Edward Hunter (November 22, 1839 – October 12, 1928) was a career American Army officer, who graduated from the

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

on June 23, 1865. He served in California, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C.

Early life and family

He was born in

Gardiner, Maine Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,961 at the 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner is a nationally accrediteMain StreetAmerica commun ...

, and died at Mount Vernon, New York. He married Caroline Clay Hoff, (August 1, 1850 – July 1931) on March 27, 1870 in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He was the son-in-law of Brevet Colonel Alexander Henry Hoff, Surgeon, US Army and the brother-in-law of Colonel John Van Rennselaer Hoff, Deputy Surgeon General, US Army; January 1902.

Career

He was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from

and was promoted immediately as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the 12th Infantry Regiment. He spent his early years as an Indian fighter before transferring to the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...

and

Adjutant General's Corps The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services, named for the Adjutant-General to the Forces (now the Commander Home Command). As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 peo ...

. He took part in the campaigns against the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Arapahoe The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

and Comanche, 1868; the

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

, 1877; and the Bannock War, 1878; and numerous other nameless skirmishes during that time including the Battle of Soldier Spring. His first duty was the charge of military prisons in the

Department of Virginia The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departme ...

upon the surrender of Confederate Forces after the

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. These included

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Priso ...

(this was for Union officers only and because of its high death toll, Libby Prison is generally regarded as second in notoriety only to Andersonville Prison in

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) and Castle Thunder Prison (equally known for its brutality and used to hold civilians, political prisoners and spies); and the state penitentiary. He was then transferred to the Department of New Mexico. He was promoted to captain of the 1st Cavalry Regiment in August 1880. He transferred to the

Department of the Columbia The Department of the Columbia was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army during the 19th century. Formation On July 27, 1865 the Military Division of the Pacific was created under Major General Henry W. Halleck, replacing the Dep ...

and was stationed at

Fort Walla Walla Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment. A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied Septem ...

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

, (now the city of

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

), and

Fort Colville Fort Colville was a U.S. Army post in the Washington Territory located north of current Colville, Washington. During its existence from 1859 to 1882, it was called "Harney's Depot" and "Colville Depot" during the first two years, and finally " ...

, (near the now the city of

Colville, Washington Colville is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stevens County. History John Work, an agent for The Hudson's Bay Company, established Fort Colvile near the ...

), in 1877 during and the early 1880s. His daughter Jane Richards Hunter was born at Fort Walla Walla, Washington Territory on July 15, 1882. He next served for two years in Washington, D.C. as an examiner of claims arising from the Civil War. He transferred to the Department of California in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

as adjutant of the 12th Infantry. He was then transferred to the 1st Cavalry Regiment and appointed first

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

and then adjutant of the regiment. He was adjutant-general of the expedition against the Paiutes. He read for the law and was prompted to major and judge-advocate for the Department of California in December 1888 and was admitted to the

California Bar The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

. At the time he was president of the California

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

. In 1895, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and deputy judge-advocate and adjutant general in the

Department of Dakota A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866, to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Depa ...

at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota. When the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

broke out he served first at

Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne'' * ''Chic ...

as the mustering officer and then in 1898 he served under General Brooke as judge-advocate in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and as secretary of the committee on evacuation. He was invalided back to the United States because of ill health. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

and judge advocate general for the

Department of the East The Department of the East was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army several times in its history. The first was from 1853 to 1861, the second Department of the East, from 1863 to 1873, and the last from 1877 to 1913. H ...

at Governors Island, New York in May 1901. He retired in 1903 on half pay at the mandatory retirement age of 64.

References

*Van Rennselear, Rev. Maunsell; ''Annals of the Van Resselaers in the United States'', Charles Van Benthuysen & Sons;

Albany New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

1888 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Edward 1839 births 1928 deaths Members of the Sons of the American Revolution United States Military Academy alumni People from Gardiner, Maine