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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.092 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | John F. Lee to Henry Jackson Hunt discussing the biography of Robert E. Lee |
| Date | ca. [1872] |
| Author | Lee, John F. (1813-1884) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Refers to Hunt's contribution to the biography, an account of Lee's passage through the pedregal (a lava rock field) during the Mexican American War. Notes that the book is "short & simple... well done for a female- no bad eloquence. except in the appendix- where there is some, very bad, by orators and statesmen... " Notes that Marshall's contribution was good (possibly referring to Charles Marshall, who served as Lee's aide-de-camp). Discusses the implications of Hunt's description of Lee; wonders whether his praise of Lee was appropriate (possibly since Hunt had served the Union and Lee the Confederacy). Mentions McClellan, Grant, and the trial of General Fitz John Porter. Year inferred from the date of publication of Emily Virginia Mason's biography of Robert E. Lee, which Lee recently received in the mail. |
| Subjects | Union General Literature and Language Arts Confederate General or Leader Military History Latin and South America Global History and Civics Women's History Civil War President Military Law Mexican War |
| People | Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) Lee, John F. (1813-1884) Mason, Emily Virginia (1815-1909) Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward) (1807-1870) Marshall, Charles (1830-1902) Porter, Fitz John (1822-1901) Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) (1822-1885) McClellan, George B. (1826-1885) |
| Place written | Upper Marlboro, Maryland |
| Theme | The American Civil War; The Mexican War; Arts & Literature |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder information: Henry Jackson Hunt was Chief of the Artillery in the Army of the Potomac. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was a master of the science of gunnery and rewrote the manual on the organization and the use of artillery in early modern armies: Instruction for field artillery. Prepared by a board of artillery officers, consisting of Captain Wm. H. French...Captain Wm. F. Barry...Captain H.J. Hunt...To which is added The evolutions of batteries, tr. from the French by Brigadier General R. Anderson (New York, D. Van Nostrand, 1864). Hunt was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Samuel Wellington Hunt, a career infantry officer. As a child he accompanied his father in 1827 to the Kansas Territory on an expedition to found Fort Leavenworth. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1839 as second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Mexican War where he was elevated to captain and major. Hunt received attention when in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, his four-gun battery covered the retreat of a Union force with an artillery duel. He soon afterword became the chief of artillery in defense of Washington, D.C. As a colonel on the staff of McClellan, he organized and trained the artillery reserve and fought in the Peninsular Campaign. His keen work influenced battles at Malvern Hill, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His most famous service occurred at Gettysburg. He served in Virginia through the end of the war. Following the Civil War, Hunt held various military posts. He served as president of the permanent Artillery Board. He also served at Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Maine (1868), Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island (1869-1872 definitely, and possibly until 1874), military commander at Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia (1875-1880), commander, Department of the South (1880-1883), and as Governor of the Soldier's Home in Washington D.C. (1883-1889). Hunt had served as Chief of Artillery for the Army of the Potomac. After the Civil War, he occupied various military posts. In the early 1870s, Hunt served at Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |