Alexander Hays | |
|---|---|
 Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays | |
| Nickname | "Fighting Elleck" |
| Born | (1819-07-08)July 8, 1819 |
| Died | May 5, 1864(1864-05-05) (aged 44) Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States Union |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1844–1848, 1861–1864 |
| Rank | Brigadier General BrevetMajor General |
| Unit | Regular Army |
| Commands | 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry |
| Battles / wars | |
Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was aUnion Army general in theAmerican Civil War who was killed at theBattle of the Wilderness in 1864.
Hays was born inFranklin, Pennsylvania, the son ofSamuel Hays, a member of Congress and general in the Pennsylvaniamilitia. He studied atAllegheny College and then transferred to theUnited States Military Academy in his senior year, graduating in 1844, ranking 20th out of 25 cadets. Among his classmates were future Civil War generalsAlfred Pleasonton andWinfield S. Hancock. He became a close personal friend ofUlysses S. Grant, who had graduated the year before. Hays wasbrevetted as asecond lieutenant in the8th U.S. Infantry. He served in theMexican–American War, and won special distinction in an engagement nearAtlixco. In April 1848, he resigned his commission in the army and returned toPennsylvania.
He settled inVenango County, where he engaged in the manufacture of iron from 1848 to 1850 before briefly leaving for theCalifornia gold fields to seek his fortune. Failing that, he returned home and became an assistant construction engineer for the railroad until 1854. From 1854 through 1860, Hays was acivil engineer for the city ofPittsburgh, helping plan several bridge building projects.
At the beginning of theCivil War, Hays re-entered the service ascolonel of the63rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also holding the rank ofcaptain in the16th U.S. Infantry in theregular army to date from May 14, 1861. His men knew him to be "as brave as a lion."[1] During thePeninsula Campaign, he was attached with his regiment to the first brigade ofKearny's division ofHeintzelman'sIII Corps. He fought in the battles ofYorktown,Williamsburg,Seven Pines,Savage's Station, andMalvern Hill. At the close of theSeven Days Battles, he was appointed a brevetlieutenant colonel in the regular army for gallantry in action, as Hays had directed a bayonet charge with his regiment into the enemy lines to cover the retreat of his brigade. Hays briefly went on sick leave a month later, suffering from partial blindness and paralysis of his left arm, injuries incurred from battle.[2]
Hays resumed command of the 63rd Pennsylvania during theNorthern Virginia Campaign in August and again led a charge in theSecond Battle of Bull Run, receiving a painful wound that shattered his leg. While recovering, he was appointedbrigadier general of volunteers, September 29, 1862. Early in 1863 Hays was made a brigade commander inXXII Corps in the defenses ofWashington, D.C. His brigade, composed largely of troops surrendered after theBattle of Harpers Ferry, was added to theArmy of the Potomac as the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,II Corps.
Due to his seniority, after the reassignment ofWilliam H. French, Hays was assigned command of the third Division during theGettysburg Campaign. (Col.George L. Willard took command of Hays's brigade.) During theBattle of Gettysburg, Hays's division defended the right of the Union line onCemetery Ridge. The division held firm in the repulse of the Confederate attack on July 3, 1863, even counterattacking the left flank of the Confederate attacking force. Hays's passion and flair for the dramatic led to a notable incident as Confederate prisoners were being rounded up: "When the smoke cleared, Hays, who was unhurt but had had two horses shot out from under him, kissed his aide in the exhilaration of the moment, grabbed a captured Rebel battle flag and riding down the division's line dragged it in the dirt ..."[3] For his efforts at Gettysburg, Hays gained the brevet rank of colonel in the regular army. Later returning to divisional command before theBristoe Campaign, he was engaged at Auburn andMine Run.
Hays's last major engagement as a division commander was atMorton's Ford on theRapidan River inVirginia on February 6, 1864. A demonstration in force by II Corps became a bloody fiasco with Hays's division suffering 252 casualties. Stories about Hays being drunk on duty arose from that defeat by Confederates ofLt. Gen.Richard S. Ewell's corps.[4] However, Hays was keenly aware of and sensitive to rumors of his drinking and specifically addressed them in letters to his family. And given that his wife, Annie, was present in camp during the Battle of Morton's Ford, it is highly likely that General Hays was sober during the battle.
When theArmy of the Potomac was reorganized in early 1864 under his friend Grant's guidance, Hays was placed in command of the 2nd Brigade ofBirney's 3rd Division of the II Corps. Hays was unhappy at losing division command but was happy to serve once more under Birney, with whom he had campaigned in III Corps.[5] During theOverland Campaign, Hays was killed in action near the junction of the Brock and Plank Roads in the Wilderness, being struck in the head by aMinié ball.
He was buried inAllegheny Cemetery inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At a campaign stop in Pittsburgh during his run for the presidency, Ulysses S. Grant visited Hays's grave and wept openly.[6]
Post #3 of theGrand Army of the Republic in Pittsburgh was named for General Alexander Hays, as wasFort Hays and the city ofHays, Kansas.Alexander Hays Road in Bristow, Virginia, is named for him. The road is in New Bristow Village in Bristow, Virginia, adjacent to the Bristoe Station Battlefield.
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