General William Babcock Hazen
My 4th Cousin.
USMA 1855 (28/34); Infantry. After Indian fighting (1 wound, 1 brevet) he taught tactics at West Point 21 Feb. - 18 Sept. 1861. Commissioned Col. 41st Ohio 29 Oct. 1861, after having been promoted 1st Lt. 1 April and Captain 14 May 1861. During the operations in Kentucky he commanded his regiment at the 19th Brig., Army of the Ohio (Dec. 61- Jan. 62). At Shiloh and on the advance upon Corinth he led 19th Brigade, 4th Division (3 Jan. - 2 June 1862) and also commanded these troops (10 July-29 Sept. 1862) while supervising repairs on the Nashville & Decatur R.R., and as commanding offercer of Murfreesboro. At Perryville he commanded the same brigade, now in the IV Corps (Sept. - Nov. 1862) and was promoted B.G. USV 29 Nov. 1862. He led 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Left Wing, XIV Cumberland (5 Nov. 62-9 Jan. 63) at Murfreesboro (Stones River) and then commanded 2,2,XXI (9 Jan. - 3 Sept. and 13 Sept.-9 Oct. 1863) at Chickamauga. In the battles around Chattanooga and at Missionary Ridge he commanded 2,3, IV (10 Oct. 1863-17 March 1864). At Chattanooga he led the force which floated down the Tennessee River in the night of 27 Oct. 1863 which took Brown's Ferry. He also led this brigade at Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, Cassville, Pickett's Mills, Kennesaw Mountain, Chattahoochee, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta (17 April-17 Aug. 1864). He next commanded 2nd Division, XV, Tenn. (17 Aug. 64-18 May 1865) at Jonesboro, East Point, on the March to the Sea, and in the Carolinas. Maj. Gen. USV 13 Dec. 1864. From 23 May to 1 Aug. 1865 he commanded the XV Corps. Continuing in the R.A. as Col. 28th Inf., then 6th Inf. (1869), Hazen was prominent in frontier affairs. In 1870 he was an observer with the German armies fighting France. In 1880 he became B.G. USA, Chief Signal Officer and head of the Weather Bureau. A.G. Greely's ill-fated arctic expedition, 1881-84, thus was under Hazen's command, and he got a presidential reprimand for bitter criticism of War Sec. Robert Lincoln for failure to authorize timely rescue efforts. Experts and the public sided with Hazen, so the court-martial (headed by Gen. Hancock) did not harm Hazen's career. He died in office at age 56. See Warner, Generals in Blue.
Boatner
USMA 1855 (28/34); Infantry. After Indian fighting (1 wound, 1 brevet) he taught tactics at West Point 21 Feb. - 18 Sept. 1861. Commissioned Col. 41st Ohio 29 Oct. 1861, after having been promoted 1st Lt. 1 April and Captain 14 May 1861. During the operations in Kentucky he commanded his regiment at the 19th Brig., Army of the Ohio (Dec. 61- Jan. 62). At Shiloh and on the advance upon Corinth he led 19th Brigade, 4th Division (3 Jan. - 2 June 1862) and also commanded these troops (10 July-29 Sept. 1862) while supervising repairs on the Nashville & Decatur R.R., and as commanding offercer of Murfreesboro. At Perryville he commanded the same brigade, now in the IV Corps (Sept. - Nov. 1862) and was promoted B.G. USV 29 Nov. 1862. He led 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Left Wing, XIV Cumberland (5 Nov. 62-9 Jan. 63) at Murfreesboro (Stones River) and then commanded 2,2,XXI (9 Jan. - 3 Sept. and 13 Sept.-9 Oct. 1863) at Chickamauga. In the battles around Chattanooga and at Missionary Ridge he commanded 2,3, IV (10 Oct. 1863-17 March 1864). At Chattanooga he led the force which floated down the Tennessee River in the night of 27 Oct. 1863 which took Brown's Ferry. He also led this brigade at Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, Cassville, Pickett's Mills, Kennesaw Mountain, Chattahoochee, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta (17 April-17 Aug. 1864). He next commanded 2nd Division, XV, Tenn. (17 Aug. 64-18 May 1865) at Jonesboro, East Point, on the March to the Sea, and in the Carolinas. Maj. Gen. USV 13 Dec. 1864. From 23 May to 1 Aug. 1865 he commanded the XV Corps. Continuing in the R.A. as Col. 28th Inf., then 6th Inf. (1869), Hazen was prominent in frontier affairs. In 1870 he was an observer with the German armies fighting France. In 1880 he became B.G. USA, Chief Signal Officer and head of the Weather Bureau. A.G. Greely's ill-fated arctic expedition, 1881-84, thus was under Hazen's command, and he got a presidential reprimand for bitter criticism of War Sec. Robert Lincoln for failure to authorize timely rescue efforts. Experts and the public sided with Hazen, so the court-martial (headed by Gen. Hancock) did not harm Hazen's career. He died in office at age 56. See Warner, Generals in Blue.
Boatner
Date & Place:
in United States
