Alexander Hays ( July 8, 1819 - May 5, 1864 ) - American military man, a participant in the Mexican war, general of the federal army during the Civil War . During the battle of Gettysburg, he led the division, which participated in repelling Picket's attack .
| Alexander Hayes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date of Birth | July 8, 1819 |
| Place of Birth | Franklin, PA |
| Date of death | May 5, 1864 ( 44) |
| Place of death | Wilderness, Virginia |
| Affiliation | USA |
| Type of army | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1844-1848; 1861–1864 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Battles / wars | U.S. Civil War
|
The early years
Hayes was born in Franklin (PA) to the family of Samuel Hayes, a congressman and general of the Pennsylvania Militia. He studied at Elleni College, and then in 1840 transferred to the West Point Military Academy. He graduated with 20th grade in 1844 graduation . Among his classmates were future generals Pleasanton and Winfield Hancock. He was also a close friend of Ulysses Grant, who graduated from the academy a year earlier. After the academy, Hayes was enrolled in the 4th Infantry Regiment in the interim rank of second lieutenant [1] .
From 1844 to 1845 he served on the frontier in Louisiana, on June 18, 1845 he was promoted to second lieutenant of the 8th Infantry Regiment, and when the Mexican War broke out he was sent to Mexico and participated in the battle of Palo Alto and at Resack in May 1846. For his courage, Hayes received the temporary rank of first lieutenant. In September 1847, he participated in the battle of Umantle, in October - at Atliksko, and on April 12, 1848, he left the army [1] .
Civil War
When the Civil War began, Hayes participated in the formation of the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment and in April became his major, but in May he returned to the regular army and became captain of the 16th Infantry Regiment. In August, he participated in the formation of the 63rd Pennsylvania Regiment, and on August 25, 1861 became his colonel. In March 1862, his regiment was sent to the Virginian Peninsula and included in the brigade of Charles Jameson in the III Corps of the Potomac Army.
Hayes's regiment participated in the battles of Yorktown and Williamsburg, and on May 31 - in the battle of Seven Pines . For this battle and a number of subsequent Hayes received the temporary rank of major of the regular army. When the fighting on the peninsula ended, the Hayes regiment, together with the III Corps, was transferred to northern Virginia, to Centerville. Here, the team was led by John Robinson.
On August 30, 1862 (on the second day of the second Battle of Bull Run ), Hayes's regiment participated in the advance of the Kearney division in the position of General Thomas Jackson . During this attack, Hayes was seriously injured in the leg, because of which he was out of action for a month and missed the Maryland campaign . On September 29, he returned to duty, but until the summer of 1863 his regiment stood in the fortifications of Washington. In February, Hayes became a brigade commander and he was assigned a brigade formed of regiments captured in the Battle of Harpers Ferry and released on exchange. These were four New York regiments:
- 39th New York Infantry Regiment
- 111th New York Infantry Regiment
- 125th New York Infantry Regiment
- 126th New York Infantry Regiment
On June 28, 1863, Hayes led the 3rd division of the II Army Corps of the Potomac Army (surrendering the brigade to George Willard), instead of William French . His division consisted of three brigades:
- Samuel Carroll’s Brigade,
- Thomas Smith Brigade
- George Willard Brigade
This team took part in the battle of Gettysburg. On June 2, Willard’s brigade was withdrawn from the division and participated in the battle against the advancing Mississippi Barksdale brigade, and Carroll’s brigade was sent to strengthen Howard’s corps. On July 3, Willard's brigade (under the command of Eliakim Cherill) returned to the division, but only the 8th Ohio Regiment was present from Carroll's brigade. In this composition, the Hayes division participated in repelling Pickett's attack . In this battle, the division lost 1291 people: 20 officers and 218 people killed, 75 officers and 912 privates wounded, 1 officer and 65 privates missing [2] .
For the courage shown at Gettysburg, Hayes received the temporary rank of colonel in the regular army.
Hayes' division participated in the pursuit of the retreating North Virginia army, then in the battles of the fall of 1863 - in particular, in the battle of Bristo Station and in the battle of Mine-Run.
On February 6-7, Hayes' division participated in the battle of Mortons Ford, which ended unsuccessfully for the federal army and rumors began to spread that Hayes was abusing alcohol during the battle.
In the spring of 1864, the Potomac Army was reorganized and Hayes was transferred to brigade command (in the division of David Byrne). This brigade consisted of 9 regiments.
- 4th Mans Infantry Regiment : Colonel Eliya Walker
- 17th Mans Infantry Regiment : Colonel George West
- 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment : Colonel Byron Pierce
- 5th Michigan Infantry Regiment : Lt. Col. John Palford
- 93rd New York Infantry Regiment : Colonel John Crocker
- 57th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment : Colonel Peter Sides
- 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment : Lt. Col. John Danks
- 105th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment : Colonel Calvin Craig
- 1st sniper regiment: May. Charles Mattox
Hayes took part in the Overland campaign and was killed on May 5, 1864 during the battle in the Wilderness.
Notes
Literature
- Larry Tagg, Generals of Gettysburg: The Leaders of America's Greatest Battle Da Capo Press, 2008 ISBN 0-7867-4394-8
- Rhea, Gordon C. The Battle of the Wilderness May 5 - 6 1864. - Baton Rouge and London: Luisiana state University Press, 1994. - 512 p. - ISBN 0-8071-1873-7 .