Wickham Hoffman (April 2, 1821 – May 21, 1900) was a lawyer, diplomat and Union Army Colonel.

Biography

Hoffman was born in New York City to Murray Hoffman, Vice Chancellor and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New York and Frances Burrall. Hoffman graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1841. He married Elizabeth Baylies on May 14, 1844. Admitted to the New York Bar, he practiced law until 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 ...

broke out. Hoffman served in various positions during the war including Aide-de-camp to Governor Edwin D. Morgan, Inspector of New York troops at

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth ...

, Virginia, 1861, and Assistant Adjutant General,

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army (United ...

in 1862 before being assigned to the staff of Brigadier General Thomas Williams in the expedition at

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. He continued his military career by serving General

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 ...

's staff as Assistant Adjutant General, 1862–63, and was with Major General W. B. Franklin, during the Red River Campaign, 1863. He continued to serve until 1865. Hoffman held the following diplomatic posts: * Assistant Secretary of Legation in Paris, France, 1866 * First Secretary of Legation in Paris, France, 1867–74 * Secretary of Legation, London, England, 1874–77, * Secretary of Legation, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1877-83. * United States Minister to Denmark, 1883-85. His service in Paris coincided with the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

. He died at Atlantic City summer home May 21, 1900 after an "attack of paralysis" the day before and was buried with full military honors in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Wickham 1821 births 1900 deaths Harvard College alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Union army colonels Lawyers from New York City Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark 19th-century American lawyers