Alexander Hunter (novelist) explained

Alexander Hunter
Birth Date:1843
Death Date:June 30, 1914
Resting Place:Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Notable Works:Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, The Women of the Debatable Land

Alexander Hunter (1843- June 30, 1914) was an American soldier for the Confederate States Army, civil servant, and novelist who authored Johnny Reb and Billy Yank[1] and The Women of the Debatable Land.[2]

Early life

Hunter was born in 1843 and was a member of the Hunter family.[3] He was the son of Bushrod Hunter and Mary Frances Blow.[4]

He lived during his youth at the Abingdon plantation in present-day Arlington County, Virginia and studied at private schools until the start of the American Civil War in 1861.[5]

Civil War

Hunter became a private in the Confederate Army where he served in Company A of the 17th Virginia Infantry for the first two years of the war.[6] [7] Hunter was captured in 1862 but was exchanged in time to fight at Antietam.[8] [9] He was paroled soon after being captured again on September 17, 1862 at Antietam and went on to participate in the Battle of Chancellorsville.[10]

Following Chancellorsville, Hunter joined Company H in the 4th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, also known as the "Black Horse Troop", on the recommendation of General Robert E. Lee.[3] Captured once more, he attempted escape twice and finally returned to his regiment to serve until the Confederate surrender.[11] Wounded twice during the war, Hunter was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson on September 4, 1865.[12]

Later life

Following the end of the Civil War, Hunter found that Abingdon plantation, which he had inherited, had been confiscated by the United States Tax Commissioners in 1864. He won his lands back after the (Bennett v. Hunter, 76 U.S. 326) case was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on March 21, 1870.[13]

Hunter was employed for 40 years as a clerk in the United States General Land Office.[3] [12] [14] In 1877-1879, he served as a Delegate in the Virginia General Assembly and as County Clerk of Alexandria.[3] [12] [15]

In 1881, Hunter advertised Abingdon for sale.[16] During the same year, he sold his remaining Abingdon property at auction to the Alfred Richards Brick Company.[12] The property at Abingdon that Hunter once owned is now within Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Crystal City and the Aurora Hills section of the Aurora Highlands neighborhood.[3] [17]

Hunter was married to Alice A. Swain by George Armstrong on June 22, 1882.[18] Alice Swain was a student of music at the Philadelphia Academy. Hunter sued for divorce on December 10, 1894 after Swain purportedly deserted him in September 6, 1892.[19] [20] He married Filah Saunders[21] after the death of his first wife in 1898.[12]

Hunter authored the story Confederate prisoners in Boston, which was published in 1900. He subsequently wrote a seven hundred page memoir Johnny Reb and Billy Yank.[22] It was published in 1905 by Neale Publishing Co.[23] His final book, The Women of the Debatable Land, was published in 1912.[2]

Death and interment

Hunter died of Tuberculosis on June 30, 1914.[24] In July 1914, he was buried in the Confederate section of Arlington National Cemetery. His gravesite is at Section 16, grave A, in Jackson Circle, within a few miles of his antebellum home at Abingdon.[11] [12] [16] The National Museum of American History holds within its collections the shell jacket that he wore throughout most of the Civil War.[25]

Bibliography

Bibliography from Open Library and other sources found below.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hunter, Alexander. Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. New York and Washington, D.C.. The Neale Publishing Company. 1905. 1568520808. 2234699. 05004283. 2011-06-27. Internet Archive.
  2. Book: Hunter, Alexander. The women of the debatable land. 1912. Washington, D.C.. Cobden Publishing Company. HathiTrust Digital Library. March 29, 2021. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329224252/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft83j3vk8d&view=1up&seq=11. live.
  3. Abbott. Dorothea E.. The Hunter Family and its Connection with Arlington County. The Arlington Historical Magazine. October 1982. 44–45. The Arlington Historical Society, Inc.. Arlington, Virginia. 7. 2. March 29, 2021. November 6, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201106195332/http://arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/1982-7-Hunter.pdf. live.
  4. Web site: Collection: Johnny Reb and Billy Yank: Manuscript Special Collections & Archives. 2021-03-26. archives.lib.ua.edu. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329224236/https://archives.lib.ua.edu/repositories/3/resources/4179. live.
  5. Book: Confederate Veteran Magazine Vol. XXII. Cunningham. 1914. 468. Internet Archive.
  6. Book: Confederate Veteran Magazine Vol. XIII. Cunningham. 1905. 259. Internet Archive.
  7. Web site: 17th Infantry Regiment. 2021-03-24. www.ranger95.com.
  8. Web site: Antietam: Pvt Alexander Hunter. 2021-03-23. antietam.aotw.org. October 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022071125/http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=12683. live.
  9. Web site: "Battle of Antietam" by Alexander Hunter (1903) – Encyclopedia Virginia. 2021-03-23. en-US. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329224224/https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/battle-of-antietam-by-alexander-hunter-1903/. live.
  10. Web site: Collection: Johnny Reb and Billy Yank: Manuscript Special Collections & Archives. 2021-03-24. archives.lib.ua.edu. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329224302/https://archives.lib.ua.edu/repositories/3/resources/4179. live.
  11. (1) Web site: Roster of Company A personnel - Alexandria Riflemen. 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment: Company H: The Old Dominion Rifles. 2021-03-26. stevegibson0.tripod.com. August 25, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040825014345/http://stevegibson0.tripod.com/co_a.htm#H. live.
    (2) Book: Wallace, Lee A.. 17th Virginia Infantry. 120. 1990. 1561900036. 643986184. 91230400. Lynchburg, Virginia. H.E. Howard. March 29, 2021. Google Books.
  12. Dodge. George. The Abingdon of Alexander Hunter, Et Al... The Arlington Historical Magazine. October 1999. 11. The Arlington Historical Society, Inc.. Arlington, Virginia. W. Karl VanNewkirk. 3. 47–51. Docplayer. March 26, 2021. October 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022164116/https://docplayer.net/183376403-6-arlington-h-istorical-m-agazine.html. live.
  13. Web site: Bennett v. Hunter, 76 U.S. 326 (1869). 2021-03-29. Justia Law. en. March 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210314175404/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/76/326/. live.
  14. Book: Culbertson, Sidney Methiot . The Hunter Family of Virginia and Connections: Embracing Portions of Families of Alexander, Pearson, Chapman, Travers, Tyler, West, Grey, Smith, and Safford of Virginia. Denver, Colorado . 1934. 203. 9780608320328 . 246177904. March 29, 2021. Google Books. Cited in Web site: Blow . John M. . Re. Alexander Hunter, Abingdon Plantation, VA . GenForum . Ancestry.com . 2011-07-07 . March 19, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120319181641/http://genforum.genealogy.com/hunter/messages/5085.html . live .
  15. Web site: June 12, 2020. Clark. Charlie. Our Man in Arlington. March 29, 2021. Falls Church News-Press Online. en-US. February 20, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210220122137/https://fcnp.com/2020/06/12/our-man-in-arlington-380/. live.
  16. Web site: Kevin W., Stafford, Virginia. "The Hunter Family: Abingdon Plantation" marker. HMdb: The Historical Marker Database. March 29, 2021. October 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201018221437/https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8379. live.
  17. Web site: Aurora Highlands NC Plan Update. 2008. Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development. Arlington County, Virginia. 2015-11-15. September 23, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060432/http://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2014/02/NC_AuroraHighlands_Plan.pdf. live. .
  18. News: June 29, 1882 . Hunter-Swain Marriage . 3 . The Bucks County Gazette . Bristol, Pennsylvania . September 7, 2022.
  19. News: December 11, 1894 . Hunter-Swain Desertion . 2 . The Washington Times . September 7, 2022.
  20. News: December 11, 1894 . Alleged Desertion . 12 . Evening Star . Washington, District of Columbia . September 7, 2022.
  21. Web site: Alexander Hunter, Confederate States of America Army. 2021-03-26. www.arlingtoncemetery.net. January 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128135156/http://arlingtoncemetery.net/alexander-hunter.htm. live.
  22. News: May 27, 1905 . A Confederate Private's Account of the War . 9 . Detroit Free Press . September 7, 2022.
  23. Book: The Publishers Weekly . R.R. Bowker Company . 1905 . 68 . United States of America . English.
  24. News: July 2, 1914 . MAJ. ALEXANDER HUNTER HEEDS CALL OF DEATH . 22 . Evening Star . Washington, District of Columbia . September 7, 2022.
  25. Web site: Confederate shell jacket worn by Alex Hunter. 2021-03-23. Washington, D.C.. National Museum of American History: Behring Center. en. February 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222305/https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_446356. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alexander Hunter (novelist)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.