{⋆★⋆} BG Hays, Harry Thompson

Harry Thompson Hays​

Born: April 14, 1820

Birth Place: Wilson County, Tennessee

Father: Harmon A. Hays 1787 – 1833

(Buried: Cage Cemetery, Yazoo County, Mississippi)​

Mother: Elizabeth Cage 1799 – 1833

(Buried: Cage Cemetery, Yazoo County, Mississippi)​

Wife: Elizabeth "Bettie" Cage 1836 – 1904

Children:

Robert Cummings Hays 1856 -​

​

John "Jack" Hays 1857 – 1888​

​

Katherine "Kate" Hays 1861 - 1925​

​

Lucy Hays Mix 1863 – 1924​

​

Minerva "Minnie" Hays Guyol 1868 – 1927​

Education:

Attended St. Mary's College in Baltimore, Maryland​

Occupation before War:

Attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana​

​

Served in the Mexican War serving with 5th​ Louisiana Cavalry 1st​ Lt.​

​

1852: Winfield Scott Presidential Elector​

Civil War Career:

1861 – 1862: Colonel of 7th​ Louisiana Infantry​

​

1861: Participated in the First Battle of Bull Run​

​

1862: Suffered a wound at the Battle of Port Republic​

​

1862 – 1865: Brigadier General of Confederate Army Infantry​

​

1862: Participated in the Battle of Antietam, Maryland​

​

1862: Participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​

​

1863: Participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia​

​

1863: Participated in the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania​

​

1863: Briefly captured by escaped at Rappahannock Station, Virginia​

​

1864: Lost a third of his men at the Battle of the Wilderness​

​

1864: Wounded during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House​

​

1864 – 1865: Served with the Trans – Mississippi Department​

​

1865: Promoted to Major General but never formally approved​

Occupation after War:

1865: Received a Pardon from President Andrew Johnson​

​

Sheriff of Orleans Parish, Louisiana​

​

1866: Played a Prominent role in New Orleans Riot​

​

1866: Removed from office by the Federal Government​

​

1866 – 1876: Attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana​

Died: August 21, 1876

Place of Death: New Orleans, Louisiana

Cause of Death: Bright's Disease

Age at time of Death: 56 years old

Burial Place: Lafayette Cemetery Number 1, New Orleans, Louisiana

 

[rpkennedy]

One of the quiet competent brigade commanders. Solid and dependable.

Ryan

 

[Pollaco]

After being wounded at Port Republic he was promoted to brigadier general during his recovery. Hays then returned to duty the very day of the battle of Antietam.
His main job in the Trans-Mississippi Department was rounding up absentees from western units serving east of the Mississippi.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Brig. General Harry T. Hays. Remembering General Hays on his birthday.

 

[Pollaco]

His name popped up while researching a recent trivia guestion on this forum. He was the sheriff during the New Orleans Riot in 1866. He was one of those "Kirby Smith" generals. He was a legitimate brigadier commissioned by Richmond but the rank of Major General was by General Kirby Smith and was not commissioned by Jefferson Davis or the Senate.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday (Thursday) Brig. General Harry T. Hays! Salutes remembering General Hays on his birthday week.

 

[danny]

7/9/64 Richmond S O #160 by command of the Sec of War: Melton, AAG
XXI. Brig Gen Harry Hays will forthwith proceed to the Trans-Ms Dept for the purpose of collecting & causing to return to their respective commands all officers & men in that Dept belonging to the organizations east of the Ms River. He will report to & receive special instructions from Gen Bragg. Maj John H New, AAG, Early's Div, will report to Gen Hays for duty in connection with this special service.
XXII. Cdrs will forthwith detail from each Regt & Bn raised in the Trans-Ms Dept, & now serving east of the Ms River, two commissioned officers with orders to report to Brig Gen Harry Hays, at Alexandria, La., for the purpose of collecting & returning absentees belonging to their respective commands. The officers so detailed will be furnished with complete lists of such absentees, with such information as to residence, location, illegal enlistment, &c., as may be requisite to cause their return.

9/14/64 Shreveport, G O #72-All officers/men belonging to Cis Ms commands & who have come into this Dept since the fall of Vicksburg & are not now serving in the field will report immediately to Gen Harry Hays at Alexandria
Cdg officers will turn over to Gen Hayes all officers/men serving in their commands belonging to Cis Ms commands who have come into this Dept since the fall of Vicksburg & who have not been regularly assigned to the command with which they are serving by proper authority
Gen Hays to establish a camp near Alexandria to collect & forward the men to their Cis Ms commands

9/20/64 Alexandria, Gen Harry Hayes to Gen Bragg-met with K Smith about my instructions & asked his help. I shared with him your instructions of 8/1 & also the endorsement 8/20 of Sec of War an application of officers of Gregg's Bgde for permission to enlist Vols below conscript age …I have little hope of recovering the absentees from Tex & Ark troops, but I am led to believe that the larger portion from La is ready & willing to return to their former commands.

SPECIAL FOR LUKE FREET
9/27/64 Hqs Granbury Bgde, Gen Granbury to Col Lubbock, ADC-Asking that the President consider the condition of my Bgde as follows: It is composed of 8 Regts, 6th​, 7th​ & 10th​ Infy Regts & the 15th​, 17th​, 18th​ 24th​ & 25th​ dismtd Cav. More than half of their men belong to various commands in the TM, but several hundred are in a temporary organization known there as the 17th​ Tex Consol Regt in King's Bgde, Polignac's Div.
Nearly ¾ of the officers of these Regts are in the TM due to becoming supernumerary after Bragg's order to consolidate in
May 63. Col Mills of the 10th​ Tex was sent a month since to report to Gen Hayes in an effort to return these men here. I request additional authority for Col Mills to accomplish this mission to:
-Send here the 17th​ Tex Consol Regt entire with the officers cdg it.
-orders be given to all officers of troops serving with me now in the TM to collect such absentees not serving with the 17th​ Consol as they can find…

10/29/64 [letter #4] Alexandria, Gen Hayes to Gen Bragg-All of my officers detailed to collect the men claim of the interference caused by order #72 from Gen Smith. Lt Col McEnery of 4th La Bn writes-I have 6 men here at the post of Shreveport who have been transferred to the 3rd La since the publication of G O #72. Gen Smith refuses to give them up to me on my request.
Many requests have been rec'd of those who desire to go east in place of those who don't want to go. I ask that the orders be amended to permit this.
From reports of La officers, I presume we will have in camp by the 5th of next month 150-200 men
Col Mills, 10th Tex, Granbury's Bgde says the TM order #72 interferes with his collection of absentees

1/12/65 Gen Buckner recommending promotion of Gen Hays [now on duty under orders from War Dept] to Maj Gen to command Polignac's Div. If unavailable, then asks for Liddell, now on duty near Mobile. The Div is composed of one Tex & two La Bgdes.
K Smith endorses & says that neither of the Bgde cdrs can be recommended for that position, & he has no suitable officers in Dept

2/15/65 Shreveport-Gov Allen to Davis-At the request of many citizens of La I write you it is their ardent desire that Brig Gen Harry T. Hays should be promoted & assigned to duty in this Dept. There is at present a Div of La troops in this State without a Maj-Gen cdg. I have therefore the honor to join with the good people of my State in urging upon you, their request. The officers & men of the Div to which we wish him assigned are especially anxious to have him as their cdr. As no officer in the Confederacy has distinguished himself more on the battle-field or deserved better of his country, this promotion would meet the cordial approbation of every La [soldier]

3/16/65 K Smith says 17 Regts [6000 enlisted] being dismtd-12 in Tex-4 in La=16 [so which is the 17th​ Regt?]
Asks for promotions:
Gen Thomas (an efficient Div cdr, & much needed for Polignac's Div), cdg Div of La Infy of three Bgdes (lately increased by four Regts of dismtd Cav).
-I have asked that Liddell or Hays be promoted & assigned to command La Div of Infy.
-A third Bgde of recently dismounted La Cav was added to Thomas' Div in mid-March

April 65-Hays takes command of La Div & Thomas reverts back to Bgde command.

4/24/65 Gen Boggs was relieved at his own request as K Smith's chief of staff & will report to Lt Gen Buckner cdg Dist of Ark & W La for duty
Boggs relieved of his staff position this date & [then] given an Infy Bgde
Boggs writes-I went to Natchitoches & assumed command of the district; but my command was short lived, for, upon the surrender of Gen Lee, Gen Harry Hayes, who had been sent to our Dept to gather up the absentees from his command in Gen Lee's army, went to Shreveport & asked to be assigned to duty. Being a La officer, he was assigned to the command of the district, & I returned to Shreveport.

5/10/65 Gen Orders T/M Dept-Shreveport-Hays is to be a Maj Gen, by order of K Smith--however, his promotion was never formally approved by Davis or Congress

5/10/65 Gen Hays was notified of his appointment as Maj-Gen. But the Confederacy had already ceased to exist everywhere, except in the Trans-Ms Dept, where he then was.

5/22/65 Col Richardson [17th La] cdg Hays' Div of Boggs' & Thomas' Bgdes, to Capt Samuel Flower-quoted in "The cdr's report on how Hays' Div ended its career"

 

[Pollaco]

There was a time period that he commanded the division (Early's) in Gen. Early's absence.This time period appears to have been from Dec. 1863 to Feb. 1864.Why was Early absent?

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Harry Hays was one of the best Brigade Commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia.

His worth as a commander was demonstrated in his effective management of the 'Louisiana Tiger' Brigade (a wild bunch).

 

[Luke Freet]

After the Wilderness, Major General Jubal Early was assigned to command the 3rd Corps, leaving the division's command in question. Hays was the senior brigadier in the brigade, but Lee was intent on having John Brown Gordon be given command of the division. Thus, he detached Hays' brigade from the division and assigned his command to Edward Johnson's Division.

 

[Sheltowee]

Seeing a different birthplace/ state between OP bio and newspaper bio. Which is correct?

 

[Pollaco]

I rea

Seeing a different birthplace/ state between OP bio and newspaper bio. Which is correct?

I've also elsewhere read "born in Tennessee and raised in Mississippi"..