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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02382.086 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Henry Jackson Hunt |
| Title | John F. Lee to Henry Jackson Hunt regarding Robert E. Lee's crossing of the pedregal and the Ku Klux Klan |
| Date | 18 February 1871 |
| Author | Lee, John F. (1813-1884) |
| Recipient | Hunt, Henry Jackson |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Requests information from Hunt regarding Robert E. Lee's heroic crossing of the pedregal (a lava field) during the Mexican American war. This inquiry is for Emily V. Mason, who is writing a pictorial school book on the life of Lee. Mentions Generals Winfield Scott and David Twiggs, and Poinsett (possibly Joel Roberts Poinsett). Mentions the retirement of General Benjamin Roberts. States "I regret that the army is insufficient under military direction, to suppress the Ku Klux & regulate the elections. The new bill... treats the military machine, as capable of working usefully, only when under intelligent civil direction." Congress passed several "force bills" in 1870 and 1871, attempting to curtail actions of the Klan. Mason, a friend of Mary Randolph Curtis Lee, published her book Popular Life of Gen. Robert Edward Lee in 1872. |
| Subjects | African American History Union General Military History Civil War Confederate General or Leader Mexican War Latin and South America Global History and Civics Education Literature and Language Arts Women's History Ku Klux Klan Election Government and Civics Law Reconstruction |
| People | Hunt, Henry Jackson (1819-1889) Lee, John F. (1813-1884) Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward) (1807-1870) Twiggs, David Emanuel (1790-1862) Scott, Winfield (1786-1866) Roberts, Benjamin Stone (1810-1875) Mason, Emily Virginia (1815-1909) Lee, Mary Randolph Custis (1808-1873) Poinsett, Joel Roberts (1779-1851) |
| Place written | Upper Marlboro, Maryland |
| Theme | African Americans; Government & Politics; Arts & Literature; The Mexican War; Women in American History |
| 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. During the early 1870s, Hunt served at Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island. Congress passed several "force bills" in 1870 and 1871, attempting to curtail actions of the Klan. Mason, a friend of Mary Randolph Curtis Lee, published her book Popular Life of Gen. Robert Edward Lee in 1872. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |