Harrison Carroll Hobart

Harrison Carroll Hobart (January 31, 1815 – January 26, 1902) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as the 2nd speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and served in the 1st Wisconsin Legislature as a member of the Wisconsin Senate. He was the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin in 1859 and 1865, and was one of the founders of Chilton, Wisconsin.

He served as a Union Army officer throughout the American Civil War; he commanded the 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and its brigade through numerous engagements in the western theater of the war, and was granted an honorary brevet to the rank of brigadier general.

Early life Harrison Carroll Hobart was born on January 31, 1815, in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. He was raised on his father's farm and received little formal education in his youth. At age 16, he moved to New Hampshire, and worked as an apprentice for three years in the print shop of John Randall Reding. He earned enough to obtain additional schooling at Concord Literary Institute and New Hampton Academy.

He entered Dartmouth College in 1838 and graduated in 1842, supporting himself through college by teaching at the Rochester Academy. While attending Dartmouth, he became one of the founders of the Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity along with two of his closest companions, Judge Stephen Gordon Nash, and John Dudley Philbrick, all Class of 1842. Hobart was motivated by a spirit of resistance to class oligarchy and social privilege, thus imbuing this spirit into the new organization. After leaving Dartmouth, he studied law in Boston in the office of Robert Rantoul, Jr., and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1845.

Louisiana Campaign His volunteers were organized into Company K of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment at Camp Utley in Racine. The regiment mustered into service on July 2, 1861, and traveled to garrison in Maryland. They were attached to the Army of the Gulf and sent to Louisiana to attempt to regain control over the Mississippi River system. Hobart and the 4th Infantry participated in the successful capture of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Tennessee In 1862, Hobart left the 4th Infantry to accept promotion to Lieutenant Colonel with the newly organized 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The regiment left Wisconsin in September 1862, but Hobart would not rendezvous with them until a month later due to travel time from Louisiana. Before Hobart's arrival, the 21st had marched to join the Army of Ohio, which had been carrying out a defense against the Confederate Heartland Offensive in Kentucky. At the Battle of Perryville, the regiment took significant casualties, and their commander, Colonel Benjamin Sweet, was wounded.

Hobart met the 21st at Lebanon, Kentucky, shortly after Perryville. The 21st was now organized under Major General William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland, engaged in a counter-offensive against Confederate forces in Tennessee. With Colonel Sweet incapacitated, Hobart took command of the regiment and lead them at the battles of Stones River and Hoover's Gap. Roughly half the men made it back to Union lines, including Hobart.

Georgia Campaign Hobart rejoined the 21st Regiment in April 1864 at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, where they had been stationed since the retreat from Chickamauga. The regiment marched from Lookout Mountain on May 2 to join the Atlanta campaign, attached to General William Tecumseh Sherman's army. At the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, the 21st joined in the flanking maneuver that forced the Confederates to abandon their position and fall back toward Resaca. At the Battle of Resaca, the 21st was again engaged in heavy fighting, as their brigade was ordered to assault the enemy fortifications. A few days later, at the Battle of Dallas, the regiment held a defensive position under heavy fire for six days. They received the compliments of their brigade commander, General William Carlin, for their fortitude and gallantry.

The 21st, with its brigade, pursued retreating Confederate forces, engaging them in skirmishes near Big Shanty. They drove a North Carolina regiment from their position, taking captives, and moved into position before Kennesaw Mountain. The regiment received severe bombardment during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, but held their ground until Sherman's flanking maneuver forced the enemy to abandon their position. After Kennesaw, Lt. Col. Hobart was assigned to command three regiments of the first Brigade, and Major Michael H. Fitch was assigned to replace him as commander of the 21st Regiment.

After the Battle of Jonesborough, Hobart and the 21st camped at Atlanta in September 1864. The 21st was reinforced by incorporating the remaining forces of the 1st and 10th Wisconsin Regiments. At this time, Lt. Colonel Hobart was also promoted to Colonel and placed in command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XIV Corps.

Hobart and his brigade remained in Raleigh until the announcement of the end of the war. Hobart was discharged on June 16, 1865. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is buried in Forest Home Cemetery.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1848)

U.S. House of Representatives (1850)

U.S. House of Representatives (1856)

Wisconsin Governor (1859)

Wisconsin Governor (1865)