Sherod Hunter (March 5, 1834 – ?) was the commander of the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

unit operating against

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

forces in present-day

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

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 later commanded various Confederate cavalry units elsewhere in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.

Early life

Sherod Hunter was born on March 5, 1834 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, but was orphaned in 1840 and raised by various relatives. In November 1855, Hunter married the daughter of his business partner, Thomas Goodrich, with whom he operated a grocery business. On March 3, 1857, a son was born to Hunter and his wife. However, weakened by the hard childbirth, his wife died ten days later, on Friday, March 13, 1857; his son died soon afterward on July 6. Following this double tragedy, Hunter sold his interest in his business to his father-in-law and left Tennessee. About 1858 or 1859, he settled and began to farm land beside the

Mimbres River The Mimbres is a river in southwestern New Mexico. Course The Mimbres forms from snowpack and runoff on the southwestern slopes of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness in the Black Range at in Grant County. The river ends in the Guzmán Basin, a smal ...

, near Mowry City in

Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

(now

Luna County Luna County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 25,095. Its county seat is Deming, New Mexico, Deming. This county abuts the M ...

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

Civil War

Hunter began his service with the Confederacy in May 1861, after local

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

s drove him from his farm in southwestern New Mexico.Josephy, p. 58. He joined Captain George Frazer's Company of Arizona Rangers and was promoted Lieutenant of the unit on August 1, 1861.Martin Hardwick Hall, THE CONFEDERATE ARMY OF NEW MEXICO. Austin, Texas: Presidio Press, 1978, p. 361. The company was part of a battalion of Texas troops under Colonel John R. Baylor, which had recently occupied the town of Mesilla, New Mexico. In January 1862, Hunter, having risen to the rank of captain, was sent west at the head of

Company A, Arizona Rangers The Company A, Arizona Rangers (also known as "Oury's Company, Herbert's Battalion, Arizona Cavalry") was a cavalry formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Origin of the Arizona Rangers After the establishment ...

by General Henry Hopkins Sibley, who was preparing an invasion of New Mexico from Texas. Hunter's destination was

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and his mission was to protect its pro-Confederate citizens from Apache raids and to watch for any Union forces advancing from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Hunter's 54-man detachment, along with Colonel James Riley and a small escort traveling to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on Sibley's behalf, arrived in Tucson on February 28, 1862, and established Confederate occupation of the town. Hunter's men fought engagements against the

California Column The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent to Arizona and New Mexico during the American Civil War. The command marched over from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, ...

at Stanwix Station and Picacho Pass before retreating east to Texas in May 1862. During the retreat, four of Hunter's men were killed by Apaches in the

Dragoon Mountains The Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi (40 km) long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox. The name originates from the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Drag ...

at the

First Battle of Dragoon Springs The First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of Confederate dragoons of Governor John R. Baylor's Arizona Rangers, and a band of Apache warriors during the American Civil War. It was fought on May 5, 1862, ...

.Josephy, p. 273. Hunter retaliated four days later at the

Second Battle of Dragoon Springs The Second Battle of Dragoon Springs was one of two skirmishes involving Apache warriors and Confederate soldiers in Arizona. It was fought during the American Civil War on May 9, 1862, and was a response to the First Battle of Dragoon Sprin ...

. The Confederate retreat from Arizona was followed by the Union reoccupation of Tucson on May 20. Hunter rejoined Sibley's army after its failed New Mexico invasion, seeing further service in Texas and Louisiana. On June 23, 1863, Hunter, now a major in the Confederate Army, took part in a successful attack on Union troops at Brashear City, Louisiana; the Union force surrendered to Hunter after a brief resistance.Josephy, pp. 175-6.

References

;Notes ;Sources * *Frazier, Donald S. ''Blood & Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest.'' College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1995.

External links

Robert Perkins, COLONEL SHEROD HUNTER, A Biography of Our Camp's Namesake, Copyright 2000 by the Colonel Sherod Hunter Camp 1525, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Phoenix, Arizona. All rights reserved. Last updated on 18 February 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Sherod 1834 births 1870 deaths Confederate States Army officers People from Lincoln County, Tennessee People of New Mexico in the American Civil War People of Arizona in the American Civil War People from Luna County, New Mexico

Early life

Civil War

See also

References

External links