Wickham Hoffman (April 2, 1821 – May 21, 1900) was a lawyer, diplomat and

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 ...

Colonel.

Biography

Hoffman was born in New York City to Murray Hoffman, Vice Chancellor and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New York and Frances Burrall. Hoffman graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1841. He married Elizabeth Baylies on May 14, 1844. Admitted to the New York Bar, he practiced law until 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 ...

broke out. Hoffman served in various positions during the war including Aide-de-camp to Governor

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

, Inspector of New York troops at

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

, Virginia, 1861, and Assistant Adjutant General,

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and the ...

in 1862 before being assigned to the staff of Brigadier General Thomas Williams in the expedition at

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. He continued his military career by serving General William T. Sherman's staff as Assistant Adjutant General, 1862–63, and was with Major General W. B. Franklin, during the Red River Campaign, 1863. He continued to serve until 1865. Hoffman held the following diplomatic posts: * Assistant Secretary of Legation in Paris, France, 1866 * First Secretary of Legation in Paris, France, 1867–74 * Secretary of Legation, London, England, 1874–77, * Secretary of Legation, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1877-83. * United States Minister to Denmark, 1883-85. His service in Paris coincided with the Franco-Prussian War and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. He died at Atlantic City summer home May 21, 1900 after an "attack of paralysis" the day before and was buried with full military honors in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Wickham 1821 births 1900 deaths Harvard College alumni American consuls Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Union Army colonels People from New York City Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark 19th-century American lawyers