Edward Hatch

Edward Hatch (December 22, 1832 – April 11, 1889) was a career American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war he became the first commander of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, a Buffalo soldier regiment with African-American troops commanded by white officers.

Edward Hatch
Edward Hatch
Born	December 22, 1832 Bangor, Maine
Died	April 11, 1889 (aged 56) Fort Robinson, Nebraska
Place of burial	Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1889
Rank	Brevet Major General
Commands held	2nd Iowa Cavalry 9th U.S. Cavalry Department of Arizona
Battles/wars	American Civil War Indian Wars

Biography

Hatch, the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Scott Hatch, was born in Bangor, Maine, and educated at the Norwich Military Academy in Vermont.

As early as 1858 he was a resident of Muscatine, Iowa, where he engaged in the lumber business.

He volunteered for service as a private in the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War. He assisted in raising the 2nd Iowa Cavalry, becoming its major in August 1861. A few weeks later he was commissioned its Lieutenant-Colonel. In June 1862 on the promotion of Colonel Washington L. Elliott to Brigadier-General he was made the regiment's colonel.[1]

He served under General Ulysses S. Grant in the South. After commanding the entire cavalry division in the Army of the Tennessee, he was appointed and confirmed a brigadier general in the spring of 1864.[2] His gallantry in the field caused his further promotion to the rank of brevet major general later in 1864.

After the war, he transferred from the volunteer to the Regular Army as colonel of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (1866). He succeeded General Gordon Granger as commander of the District of New Mexico (which included New Mexico Territory) in 1876, negotiated a treaty with the Ute Indians in 1880, and became widely known as an Indian fighter.

He died in Fort Robinson, Nebraska April 11, 1889 and is buried in Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.[3]

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

References

1. Stuart, Addison A. Iowa Colonels and Regiments. pp. 571–6.
2. Stuart, Addison A. Iowa Colonels and Regiments. pp. 571–6.
3. Edward Hatch at Find a Grave

• historycentral Accessed December 16, 2007