William Hercules Hays (August 26, 1820 – March 7, 1880) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Kentucky The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

Education and career

Born in Washington County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Hays

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

in 1845. He entered private practice of law in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Kentucky from 1845 to 1851. He was a county judge in Washington County from 1851 to 1859. Hays resumed private practice in Springfield from 1859 to 1860. He was a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

in 1861. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a colonel from 1861 to 1866. Upon the resignation of its first commander, Hays became commanding officer of the

10th Kentucky Infantry 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

. During the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

, Hays assumed command of the II Corps and eventually command of the 2nd division. He rose to the rank of general officer.Civil War Regiments from Kentucky and Tennessee, 1861-1865, Following 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 State inspector general of Kentucky from 1865 to 1866. He was an oil and gas entrepreneur in Springfield from 1866 to 1867 and in private practice there from 1867 to 1879.

Federal judicial service

Hays received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

from President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

on September 6, 1879, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Bland Ballard Bland Williams Ballard (October 16, 1761 – September 5, 1853) was a soldier and statesman from Kentucky. Biography Bland Williams Ballard was born on October 16, 1761, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the eldest son of Bland Ballard. In 1779 ...

. He was nominated to the same position by President Hayes on December 1, 1879. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 10, 1879, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 7, 1880, due to his death in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Kentucky.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, William Hercules 1820 births 1880 deaths Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky People from Springfield, Kentucky United States federal judges appointed by Rutherford B. Hayes 19th-century American judges Union Army colonels 19th-century American politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law