Vol. 49, No. 3
America’s Monthly Newspaper For Civil War Enthusiasts
$4.00
A.P. Hill Coming Home
roommate, George B. McClellan, then 15 years old. June 19,1847, Hill graduated fifteenth in the class. Assigned to the artillery, along with other new graduates who included John Gibbons, his orders assigned him to the First US Artillery, replacing 1st Lt. Thomas J. Jackson, class of 1846. Even though the war was winding down, Hill saw limited action. Like other Virginia officers, Hill sided with his state and the Confederacy. As the Civil War went on, Hill rose through hierarchy of the Army of Northern Virginia. At Petersburg, he was commanding the Third Corps, a shadow of the unit he had led earlier. When the Confederate lines were stretched too far and broke at Five Forks, Hill scrambled to get some sort of control over the deteriorating situation. On April 2, Hill was trying to reach Heth’s Division along the Boydton Plank road when he and his courier, Sgt. George Tucker, encountered two Union soldiers of the 138th Pennsylvania, Corporal John Mauck and Private Daniel Wolford. Hill was shot in the heart and died instantly. After being killed at Petersburg, Hill’s body was taken to Richmond, then placed in a
40 Pages, March 2023
A.P. Hill program. temporary grave at a plantation in North Chesterfield County. “The grave was hastily dug, and, with the assistance of my father’s butler, I made a rough
Portrait of Hill by William Ludwell Sheppard, 1898. by Marc Ramsey On Saturday, January 21, 2023, a very special thing happened in Culpeper, Va. At long last, Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill was brought home and laid to rest in historic Fairview Cemetery, established in the 1850’s, and we in the 15th Virginia had the honor of being part of the Honor Guard Battalion, several hundred veteran reenactors strong, Col. Bill Russell, Longstreet’s Corps, commanding. Gen. Hill had always wanted to be buried in
his home town of Culpeper, but it took one hundred and fifty-eight years and three prior interments for his wishes to be realized. This was the fourth and last time the General would be buried, and the first funeral for him with full military honors. Why had it taken so long? Born November 9, 1825, “Powell” Hill grew up in Culpeper. On April 26, 1842, Hill accepted an appointment to the United states Military Academy at West Point. Among many future Civil War generals was his
16 – American Battlefield Trust 34 – Book Reviews 14 – Central Virginia Battlefield Trust
Description: On the Hermitage road, three miles north of the City. Unveiled May 30th, 1891. General Hill was the last Confederate General killed in battle, being mortally wounded in front of Petersburg, Va., April 2, 1865. In commemoration of his heroic character and signal services to the ‘Lost Cause,’ this pedestal and portraitstatue was erected by his admirers and comrades-inarms.
20 – Civil War Center for Photography 28 – Critic’s Corner 30 – Emerging Civil War
39 – Events 26 – The Graphic War 23 – The Source
case to receive the coffin. We buried the body about 2 P.M., April 4, 1865, in the old Winston burying-ground near Bellgrade [sic] plantation.” wrote cousin G. Powell Hill – (SHSP 31 (1891):183-186). Two years later, Hill was exhumed and reburied without honors at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. As monuments began to appear throughout Richmond and the rest of the South during the next several decades, Hill’s former soldiers wanted to raise one for their general. The Pegram Battalion Association led the fundraising efforts. Unable to raise enough money through traditional efforts, the group appealed to prominent tobacconist and Confederate veteran Lewis Ginter, who had served under Hill during the war. Eventually they decided to erect the monument near Ginter’s home outside Richmond and
H Hill
. . . . . . . . . . . . see page 4
24 – This And That 12 – The Unfinished Fight 18 – Through the Lens