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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)John M. Jackson
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The collection is open to research
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Joseph Hooker Letter, Ms1988-064, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Joseph Hooker Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1988.
The processing and description of the Joseph Hooker Letter commenced and was completed in April, 2021.
Joseph Hooker (1914-1879), a native of Massachusetts, graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1837. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Hooker was living in California. Returning to the east, he was appointed a brigadier general in August, 1861. Recognized for his aggression on the battlefield, he was promoted to major general in July, 1862. On January 26, 1863, President Lincoln appointed Hooker to command the Army of the Potomac. His poor battlefield performance over the next few months led Lincoln to replace Hooker with Major General George Meade on June 28, 1863. Hooker would be transferred to command the Army of the Potomac's XI and XII Corps in the western theatre, participating in the Battle of Chattanooga and in the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, when he asked to be relieved and was moved to command the Northern Department, headquartered in Cincinnati, where he served for the remainder of the war. Hooker continued in military service after the war, commanding the Department of the East and Department of the Lakes. He retired in 1868 and died in New York 11 years later.
Records show that a Henry Peters and William H. Tapp both enlisted in Company B, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry (organized in Clinton County), in September, 1861; and that both were transferred to the 2nd U. S. Artillery in December, 1862.
This collection consists of a single leaf bearing a letter from Joseph Hooker, commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, regarding the enlistment of two soldiers (Henry W. Peters and William H. Tapp). Written on February 19, 1863, the letter requests that the adjutant general undertake an inquiry regarding the enlistment of the two, to determine whether they were deserters from another regiment at the time of their enlistment. With Hooker's letter are notes from the adjustant general's office and a response from Captain B. F. Harris of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, stating that the two soldiers had been in his regiment before having been taken prisoner at Manassas, paroled, and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, and that he had not seen them again until they had enlisted in an artillery battery. The notes mention two enclosed documents which apparently have since become separated from the letter.
The guide to the Joseph Hooker Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).