Robert Hopkins Hatton: The Purest, Noblest, and Best

Robert Hopkins Hatton

       One of the northern born Confederate general's was Robert Hopkins Hatton who was born in Ohio in 1826. The son of a preacher, he moved with his family to Tennessee at the age of eight. At the age of fourteen, he had a severe fever. Physicians prescribed him oral mercury which burned his lips to the point that when he made speeches later in life, his mouth would froth. By 1850, he was practicing law in Lebanon, Tennessee. He was elected to the state legislature in 1855 and ran against Isham Harris for governor in 1857. The two men campaigned hard against each other, at one point they got into a fist fight. Hatton lost the campaign to Harris who would become Tennessee's wartime governor. 

       When the southern states began to secede, Hatton worked tirelessly to keep Tennessee in the Union. His figure was burned in effigy by his hometown because of his pro-Unionist views. All of that was before Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to invade the South. Hatton lost faith in the Union and joined the Confederate Army. He was elected colonel of the 7th Tennessee Infantry and his regiment was ordered to the mountains of western Virginia. During the cold winter of 1861-1862, he came down with camp fever. His health would suffer in the cold mountains of western Virginia. He attempted without success to have his regiment transferred back to Tennessee. 

       By late May of 1862, he was back in good health and had also received a promotion to brigadier general. His brigade was sent to join Joseph E. Johnston's army guarding Richmond. His brigade arrived on the battlefield of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. 

Another pre-war photograph of Robert Hopkins Hatton

       Mounted on his horse named "Old Ball," he led his brigade forward across an open field and into a swamp of thick brush. He rode forward, waving his hat, and shouting, "Forward, my brave boys! Forward!" President Davis was on the field personally watching the charge and remarked, "That brigade moves in handsomely, but it will lose its commander." At that moment, the Federal line unleashed a volley into the charging Tennesseans and General Hatton was instantly killed. Some sources say his horse was killed first and General Hatton was killed as he charged ahead on foot. The attack was repulsed, but not before his men brought the body of their beloved commander off the field. 

       Robert Hatton was 36 years old. First buried in Richmond, Virginia, his body was then buried in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1866, his body would be brought home to Lebanon, Tennessee where he rests today in Cedar Grove Cemetery. His pistol had been found by a Federal officer in the mud the day after his death and thirty years later was returned to his family. The Louisville Journal called Hatton one of the purest, noblest, and best men. 

An obviously retouched photograph of Hatton in a uniform

Monument to Robert Hatton in Lebanon, Tennessee

Grave of Robert Hatton

The Argument of Black Confederates

Louis Nelson a black Confederate rifleman

       I enjoy reading all the arguments both for and against the possibility of black men serving in the Confederate army. You would be surprised about how upset both sides get on the subject. There are those who refuse to believe that a black man would do anything to support a government that supported slavery while there are those who believe over 100,000 blacks fought for the Confederacy. The truth of the matter is that both sides are missing the mark. Another problem that historians have today is attempting to look at history from the way people think today. A hundred years from now, it may be deemed immoral to slaughter animals for food. Those historians will look at our generation and shake their heads. While we don't think we've done anything wrong, there will be those historians who paint us all as evil.

       The first African slave mentioned on this continent was in Massachusetts in 1638. Ironically, its these same present day New Englander's who identify the evil South as the slave states. The state of New York freed its last slave in 1827, just 33 years prior to the war. The last slave on record in Pennsylvania appeared on in 1846, just 14 years prior to the war. The last handful of slaves in New Jersey were freed in 1865 by the 13th Amendment. At the same time, today we are 12 years removed from an attack on our country by terrorists. Have we changed our opinions about terrorists? A hundred years from now, our descendants may say those terrorists were correct and fighting for what they believed in, but does this make what they did right? 

       The entire thought of blacks fighting for the Confederacy is confusing or we wouldn't still be having this argument today. Louis Nelson served as a cook in the 7th Tennessee Cavalry during the first part of the war. This unit served under Bedford Forrest (the same evil Southerner who hated blacks and slaughtered them at Fort Pillow according to historians). In the latter stages of the war, he served as a rifleman. During the last part of the war, he was a chaplain, ministering to both white and black Confederates. He had memorized the Bible by heart. If you look for his service records you will not find anything. Not because he didn't serve, but because he was black. Since the Confederate government would not allow blacks to enlist, men like Louis were never considered a part of the Confederate army. Does this mean he wasn't a soldier? 

       I have an ancestor who volunteered and was employed as a scout against the British army during the Revolutionary War. He was captured in this role and held prisoner for almost two years. When the war ended, he was released. Was he a Revolutionary soldier? According to the line of thinking among these "North was right, South was wrong" people, he was not. He applied for a pension and because he had no military records was denied a pension although he was a war prisoner for almost two years.

       I worked with a fellow years ago that was a cook in Vietnam. He never fired any type weapon in combat. He did enlist and was lucky enough to be placed in the kitchen while other poor men were fighting and dying. Does this mean he was not a soldier? He draws a military pension today and is considered a veteran. According to the rules set forth by some historians, this man was a soldier (although he never fired a weapon in anger), while Louis Nelson didn't have a piece of paper declaring  him a soldier (he served as a rifleman), this means Nelson was not a black Confederate according to historians. The line is fine and historians get caught up in the argument and refuse to yield an inch either way in an attempt to prove their side was right. 

Nelson Winbush

       Nelson Winbush is the descendant of Louis Nelson. He is also a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans as am I. We are both proud descendants of Confederate soldiers. Winbush has been attacked by the NAACP for his support of what his grandfather believed. During the antebellum period, slaves were considered a part of the family. My ancestors were too poor to own slaves. Some slaves were better off than my ancestors. Mary Chesnut said that slavery was not worth the trouble. When a 1000 dollar slave (27,000 dollars in today's money) got sick, you ran to get a doctor. When slavery was over, you paid the same person minimum wage and when they got sick and were no longer capable of employment, you hired someone else.

       Nelson Winbush denies today that Lincoln freed a single slave. He has the ability to realize that Lincoln's emancipation proclamation freed slaves in the states in rebellion and no other. In other words, Lincoln freed slaves he had no power to free, but didn't free a single slave in the states he could have. I salute Nelson Winbush whom I consider a brother above any of these northern white men who attempt to stir up trouble between our races by painting the white southerner as a criminal to self-serve their own agenda. I believe to their discredit and frustration that Nelson Winbush would side with me.

       The entire argument is frustrating because the Confederate army kept poor records as it was. Knowing how many actually served the Confederacy will never be known. We do know many served as cooks and many more were used to dig entrenchments. Some say the number was as high as 100,000 and one Harvard professor places the number as low as 7,000. Either way, it is known that some blacks actually fought while others served in supporting roles. As I like to say that war was over nothing more than money. Allow me to quote Abraham Lincoln, "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it..."