John Bell Hood

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John Bell Hood bigraphy, stories - Confederate Army general

John Bell Hood : biography

June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879

John Bell Hood (June 1Eicher, p. 302; Warner, p. 142; . or June 29,Jones, p. 213; McMurry, p. 5; website; JohnBellHood.org website. June 29 is the date given on his tombstone and therefore seems the more likely. See . 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness. Arguably one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Confederate States Army, Hood became increasingly ineffective as he was promoted to lead larger, independent commands late in the war, and his career was marred by his decisive defeats leading an army in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign.

Hood’s education at the United States Military Academy led to a career as a junior officer in both the infantry and cavalry of the antebellum U.S. Army in California and Texas. At the start of the Civil War, he offered his services to his adopted state of Texas. He achieved his reputation for aggressive leadership as a brigade commander in the army of Robert E. Lee during the Seven Days Battles in 1862, after which he was promoted to division command. He led a division under James Longstreet in the campaigns of 1862–63. At the Battle of Gettysburg, he was severely wounded, rendering his left arm useless for the rest of his life. Transferred with many of Longstreet’s troops to the Western Theater, Hood led a massive assault into a gap in the Union line at the Battle of Chickamauga, but was wounded again, requiring the amputation of his right leg.

Hood returned to field service during the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, and at the age of 33 was promoted to temporary full general and command of the Army of Tennessee at the outskirts of Atlanta. There, he dissipated his army in a series of bold, but fruitless assaults, and was compelled to evacuate the besieged city. Leading his men through Alabama and into Tennessee, he severely damaged his army by ordering a massive frontal assault at the Battle of Franklin and was decisively defeated at the Battle of Nashville by his former West Point instructor, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, after which he was relieved of command.

After the war, Hood moved to Louisiana and worked as a cotton broker and in the insurance business. His business was ruined by a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans during the winter of 1878–79 and he succumbed to the disease himself, dying just days after his wife and oldest child, leaving ten destitute orphans.

Early life

Hood was born in Owingsville, Kentucky, the son of John Wills Hood (1798-1852), a doctor, and Theodosia French Hood (1801-1886), both of English descent.McMurry, p. 2. He was a cousin of future Confederate general G. W. Smith and the nephew of U.S. Representative Richard French.Eicher, p. 302; McMurry, p. 6. McMurry, p. 10, lists Smith as a "distant relative." French obtained an appointment for Hood at the United States Military Academy, despite his father’s reluctance to support a military career for his son. Hood graduated in 1853, ranked 44th in a class of 52 that originally numbered 96, after a near-expulsion in his final year for excessive demerits (196 of a permissible 200).McMurry, p. 9. McMurry reports that Hood’s four-year total of 374 demerits was "above average." At West Point and in later Army years, he was known to friends as "Sam".Sword, p. 6. His classmates included James B. McPherson and John M. Schofield; he received instruction in artillery from George H. Thomas. These three men became Union Army generals who would oppose Hood in battle. The superintendent in 1852–55 was Col. Robert E. Lee, who would become Hood’s commanding general in the Eastern Theater.McMurry, p. 10. Notwithstanding his modest record at the Academy, in 1860 Hood was appointed chief instructor of cavalry at West Point, a position that he declined, citing his desire to remain with his active field regiment and to retain all of his options in light of the impending war.McMurry, p. 21.