Henry Jackson Hunt (1819 - 1889)

Born 14 Sep 1819 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Ancestors

Husband of Emily Caroline (DeRussy) Hunt — married 18 Dec 1851 (to 12 May 1857) in Fort Monroe, Norfolk, Virginia

Husband of Mary Bethune (Craig) Hunt — married 27 Dec 1860 in Washington, District of Columbia

Descendants

Died 11 Feb 1889 at age 69 in Washington, District of Columbia

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Biography

Henry Hunt is Notable.

Henry Jackson Hunt was born in 1819 at a frontier military outpost to Samuel Wellington Hunt, a U.S. Army officer and 1814 graduate of the United States Military Academy, and his wife Julia Herrick. His grandfather was Colonel Thomas Hunt, a man who served in the Continental Army and made a career in the military.

He was accepted into the United States Military Academy and graduated with the class of 1839. He subsequently served under General Winfield Scott during the Mexican-American War as an artillery officer and was rewarded for gallantry by being promoted to brevet Captain. After the war he served in the west out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and saw action in the Utah War when the army was sent to quell a potential Mormon uprising against Federal Government control.

Henry married twice in his life. On December 18, 1851, he married Emily Caroline DeRussy, the daughter of Rene Edward and Harriet Elizabeth (Taylor) DeRussy, while stationed at Fort Monroe, Norfolk County, Virginia. Henry and Emily had two children, both born at Fort Monroe:

Emily DeRussy Hunt (1852–1873)

Henry Jackson Hunt II (1855–1886)

Emily died in 1857.

On December 27, 1860, he married his second wife, Mary Bethune Craig, the daughter of Henry Knox and Maria Bethune (Hunt) Craig, in Washington D.C. Henry and Mary had six children as follows:

Conway Bethune Hunt (1861–1947)

Maria Bethune Hunt (1862–after 1920)

Julia Herrick Hunt (1866–1954)

Presley Hunt (1871–after 1900)

Colonel John Elliott Hunt (1874–1951)

Jane Bethune Hunt (1877–1921)

In 1861 Henry became a Major and during the Civil War was eventually promoted to the rank of Brevet Major General, participating in the following engagements: First Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Malvern Hill, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Gettysburg and the Siege of Petersburg.

As Chief of Artillery, Army of the Potomac, his career's defining moment was Pickett's Charge on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, where his artillery command was instrumental in turning back 15,000 Confederate infantrymen that charged across open ground to attack the center of the Union line. According to The History Engine's report on Pickett's Charge, "The General's reports provoke the idea that if the Union's artillery was destroyed, Pickett's Charge may have been a success and Gettysburg could have been lost to the Confederates." His artillery would next hold a key role in the Siege of Petersburg as the war drew to a close.

After the war he commanded the 5th U.S. Artillery as a Colonel. He authored a book," Instructions for Field Artillery", and several papers on Gettysburg in the Battles and Leaders series. He retired from the army in 1883 after which he was the Governor of the Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C., where he died and was buried in 1889.

Sources

• "District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL8X-H49 : 9 March 2021), Henry J Hunt and Mary Bethune Craig, 27 Dec 1860; citing p. , Records Office, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 2,079,252.

• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFF3-G2G : 29 May 2021), Henry J Hunt, 1870.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8L1-DFF : 13 January 2022), Henry J. Aunt, Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 92, sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .

• "District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1961," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7RC-TX5 : accessed 15 June 2023), Henry Jackson Hunt, 11 Feb 1889, District of Columbia, United States; citing reference ID cn 65246, District Records Center, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 2,135,868.

• Find a Grave Memorial for Henry Jackson Hunt [1]

• "The Man Behind The Guns: A Military Biography Of General Henry J. Hunt, Commander Of Artillery, Army Of The Potomac" Paperback – January 7, 2003, by Edward Longacre. https://www.amazon.com/Man-Behind-Guns-Biography-Commander/dp/0306811545

• Wikipedia Biography on Henry Jackson Hunt [2]

• History Engine Biography on Henry Jackson Hunt [3]

• Union Generals Organization Biography on Henry Jackson Hunt [4]