HILL, DANIELHARVEY
Hill, Daniel Harvey
(July 12, 1821–September 24, 1889)
Confederate General
D.
H. Hill was a
gifted, hard-hit-
ting Confeder-
ate corps commander
who distinguished him-
self in many battles. How-
ever, his abrasive disposi-
tion and outspoken
nature worked against
his advancement, and he
ended the Civil War only
partially employed.
Daniel Harvey Hill was
born in the York District,
South Carolina, on July
12, 1821, the son of a
farmer. His father died
while Daniel was an in-
fant, and he was raised by
a stern, inflexible, Presby-
terian mother. Hill was
also struck by a childhood
spinal ailment, from
which he suffered inter-
mittent pain throughout his entire life. How-
ever, he gained admittance to West Point in
1838 and graduated four years later in the mid-
dle of his class. Hill was subsequently commis-
sioned a second lieutenant in the First U.S. Ar-
tillery, and over the next four years he
performed routine garrison duty in the South-
west. During the Mexican-American War he ac-
companied the army of Gen. Winfield Scott’s in
a march upon Mexico City and was brevetted
twice for gallantry at Contreras, Churubusco,
and Chapultepec. His native state also voted
him an elaborate gold sword as a token of ap-
preciation. But despite a promising military ca-
reer, Hill resigned his commission in February
1849 to teach mathematics at Washington Col-
lege in Lexington, Virginia. In this capacity he
helped secure Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jack-
son’s appointment at the nearby Virginia Mili-
tary Institute; Jackson
later became his brother-
in-law. In 1854, Hill was
appointed a professor at
Davidson College in
North Carolina, and he
proved instrumental in
raising disciplinary and
academic standards there.
In 1859, he left Davidson
to perform similar work at
the newly created North
Carolina Military Institute
in Charlotte.
In the spring of 1861
North Carolina seceded
from the Union, and Hill
gained an appointment as
colonel of the First North
Carolina Volunteers. On
June 10, 1861, he led his
regiment to victory over
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler
at Big Bethel, Virginia,
one of the Civil War’s first major engagements.
The following month he was rewarded with a
promotion to brigadier general and command
of the Pamlico District of his native state. In
the spring of 1862 he reported back to Virginia
as a major general and fought initially under
Gen. Joseph E. Johnstonduring the Penin-
sula campaign. He was closely engaged at
Seven Pines and later distinguished himself at
Malvern Hill under Gen. Robert E. Lee. How-
ever, Hill’s irascible disposition alienated the
general when he openly criticized Lee’s leader-
ship over the costly repulse at Malvern Hill (“It
wasn’t war, it was murder”). Moreover, he en-
dured a minor controversy during the invasion
of Maryland that fall by allegedly allowing a
copy of Lee’s secret instructions (Special
Order No. 191) to fall into enemy hands. This
could have proven potentially disastrous, forDaniel Harvey Hill
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