Robert F. Hoke
Featured Character – 1864 Confederate Decline
Headquarters Flag of General Robert F. Hoke
Courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History
Robert
Frederick Hoke was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina
on May
27, 1837. Though he graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in
1854, he gained no military experience prior to entering into
Confederate service in 1861. He enlisted in the 1st North Carolina
Infantry and was
appointed second lieutenant. Within five months, after the Battle of
Big Bethel, he was promoted to major of the 33rd North Carolina troops.
Over the
next year and a half, Hoke fought at the Peninsula Campaign, the Seven
Days at Chancellorsville, the Second Battle of Manassas,
and Antietam, and was promoted twice during this time gaining
the
rank of
colonel. On January 17, 1863, Hoke was promoted to brigadier general
and led a brigade at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, where he was
severely wounded. Upon recovery, he led a brigade to North Carolina,
where he became the hero of the Battle of Plymouth by
successfully capturing a garrison of 3,000 Union troops. On April 20,
1864, he was made, at the age of 26, the youngest major general in the
Confederate Army. His first act as major general was to lead at the
Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia, where his actions were significant
to the Confederate victory. He then marched his men back to North
Carolina to defend Fort Fisher and to take part in the Battle of
Bentonville. After