David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves in three Southern states, for his leadership of United States troops during the Valley Campaigns of 1864, and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Early life and education
Hunter (son of Andrew Hunter and Mary Stockton) was born in Troy, New York, or Princeton, New Jersey. He was the cousin of writer-illustrator David Hunter Strother (who would also serve as a Union Army general). His maternal grandfather was Richard Stockton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1822, Hunter was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry Regiment. Records of his military service prior to the Civil War contain significant gaps. From 1828 to 1831, he was stationed on the northwest frontier, at Fort Dearborn (Chicago). There he met and married Maria Kinzie, a daughter of John Kinzie, considered the city's first permanent white resident. He served in the infantry for 11 years, and was promoted to captain of the 1st U.S. Dragoons in 1833.
He resigned from the army in July 1836 and moved to Illinois, where he worked as a real estate agent or speculator. He rejoined the Army in November 1841 as a paymaster and was promoted to major in March 1842. One source claims that he saw action in the Second Seminole War (1838–42) and the Mexican–American War (1846–48).
In 1860, Hunter was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He began a correspondence with Abraham Lincoln, emphasizing his own strong anti-slavery views. This relationship engendered political influence: after winning election to the presidency, Lincoln invited Hunter to ride on his inaugural train in February 1861 from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C. During this duty, Hunter suffered a dislocated collarbone at Buffalo due to the crowd pressing the president-elect.
Career
American Civil War
Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, Hunter was promoted to colonel of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Three days later, May 17, 1861, his political connection to the Lincoln administration resulted in his being appointed as the fourth-ranking brigadier general of volunteers, commanding a brigade in the Department of Washington. He was wounded in the neck and cheek while commanding a division under Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. In August, he was promoted to major general of volunteers.
He served as a division commander in the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont, and was appointed as commander of the Western Department on November 2, 1861, after Frémont was relieved of command due to his attempt to emancipate the slaves of rebellious slave holders. Hunter did not last long in this position, and within two months was reassigned to the Department of Kansas, a post where there was little chance of getting into trouble. He did not accept his exile gracefully and wrote a series of fulminating protest letters to the president, who finally gave in to his complaints. In March 1862, Hunter was transferred again to command the Department of the South and the X Corps.
Hunter served as president of the court-martial of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter. (He was convicted for his actions at the Second Battle of Bull Run, but was exonerated by an 1878 Board of Officers.) He also was assigned to the committee that investigated the loss of Harpers Ferry in the Maryland Campaign. He served briefly as the assistant inspector general of the Department of the Gulf.
General Order No. 11
Hunter was a strong advocate of arming black men as soldiers for the Union cause. After the Battle of Fort Pulaski, where black Union soldiers from the North proved their bravery, Hunter began enlisting blacks as soldiers from the occupied districts of South Carolina. He formed the first such Union Army regiment, the 1st South Carolina (African Descent). He was initially ordered to disband it, but eventually got approval from Congress for his action.
He caused a second controversy by issuing an order emancipating the enslaved blacks in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida: