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John
Bell Hood
Confederate
General at Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Atlanta Campaign, Nashville Campaign
Born:June 29, 1831, Owingsville, Kentucky
Died:August 30, 1879, New Orleans
Born the son of a rural doctor in Owingsville, Kentucky, John Bell Hood
was raised in the bluegrass region of central Kentucky near the town of
Mt. Sterling. John Bell's love for the adventure of military life is
thought to have been founded in the influence of his paternal grandfather
Lucas Hood, a crusty veteran of the Indian Wars who had fought under
General "Mad" Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers,
and his
maternal grandfather James French, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
Against the wishes of his father, who had urged him to pursue a medical
career, John Bell employed the assistance of his uncle, U.S. Congressman
Richard French, and enrolled in the United States Military Academy at
West
point in 1849.
Hood's four year discipline record at the academy was about average.
However, in his senior year he would be reduced in rank and severely
disciplined by new Superintendent Col. Robert E. Lee for accompanying a
fellow cadet on an unauthorized pre-Christmas visit to nearby Benny
Haven's Tavern. Accumulating 196 demerits, 4 short of expulsion at mid
year, Hood would nevertheless complete his final year with no additional
demerits, and ultimately graduate ranked 44th out of 52 in the class of
1853. Hood's classmate John M. Schofield [US, Army of the Ohio] and
cavalry instructor George Thomas [US, Army of the Cumberland] would play
major roles in Hood's fortunes in Georgia and Tennessee during the final
months of the Civil War.
After receiving his commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the
United
States Army, Hood was assigned to duty at Fort Scott, California in
February 1854. In October 1855 Hood was promoted to second lieutenant of
cavalry and assigned to the newly formed elite Second Cavalry Regiment at
Fort Mason, Texas, commanded by future Confederate generals Col. Albert
Sydney Johnston and Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee. In a battle with Indians at
Devil's River, Texas on July 20, 1857 Hood received the first of his
combat wounds - his left hand was pierced by a Comanche arrow. In
September 1860 he received orders to report to West Point to serve as
Chief Instructor of Cavalry. However, at Hood's personal request to U. S.
Adjutant General Samuel Cooper, the order was rescinded, and he remained
with the Second Cavalry Regiment. On April 16, 1861, 3 days after the
outbreak of the Civil War, Hood tendered his resignation from the United
States Army.
Hood enlisted in the Confederate Army in Montgomery, Alabama in May 1861,
receiving a commission as a lieutenant. Assigned to the Army of Northern
Virginia, he received several rapid promotions, and on March 7, 1862 Hood
was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of the renown
Texas Brigade. Hood and his beloved Texans would play prominent roles in
Robert E. Lee's [CS, Army of Northern Virginia] important victories at
Gaines' Mill (Seven Days Battles) and Second Manassas. The Texas
Brigade's
heroics in Miller's Cornfield saved the Confederate left flank at
Antietam
in September 1862, after which Hood would be promoted to Major General by
his corps commander, General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
[CS].
As a division commander under native Georgian General James Longstreet
[CS], Hood was severely wounded on July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, forever
losing use of his left arm. In September, 1863, after recovering from his
Gettysburg wound, Hood was assigned as part of Longstreet's Corps to
Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee. He reported for duty at Ringgold,
Georgia on September 18, 1863, and joined his division as they were
positioning for the ensuing Battle of Chickamauga. Hood's division broke
the Federal line at the Brotherton Cabin, which led to the rout of Union
General William Rosecrans' army. Only the heroic rear guard actions of
Hood's former West Point instructor General George Thomas saved the Union
Army from destruction. During the battle Hood received his second serious
wound of the war, resulting in the amputation of his right leg. He would
be transported to the Clisby-Austin house in nearby Tunnel Hill for
recuperation. Hood was so severely wounded that his amputated leg was
sent
with him so that it could be buried with the him in the result of his
death.
Surviving his wound, on September 24, 1863 Hood was recommended for
promotion to lieutenant general by Longstreet for his decisive role in
the
Confederate victory at Chickamauga. Longstreet's letter to Confederate
Adjutant and Inspector General Samuel Cooper said,
General- I respectfully recommend Major General J. B. Hood for promotion
to the rank of Lieutenant General, for distinguished conduct and ability
in the battle of the 20th inst. General Hood handled his troops with the
coolness and ability that I have rarely known by any officer, on any
field
Hood developed a close personal relationship with fellow Kentuckian,
President Jefferson Davis while recovering from his Chickamauga wound in
Richmond during the winter of 1863-1864. During this period Davis advised
Hood of his intentions to reinforce General Joseph E. Johnston [CS] at
Dalton, Georgia in the spring of 1864, and to move against the Federal
army of General William T. Sherman at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Hood was
offered a position as a corps commander under Johnston, and was advised
by
Davis that an aggressive campaign would be initiated against the
Federals.
On February 4, 1864 Hood arrived in Dalton, Georgia, (History of Dalton,
Georgia) and assumed a corps command in the Army of Tennessee under
Johnston. At this time Johnston's Army of Tennessee was combined with Lt.
General Leonidas Polk's Army of Mississippi. The combined forces were
under the supreme command of Johnston, and are generally referred to as
the Army of Tennessee.
However, Johnston failed to attack Sherman as ordered, and in early May
of
1864 Sherman began the Atlanta Campaign. Johnston's Army of Tennessee
fought defensive battles against the Federals at the approaches to
Dalton,
which was evacuated on May 13, and then retreated 12 miles south to
Resaca, where defensive positions were erected. However, after a brief
battle, Johnston again yielded to Sherman, and retreated from Resaca on
May 15. Johnston assembled the Confederate forces for a battle at
Cassville, but on May 20 again retreated 8 miles further south to
Cartersville. The month of May 1864 ended with Sherman's forces
continuing
their successful march toward Atlanta at the Battle of New Hope Church on
May 25, the Battle of Pickett's Mill on May 27, and the Battle of Dallas
on May 28.
In June the Federal forces continued maneuvers around the northern
approaches to Atlanta. Battles ensued at Kolb's Farm on June 22, and the
Confederates successfully repulsed Union forces at the Battle of Kennesaw
Mountain on June 27. However, by this time Federal forces were within 17
miles of Atlanta, threatening the city from the west and north. Johnston
had yielded almost a hundred miles of mountainous, and thus more easily
defendable, territory in 60 days, while the Confederate government and
high command grew more frustrated and alarmed.
In early July Braxton Bragg was sent to Atlanta by President Davis to
ascertain the situation with respect to Atlanta. After several meetings
with local civilian leaders and Army of Tennessee commanders, Bragg
returned to Richmond and urged President Davis to replace Johnston. After
seriously considering Major General William Hardee and Hood for
Johnston's
replacement, President Davis solicited the advise of General Robert E.
Lee, who on July 12 telegrammed Davis,
"...Hood is a good fighter, very industrious on the battlefield,
careless off, and I have had no opportunity of judging his action, when
the whole responsibility rested upon him. I have a very high opinion of
his gallantry, earnestness and zeal. General Hardee has more experience
in managing an army. May God give you wisdom to decide in this momentous
matter."
With the support of Bragg and various Confederate cabinet members,
President Davis ultimately determined that Hood be promoted to the
temporary rank of full general, and replace Johnston as commander of the
Army of Tennessee. Richmond was determined to repulse Sherman, and save
Atlanta. The southern populace was equally adamant about the preservation
of Atlanta. The Atlanta Appeal newspaper, declaring that retreating must
cease and attacks must be launched, wrote in an editorial immediately
after Hood's appointment to command of the Army of Tennessee, "There
is a
limit to prudence. When excessive, our enemies denominate it cowardice.
This war must end and the final battle be fought. Why not here, and even
now?" The Augusta Constitutionalist wrote on
July 20, 1864, regarding
Hood's replacement of Johnston, "If it means anything it must mean
this:
Atlanta will not be given up without a fight."
On July 17, 1864 Johnston recieved orders that he had been relieved of
command, to be replaced by General Hood. July 18th broke warm and muggy;
Hood was notified that he had been promoted, and assigned command of the
Army of Tennessee. Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper's telegram
to Hood included the directive "...be wary no less than bold."
Two days after finding out about his appointment to command of the Army
of
Tennessee, Hood launched the first of four major offensives designed to
break Sherman's relentless and effective siege of Atlanta. In the July
20,
1864 Battle of Peachtree Creek the Confederates failed to crush Sherman's
temporarily divided forces.
On July 21, 1864 Union forces moved onto Bald Hill, only two miles east
of
Atlanta, and launched a howitzer bombardment of the city. The Federal
artillery also threatened the lone remaining Confederate rail line into
Atlanta. To counter this, Hood devised a plan to attack the Federals near
Decatur. The July 22, 1864 (Battle of Atlanta) attack failed to destroy
the Federal force, but the artillery was withdrawn and the railroad
remained open.
In the early morning hours of July 28, 1864 Hood learned that Federal
forces had withdrawn from positions to the east, indicating that the
threat to the Macon railroad had subsided. The Federals were observed
moving to the west of Atlanta, and Hood launched another assault at Ezra
Church on July 29, hoping to attack Sherman's forces before they had time
to entrench. Disjointed attacks by separate Confederate corps' resulted
in
a decisive Union victory.
In early August Hood's cavalry killed or captured approximately
two-thirds
of Sherman's cavalry at Brown's Mill and Sunshine Church, south of
Atlanta, and on August 6 Confederate defenders repulsed Union forces at
Utoy Creek.
However, on August 29 an undaunted and impatient Sherman began another
westerly movement to the south of Atlanta intended to cut the vital
railroad. Federal forces succeeded in reaching positions only 600 yards
from the Macon and Western Railroad depot at Jonesboro, 15 miles south of
Atlanta. With Federal artillery then in a position to bombard the
railroad
facilities, Hood ordered an attack, again hoping to commence the assault
before the Federals could construct defenses. As with the previous three
major Confederate attacks, this one also failed, and with the railroad
lifeline now severed, the fate of Atlanta was sealed.
Hoping to save his army, Hood evacuated Atlanta on September 2, 1864,
retreating through Lovejoy's Station, into rural Georgia, finally camping
in Palmetto. Hood would spend the early autumn of 1864 harassing
Sherman's
supply and communications lines in northwest Georgia and northeast
Alabama.
In November of 1864 Hood launched his ill-fated invasion of Tennessee,
suffering decisive defeats at Franklin, Tennessee on Nov. 30 (General
John
Schofield [US]), and at Nashville on Dec. 16 (General George Thomas
[US]).
Retreating with the shattered remnants of the Army of Tennessee into
northern Mississippi, Hood resigned his command on January 23, 1865,
reverting back to his permanent rank of lieutenant general.
During the waning days of the Confederacy, Hood was ordered by Jefferson
Davis to travel to Texas and attempt to raise an army. However, learning
of the capture of Davis and the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith in Texas,
Hood surrendered to Federal authorities in Natchez, Mississippi on May
31,
1865.
After the war Hood entered the cotton brokerage and insurance businesses
in New Orleans. On April 30, 1868 he married native New Orleanian, Anna
Marie Hennen and over the next ten years he would father eleven children,
including three sets of twins. Hood would lose all of his modest fortune
during the winter of 1878-1879 due to a yellow fever epidemic that closed
the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, and wiped out almost every city
insurance
company. Later that year, on August 30, 1879, John Bell Hood died of
yellow fever within days of his wife and oldest child. His ten orphaned
children, all under the age of ten, were left destitute. They would
ultimately be adopted by seven different families in Louisiana, New York,
Mississippi, Georgia and Kentucky.
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