Caleb Huse

Caleb Huse
Caleb Huse Photo from The Supplies for the Confederate Army Published 1904
Born	February 11, 1831 (1831-02-11) Newburyport, Massachusetts
Died	March 12, 1905 (1905-03-13) (aged 73) Highland Falls, New York
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Years of service	1851–61 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank	First Lieutenant (USA) Major (CSA) Colonel (Alabama State Militia)
Relations	Harry M. P. Huse (son)

Caleb Huse (February 11, 1831 – March 12, 1905) was a major in the Confederate States Army, acting primarily as an arms procurement agent and purchasing specialist during the American Civil War. He is most well known for his successful acquisition of weapons contracts with various European nations including the United Kingdom, Austria, and to a lesser extent, France, Prussia, and Bohemia. A majority of the weapons imported to the Confederacy from foreign powers during the war were negotiated for and purchased by Huse.

Huse was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Though a Northerner by birth, he was personally commissioned by Jefferson Davis to serve the Confederacy upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1861.

Huse enrolled at the United States Military Academy at the age of 16 and graduated seventh in his class in 1851. Thereafter he spent many years as an instructor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology at West Point.

At this time, Huse was then actively serving as a First Lieutenant of Artillery for the U.S. Army; and, as such, was on the rolls of the garrison of Fort Sumter. This same fort would later be fired upon by the Confederacy in the first military engagement of the Civil War.

In September 1860 while on extended leave of absence from the U.S. Army, Huse was selected by the University of Alabama to oversee the adoption of the military system of West Point into their own curriculum. Huse accepted the offer and remained at the university until the outbreak of war, officially resigning his commission from the U.S. Army in February 1861, just months prior to the attack on Fort Sumter. Thereafter he continued his position as Superintendent, Professor of Chemistry, and Commandant of Cadets, which he had begun the previous year while he was still on leave.

Huse's appointment as Commandant caused some consternation for many of the students at the University, not only due to his strict disciplinary techniques (for which he had been hired), but also because of his origins in Massachusetts and the general Southern sentiments of the time. Despite this, Huse was able to convince the Alabama Legislature to provide funding for the university's military program, saving it from certain termination due to lack of money.