John Porter Hatch

{{Short description|US Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (1822–1901)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox military person |name= John Porter Hatch |birth_date= {{Birth date|1822|1|9}} |death_date= {{Death date and age|1901|4|12|1822|1|9}} |birth_place= [[Oswego, New York]], U.S. |death_place= [[New York City]], U.S. |burial_place= [[Arlington National Cemetery]] |burial_label= Place of burial |image=John P Hatch.jpg |caption= |nickname= |allegiance= [[United States of America]] [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] |branch= [[United States Army]] [[Union Army]] |service_years= 1845–1886 |rank=[[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] (Volunteer Army) [[File:Union Army colonel rank insignia.png|35px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] (Regular Army) |commands= Cavalry, [[V Corps (Union Army)|V Corps]] 1st Division, [[I Corps (Union Army)|I Corps]] [[2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|2nd U.S. Cavalry]] |unit= {{flagicon|United States|1846}} [[3rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|3rd U.S. Infantry]], 1845–1846 {{flagicon|United States|1846}} [[3rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|Regiment of Mounted Riflemen]] 1845–1860 {{flagicon|United States|1863}} Union Army 1861–1865 {{flagicon|United States|1863}} [[4th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|4th U.S. Cavalry]], 1864–1881 {{flagicon|United States|1877}} [[2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|2nd U.S. Cavalry]], 1881–1886 |battles= {{tree list}} * [[Mexican–American War]] ** [[Battle of Palo Alto]] ** [[Battle of Resaca de la Palma]] ** [[Battle of Contreras]] ** [[Battle of Churubusco]] ** [[Battle of Chapultepec]] * [[American Indian Wars]] * [[American Civil War]] ** [[Jackson's Valley campaign]] *** [[First Battle of Winchester]] ** [[Northern Virginia campaign]] *** [[Second Battle of Bull Run]] *** [[Battle of Chantilly]] ** [[Maryland campaign]] *** [[Battle of South Mountain]] ** [[Sherman's March to the Sea]] *** [[Battle of Honey Hill]] *** [[Battle of Tulifinny]] {{tree list/end}} |awards= [[Medal of Honor]] |other_work= |signature = Signature of John Porter Hatch (1822–1901).png }} '''John Porter Hatch''' (January 9, 1822 – April 12, 1901) was a career [[United States|American]] soldier who served as general in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He received a [[Medal of Honor]] for gallantry in action at the September 1862 [[Battle of South Mountain]] during the [[Maryland Campaign]].{{sfnp|''Washington Evening Star''|1901}}

==Early life and career== Hatch was born in [[Oswego, New York|Oswego]], [[New York (state)|N. Y.]], a son of Moses Porter and Hannah (Reed) Hatch. He graduated from the [[United States Military Academy]] in 1845, ranking 17th in his class. He experienced his first active field service as a [[second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the [[3rd U.S. Infantry]] during the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican War]]. In May 1846, he served under General [[Zachary Taylor]] at [[Battle of Palo Alto|Palo Alto]] and [[Battle of Resaca de la Palma|Resaca de la Palma]]. He was transferred later to serve under [[Winfield Scott]] in the Mounted Rifles. He was [[brevet (military)|brevetted]] as a [[first lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] for gallant service in the subsequent battles of [[Battle of Contreras|Contreras]] and [[battle of Churubusco|Churubusco]], and [[Captain (United States)|captain]] for bravery at [[Battle of Chapultepec|Chapultepec]]. When the war ended, Hatch was assigned to various posts on the [[frontier]] of the [[Old West]], as well as in [[Oregon]]. He married Adelaide Goldsmith Burckle in 1851; the couple raised two children. In the next decade, Hatch participated in several expeditions against [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes. He was promoted to the full rank of captain in October 1860 and served as the Chief of Commissary for the army's Department of New Mexico.

==Civil War==

[[File:medal of honor old.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Hatch was awarded the Army [[Medal of Honor]] for gallantry for his actions in the attack on Turner's Gap. His citation reads: "Was severely wounded while leading one of his brigades in the attack under a heavy fire from the enemy."]]

Following the outbreak of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Hatch was ordered to the East and assigned to the [[cavalry]] of [[George B. McClellan]]. He was made a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers on September 28, 1861. In December, he was assigned command of a [[brigade]] of [[cavalry]] stationed at [[Annapolis, Maryland]], serving under General [[Rufus King (general)|Rufus King]]. Hatch's brigade made a series of daring raids on enemy positions near the [[Rapidan River|Rapidan]] and [[Rappahannock River|Rappahannock]] rivers. These raids gained his brigade the Nickname [[Eastern Iron Brigade|Iron Brigade]], which followed that brigade up until January 1863, long after Hatch had moved on.

In March 1862, Hatch assumed command of the cavalry of the [[V Corps (ACW)|V Corps]] under [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Nathaniel Prentice Banks|Nathaniel P. Banks]]. He served in the [[Valley Campaign]] and fought at the [[Battle of Winchester I|First Battle of Winchester]]. In August of that year, after incurring the wrath of army commander [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]] for two failed cavalry raids, he was reassigned to the [[infantry]]. He commanded a brigade in the [[I Corps (ACW)|I Corps]], assuming division command after Brig. Gen [[Rufus King (general)|Rufus King]] fell ill with epilepsy the evening before [[Second Bull Run]]. Hatch led the division there and at the [[Battle of South Mountain]], where he got shot in the leg. He was brevetted as a major general of volunteers and subsequently received the Medal of Honor for his gallantry under severe enemy fire.

Hatch was disabled until February 1863, when he returned to light administrative duties, serving as a judge on [[court-martial|courts-martial]] and commanding the draft rendezvous at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] in July. He then commanded the cavalry depot at [[St. Louis in the Civil War|St. Louis]] during the late summer and early autumn. On October 27, 1863, he was promoted to the [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] rank of [[Major (United States)|major]] of the [[4th U.S. Cavalry]].

In 1864, he was assigned to the Department of the South, where he had charge of the coast division. He was in charge of operations on John's Island, South Carolina, in July and led the Federal forces at the [[Battle of Honey Hill]] in November. He subsequently operated in cooperation with Major General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|William T. Sherman]] in the Georgia-Carolinas Campaign and took part in the attack on [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]]. Following the city's surrender, Hatch assumed military command of it from February to August 1865.

In the omnibus promotions following the war, he was brevetted from March 1865 both as a major general of volunteers dating and as a colonel in the Regular Army.

==Postbellum career==

[[File:Medal of Honor recipient gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia in the 2020s - 154.jpg|thumb|Grave at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]]] Hatch stayed in the regular Army following the war, reverting to his regular rank of major. For the next twenty-six years, he again served on the frontier.{{sfnp|Sheffy|1950|p=150}}

Hatch was an officer too at [[Fort Concho]] in [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]], Texas, [[Indian Territory]], [[Montana Territory]], and finally in [[Washington Territory]].

He retired on January 9, 1886, and moved to [[New York City]]. He received the Medal of Honor in 1893 in recognition for his service at South Mountain. Hatch was President of the [[Aztec Club of 1847]] of New York and a member of the Oswego County Historical Society. He was also a member of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]].

John P. Hatch died in New York City in the spring of 1901. He was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]], [[Arlington, Virginia]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20161229051713/http://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgVoYXRjaBIEam9obhoBcA--/ Burial Detail: Hatch, John P (Section 1, Grave 133-C)] – ANC Explorer</ref> He was survived by his wife, Adelaide Burckle Hatch (1825–1919) and their children, Miss Harriet Hatch (1854–1929) and Mark Burckle Hatch (1856–1914).

==See also== {{Portal|Biography|American Civil War|United States}} * [[List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L#H|List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L]] * [[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]] * [[Battle of South Mountain]] * [[Second Battle of Bull Run]]

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== {{Refbegin|60em}} * {{Citation | title = A Noted Cavalryman: Death of Major General John P. Hatch | journal =Washington Evening Star | date =April 15, 1901| url =https://civilwartalk.com/threads/hatch-john-porter.167058/| access-date = 2 May 2020 |ref={{sfnref|Washington Evening Star|1901}} }} * {{cite book| last = Dyer| first = Frederick H| title = A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion| publisher = Dyer Pub. Co.| place = Des Moines, IA| year = 1908| asin = B01BUFJ76Q| url = https://archive.org/details/08697590.3359.emory.edu}} * {{cite book | last =Sheffy | first =Lester Fields | title =The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855-1935: Colonization of West Texas | publisher =Panhandle-Plains Historical Society | year =1950 | location =Canyon, TX | pages =322 | oclc =1086605}} * {{ cite book | last = War Department | first = U.S. | title = The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies| publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office| place = Washington, DC| year = 1880| oclc = 857196196| url = https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html}} {{Refend}}

==External links==

{{Commons category}} * {{Cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://stonewall.hut.ru/leaders/hatch.htm |title=Biographical sketch |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515180043/http://stonewall.hut.ru/leaders/hatch.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2011 }} * {{Cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngh/hatchjp.htm |title=Photo gallery |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080208215607/http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/ngh/hatchjp.htm |archive-date = February 8, 2008}} * {{Cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=https://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwh/hatch.html |title=MOH citation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514101836/http://homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwh/hatch.html |archive-date=May 14, 2012 |url-status=dead }} * [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jphatch.htm John Porter Hatch] at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website * {{ws|[[s:Condition of the South#no4|Accompanying Document No. 4]] to “Report of Carl Schurz on the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,” 1865}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, John Porter}} [[Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients]] [[Category:People from Oswego, New York]] [[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]] [[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]] [[Category:Union army generals]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War]] [[Category:Members of the Aztec Club of 1847]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]] [[Category:1822 births]] [[Category:1901 deaths]] [[Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor]]