Booknotes: Confederate General D. H. Hill

New Arrival:

• Confederate General D. H. Hill: A Military Life by Chris J. Hartley (Savas Beatie, 2026).

The two big Confederate Hills (A.P. and D.H.) were both undeniably fighting generals, but they also possessed difficult personalities and ended the war with decidedly mixed overall records. Though their early exploits fostered rapid promotion within the army, the further up the chain of command both men went the more serious the questions that arose. After peaking in rank at lieutenant general, subsequent performances led some to speculate that both officers were elevated beyond their capabilities. You could probably label each of the pair as "enigmatic" figures, but D.H. Hill, who directed troops in major campaigns with both of the Confederacy's principal field armies, is perhaps the more mysterious of the two.

With much in the way of fresh material published in recent decades about the campaigns and battles associated with Hill's career, Chris Hartley's new biography Confederate General D. H. Hill: A Military Life arrives at a good time.

From the description: "A native South Carolinian, Hill stood at the heart of the Civil War’s most pivotal moments and the center of its fiercest controversies. From his reluctant assault against George B. McClellan’s James River transports in 1862 to his role in negotiating the contentious prisoner cartel, Hill’s actions consistently provoked the ire of his superiors. He faced blame for the loss of “Special Orders No. 191” during the Maryland Campaign, and his clashes with Gen. Robert E. Lee supposedly convinced Lee to orchestrate Hill’s departure from the Army of Northern Virginia. Hill’s defiance continued as he opposed Lee over reinforcements for the Gettysburg Campaign. His transfer west to command a corps in the Army of Tennessee resulted in battlefield decisions at Chickamauga that sparked debate during and after the conflict, and his involvement in the 1863 generals’ revolt against Braxton Bragg strained his relationship with President Jefferson Davis. Hill ended the war in North Carolina."

The main text is 500 pages in length (supported by 20 maps), so readers will have to carve out a good chunk of time for this one. The general structure is that of the more traditional Civil War military biography. The first hundred pages or so covers Hill's early life, military education, Old Army career, and other antebellum work. The vast middle is filled with a detailed account of the general's Civil War activities. Ending the volume is a chapter addressing the remainder of Hill's life, which included a return to the college setting, where "he left a legacy as president of the University of Arkansas and Georgia Military College." Also, "(a)s an editor, writer, and commentator, he helped shape the Confederacy’s enduring legacy."

I've admired Hartley's work since he first burst on the scene back in 2010 with a great book about George Stoneman's epic 1865 raid, and I'm sure I join many in looking forward to reading this one.