William Hoffman (United States Army)
William Hoffman | |
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3rd U.S. Infantry | |
Battles/wars | Black Hawk War Seminole Wars Mexican–American War Mohave War American Civil War |
William Hoffman (1807–1884) was a 19th-century officer in the United States Army. The West Point graduate was involved in the Black Hawk War, Seminole Wars, Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. During the Civil War he served as the Commissary-General of Prisoners and set policy for the treatment and release of prisoners.[1]
Biography
Early life and education
William Hoffman Jr. was born in New York. He was the son of
Early military career
Hoffman's early military career was on the frontier. Between 1829 and 1836 he was stationed at either
During the war with
Between the war with Mexico and the Civil War Hoffman served on recruiting duty for two years before returning to the frontier. There he was garrisoned again at Fort Leavenworth and was promoted to major,
Civil War
Hoffman was in San Antonio at the start of the American Civil War. He was taken as a
He was reassigned to Washington, D.C. where that year he became Commissary-General of Prisoners. The Office of the Commissary-General of Prisoners had been organized on October 7, 1861, under the Quartermaster General's Department.
On November 11, 1864, the office was divided into an Eastern and Western Branch. Hoffman, who had been in charge of the whole office up to that date, was placed in charge of the Eastern Branch. On February 1, 1865, it was restructured as a single unit, and Hoffman was placed in charge overall again.[4]
Over 104,000 Confederate soldiers deserted the army during the war, with a third of them surrendering to the Union army.[2] In addition, the army captured thousands of soldiers, whom they held as prisoners of war, transferring them away from the fronts to camps set up to house them. The two governments negotiated a prisoner exchange, which operated from 1862 and 1863 before it broke down for a variety of reasons.[2]
The Union was not prepared to handle the number of prisoners it took in and scrambled to set up facilities. On both sides, the prison camps were overcrowded, suffered food shortages and poor sanitation, and were plagued with infectious disease. In 1862 some of the Confederate prisoners of war refused to be exchanged, saying they would not return to the South.[2]
Hoffman, working with President Abraham Lincoln and War Secretary Edwin Stanton, developed a procedure whereby Confederate prisoners of war and deserters could swear allegiance to the Union to gain their release. Release requests from Union officials, Confederate soldiers, and Southern family members came to Hoffman's office for review and evaluation. Hoffman believed deserters, because they had already renounced their military obligation to the Confederacy, provided an opportunity to "reconstruct" the rebel soldiers and undermine the Confederate war effort.[2] Military field commanders could administer the oath of allegiance to deserters if they could verify their stories and be assured they were not spies. He believed that prisoners of war presented a problem, as they could return to their units or act as spies. They could only be released after Hoffman's staff reviewed each case individually and the release was approved by Secretary of War Stanton.[2]
To encourage desertion, the Union started to offer incentives to Confederate soldiers, such as transportation home. Hoffman narrowed the conditions for Confederates to take the oath of allegiance, and the number of prisoners released decreased dramatically.[2]
On October 7, 1864, Hoffman was brevetted to brigadier general for faithful and meritorious services during the Rebellion, and then brevetted to major general on March 13, 1865, for faithful, meritorious and distinguished services as Commissary-General of Prisoners during the Rebellion. He served in the post of Commissary-General until November 3, 1865.
Later career and death
After the Civil War, Hoffman was placed in command of regiments at
See also
References
- ^ Buescher, John. "Who Earned a Medal for Cutting Costs by Starving Confederate Prisoners?" Teachinghistory.org, accessed September 24, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780393047585. Retrieved 2011-04-17.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d e f "William Hoffman". Aztec Club. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ ISBN 9780804780353. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Speer, Mary Louise. "Society honors ancestors". Quad-City Times (August 9, 2011). Retrieved 2011-04-17.