A.P. Hill: Lee's Forgotten General

by William Woods Hassler

A. P. Lee's Forgotten General is the first biography of the Confederacy's long-neglected hero whom Lee ranked next to Jackson and Longstreet. Although the name and deeds ot this gallant Virginian conspicuously punctuate the record of every major campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia, the man himself has persistently remained what Douglas Southall Freman termed an "elusive personality." William Woods Hassler, through careful and persistent research, has compiled an interesting documentary study from which emerges a balanced portrait of this distinguished but complex character.

Here for the first time is detailed the romantic triangle which enmeshed Hill and McClellan, former roommates at West Point, with beauteous Nelly Marcy, reigning queen of pre-war Washington's younger set. Hill lost this contest to Nelly's parents, but he later won the hand of General John Hunt Morgan's lovely and talented sister, Dolly. And at Sharpsburg, Hill wreaked vengeance upon McClellan by his timely arrival which saved Lee from defeat at the same time it spelled McClellan's subsequent dismissal from command of the Army of the Potomac.

The author traces Hill's meteoric rise from Colonel of the redoubtable Thirteenth Virginia Regiment to Major General in command of the famed Light Division. Against a "you are there" background of intimate detail, the reader follows the exploits of tempestous Ambrose Powell Hill as he welds his officers and men into fierce striking units. Where the fighing is thickests there is the red-haired, red-shirted Hill brandishing his sword and exhorting his men to victory. Sometimes the issue ends ignominiously as at Bristoe Station, but more often the outcome is glorious as at Second Manassas and Reams Station.

Gray greats and near-greats stalk through these pages with vivid reality as one meets Jeb Stuart, Dorsey Pender, John Hood, Heros von Borcke, Ham Chamerlayne, Willie Pegram, Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Cadmus Wilcox, Harry Heth, J. R. Anderson, Lawrence O'Brien Branch, James Archer, Jim Lane, Thomas Wooten, Charles Field, George Tucker, Kyd Douglas, Johnston Pettigrew, Moxley Sorrel, William H. Palmer, Wade Hampton, Jube Early, Lindsay Walker, Maxcy Gregg, Sam McGowan, and others.

Accompanying Hill and his commands from pre-Manassas to the final breakthrough at Petersburg, the reader relives the campaigns in the Eastern theater. At the same time the reader gains a deeper insight into the problems of command, together with an appreciation of the hardships which the Confederate soldiers endured during even the early days of the conflict.

Although Powell Hill's consideration and ability won for him the unbounded respect and devotion of his troops, his proud, sensitive nature continually embroiled him with his superiors. His dispute with Longstreet following the Seven Days Battles almost culminated in a duel. Transferred to Jackson's command, Hill outspokenly quarreled with "Old Jack" until the latter's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville effected a dramatic battlefield reconciliation. As Jackson's successor, Hill performed irregularly. The author analyzes objectively the various factors which may have caused the changes in Hill's fortunes following his elevation to corps command.

Genres: Civil War, Biography, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, Civil War History

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

William Woods Hassler was President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the author of A. P. Hill: Lee’s Forgotten General; Confederate Heroes and Heroines and other books. In 1993, inspired by Dr. Hassler’s special example, the Hassler Award was inaugurated to honor individuals who make especially meritorious contributions to the field of Civil War education. He died in 1997 at the age of 80.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Hassler’s book A. P. Hill: Lee’s Forgotten General was first published in 1957 (reprinted 1962) and although it may suffer in comparison with more recent biographies on Hill it is still a worthwhile book to read. In 240 odd pages we follow Ambrose Powell Hill from birth in 1825 till his death towards the end of the Civil War in 1865.

This is not an in-depth biography but does cover the life and aspects of the man in question and his role in the Civil War. The battles he fought in are not covered in great detail but enough to understand the man and his inter-action with fellow Confederate commanders. Overall this is an easy to read and enjoyable book and I found the story compelling and told with an unbiased approach. My one complaint would be that the maps supplied were not enough and not in great detail.

To finish I would like to quote from the front piece of the book:
“Distinguished in every engagement, his death in front of Petersburg, April 2, 1865, was a serious loss to the army. Upon him as perhaps none of his other young officers, except Stuart, General Lee implicitly relied, and to him the memory of the great commander seemed to revert on his deathbed, for among his last words were: ‘Tell A. P. Hill he must come up’. “ - Douglas Southall Freeman:

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambrose Powell Hill (A. P. for short) was one of the finest division commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. His rise to corps command may illustrate the "Peter Principle," in which people rise to positions for which they are incompetent.

This book looks at his early life, including the triangular relationship among George McClellan, Hill, and Ellen (Nelly) Marcy. McClellan won Nelly's hand. Later, some Union troops wondered if Hill would have been less aggressive had he won Nelly's affections!

The story in this book begins with his youth and his early career in the army. When war broke out, he joined the Confederate army. The author, William Hassler, describes Hill's leadership qualities thus (Page 3): "A natural leader, Hill possessed that 'commanding resolution' which 'inspired by his voice, his example, and his personal appearance.'"

He showed a great ability with division sized command, leading what became known as "The Light Division," an oversized command that fought hard under him. His prickly nature came out with two corps commanders--James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. Both feuded with him. In fact, he was removed from Longstreet's command to Jackson's to get around the disagreement with Longstreet--only to see a second feud brew with Jackson!

His high water marks came at Second Manassas and Antietam ("and then Hill came up"). At the latter, his last minute arrival at the battlefield saved the day for Lee's forces. After Jackson's death at Chancellorsville, Lee reorganized the army and gave Hill command of a corps. His dicey health and perhaps his skill level were not up to the challenge., He performed poorly at Gettysburg and blundered badly at Bristoe Station. At the North Anna, he had another bad day. On the other hand, at Reams' Station, outside Petersburg, he thoroughly whipped Winfield Scott Hancock's by now degraded Second Corps.

This is a fine biography of Hill's life. I would have desired a bit more detail on the battles and some maps would have been be appreciated. Nonetheless, this is a good work.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambrose Powell Hill, aka A.P. Hill, was most recently famous as the last Confederate Monument removed from Monument Ave, in Richmond, VA in 2022. He was preceded by the extirpation of Lee, Jackson, Stuart and Davis. I was there once years ago but never bothered to take a photo, at least I have one in this book. Oh well, 'All Things Must Pass' as George Harrison neatly put it in song. I have mixed feelings about efforts to expunge from view the less fashionable aspects of the past. No one really passes muster when the roll is called, but the Southern cause was weird being uniquely American and tied to what I consider both laudable and intolerable aims. Either way A.P. Hill will forever remain in CSA lore as the man whose name both Jackson and Lee called out in some of their final moments: Jackson--‘Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action!; Lee--'Tell Hill he must come up!'.

This biography done back in the late 1950s is a reasonably well done account of Hill's short but eventful life. I learned more about his famous feud with Jackson, there is an Appendix with the actual charges against Hill incurred while serving as a divisional commander in Jackson's corps. None of it seems quite worthy of the level of charges brought by Jackson but Stonewall was nothing if not exacting, except when it came to himself at the Peninsula. Lee handled mistakes among his subordinates in a far more effective manner as the book points out. Hill comes off as an aggressive, competent, but perhaps not brilliant commander. Though when you consider the conditions--communications and intelligence all these generals had to work with mistakes were inevitable and committed by each and every commander on both sides. You don't get a ton on Hill as a person, he obviously left no memoirs as he fell to a bullet outside Petersburg in the waning days of April, 1865. He was another of the many CSA West Point grads, from Culpeper County, Virginia (where his remains were moved). He comes off as a bit proud and prickly, demonstrated by the feuds with Longstreet and then Jackson. He was not particularly religious (unlike Jackson) but seemed to have had relaxed and pleasant demeanor most of the time. It was obviously a high-stress job! His record in command of his so-called 'Light' Division was superb but he had more mixed success as III Corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia post-Jackson. He was present at nearly every major encounter of that storied fighting force and the toughness, tenacity and sheer endurance of those guys never ceases to amaze. Constantly outnumbered, outgunned and out supplied they were frequently asked to achieve feats beyond their capabilities. The end is always the same, no surprises there! 3.5 stars, rounded down for the poor maps.

[Tony 08 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biographie un peu succincte qui avait le mérite à sa sortie de combler un manque au sujet de ce grand général qu'était Ambrose Powell Hill.
L'ensemble se concentre sur l'aspect militaire de sa carrière au sein de la confédération...on se penchera sur des ouvrages plus récents pour élargir le propos sur les aspects antérieurs de sa carrière.
C'est une bonne première lecture donc.

[John Heiskell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am continually amazed at the abilities of these military men to visualize and execute plans. And the fact that they were so young...

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little has been written about Hill as he was not as flashy as James Longstreet and some of the other Confederate generals. He took part in every major campaign that was led by Lee.

[William Olenick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This older biography of A P Hill is a good read. It covers the general history of the eastern theater in which General Hill participated.