Meet General Hill
Gettysburg National Military Park Kidzpage

 

Gen. A.P. Hill
Maj. General A.P. Hill
(Museum of the Confederacy)
Ambrose Powell Hill was born in Culpeper, Virginia on November 9, 1825. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1847, and was sent to fight in the War with Mexico where he met many soldiers who would be future Confederates. After the Mexican War, he was sent to Florida where his regiment fought the Seminole Indians during an uprising. When the Civil War broke out, Hill resigned from the United States Army and offered his services to his native state. Officials in Virginia were quick to grab the talented Hill and appointed him as colonel of the 13th Virginia Infantry. In 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned a brigade under General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. General Hill performed so well during the Seven Days Battles that he was promoted to major general and given command of a division in Jackson's Corps which he dubbed the "Light Division".

General Hill became re-known for his fighting abilities and his bravery. He had a slight build and some of his fellow officers referred to him as "Little Powell" Hill. Prone to sickness from a disease he had contracted while a student at West Point, Hill was often too sick to sit in the saddle of his horse. But he led his troops with brilliance at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia and during the Antietam Campaign in 1862. His relationship with the eccentric "Stonewall" Jackson was awkward at times and always difficult, though Jackson expressed his high regard for Hill's abilities and his leadership. After the death of General Jackson after Chancellorsville in 1863, Hill was promoted to major general and given command of a portion of Jackson's old corps in the Army of Northern Virginia.

Command of a corps was very different from command of his old division. General Hill worked diligently to assume the responsibility but sickness often made him unable to make firm decisions. This happened on July 1st, 1863 when General Hill's troops were opening the Battle of Gettysburg. General Hill had ordered General Henry Heth's Division to march to Gettysburg but he remained in Cashtown near an ambulance that had been assigned for his use. General Hill recovered enough to ride to the battlefield and command his corps through the battle and subsequent retreat to Virginia. That fall, disaster befell Hill's troops at the Battle of Bristoe Station when the general ordered a hasty attack. He recovered himself enough to lead his men into the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 and on through the battles that led to Petersburg, Virginia.

During the siege of Petersburg, General Hill was able to spend time with his family and infant daughter in Richmond. His health improved somewhat and he was in "good spirits" as he left home to join his troops in 1865. Union attacks in March and early April, 1865 were pushing back portions of the Confederate line near Petersburg. On April 2, a break through occurred in a portion of General Hill's line. As he rode with an aide to the scene of the breakthrough, he was confronted by a small group of Union soldiers. Not willing to turn and run, General Hill pulled his pistol and rode toward the group when he was shot by one of the Northern soldiers. General Hill died later that morning.

Of all of Lee's generals, General A.P. Hill is one of the more sympathetic officers. Lee even said that Hill was one of the best officers ever to reach the rank of major general in Confederate service and he was greatly saddened at his loss. General Hill was interred in Richmond. Today he lies beneath a monument erected to his memory at the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road in Richmond.

Keywords:
Light Division
"Little Powell"
US Military Academy
siege of Petersburg

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Gettysburg National Military Park
1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100
Gettysburg, PA 17325