John Bell Hood (1831-1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War (1861-65). The West Point-trained Hood was known for his aggressive and bold actions early in the war, including success in the Peninsula Campaign, the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) and Antietam. Severely wounded at Gettysburg, Hood went on to lose a leg at Chickamauga, but still returned to action, serving in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. In July, Hood replaced Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, becoming, at age 33, the youngest officer on either side of war to command an army. Hood launched a series of disatrous offensives against the Union Army, and in September 1864 he was forced to evacuate the city to Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's forces. Hood failed to defeat Union forces in the subsequent Franklin-Nashville Campaign, during which his Army of Tennessee was ineffective.
More to Explore
People and Groups
Themes
Events
Related Topics
This Day in History
Feb 9
Civil War
Yankee General George Custer marries, 1864
On this day in 1864, Union General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Bacon in Monroe, Michigan, while the young cavalry officer is on leave.…
Recommended Articles
-
American Civil War
The American Civil War, fueled by the debate over slavery and states' rights, pitted North against South in the costliest conflict fought on U.S. soil.
-
Reconstruction
Reconstruction refers to the period of upheaval in the American South after the Civil War and abolition of slavery.
-
Battle of Antietam
Fought along Antietam Creek, at Sharpsburg, Maryland, this battle brought about America's bloodiest day.
-
Robert E. Lee
Lee's most brilliantly fought battle was the defeat of Joseph Hooker at Chancellorsville on May 1-4, 1863.
Did You Know?
John B. Gordon was wounded numerous times during the Civil War, yet always survived. While defending the "Bloody Lane" at the Battle of Antietam, Gordon was hit four times but refused to retreat from battle. A fifth bullet that struck him in the face finally forced him from the field.
John Brown Gordon was a Confederate military leader and post-American Civil War politician who symbolized the shift from agrarian to commercial ideals in the Reconstruction South.
Gordon accomplished little of note during his first 29 years. He attended but did not graduate from the University of Georgia. He became a lawyer but abandoned his practice to develop coal mines in Georgia's northwestern tip. Then came the Civil War. Although lacking any military education or experience, Gordon was elected captain of a company of mountaineers and displayed remarkable capabilities. He quickly climbed from captain to brigadier general (1862) to major general (1864) to lieutenant general (1865). He was at many major Civil War battles—Seven Pines, Malvern Hills, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Petersburg—and he commanded one wing of General Robert E. Lee's army just prior to Appomattox.
A hero to Georgians at the age of just 33, Gordon returned to his home state and began to practice law once again. He vigorously opposed federal Reconstruction policies, but, when he ran for governorship as a Democrat in 1868, he was defeated by his Republican opponent. Unquestionably a symbol of the age of white supremacy to his Georgian constituents, Gordon was rumoured to be a Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan.
Gordon was elected to the U.S. Senate (1873–79). Though he was reelected, he resigned in 1880 to take an important position with a railroad company, thereby leading the shift of the New South to commercialism and industrialism. He returned to politics in 1886 for one term as governor and, at the conclusion of that term in 1890, was sent back to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1897.
When the United Confederate Veterans organization was formed in 1890, Gordon was made commander in chief, a position he occupied until his death. He published memoirs of his military exploits in Reminiscences of the Civil War (1903).
Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
Shop HISTORY
-
Civil War: Rebellion to Reconstruction DVD Set
Experience the turbulent events that ignited the bloodiest, most divisive war this country has known.
$111.99
-
The American Civil War DVD Set
Experience for yourself the historical and personal impact of the Civil War.
$99.95
-
Email Updates
Keep up with the latest History shows, online features, special offers and more.
Sign upClassroom Study Guides
-
Vietnam in HD Teacher's Guide (PDF)
Classroom companion for the new HISTORY series Vietnam in HD.
-
April 1865: The Month That Saved America (PDF)
Teacher's Guide to the program covering the last few weeks of the Civil War, from President Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration, to the surrender at Appomatox, the assassination of Lincoln, and the final laying down of arms by the Confederacy.
-
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: Antietam (PDF)
Teacher's Guide to the program dramatically exploring the events, meaning, and significance of the watershed battle at Antietam.
