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Alexander Hays

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Alexander Hays Famous memorial Veteran

Birth
Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death
5 May 1864 (aged 44)
Wilderness Corner, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, USA
Burial
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA GPS-Latitude: 40.4738551, Longitude: -79.9538733
Plot
Section 8, Lot 149
Memorial ID
View Source
Civil War Union Brigadier General.

A West Point Class of 1844 graduate and veteran of the Mexican War, he began his Civil War service as Colonel and commander of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Severely wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas, during his recovery time, he was promoted to Brigadier General, United States Volunteers on September 29, 1862.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, as commander of the 3rd Division of the II Corps, he was stationed on Cemetery Ridge and repulsed the attacks of July 2 and Pickett's Charge on July 3. After the fighting ended, he rode up and down the lines with fists full of battle flags captured that day from the Confederates.

On the morning of May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near the intersection of Brock Road and Orange Plank Road, he was killed by a Confederate bullet. He was posthumously brevetted Major General, United States Volunteers. Today, a statue of General Hays stands on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg and a monument marks the spot where he was killed in the Wilderness.
Civil War Union Brigadier General.

A West Point Class of 1844 graduate and veteran of the Mexican War, he began his Civil War service as Colonel and commander of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Severely wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas, during his recovery time, he was promoted to Brigadier General, United States Volunteers on September 29, 1862.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, as commander of the 3rd Division of the II Corps, he was stationed on Cemetery Ridge and repulsed the attacks of July 2 and Pickett's Charge on July 3. After the fighting ended, he rode up and down the lines with fists full of battle flags captured that day from the Confederates.

On the morning of May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near the intersection of Brock Road and Orange Plank Road, he was killed by a Confederate bullet. He was posthumously brevetted Major General, United States Volunteers. Today, a statue of General Hays stands on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg and a monument marks the spot where he was killed in the Wilderness.

Bio by: EFB III



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Added: Oct 13, 2001
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5842225/alexander-hays: accessed ), memorial page for Alexander Hays (8 Jul 1819–5 May 1864), Find a Grave Memorial ID 5842225, citing Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.