Charles Augustus Hill (August 23, 1833 – May 29, 1902) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Born in

Truxton, New York Truxton is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. The town is named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun, a privateer in the American Revolution and one of the US Navy's first commanding officers. ...

, Hill attended the common schools and a select school at Griffins Mills. He taught school in

Hamburg, New York Hamburg is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 56,936. It is named after the city of Hamburg, Germany. The town is on the western border of the county and is south of Buffalo. Ham ...

, and

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat ...

. He attended Bell's Commercial College,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in 1856. He studied law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. He returned to

, in 1860 and practiced law. On November 5, 1860, Charles was married to Lydia Melissa Wood, who was born March 11, 1839, in Crete, Illinois. They raised 7 children. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he enlisted in Company F, Eighth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, in August 1862. He was appointed first lieutenant in the First Regiment, United States Colored Troops. In 1865, he was commissioned

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company C of that regiment. He returned to Will County, Illinois, in 1865 and resumed the practice of law in Joliet. Hill was elected

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

in 1868 for the counties of Will and Grundy and served four years. Hill was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Fifty-first Congress (March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress. He resumed the practice of law in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

. He served as assistant attorney general of Illinois 1897–1900. He died in Joliet, Illinois, May 29, 1902. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Charles Augustus 1833 births 1902 deaths People from Truxton, New York American prosecutors Illinois lawyers Union Army officers People of Illinois in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American legislators