CSA Bios: Hardeman, Hanson

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. William P. Hardeman (b. 1816, d. 1898) For most of the Civil War, William Polk “Gotch” Hardeman was a regimental commander of Texas troops. Born in Williamson County, Tennessee, Nov. 4, 1816, Hardeman moved to Texas in 1835. He fought in the Texas War for Independence and then again in the Mexican War. In the latter, he fought under Ben McCulloch, later a Confederate general. He joined Confederate service as a captain of the Fourth Texas Mounted Volunteers and was sent along with Gen. H.H. Sibley’s New Mexico campaign. In the Confederate victory at Valverde, New Mexico, Feb. 21, 1862, Hardeman was cited by his superior, Lt. Col. William Scurry, for his role. Hardeman’s company was one of six which led “the last brilliant and successful charge which decided the fortunes of the day.” After being commended by Sibley, Hardeman was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Near the end of 1862, he was promoted to colonel and regimental command. At times, he commanded a brigade. Hardeman’s next major combat during the Red River Campaign of 1864 against the incursion of Federal Gen. Nathaniel Banks. Hardeman’s regiment fought at Mansfield, Louisiana, and the subsequent Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, April 8-9, 1864, These battles forced Banks to abandon his quest for Shreveport, Louisiana, and retreat. Hardeman fought well enough to earn the recommendation of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith for another promotion. Kirby Smith cited Hardeman as one of the “best brigade commanders in the Trans-Mississippi Department.” Hardeman was boosted to brigadier general to rank from March 17, 1865. Following the war, Hardeman returned to civilian life and was a planter. Turning to politics, Hardeman was an assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Texas house of representatives. He also served as inspector of railroads and superintendent of public buildings and grounds, which included the Texas Confederate Soldiers’ Home. Hardeman died in Austin, Texas, April 8, 1898, and was buried in the State Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Roger W. Hanson (b. 1827, d. 1863) Roger Weightman “Old Flintlock” Hanson’s stint as a brigadier general lasted just 22 days. Hanson received his promotion to brigadier general Dec. 13, 1862. During final day (Jan. 2, 1863) of the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River), Hanson led his Kentucky brigade, one of five brigades of Gen. John C. Breckinridge’s division, in a charge against Gen. Horatio Van Cleve’s Division near McFadden’s Ford on the Stones River. After achieving their first objective, the Confederates continued forward but soon met 57 massed Federal cannons. In the artillery fire that followed, 1,800 Confederates, including 400 in Hanson’s Kentucky Brigade, fell. Hanson was among the wounded. The carnage, along with the threat of Federal reinforcements, forced Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg to withdraw from the field. Hanson held on for two days and died in a house near the battlefield Jan. 4, 1863. He was buried in Lexington, Kentucky. Hanson was born Aug. 27, 1827, in Clark County, Kentucky. When the Mexican War came, Hanson joined the a Kentucky volunteer unit (captained by future Confederate general John S. Williams) as a first lieutenant. After a brief stint as prospecting in the 1849 gold rush, he returned home to study law and begin practice in Kentucky. He was elected to the Kentucky legislature in 1853 and 1855. In 1856, he was an elector for Millard Fillmore. In 1857, he staged an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Congress. In 1860, he stumped for the presidential ticket of Bell and Everett. At first, he was against secession, but he joined the Kentucky State Guard in 1861 as a colonel. On Sept. 3, 1861, he was made colonel of the Confederate Second Kentucky Infantry. Stationed at Fort Donelson under Gen. Simon Buckner, Hanson was captured with the fort’s garrison. Exchanged in October of 1862, he commanded a brigade during Gen. Bragg’s campaign into Kentucky. Hanson’s force mainly was a diversionary unit. It threatened Nashville in November and then helped Gen. John Hunt capture Hartsville, Tennessee, Dec. 7, 1862. He received promotion to his final rank Dec. 13, 1862, less than three weeks before his final battle.

[Gil R.]

Copied, thanks.

[Gil R.]

I figured I’d do this one while it’s still warm. Any idea where the nickname comes from? Also, this website says it was actually “Old Gotch”: http://www.lsjunction.com/people/hardemwp.htm . (As you can see, this website, which I found while trying to figure out the nickname, provides some details that I added. I got additional details from another website, including that bit that should make any Aggies who play the game happy, but no luck on the nickname.)

Brig. Gen. William Polk “Gotch” Hardeman (b. 1816, d. 1898). For most of the Civil War, Hardeman was a regimental commander of Texas troops, but during his life he spent more time serving Texas in a military or governmental position than any other man. Born in Williamson County, Tennessee, on November 4, 1816, and raised in Hardeman County, which was named for his grandfather, Hardeman moved to Texas in 1835. (Hardeman had a more famous relative on his mother’s side, for she was an aunt of Pres. James K. Polk.) He fought in the Texas War for Independence – during which he would have died at the Alamo had he and other volunteers heading to relieve its garrison not been stopped by Mexican pickets – and then again in the Mexican War a decade later. In the latter, he fought under Ben McCulloch, later a Confederate general. (Wikipedia has some colorful details about McCulloch’s performance in Mexico – details that I wish were in his FOF bio – so I’m wondering whether any of these apply to Hardeman as well.) Having participated in the state Secession Convention as Guadalupe County’s representative and voted to leave the Union, Hardeman left his life as a planter to raise a company and join Confederate service as a captain of the Fourth Texas Mounted Volunteers, a regiment in Gen. Henry H. Sibley’s New Mexico Brigade. In early 1862, he participated in Sibley’s failed New Mexico Campaign, earning recognition for his performance. In the Confederate victory at Valverde, New Mexico, on February 21, Hardeman was cited by his superior, Lt. Col. William Scurry, for his role, since Hardeman’s company was one of six which led “the last brilliant and successful charge which decided the fortunes of the day.” After being commended by Sibley himself, Hardeman was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Near the end of 1862, he was promoted to colonel and given regimental command, at times commanding a brigade. Hardeman next saw major combat during the Red River Campaign of 1864, fighting back the incursion of Union Gen. Nathaniel Banks into central Louisiana. On April 8-9, Hardeman’s regiment fought at Mansfield and then at Pleasant Hill, the two battles that forced Banks to abandon his quest for Shreveport and to begin his retreat. During the campaign Hardeman fought well enough to earn a recommendation for another promotion from Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, who cited Hardeman as one of the “best brigade commanders in the Trans-Mississippi Department.” Hardeman was boosted to brigadier general to rank from March 17, 1865. Following the war, Hardeman returned to his civilian life as a planter, after a period in Mexico with other Confederates who had gone into self-exile. Turning to politics, he served as an assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Texas House of Representatives. He also served as inspector of railroads and superintendent of public buildings and grounds, which included the Texas Confederate Soldiers’ Home, and was one of the founders of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A & M). Hardeman died in Austin, Texas, on April 8, 1898, and was buried in the State Cemetery. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 4
Tactics: 4
Initiative: 4
Command: 4
Cavalry:

Teaches: Random (-1)

Start date: 101

[Battleline]

Gil,
Never did see how he got the nickname "Gotch" in my material. Warner (Generals in Gray) provided the nickname, but had nothing regarding it's origin. That's not the first time nickname background has been left in, pardon the pun, the gray area.
Pretty extensive for someone who has a start date of 101!
Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

Yeah, it's a shame that he won't be seen that often, as a 9-percenter who shows up near the end of the game. But if for the hoped-for FOF expansion we add an 1865 scenario he'd be more likely to appear.