Peter Conover Hains
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2023) |
Major General | |
---|---|
Unit | Corps of Engineers Corps of Topographical Engineers |
Commands held |
|
Known for | Tidal Basin, Panama Canal |
Battles/wars | |
Memorials | U.S. Military Academy |
Children | Peter and Thornton Jenkins |
Relations | Peter C. Hains III (grandson) Thornton A. Jenkins (father-in-law) |
Other work | Nicaragua Canal Board Panama Canal Commission |
Signature |
Peter Conover Hains (July 6, 1840 – November 7, 1921) was a
Early life and career
Peter Conover Hains was born in
Civil War
Hains was both commissioned as, and promoted to, a
During the Siege of Vicksburg, Hains was cited for meritorious conduct while serving as the interim chief engineer of the XIII Corps. He was subsequently awarded a brevet promotion to major upon the capture of the city, July 4, 1863. Promoted to captain in the Engineers on July 18, he served out the remainder of the war, and received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel for his service during the war.[2]
Postbellum career
Hains remained with the regular army following the war, and was promoted to major in September 1870. Much of his notable post-war service was in designing lighthouses for the U.S. Lighthouse Board, where he also served as Engineering Secretary. Among other accomplishments, Hains designed the Morris Island and St. Augustine lighthouses. He was the chief engineer for the construction of Morris Island light, at the entrance of the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, from 1872-1876.[2] He became a lieutenant colonel in 1886 and was promoted to colonel in August 1895. After a flood in 1881, he designed the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., thus solving the drainage problems and unpleasant odor of most of the Washington area marshlands. He also designed the Potomac Park, in Washington, D.C., and the tip of East Potomac Park is named Hains Point in his honor.[2]
Still in the Army during the Spanish–American War, Hains served as a brigadier general in the Volunteer Army from August to November 1898. He was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army on April 21, 1903. He successfully lobbied for the construction of the now current Panama Canal site over one proposed in Nicaragua.[2]
Hains retired from active service in 1904, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64.[2]
Later life and World War I
On August 15, 1908, two of his three sons,
In recognition of his long and distinguished career, Hains was promoted to major general on the retired list in 1916.
He was recalled to active duty during the
Hains was the oldest officer to serve on active duty since Major General
General Hains died at Walter Reed General Hospital on November 7, 1921, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[4] His wife, Virginia Pettis Jenkins Hains (1840-1929), daughter of Rear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins, and was buried beside him.
He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.
Family and legacy
His sons, John Power Hains and Peter Hains Jr., were both army officers. His grandson and namesake, Peter C. Hains III, was also a major general in the U.S. Army and competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. All are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Further, his great-grandson, Col. Peter C. Hains IV, and great-greatgrandson, Maj. John Power Hains II, served as Army officers while another great-great-grandson, Lt. Col. Paul Hains, served as an Army National Guard officer.
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Date | Component |
---|---|---|---|
No insignia | Cadet | July 1, 1857 | United States Military Academy |
Second Lieutenant | June 24, 1861 | Regular Army | |
First Lieutenant | June 24, 1861 | Regular Army | |
Brevet Captain | May 27, 1862 | Regular Army | |
Brevet Major | July 4, 1863 | Regular Army | |
Captain | July 18, 1863 | Regular Army | |
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel |
March 13, 1865 | Regular Army | |
Major | September 22, 1870 | Regular Army | |
Lieutenant Colonel | September 16, 1886 | Regular Army | |
Colonel | August 13, 1895 | Regular Army | |
Brigadier General | May 27, 1898 | Volunteer Army | |
Brigadier General | April 21, 1903 | Regular Army | |
Brigadier General | July 6, 1904 | Retired List | |
Major General | August 20, 1916[5] | Retired List | |
Major General | September, 1917 | National Army (Recalled to active duty.) |
Awards and decorations
Insignia | Corps Castle | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st Row Awards | Civil War Campaign Medal | Spanish War Service Medal | World War I Victory Medal |
See also
Notes
- ^ Defense Primer: Military Service Academies, Congressional Research Service, September 12, 2023. [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g Patterson, Michael Robert (December 16, 2023). "Peter Conover Hains - Major General, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Appel, Jacob Murder at the Regatta The New York Times, August 9, 2008.
- ^ a b "Gen. Peter C. Hains Dies". The New York Times. Washington. November 8, 1921. p. 19. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Official Register of Commissioned Offices of the United States Army. 1918. p. 965.
References
- Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
- Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903, Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 487.
- Register of Graduates and Former Cadets of the United States Military Academy. West Point, NY: West Point Alumni Foundation, Inc., 1970.
- U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Recordsof the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
- "Defense Primer: Military Service Academies", Congressional Research Service, September 12, 2023.