Hylan B. Lyon
| Hylan B. Lyon | |
|---|---|
Hylan B. Lyon
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| Born |
February 22, 1836 Eddyville, Kentucky |
| Died | April 25, 1907 (aged 71) |
Hylan Benton Lyon (February 22, 1836 – April 25, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Army until the start of the American Civil War, when he resigned rather than fight against the South. As a Confederate brigadier general, he led a daring cavalry raid into Kentucky in December 1864, in which his troops burned seven county courthouses which were being used as barracks by the Union Army.
Lyon was born in what is now Lyon County, Kentucky, to a wealthy plantation family. He was a grandson of Congressman Matthew Lyon. Both of his parents died when was very young, and he inherited the estate. Lyon's guardian secured a good education for him, and he attended the Masonic University of Kentucky and Cumberland College. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at the age of sixteen, graduating in 1856 as placing nineteenth in a class of forty-eight. He was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery Regiment and was assigned to duty at Fort Myers during the Third Seminole War.
After hostilities with the Seminoles waned, Lyon was promoted to the permanent rank of second lieutenant in 3rd Artillery and sent to Fort Yuma in California. The following year, he was ordered to the Washington Territory, where he took part in two battles with local Indians. Assigned to Fort Vancouver, he secured a leave of absence and returned home to Kentucky.
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