Andrew Hickenlooper
Encyclopedia
Andrew Hickenlooper was an Ohio
civil engineer
, politician
, industrialist, and most famously, an officer who served as a General in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
.
. He attended Woodward College and Xavier College
. When he was nineteen, he entered the office of A. W. Gilbert, then the city surveyor
of Cincinnati
, and thoroughly mastered the duties of the position,. Three years later, he became the city surveyor himself. After spending two years in this position, the Civil War broke out.
Although he was only twenty-four, he recruited what was known as Hickenlooper's Battery or the 5th Ohio Independent Battery, and joined Maj. Gen.
John C. Fremont
at Jefferson City, Missouri
. In 1862, his battery was made a part of the Army of the Tennessee
and took a distinguished part in the Battle of Shiloh
. Hickenlooper managed to save four of his six guns after the initial Confederate
attack. He later defended the famous Hornet's Nest in support of Benjamin M. Prentiss's division
. For gallantry at Shiloh, he became commandant of artillery in Thomas J. McKean
's division and later chief of staff of the XVII Corps
.
During the Vicksburg Campaign
, Brig. Gen.
James McPherson
wrote to Secretary of War
Edwin Stanton that, as Hickenlooper's further promotion in the line of the artillery service was impossible, that he be given special consideration for promotion. Hickenlooper served through the Atlanta campaign
as an engineer with distinguished honor and participated in Sherman's March to the Sea
, and the advance through the Carolinas
. He was endorsed for brigadier general
by Generals William Sherman, Oliver O. Howard
, and Ulysses S. Grant
. On May 20, 1865, be became a brevet
brigadier general.
He became active in veterans affairs, particularly those of the Society of the Army of the Tenneessee, serving as its Corresponding Secretary, where he worked tirelessly for the erection of monuments to the memory of his friend and mentor, General James B. McPherson
. In 1879, he was elected the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
and declined a renomination in 1881. He served one term as president of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
. In 1902, he published a book on the Battle of Shiloh.
Hickenlooper died in Cincinnati with a distinguished civil and military reputation. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery
, Cincinnati.
On January 3, 1912, a statue in honor of Hickenlooper was erected in Vicksburg National Military Park
.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, industrialist, and most famously, an officer who served as a General in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and Civil War career
Hickenlooper was born in the village of Hudson, OhioHudson, Ohio
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,262 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He attended Woodward College and Xavier College
Xavier University (Cincinnati)
Xavier University is a co-educational Jesuit university in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000 students and graduate enrollment of 2,600 students. Xavier is primarily...
. When he was nineteen, he entered the office of A. W. Gilbert, then the city surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and thoroughly mastered the duties of the position,. Three years later, he became the city surveyor himself. After spending two years in this position, the Civil War broke out.
Although he was only twenty-four, he recruited what was known as Hickenlooper's Battery or the 5th Ohio Independent Battery, and joined Maj. Gen.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
at Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
. In 1862, his battery was made a part of the Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
and took a distinguished part in the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
. Hickenlooper managed to save four of his six guns after the initial Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
attack. He later defended the famous Hornet's Nest in support of Benjamin M. Prentiss's division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
. For gallantry at Shiloh, he became commandant of artillery in Thomas J. McKean
Thomas J. McKean
Thomas Jefferson McKean was an American engineer, soldier, politician, and farmer. A West Point graduate, he fought in the U.S. Army during the Seminole Wars, in the Mexican–American War, and he served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:Thomas J...
's division and later chief of staff of the XVII Corps
XVII Corps (ACW)
XVII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized December 18, 1862 as part of Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee. It was most notably commanded by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson and Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair II, and served in the Western...
.
During the Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
, Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
James McPherson
James B. McPherson
James Birdseye McPherson was a career United States Army officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
wrote to Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Edwin Stanton that, as Hickenlooper's further promotion in the line of the artillery service was impossible, that he be given special consideration for promotion. Hickenlooper served through the Atlanta campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
as an engineer with distinguished honor and participated in Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
, and the advance through the Carolinas
Carolinas Campaign
The Carolinas Campaign was the final campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. In January 1865, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The defeat of ...
. He was endorsed for brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
by Generals William Sherman, Oliver O. Howard
Oliver O. Howard
Oliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
, and Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. On May 20, 1865, be became a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
brigadier general.
Postbellum
After the war, Hickenlooper was appointed United States marshal for the Southern district of Ohio. Then he served two terms as city civil engineer. While in this office, he was made assistant to W.W. Scarborough, then the president of the Cincinnati Gas Company, with the title of vice president. He served as vice president but for a short time, as he was then elected president of the company. He published two books, Competition in the Manufacture and Delivery of Gas (1881), and Incandescent Electric Lights for Street Illumination (1886).He became active in veterans affairs, particularly those of the Society of the Army of the Tenneessee, serving as its Corresponding Secretary, where he worked tirelessly for the erection of monuments to the memory of his friend and mentor, General James B. McPherson
James B. McPherson
James Birdseye McPherson was a career United States Army officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
. In 1879, he was elected the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship...
and declined a renomination in 1881. He served one term as president of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
. In 1902, he published a book on the Battle of Shiloh.
Hickenlooper died in Cincinnati with a distinguished civil and military reputation. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
, Cincinnati.
On January 3, 1912, a statue in honor of Hickenlooper was erected in Vicksburg National Military Park
Vicksburg National Military Park
Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from May 18 to July 4, 1863. The park, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Delta, Louisiana, also commemorates the greater Vicksburg Campaign, which preceded the battle. Reconstructed forts and...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
Further reading
- Bearss, Edwin C.Ed BearssEdwin Cole Bearss , a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II, is a military historian and author known for his work on the American Civil War and World War II eras and is a popular tour guide of historic battlefields...
, The Vicksburg Campaign, 3 volumes, Morningside Press, 1991, ISBN 0-89029-308-2.