Robert Frederick Hoke (May 27, 1837 – July 3, 1912) was a Confederate major general during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He was present at one of the earliest battles, the

Battle of Big Bethel The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861. Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vot ...

, where he was commended for coolness and judgment. Wounded at Chancellorsville, he recovered in time for the defense of

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. His brigade distinguished itself at Cold Harbor (June 1864), acknowledged by Grant as his most costly defeat. Hoke was later a businessman and railroad executive.

Early life and career

Robert Frederick Hoke was born in

Lincolnton, North Carolina Lincolnton is a city in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, within the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,486 at the 2010 census. Lincolnton is northwest of Charlotte, on the South Fork of the Catawba River. The city i ...

, the son of Michael and Frances Burton Hoke. He had a younger sister Mary. Their father was a lawyer, orator, and unsuccessful Democratic nominee for

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

in 1844. Michael Hoke died shortly after losing that election. His death "had lasting effects" on Robert Hoke's political viewpoint. The son disliked politics and avoided involvement, later rejecting the offer of the governor's position. Robert Hoke was educated at the

Pleasant Retreat Academy Pleasant Retreat Academy, also known as The Confederate Memorial Hall, is a historic building located at 129 East Pine Street, Lincolnton, North Carolina. History Pleasant Retreat Academy was built between 1817 and 1820, and is a two-story bri ...

. He next studied at the

Kentucky Military Institute The Kentucky Military Institute (KMI) was a military preparatory school in Lyndon, Kentucky, and Venice, Florida, in operation from 1845 to 1971. Founding One of the oldest traditional military prep schools in the United States, KMI was maintain ...

, graduating in 1854. Hoke returned to Lincolnton, where he managed various family business interests for his widowed mother, including a cotton mill and iron works, .Dupuy, pp. 342-3.

Civil War service

1861–63

With

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, Hoke at age 24 enlisted in Company K of the

1st North Carolina Infantry Regiment (6 months) The 1st North Carolina Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. As part of the Army of Northern Virginia it fought in the Eastern Theater until the surrender at Appomattox. Histor ...

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. Within months, he was promoted to

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 ...

and was commended for "coolness, judgment and efficiency" in

D. H. Hill Lieutenant general, Lieutenant-General Daniel Harvey Hill (July 12, 1821 – September 24, 1889), commonly known as D. H. Hill, was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern Th ...

's report of the

.Wert, p. 114. He was subsequently promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in September. Following the reorganization of the 6-month term North Carolina troops, Hoke was appointed as the

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 33rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was cited for his gallantry at the Battle of New Bern in March 1862, where he assumed command of the regiment following the capture of its colonel, C. M. Avery. He led the 33rd throughout the Peninsula Campaign as a part of

Lawrence O. Branch Lawrence O'Bryan Branch (November 28, 1820 – September 17, 1862) was a North Carolina representative in the U.S. Congress and a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Antietam. Early life and car ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

. Hoke was promoted to colonel before the Northern Virginia Campaign and fought at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

, in addition to the Maryland Campaign at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

.Eicher, p. 300. Upon Colonel Avery's return from captivity, Hoke was assigned as commander of the 21st North Carolina in

Isaac Trimble Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15, 1802 – January 2, 1888) was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was born in Virg ...

's brigade in Jubal Early's division. Hoke commanded the brigade at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

and helped repulse an attack by

forces under

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He ...

. Hoke was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

on January 17, 1863, and assigned permanent command of Trimble's brigade, which was composed of five North Carolina regiments. He was severely wounded defending Marye's Heights while the majority of the armies fought at the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

and was sent home to recuperate. Command of his brigade passed to Col.

Isaac E. Avery Isaac Erwin Avery (December 20, 1828 – July 3, 1863) was a planter and an officer in the Confederate States Army. He died at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Avery is most remembered for a poignant blood-stained note ...

. Hoke missed the rest of the year's campaigns.

1864–65

Hoke resumed command of his brigade at

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

, in January 1864, and led it to North Carolina, where he organized attacks on

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. In the latter engagement on April 17, Hoke captured a garrison of 2,834 Union soldiers. The

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

voted May 17 to extend its thanks for the action of Hoke and his men at Plymouth. Hoke was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on April 23, 1864 (ranking from April 20), and was given command of what was called Hoke's

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

in the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia. He and his troops were summoned to Virginia in May when the Union

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. Histor ...

threatened

and

. Given command of six brigades of infantry, Hoke served with distinction in several actions, including the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, where his division played an important role in stopping several Union attacks. In December, Hoke's division was sent to North Carolina when the state was threatened by Union forces. Hoke fought at the defense of Fort Fisher on January 13–15, 1865. He also fought in the

Carolinas Campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January 1 ...

and the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. ...

, where he repulsed several attacks by forces under Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

before overwhelming numbers began to push the Confederates back. Hoke surrendered along with

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia seceded ...

's army at

Bennett Place Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meetin ...

near

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

and was paroled on May 1, 1865. He was pardoned by the U.S. government on June 14, 1865.Eicher, p. 301.

Postbellum activities

Portrait of Robert Frederick Hoke from Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present, Volume I, 1905

Marriage and family

Hoke developed Northern ties when on January 7, 1869, he married Lydia Van Wyck, who was of a prominent political family from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. One of his brothers-in-law,

Robert Van Wyck Robert Anderson Van Wyck ( ;Paumgarten, Nick"The Van Wyck Question" ''The New Yorker'', June 11, 2001. Accessed September 12, 2008. July 20, 1849November 14, 1918) was the first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs ...

, was

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

and another,

Augustus Van Wyck Augustus Van Wyck (October 14, 1850 – June 8, 1922) was an American judge and politician who served as Supreme Court Justice of Brooklyn, New York. In 1898 he received the Democratic Nomination for New York State governor against the Republican ...

, was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

, losing to

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. The Hokes had six children. Their son

Michael Hoke Michael Hoke (1874 – 1944) was a leading orthopedic surgeon who pioneered the advance of the science for disabled children throughout the United States. The son of American Civil War Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hoke, Michael Hoke spent his childhoo ...

became a famous

orthopedist Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and a founder of the Shriner's Children Hospital.

Later career

After the war, Hoke returned to civilian life and engaged in various businesses, including insurance and gold mining. He became principal owner of an iron mine near

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...

and another one in Mitchell County. He also served as the director of the

North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad is a state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina. The railroad carries over seventy freight trains offered by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger t ...

for many years. Railroad construction was creating new networks across the South, and new opportunities for business. Hoke owned a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

and a

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

company at Lithia Springs in Lincoln County. Such areas were popular summer retreats."Inventory of the Robert F. Hoke Papers", University of North Carolina With his success in the war and business, politicians tried to recruit Hoke to office, even offering him the position of governor of the state. He declined, having permanently turned away from politics as a child after his father's death. Hoke died in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, and was buried with full military honors in Raleigh's Oakwood Cemetery.

Legacy and honors

*Before his death,

Hoke County, North Carolina Hoke County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,082. Its county seat is Raeford. Hoke County is part of the Fayetteville metropolitan statistical area. The county is home to part of th ...

, was named in his honor. *The Robert F. Hoke Chapter #78 of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

was named for the former general, as was Camp #1616 of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

Notes

References

* Evans, Clement A., ''Confederate Military History'', Volume III. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. * Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, and Bongard, David L., ''

Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography ''The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography'' () was written by Trevor N. Dupuy, Curt Johnson and David Bongard, and was issued in 1992 by HarperCollins Publishers. It contains more than three thousand short biographies of military figures fr ...

'', Castle Books, 1992, 1st Ed., . * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . * Wert, Jeffry D., "Robert Frederick Hoke", ''The Confederate General'', Vol. 3, Davis, William C., and Julie Hoffman (eds.), National Historical Society, 1991, . * Obituary of Robert F. Hoke, published in a

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, newspaper on July 6, 1912.

External links

Inventory of Robert F. Hoke's papers
University of North Carolina Library
D.G. Martin column: "A question for Civil War buffs"
''Salisbury Post'', June 16, 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoke, Robert 19th-century American railroad executives 1837 births 1912 deaths Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery Confederate States Army major generals People from Lincolnton, North Carolina People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Recipients of American presidential pardons Robert Frederick Hoke County, North Carolina