Harrison Carroll Hobart

Harrison Carroll Hobart
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 1st district
In office
1848–1849
Preceded by Unknown
Succeeded by Lemuel Goodell
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Sheboygan County district
In office
1849–1850
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Calumet County district
In office
1859–1860
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Milwaukee County district
In office
1867–1868
Personal details
Born (1815-01-31)January 31, 1815
Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Died January 26, 1902(1902-01-26) (aged 86)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Frances Imogen Hobart
(nee Lowery, 1828-55)
Anna Clarence Mower Hobart (nee Litch, 1817-96)
Profession lawyer, politician
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1861–1865
Rank Colonel
Brevet Brigadier General
Unit 4th Wisconsin Infantry
Commands 21st Wisconsin Infantry
1st Brigade/1st Division/XX Corps
Battles/wars

American Civil War

Harrison Carroll Hobart (January 31, 1815 – January 26, 1902) was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a lawyer and politician in the state of Wisconsin.

Early life

Harrison Carroll Hobart was born on January 31, 1815 in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.[1] After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1842, where he was one of the founders of the Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, he studied law in Boston and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1845. He moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin the following year and entered legal business and state politics. In 1847, Hobart served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives of the Territorial Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory. After Wisconsin became a state, he served in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1848 and the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1849. In 1854 he moved to Chilton, Wisconsin, which he represented in the Wisconsin State Assembly in of 1859.[2]

Civil War service

During the Civil War, he was appointed captain in the 4th Wisconsin Infantry on July 2, 1861.[3][4] On October 15, 1862, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.[3] He fought at the battles of Stones River and Hoover's Gap. At the Battle of Chickamauga, Lt. Col. Hobart was wounded and taken prisoner on September 19 or 20, 1863.[3] Hobart was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.[3] There he helped lead the escape of 109 Union prisoners through a tunnel out of the prison on February 9, 1864.[3] Hobart was tasked with closing off the tunnel after the last escapee had gone through.[5] Roughly half the men made it back to Union lines, including Hobart, where he rejoined the 21st Wisconsin.[6] Hobart returned to the front in time for the Atlanta Campaign. He was promoted to colonel of the regiment on November 1, 1864.[3]

During the Carolinas Campaign, Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Hobart led the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XX Corps.[3] He was engaged at Averasborough and was conspicuous at the Battle of Bentonville. On January 23, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Hobart for the award of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers to rank from January 12, 1865, and the U. S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1865.[7] He was discharged on June 16, 1865.[3]

Later years

After the war's end he ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Wisconsin. He served in the State Assembly for a final time in 1867. Later, Hobart served on the Milwaukee Common Council and was president of the common council; he would also served as acting mayor of Milwaukee.[2] Hobart was the co-author of the book The Citizen Soldier, the autobiography of general John Beatty from 1879. Beside regular mentions it has a chapter written by him dedicated to his time and escape from Libby Prison.[3] He died on January 26, 1902[8][9] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is buried in Forest Home Cemetery.[3] [10]


Notes

  1. ↑ Harrison C. Hobart, Wisconsin Historical Society
  2. 1 2 Gen. Harrison Carroll Hobart, Elias A. Calkins, Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin At Its Annual Meeting, Wisconsin Historical Society: 1903, pp. 148–160.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Eicher p. 299
  4. ↑ The 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment initially was an infantry regiment that was mounted and reorganized as the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Regiment on September 1, 1863.
  5. ↑ Legler p.276
  6. ↑ 21st Wisconsin Infantry & Their Flag
  7. ↑ Eicher, p. 748. Even though Colonel Hobart filled the position of a brigadier general from November 5, 1864 through June 8, 1865, he was appointed only to the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general, not to the actual, substantive grade of brigadier general.
  8. ↑ "Hero of Civil War Is Dead". Janesville Daily Gazette. January 27, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved March 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Gen. Harrison Hobart Dead". Boston Post. January 27, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved March 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Harrison Carroll Hobart". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2014-02-09.

References

Further Reading

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