Alexander Hays

Alexander Hays
Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays, USA
Nickname(s)	"Fighting Elleck"
Allegiance	Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1844-1848, 1861-1864
Rank	Brevet major general
Unit	Regular Army * 8th U.S. Infantry * 16th U.S. Infantry
Commands held	Union Army * 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War Civil War *Battle of Yorktown *Battle of Williamsburg *Battle of Seven Pines *Battle of Savage's Station *Battle of Malvern Hill *Second Battle of Bull Run *Battle of Gettysburg *Battle of the Wilderness

Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.

Early life and career

Hays was born in the town of Franklin, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Hays, a member of Congress and general in the Pennsylvania militia. He studied at Allegheny College and then transferred to the United States Military Academy in his senior year, graduating in 1844, ranking 20th out of 25 cadets. Among his classmates were future Civil War generals Alfred Pleasonton and Winfield S. Hancock. He became a close personal friend of Ulysses S. Grant, who had graduated the year before. Hays was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Infantry. He served in the Mexican-American War, and won special distinction in an engagement near Atlixco. In April 1848, he resigned his commission in the army and returned to Pennsylvania.

He settled in Venango County, where he engaged in the manufacture of iron from 1848–50 before briefly leaving for the California 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 a civil engineer for the city of Pittsburgh, helping plan several bridge building projects.

Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, Hays re-entered the service as Colonel of the 63d Pennsylvania Infantry, also holding the rank of captain in the 16th U.S. Infantry in the regular army to date from May 14, 1861. His men knew him to be "as brave as a lion." During the Peninsula Campaign, he was attached with his regiment to the first brigade of Kearny's division of Heintzelman's corps in the III Corps. He fought in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Savage's Station, and Malvern Hill. At the close of the Seven Days Battles, he was brevetted lieutenant 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.

Hays resumed command of the 63rd Pennsylvania during the Northern Virginia Campaign in August and again led a charge in the pivotal Second Battle of Bull Run, receiving a painful wound that shattered his leg. While recovering, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers, September 29, 1862.

Due to his seniority, after the reassignment of William H. French, Hays was assigned command of the 3rd Division of the II Corps during the Gettysburg Campaign. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Hays's division defended the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. After Major General Hancock was wounded in the early stages of Pickett's Charge, Hays temporarily assumed command of the corps and led it in the repulse of the Confederate attack at a critical point in the Union line known as "The Angle." His 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 aid in the exhilaration of the moment, grabbed a captured Rebel battle flag and riding down the division's line dragged it in the dirt ..." For his efforts at Gettysburg, Hays gained the brevet rank of colonel in the regular army. Later returning to divisional command before the Bristoe Campaign, he was engaged at Auburn and Mine Run.

When the Army of the Potomac was reorganized in early 1864 under his friend Grant's guidance, Hays was placed in command of the 2nd Brigade of Birney's 3rd Division of the II Corps. During the Overland Campaign, Hays was killed in action near the junction of the Brock and Plank Roads in the Wilderness, being struck in the head by a Minié ball. One of his aides reported that he was shot as he strained his head to drink from his canteen, which was why he was hit directly in the temple. His body was recovered and sent to the rear lines for transport home.

He was buried in Allegheny Cemetery (Section 8, Lot 149) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During a campaign stop in Pittsburgh during Ulysses S. Grant's run for the presidency, he visited Hays' grave and openly wept.

Post #3 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Pittsburgh was named for General Alexander Hays, as was Fort Hays in Kansas.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

References

• Tagg, Larry, The Generals of Gettysburg, Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
• Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1891). Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• General Alexander Hays, USA, History Central.
• Allegheny Cemetery webpage for Alexander Hays

External links

• Photos of Hays' Grave and monument
• Alexander Hays at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2008-07-01

Further reading

• Fleming, George T., General Alexander Hays at the Battle of Gettysburg. Pittsburgh: 1913.
• Fleming. George T., ed., Life and Letters of Alexander Hays. Pittsburgh: 1919.
• Mahood, Wayne, Alexander "Fighting Elleck" Hays : the life of a Civil War general, from West Point to the Wilderness. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2005. ISBN 0-7864-2213-0.