Commissioned as a colonel in the First North Carolina Infantry, D.H. Hill served at Big Bethel. In July 1861, he was appointed brigadier general. He commanded forces during the Peninsula battles of Yorktown and Williamsburg. Under Longstreet's Command, he served in A.P. Hill's Division at Seven Pines. Then, he served under Jackson in the Seven Days. His division was heavily engaged at South Mountain and Antietam. After being held in reserve at Fredericksburg, he was detached from the Army of Northern Virginia. Through the rest of the war, he served at Richmond, Chickamauga, and at Bentonville, rising to the rank of lieutenant-general.
