Where Hill Fell
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 37° 11.346 W 077° 28.598
18S E 280167 N 4118723
A fiery division commander, General Ambrose Powell Hill proved less successful in command of a corps, partly because of chronic health problems he suffered later in the war. He is remembered as an uneven commander who often wore a red shirt into battle. Hill rose from his sickbed on April 2, 1865 to command his troops near Petersburg and was shot dead. This marker was placed in 1929.
Waymark Code: WMKEA
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2006
Views: 21
The marker reads:
WHERE HILL FELLIN THE FIELD A SHORT DISTANCE
NORTH OF THIS ROAD, THE CONFED-
ERATE GENERAL A.P. HILL WAS
KILLED, APRIL 2, 1865. HILL, NOT
KNOWING THAT LEE'S LINES HAD
BEEN BROKEN, RODE INTO A PARTY
OF UNION SOLDIERS ADVANCING
ON PETERSBURG.
A West Pointer (Class of 1847) and veteran of the artillery Hill resigned his lieutenant’s commission in the United States Army in March of 1861 and threw in his lot with the Confederacy. He saw service at Yorktown and Williamsburg before being given command of a division. He directed the fighting at Hanover Court House and distinguished himself during the Seven Days battles. He developed a reputation as a hard-hitting, fiercely aggressive division commander, and usually wore a red shirt in battle.
Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Hill relinquished command temporarily due to illness and missed Spotsylvania. He rejoined the army in time for North Anna and Cold Harbor. He was ill again during the siege of Petersburg during the winter of 1864-65, but his aggressive activity on the right of the Rebel entrenchments prevented the far more numerous Union army from cutting the rail lines into the city.
He was shot and killed on April 2, 1865, having risen from his sickbed to try to rally his collapsing line. Lee said, “He is at rest… and we who are left are the ones to suffer”.