Robert H. Hatton

Robert Hopkins Hatton (November 2, 1826 – May 31, 1862) was a lawyer and politician from Tennessee. He was a state legislator and US Representative, and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.

This article is about the American Civil War officer. For the English landowner and politician, see Robert Hatton (Royalist).
Robert H. Hatton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861
Preceded byCharles Ready
Succeeded byWilliam B. Campbell (1866)
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from Wilson County
In office
October 1, 1855 – October 5, 1857
Personal details
Born
Robert Hopkins Hatton

(1826-11-02)November 2, 1826
Steubenville, Ohio
DiedMay 31, 1862(1862-05-31) (aged 35)
Henrico County, Virginia
Political partyOpposition
Whig
Alma materCumberland University
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1861–1862
RankBrigadier General (not confirmed)
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Engraving by Samuel Sartan

Biography

Hatton was born in either Steubenville[1][2] or Youngstown, Ohio[3][4] (sources differ). His father, Rev. Robert Clopton Hatton, was a Methodist preacher.[5] Early in his life, in 1842, his family moved to Tennessee.[6] He graduated from Cumberland University, then studied law there at Cumberland School of Law. He established a successful practice in Lebanon, Tennessee, after passing the bar exam in 1850[7] He joined the Whig Party and was elected to the State Legislature in 1855. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1857. In 1858, he was elected US Representative from the 5th District as an Opposition Party candidate (the Whig party had collapsed). In the Thirty-sixth Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy.

Hatton believed that the Union should be preserved and initially opposed secession.[8] However, after President Lincoln called for volunteers to put down rebellion,[9] Hatton became a secessionist. He formed a Confederate military unit, the Lebanon Blues, which became a part of the 7th Tennessee Infantry. Hatton was soon elected as colonel of the regiment, which was sent to western Virginia in July 1861.

In 1862, Hatton and his men were ordered to the Richmond area to oppose the Federal drive on the Confederate capital. During the resulting Peninsula Campaign, Hatton served with distinction, and on May 23, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general of the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, Army of Northern Virginia; this appointment was not confirmed by the Confederate Congress.[10] Just eight days later, he was shot in the head and killed while leading his Tennessee Brigade at the Battle of Fair Oaks.[11]

His body was returned to Tennessee for burial, but because Middle Tennessee was occupied by Federal troops, he was temporarily buried at Knoxville. On March 23, 1866, he was reburied in Lebanon's Cedar Grove Cemetery. A statue of him was erected in Lebanon's town square in 1912.[11]

General Robert Hatton's grave marker at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.
General Hatton's grave marker inscription from the front.

Honors

The Robert H. Hatton Camp #723 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is named in his memory and honor.

See also

References
  1. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Hatton, Robert Hopkins, (1826-1862)
  2. Tucker, Spencer C. American Civil War: The definitive encyclopedia and document collection. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, 2013.
  3. Drake, James Vaulx. Life of General Robert Hatton: Including His Most Important Public Speeches. Nashville, Tenn.: Marshall & Bruce, 1867.
  4. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, edited by Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown. Boston, The Biographical Society, 1904.
  5. Caldwell, Joshua William. Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.: Ogden Brothers Printers, 1898, p. 257.
  6. Bishop, Randy. Civil War Generals of Tennessee. Gretna, La., Pelican Publishing, 2013
  7. "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-13, retrieved 2022-07-04
  8. Charles M. Cummings. Robert Hopkins Hatton: Reluctant Rebel, Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 2 (June, 1964), pp. 169-181. JSTOR 42621681
  9. "Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln", dated April 15, 1861
  10. Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001, p. 600.
  11. "Lebanon, Tennessee: A Tour of Our City" (PDF). Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2007.

Further reading
  • Cummings, Charles M., "Robert Hopkins Hatton: Reluctant Rebel." Tennessee Historical Quarterly Number 23, June 1964, pages 169-81.
  • Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
  • Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
  • Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
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