Stephen Augustus Hurlbut (November 29, 1815 – March 27, 1882) was an attorney and politician, who commanded the U.S.

Army of the Gulf The Army of the Gulf was a Union Army that served in the general area of the Gulf states controlled by Union forces. It mainly saw action in Louisiana and Alabama. History The Department of the Gulf was created following the capture of New Orl ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Afterward, he continued to serve as a politician and also as a diplomat. Although born and educated in the South, his parents were from the North and his father was a Unitarian minister. After passing the bar, Hurlbut moved at the age of 30 to Illinois to set up a practice. There he married and had a family. When war broke out, he supported the Union and Republican Party. Hurlbut was present at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

and served under

General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

during the Meridian Expedition. After the war, he returned to politics. He served in various capacities, being appointed as Minister to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and elected as a U.S. congressman from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life

Hurlbut was born in 1815 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, to Martin Luther Hurlbut and Lydia Bunce, who were from the North. His father was a Unitarian minister and educator. He had been president of

Beaufort College The University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB or USC Beaufort) is a public college with three campuses in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System, enrolls about 2,000 students, and offe ...

in South Carolina from 1812 to 1814. Hurlbut studied law with James L. Petigru as his mentor, worked for him as a law clerk, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1837. During the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

, he served as adjutant of a South Carolina infantry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. In 1845, Hurlbut moved north to

, a free state. He established a law practice in Belvidere. He started his own family in 1847 after marrying Sophronia R. Stevens; they had two children together. In 1847, Hurlbut took part in the Illinois constitutional convention as a Whig delegate. He served as a presidential elector for the Whig Party in the 1848 presidential election, and became acquainted with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

during campaigning for ''Old Rough and Ready''

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

. He was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

in 1859 and re-elected in 1861. Hurlbut campaigned for Lincoln during the presidential election in 1860 and attended Lincoln's first inauguration on March 4, 1861. He and Colonel Ward H. Lamon performed a fact-finding mission at Lincoln's request, and visited Charleston on March 24–26, 1861, to investigate and report, "the actual state of feeling in this City & State."Mr. Lincoln and Friends. The Officers: Stephen A. Hurlbut (1815-1882)
''Project of the Lincoln Institute''. Lamon received a separate assignment from

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (; May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States senator. A determined opp ...

to visit

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

. On March 27, 1861, Hurlbut wrote a detailed report in which he stated,

Civil War

When the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

erupted, Hurlbut joined the Union Army. He was commissioned as a brigadier general, U.S. Volunteers, on May 17, 1861, and a major general on September 17, 1862. He commanded the 4th Division,

Army of the Tennessee The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...

at the

, and in the advance towards

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

and the subsequent

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. He also led a division at the Battle of Hatchie's Bridge, taking command of the entire Union force after Gen

Edward Ord Edward Otho Cresap Ord (October 18, 1818 – July 22, 1883), frequently referred to as E. O. C. Ord, was an American engineer and United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He comma ...

was wounded. Hurlbut commanded XVI Corps from his headquarters at

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Historian Bertram Korn has suggested that, during Hurlbut's garrison duty at

, the brigadier general issued antisemitic orders confiscating Jewish property and preventing Jews from trading. Hurlbut led a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

under

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

in the 1864 Meridian expedition. He subsequently commanded the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The ...

, succeeding

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local ...

and serving in that capacity for the remainder of the war. Hurlbut was suspected of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

during his term. General Edward R. S. Canby ordered a court-martial proceeding and the arrest of Hurlbut. However, he was allowed to resign in June 1865.

Postwar years

After mustering out of the Union Army on June 20, 1865, Hurlbut became one of the founding fathers of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. He served as commander-in-chief from 1866 to 1868. He was appointed

Minister Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

in 1869, where he served three years. In 1872, Hurlbut was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

(R-Illinois). Re-elected for a second term in 1874, he was defeated in 1876. Hurlbut was appointed as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in 1881. In that capacity he had a row with General

Hugh Judson Kilpatrick Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (January 14, 1836 – December 4, 1881) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of Major general (United States), major general. He was later the United States Ambassador, Minister ...

, U.S. minister to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. Each man had become a partisan of the country to which he was assigned to represent Hurlbut continued to serve as U.S. ambassador to Peru until his death in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in 1882. His body was returned to Belvidere, Illinois for burial. Hurlbut and his wife are buried together in Belvidere Cemetery,

Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations througho ...

Notes

*According to Donald T. Phillips, author of ''Lincoln on Leadership'' (1992), Hachette Book Group, N.Y., N.Y., Stephen A. Hurlbut was "one of his (Lincoln's) trusted colleagues." Lincoln sent him "on a fact-finding mission to Charleston .... to meet with the Confederate leaders, evaluate the situation (i.e., the crisis developing over Ft. Sumter) and report back...." "War, according to Hurlbut, was inevitable, unless the South was allowed to secede." As a result of this report, "Lincoln decided to resupply the embattled fort; if his ships were fired upon, it would be the Confederacy that started the war, not the Union."Phillips, D. T. (1992)
Lincoln on leadership: Executive strategies for tough times
. New York: Warner Books.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurlbut, Steven A. 1815 births 1882 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Union army generals Members of the Illinois House of Representatives People of Illinois in the American Civil War People from Belvidere, Illinois 1848 United States presidential electors 19th-century American diplomats Illinois Whigs Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Grand Army of the Republic commanders-in-chief Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia Ambassadors of the United States to Peru United States Army personnel of the Seminole Wars 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly