Major General Henry Heth - American Civil War

Major General Henry Heth - American Civil War Henry Heth - Early Life Career: Born December 16, 1825 at Black Heath, VA, Henry Heth (pronounced heeth) was the son of John and Margaret Heth.   The grandson of a veteran of the American Revolution and son of a naval officer from the War of 1812, Heth attended private schools in Virginia before seeking a military career.   Appointed to the US Military Academy in 1843, his classmates included his boyhood friend Ambrose P. Hill as well as Romeyn Ayres, John Gibbon, and Ambrose Burnside.   Proving a poor student, he matched his cousins, George Pickett, 1846 performance by graduating last in his class.   Commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant, Heth received orders to join the 1st US Infantry which was engaged in the Mexican-American War.    Arriving south of the border later that year, Heth reached his unit after large-scale operations had concluded.   After participating in a number of skirmishes, he returned north the following year.   Assigned to the frontier, Heth moved through postings at  Fort Atkinson, Fort Kearny, and Fort Laramie.   Seeing action against the Native Americans, he earned a promotion to first lieutenant in June 1853.   Two years later, Heth was promoted to captain in the newly-formed 10th US Infantry.   That September, he earned recognition for leading a key flanking attack against the  Sioux during the Battle of Ash Hollow.   In 1858, Heth penned the US Armys first manual on marksmanship entitled  A System of Target Practice. Henry Heth - The Civil War Begins:      With the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter and beginning of the Civil War in April 1861, Virginia left the Union.   After the departure of his home state, Heth resigned his commission in the US Army and accepted a captains commission in the Virginia Provisional Army.   Quickly advanced to lieutenant colonel, he briefly served as General Robert E. Lees quartermaster general in Richmond.   A critical time for Heth, he became one of the few officers to earn Lees patronage and was the only one referred to by his first name.   Made colonel of the 45th Virginia Infantry later year, his regiment was assigned to western Virginia.   Operating in the Kanawha Valley, Heth and his men served under Brigadier General John B. Floyd.   Promoted to brigadier general on January 6, 1862, Heth led a small force entitled the Army of the New River that spring.   Engaging Union troops in May, he fought several defensive actions but was badly beaten on the 23rd when his command was routed near Lewisburg.   Despite this setback, Heths actions helped screen Major General Thomas Stonewall Jacksons campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.   Re-forming his forces, he continued to serve in the mountains until June when orders arrived for his command to join Major General Edmund Kirby Smith at Knoxville, TN.             Henry Heth - Kentucky Campaign: Arriving in Tennessee, Heths brigade began moving north in August as Smith marched to support General Braxton Braggs invasion of Kentucky.   Advancing into the eastern part of the state, Smith captured Richmond and Lexington before dispatching Heth with a division to menace Cincinnati.   The campaign ended when Bragg elected to withdraw south after the Battle of Perryville.   Rather than risk being isolated and defeated by Major General Don Carlos Buell, Smith joined with Bragg for the retreat back to Tennessee.   Remaining there through the fall, Heth assumed command of the Department of East Tennessee in January 1863.   The following month, after lobbying from Lee, he received an assignment to Jacksons corps in the Army of Northern Virginia.    Henry Heth - Chancellorsville Gettysburg: Taking command of a brigade in his old friend Hills Light Division, Heth first led his men in combat early that May at the Battle of Chancellorsville.   On May 2, after Hill fell wounded, Heth assumed leadership of the division and gave a credible performance though his assaults the next day were turned back.   Following Jacksons death on May 10, Lee moved to reorganize his army into three corps.   Giving Hill command of the newly-created Third Corps, he directed that Heth lead a division comprised of two brigades from the Light Division and two recently arrived from the Carolinas.   With this assignment came a promotion to major general on May 24.        Ã‚   Marching north in June as part of Lees invasion of Pennsylvania, Heths division was near Cashtown, PA on June 30.   Alerted to the presence of Union cavalry in Gettysburg by Brigadier General James Pettigrew, Hill ordered Heth to conduct a reconnaissance in force towards the town the following day.   Lee approved the action with the restriction that Heth was not to cause a major engagement until the entire army was concentrated at Cashtown.   Approaching the town on July 1, Heth quickly became engaged with Brigadier General John Bufords cavalry division and opened the Battle of Gettysburg.   Initially unable to dislodge, Buford, Heth committed more of his division to the fight. The scale of the battle grew as Major General John Reynolds Union I Corps arrived on the field.   As the day progressed, additional forces arrived spreading the fighting west and north of the town.   Taking heavy losses through the day, Heths division finally succeeded in pushing Union troops back to Seminary Ridge.   With support from Major General W. Dorsey Pender, a final push saw this position captured as well.   During the course of the fighting that afternoon, Heth fell wounded when a bullet struck him in the head.   Saved by a thick new hat that had been stuffed with paper to improve the fit, he was unconscious for the better part of a day and played no further role in the battle. Henry Heth - Overland Campaign: Resuming command on July 7, Heth directed the fighting at Falling Waters as the Army of Northern Virginia retreated south.   That fall, the division again took heavy losses when it attacked without proper scouting at the Battle of Bristoe Station.   After taking part in the Mine Run Campaign, Heths men went into winter quarters.   In May 1864, Lee moved to block Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign.   Engaging the Major General Winfield S. Hancocks Union II Corps at the Battle of the Wilderness, Heth and his division fought hard until relieved by Lieutenant General James Longstreets approaching corps.   Returning to action on May 10 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Heth attacked and drove back a division led by Brigadier General Francis Barlow. After seeing further action at North Anna in late May, Heth anchored the Confederate left during the victory at Cold Harbor.   Having been checked, Grant elected to move south, cross the James River, and march against Petersburg.   Reaching that city, Heth and the rest of Lees army blocked the Union advance.   As a Grant commenced the siege of Petersburg, Heths division took part in many of the actions in the area.   Frequently occupying the extreme right of the Confederate line, he mounted unsuccessful attacks against his classmate Romeyn Ayres division at Globe Tavern in late August.   This was followed assaults at the Second Battle of Reams Station a few days later. Henry Heth - Final Actions: On October 27-28, Heth, leading Third Corps due to Hill being ill, succeeded in blocking Hancocks men at the Battle of Boydton Plank Road.   Remaining in the siege lines through the winter, his division came under assault on April 2, 1865.   Mounting a general attack against Petersburg, Grant succeeded in breaking through and forced Lee to abandon the city.   Retreating toward Sutherlands Station, the remnants of Heths division were defeated there by Major General Nelson A. Miles later in the day.   Though Lee desired to have him lead Third Corps after Hills death on April 2, Heth remained separated from the bulk of the command during the early parts of the Appomattox Campaign. Withdrawing west, Heth was with Lee and the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia when it surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9.   In the years after the war, Heth worked in mining and later in the insurance industry.   Additionally, he served as a surveyor in the Office of Indian Affairs as well as assisted in the compilation of the US War Departments  Official Records of the War of the Rebellion.   Plagued by kidney disease in his later years, Heth died at Washington, DC on September 27, 1899.   His remains were returned to Virginia and interred in Richmonds Hollywood Cemetery.      Ã‚      Selected Sources Gettysburg Generals: Henry HethCivil War Trust: Henry Heth Civil War: Henry Heth