William Polk Hardeman | |
---|---|
Born | Williamson County, Tennessee | November 4, 1816
Died | April 8, 1898 Austin, Texas | (aged 81)
Buried | |
Allegiance |
Republic of Texas United States of America Confederate States of America |
Service/ |
Texas Army National Guard United States Army Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1846–1848 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
Rank |
First Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General, CSA |
Commands held | 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment Hardeman's Cavalry Brigade |
Battles/wars |
Texas Revolution Mexican–American War American Civil War |
William Polk Hardeman (November 4, 1816 – April 8, 1898) was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. He had fought in the Texas War of Independence in 1836. He was a member of the Texas Rangers and fought in the Mexican-American War in 1846–1847. During the Civil War, he participated in Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley's New Mexico Campaign and in the Red River Campaign. He had a variety of occupations after the war, including superintendent of public buildings and grounds at Austin, Texas.
William Polk "Gotch" Hardeman was born on November 4, 1816, in Williamson County, Tennessee. [1] [2] He moved to Texas in 1835 and fought in the Texas War of Independence. [1] [2] He joined the Texas Rangers and fought in the Mexican–American War in 1846–1847 under Ben McCulloch, who was later a Confederate Army general. [1] [2]
Hardeman began his Confederate service in May 1861 as a captain of the 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment (sometimes referred to as the 4th Texas Mounted Rifles). [1] [2] In that capacity, he served in Sibley's New Mexico Campaign, including the Confederate victory at the Battle of Valverde and defeat and retreat after the Battle of Glorieta Pass. [2] Lieutenant Colonel William Read Scurry, in command at Valverde, praised Hardeman for leading the last, successful charge of the battle. [3]
Hardeman was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment on March 28, 1862, the date of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, and to colonel in January 1863. [1] [2] In December 1863, he briefly took command of a brigade in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department and again commanded a brigade beginning in September 1864. [1] Hardeman led his regiment during the Red River Campaign, including the Battle of Mansfield and the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 8 and 9, 1864, and during the subsequent pursuit of the retreating Union Army under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks after those battles. [2] [3] [4] Upon the recommendation of Trans-Mississippi Department commander General E. Kirby Smith on October 28, 1864, Hardeman was appointed a brigadier general to rank from March 17, 1865. [1] [2] [3] He commanded a mounted brigade in Texas and Louisiana during the final eight months of the war, until May 1865. [5] No record of his parole has been found. [1]
Hardeman fled to Mexico at the end of the war but soon returned to become a planter in Texas. [1] [2] In 1874 he began to serve as sergeant-at-arms of the Texas House of Representatives and then as inspector of railroads. [2] [3] [6] In the later years of his life, Hardeman was superintendent of public buildings and grounds at Austin, Texas. [2] [3] This job included supervision of the Texas Confederate Soldiers' Home. [2] [3]
William Polk Hardeman died April 8, 1898, at Austin, Texas and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery at Austin. [1] [2] [3]