern Virginia up to Petersburg.
• Throughout the Gettysburg Campaign, Hill spent his time guarding Richmond and building defenses around Petersburg.
• On or about July 10, 1863, Confederate President Jefferson Davis offered Daniel Harvey Hill a promotion to lieutenant general (pending legislative approval) in return for accepting an appointment with the Army of Tennessee.
• On July 19, 1863, General Braxton Bragg issued General Orders, Number 152 (AOT) stating “Lieutenant General D. H. Hill is assigned to the command of the Second Corps (late Hardee’s). This corps will henceforth be known as Hill’s corps.”
• Daniel Harvey Hill’s corps fought well during the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19 – 20, 1863).
• Despite the Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Daniel Harvey Hill played a leading role in drafting a petition sent to President Davis calling for Bragg’s dismissal as commander of the Army of Tennessee.
• On October 15, 1863, General Braxton Bragg issued General Orders, Number 33 stating that “Lieutenant General D. H. Hill, with the staff brought by him to this army from Virginia, is relieved from duty in this department, and will report to General S. Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond.”
• After Confederate officials relieved Daniel Harvey Hill from duty with the Army of Tennessee, in 1863, President Davis reneged on his commitment to Hill and declined to forward his promotion to lieutenant general to the Confederate Senate. Hill reverted to the rank of major general.
• In 1864, Daniel Harvey Hill volunteered to serve under General P. G. T. Beauregard and took part in the Battle of Proctor’s Creek (May 12–16, 1864) and the Second Battle of Petersburg (June 15–18, 1864).
• In 1865, Daniel Harvey Hill served with the Army of the South and was engaged at the Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865).
• Daniel Harvey Hill surrendered with General Joseph E. Johnston’s forces at Bennett Place, near Hillsborough, North Carolina (April 17–26, 1865).
• After the Civil War, Daniel Harvey Hill settled in Charlotte, where he founded and published a periodical entitled The Land We Love.
• In 1877, Daniel Harvey Hill returned to the field of education serving as president and as a professor at Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas).
• In 1884, Daniel Harvey Hill moved to Georgia where he received an appointment as president of Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College (later Georgia Military College) a year later.
• In 1889, the painful effects of stomach cancer forced Daniel Harvey Hill to return to Charlotte.
• Daniel Harvey Hill died in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 24, 1889, at age sixty-seven.
• Daniel Harvey Hill’s remains are buried on the campus of Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina.