Background
Ambrose Powell Hill was born on November 9, 1825, in Culpeper, Virginia. He was the seventh child of Thomas and Fannie Russell Baptist Hill.
West Point, New York, United States
Hill entered West Point in July 1842, but, being deficient in philosophy and chemistry at the end of his third year, did not graduate until 1847, when he was fifteenth in a class of thirty-eight.
West Point, New York, United States
Hill entered West Point in July 1842, but, being deficient in philosophy and chemistry at the end of his third year, did not graduate until 1847, when he was fifteenth in a class of thirty-eight.
Ambrose Powell Hill was born on November 9, 1825, in Culpeper, Virginia. He was the seventh child of Thomas and Fannie Russell Baptist Hill.
Hill was given his preliminary education at Simms's Academy, and entered West Point in July 1842, but, being deficient in philosophy and chemistry at the end of his third year, did not graduate until 1847, when he was fifteenth in a class of thirty-eight.
Hill saw service in Mexico at Huamantla and Atlixco in October 1847. After the war, he did garrison duty at Fort McHenry, at Key West, and at Barrancas Barracks, Florida, and in 1852 was on the Texas frontier, besides participating in both the Seminole campaigns (1849-1850 and 1853-1855). Promoted first lieutenant on September 4, 1851, he was in the Washington office of the superintendent of the coast survey from November 1855 to October 1860, when he procured leave of absence.
Hill resigned from the United States Army on March 1, 1861, was named colonel of the 13th Virginia Infantry, served for a short time in West Virginia, and was in reserve with his regiment at First Manassas. He spent the winter of 1861-1862 in northern Virginia, and on February 26, 1862, was made brigadier-general. At Williamsburg, Virginia, on May 5, during Johnston's retreat up the Peninsula, Hill met the pursuing Federals and lost heavily but won many plaudits. The organization of his brigade, Longstreet reported, "was perfect throughout the battle, and it was marched off the field in as good order as it entered it."
Hill was named major-general on May 26, 1862, and held the left of the Confederate lines around Richmond until June 26, when, with approximately 14, 000 men, he opened the battle of the Seven Days. He bore the brunt of the fight at Mechanicsville that evening; on the 27th, he was the first to engage the enemy at Gaines's Mill and sustained most of the shock of conflict until late afternoon; on the 29th his division and that of Longstreet were marched to meet McClellan as he hastened to his new base on the James River; the next day, he and Longstreet assailed the Federals at Frazier's Farm.
These three engagements decimated Hill's command but they showed him to be prompt and aggressive. His men became very proud of their title, "Hill's Light Division," bestowed or adopted because of the speed of their march. Following some friction with Longstreet, in July 1862, Hill was sent to reënforce Jackson, who was facing Pope in northern Virginia. Effective cooperation was impaired by Jackson's reticence, though Hill retrieved disaster to Jackson at Cedar Mountain by his prompt arrival on the Confederate left on the afternoon of August 9.
Hill's command next moved with Jackson to Manassas, where he held the left of Jackson's line and sustained repeated heavy assaults on August 29 and 30. In the Maryland campaign, Hill participated with Jackson in the capture of Harper's Ferry and was assigned to execute the details of the surrender, but he hastened on to Sharpsburg (Antietam) and arrived just in time to throw his troops on the Federals who were breaking the Confederate right.
At Fredericksburg, on December 13, 1862, Hill was again on the right, where gaps in his line, due to ignorance of the ground, offered an opening to the Federals. The latter broke through and caused heavy loss to one of his brigades but were later repulsed. Hill shared in Jackson's famous flanking movement at Chancellorsville and directed the assault after Jackson was wounded until he himself was rendered hors de combat. In the reorganization that followed the death of Jackson, the army was divided into three corps. The third of these was entrusted to Hill, who was made lieutenant-general on May 23, 1863.
In the Pennsylvania campaign, his corps found the Federals around Gettysburg and, without waiting for orders from Lee, moved against them. The battle that followed on July 1 was directed by Hill and was the only large engagement of the war in which the initiative and whole responsibility rested with him. During the forenoon, his troops were very roughly handled and lost heavily, but in the afternoon, having been reinforced, he drove back the Federals and ended the day with 5, 000 prisoners. On July 2, part of his corps took up the offensive that spread from the Confederate left, but the charge of the various brigades was not coordinated, and the assault, which should have extended to the flank of Hill's corps, terminated on his front. On the third day, ten of his brigades were placed under Longstreet's direction for the final assault on Cemetery Ridge.
In the Wilderness, Hill's troops more than held their own on May 5, 1864, but two days later they were outflanked in part and probably would have met disaster but for the arrival of Longstreet's men. At this juncture, with Longstreet wounded, Hill was incapacitated by illness and was absent from May 8 to May 21. He was then engaged, though not heavily, in the operations from the North Anna to Cold Harbor, and when Grant crossed the James and opened the siege of Petersburg was moved to the lines in front of that city. There he remained for the ensuing eight and a half months, sharing in most of the battles and raids on the Confederate right.
Late in March 1865 he procured brief sick-leave and left the lines to recuperate at his temporary home in Petersburg. On April 2, however, alarmed at the situation, he returned to duty and was killed a few minutes later by the fire of two Pennsylvania soldiers, as he rode forward to rally his men, who had been driven from their lines by the final Federal assault.
Hill participated in all the great battles of the Army of Northern Virginia from the time Lee took command, except for the operations around Spotsylvania Court House. In the Hermitage Road Historic District of Richmond, Virginia, the A. P. Hill Monument is located in the center of the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road. This monument is the only one of its type in Richmond under which the subject individual is actually interred. The United States military honored Hill by naming both a fort and a ship after him. Fort A. P. Hill is located in Caroline County, Virginia, about halfway between Richmond and Washington. During World War II, the United States Navy named a Liberty Ship the SS A. P. Hill in his honor. Hill's sword is on display at the Chesterfield County Museum in Chesterfield, Virginia.
Hill had no political affiliation.
Genial, approachable, and affectionate in private life, Hill was restless and impetuous in action. He did not hesitate to risk heavy losses for substantial gains, but he was prompt in moving his troops, maintained good discipline, and had the good opinion of his subordinates and the unquestioning confidence of his soldiers.
Physical Characteristics: Some historians believe Hill suffered from complications of venereal disease contracted as a West Point cadet, being plagued with recurrent prostatitis, which was not treatable before the event of antibiotics. He may have also suffered urinary incontinence due to inflammation of the prostate pressing on his urethra, which could also lead to uremic poisoning and kidney damage.
In May 1859, Hill married Kitty Grosh Morgan, a sister of John H. Morgan, subsequently a renowned Confederate leader. The couple had four children.
1789-1857
1792-1853
1814-1867
1816-1868
1818-1873
1821-1890
1836-1908
1834-1920
1860-1862
1861-1915
1864-1931
