David Hunter was a Union General during the Civil War. He took part in the First Battle of Bull Run and became infamous for the unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states, his leadership during the Valley Campaigns of 1864, and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Early Life and Education
David Hunter was born in Troy, New York, and was the grandson of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1822 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry Regiment.
From 1828 - 1831, he was stationed on the northwest frontier.
He served in the infantry for 11 years and made it to the rank of captain in the 1st U.S. Dragoons in 1833.
He resigned from the Army in November 1841 as a paymaster and was promoted again in March 1842.
He may have seen some action in the Seminole War and Mexican-American War.
In 1860, he was stationed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
He began a correspondence with Abraham Lincoln in which Hunter expressed strong anti-slavery views.
He and Lincoln became friends, and he rode with him during his inaugural train tour.
The Civil War
Hunter was promoted to colonel of the 6th U.S. Cavalry and then to fourth-ranking brigadier general of volunteers, commanding a brigade in the Department of Washington.
He was wounded in the neck and cheek while commanding a division under Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861.
In August, he was promoted to major general of volunteers. He served as a division commander in the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont.
He was promoted to Fremont's position when Fremont was relieved of his duties due to his attempt to emancipate the slaves of rebellious slaveholders.
He was reassigned and then reassigned back to the position again after lobbying Lincoln.
In March 1862, Hunter was transferred again to command the Department of the South and the X Corps. Hunter served as the president of the court-martial of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter
Hunter was a strong advocate of arming black men as soldiers for the Union cause. After the Battle of Fort Pulaski, he began enlisting black soldiers from the occupied districts of South Carolina and formed the first such Union Army regiment, the 1st South Carolina (African Descent), which he was initially ordered to disband, but eventually got approval from Congress for his action.
He issued General Order No. 11 that stated: The three States of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, comprising the military department of the south, having deliberately declared themselves no longer under the protection of the United States of America, and having taken up arms against the said United States, it becomes a military necessity to declare them under martial law. This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April 1862. Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible; the persons in these three States, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, heretofore held as slaves, are therefore declared forever free. This order was quickly rescinded by Abraham Lincoln.
Hunter continued to rebutt the norm by enlisting fugitive slaves and creating slave regiments. When disgruntled citizens called his judgment into question, he would reply that he did not have any "fugitive slaves" but fine men who were once owned by "fugitive rebels."
Hunter participated in the Valley Campaigns with Ulysses S. Grant. While many saw success during this campaign, Hunter's campaign in the Valley came to an end after he was defeated by Early at the Battle of Lynchburg on June 19. Hunter applied a scorched earth policy, and when he retreated, the Confederates inherited ruins, which included the Virginia Military Academy.
On August 1, Grant placed Maj. Gen Phil Sheridan was in command of the effort to destroy Jubal Early's army. The Shenandoah, Maryland, and Washington DC area all fell under Hunter's military department, but Grant had no intention of allowing Hunter any direct command over the campaign against Early. He, therefore, informed him that he could retain department command on paper while Sheridan did the active field campaigning.
Hunter declined this offer, stating that he had been so beset by contradictory War Department orders that he had no idea where Jubal Early's army even was, and he would rather just turn everything over to Sheridan. Grant immediately accepted and relieved Hunter of his post.
He would serve in no more combat commands. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army on March 13, 1865, an honor that was relatively common for senior officers late in the war.
Later Years
Like many, Hunter was upset over the death of Lincoln. He presided over his funeral and served as honor guard.
He retired from the Army in July 1866. He was the author of Report of the Military Services of Gen. David Hunter, U.S.A., during the War of the Rebellion, published in 1873.
David Hunter died in Washington, D.C. February 2, 1886