Maj. Gen. William B. Hazen

[jkBluesman]

Maj. Gen. William Babcock Hazen (b. 1830, d. 1887). The author, journalist and Civil War participant Ambrose Bierce wrote of Hazen: "General W.B. Hazen, born fighter...was the best hated man that I ever knew, and his very memory is a terror to every unworthy soul in the servi....He was aggressive, arrogant, tyrannical, honorable, truthful, courageous, a skillful soldier, a faithful friend, and one of the most exasperating of men. Duty was his religion." Born in Vermont, Hazen grew up in Ohio, where he made friends with future Pres. James A. Garfield. Graduating from West Point in 1855, he served on the Pacific Coast and in Texas. A severe wound received during a fight with the Comanches in 1859 took him out of service for two years. After recovering, he taught tactics at the United States Military Academy before entering the Civil War in October 1861 as colonel of the 41st Ohio – Garfield had used his influence to secure Hazen the post. Hazen's first battle was with the Army of the Ohio at Shiloh, where he led a brigade in the victorious second day's fighting and the subsequent advance on Corinth. In the fall of 1862 his men were part of the force that won the battle of Perryville (October 8) and drove the Confederates from Kentucky. Under Gen. William S. Rosecrans he served in the newly formed Army of the Cumberland. At Stones River on December 31, 1862 his brigade's stand at "Round Forrest" did in great part help to save the Union army from destruction. Hazen was thanked by veterans a few months after the battle with the first Union monument of the war and he received promotion to brigadier general of volunteers in April 1863 (effective from November 29, 1862). He served through the Tullahoma Campaign in which he helped to ensure the unopposed crossing of the Tennessee River. At Chickamauga in September his brigade belonged to the force under Gen. George Thomas that resisted the Confederates long enough to cover the Union retreat to Chattanooga. There his brigade helped to reopen a supply line in October by seizing the vital point of Brown's Farm – the beginning of the end of the Confederate siege. A month later, Hazen's brigade and that of Gen. August Willich captured Orchard Knob, thus setting the stage for the attack on Missionary Ridge two days later with which the Union army drove the Southerners from Tennessee. Hazen served in Gen. William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign the next year and was given a division during the last stages of the campaign, which he led through the famous "March to the Sea". On December 13, 1864, his division captured Fort McAllister, thus opening a supply base for the army that had lived from the land in Georgia so far and opening the way to Savannah that fell the next day. Hazen was promoted to major general of volunteers (dating from December 13), participated in the subsequent Carolina Campaign and was given the XV corps in May 1865. After the war, Hazen stayed in the army and was sent to Europe as observer of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) with the German armies. Upon his return to the United States, he served on the Western frontier. In 1880, he was promoted to regular brigadier general and Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes made him Chief Signal Officer and head of the Weather Bureau. Hazen held the two posts until his death on January 16, 1887. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His memoirs had been published as "A Narrative of Military Service" two years before his death.

Ldr: 5
Tact: 6
Init: 4
Cmd: 5
Cav: 0

Teaches: Heroes, Obedient, Blasted

[jkBluesman]

I added the Fort McAllister episode. Heidler stresses the strained relationship to Sheridan, but I left it out as well as events in his life after the war, as the bio is already at 3500 characters.

[Gil R.]

Thanks.

Is the spelling "servi...." deliberate, or a mistake?

[jkBluesman]

Strange, in my original text which I copied, it is "service" as it should be. Good catch.

[Gil R.]

Okay, change made.

I hope to get back to editing bios in the next week or two. I've hit a busy time at work, but I'll definitely get back to them before too long.