Robert H. Hatton
| Robert H. Hatton | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th district |
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In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Ready |
| Succeeded by | William B. Campbell (1866) |
| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from Wilson County | |
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In office October 1, 1855 – October 5, 1857 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Hopkins Hatton November 2, 1826 Steubenville, Ohio |
| Died | May 31, 1862 (aged 35) Henrico County, Virginia |
| Political party |
Opposition Whig |
| Alma mater | Cumberland University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States
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| Service/branch | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1862 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General (not confirmed) |
| Battles/wars | |
Robert Hopkins Hatton (November 2, 1826 – May 31, 1862) was a lawyer, politician, United States Congressman, and Confederate General during the American Civil War.
Hatton was born in Steubenville, Ohio, but, early in his life, his family moved to Tennessee. He graduated from Cumberland University, then studied law there at Cumberland School of Law and established a successful practice in Lebanon, Tennessee, after passing the bar exam in 1850. He joined the Whig Party and was elected to the State Legislature in 1855. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1857. He was elected to the Thirty-sixth Congress in 1858 as an Opposition party candidate (the Whig party had collapsed), where he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy.
Hatton believed that the Union should be preserved and initially opposed secession. However, after President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to suppress unlawful combinations that were preventing the laws of the United States from being executed, Hatton reversed his position and formed a Confederate military unit, the Lebanon Blues, which became a part of the 7th Tennessee. Hatton was soon elected as colonel of the regiment, which was sent to western Virginia in July 1861.
In 1862, Hatton and his men were ordered to the Richmond area to stop Federal Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's drive on the Confederate capital. During the resulting Peninsula Campaign, Hatton served with distinction, and on May 23, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general of the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, Army of Northern Virginia; this appointment was not confirmed by the Confederate Congress. Just eight days later, he was shot in the head and killed while leading his Tennessee Brigade at the Battle of Fair Oaks.
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