Johnson's "A Fighter from Way Back" published
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Most American history buffs know about Daniel Harvey Hill because of his capable, if volatile, leadership during the Civil War.Despite his leadership qualities, he may be best remembered as the Confederate general who wore out his welcome with two commanding officers during that conflict - Gen. Robert E. Lee, first, and later, Gen. Braxton Bragg, who dropped Hill from command because of Hill's criticism of Bragg after the Battle of Chickamauga.
And like most other high-ranking officers during the Civil War, Hill distinguished himself as a young officer during the Mexican War. Yet only one book, "Lee's Maverick General" by Leonard Hal Bridges, has been written about Hill. Until now.
Lipscomb University's Dr. Tim Johnson, and historian Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr. have co-edited Hill's Mexican War diary and published it through The Kent State University Press.
The title, "A Fighter from Way Back," is taken from a quote by one of Hill's Civil War soldiers.
Hill "is a colorful character," Johnson said. "Folks know that about him from the Civil War.
"He was a young lieutenant in the Mexican War - he graduated from West Point in 1842. So this was his first experience with war and he was soaking it all in, taking in the country. He learned Spanish while he was [in Mexico]," Johnson said.
Hill's diary is "very detailed and descriptive," which makes it valuable to historians, he said.
Highlights include his dislike of volunteer troops and their lack of discipline, his attitudes toward the people of Mexico, his colorful descriptions of the countryside and his evaluations of the American commanders in Mexico, Johnson said.
"What's important about this kind of work is that it preserves the actual accounts by participants. Some [diaries] are good, some are mediocre. This one is very good," Johnson said.
Hill emerged from the Mexican War as a bona fide hero, winning brevet promotions to captain and major for his conduct at Contreras and the pivotal battle at Chapultepec. In the Civil War, he received field promotions to brigadier general and major general. But he blamed Lee for the Confederate loss Malvern Hill and later called Bragg "incompetent" for his failure to pursue Union troops after Chickamauga. Hill was removed from command and his promotion to lieutenant general withdrawn.
A highly educated mathematician, Hill was superintendent of the North Carolina Military Institute between the wars, and of what became the University of Arkansas following the Civil War.
Johnson is author of "Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory," and has been conducting research for a book about the Mexican War. He is a professor of history at Lipscomb.
The book is available by order from the major online bookstores.