Wacky Whiskers Wednesday: Major Fox
It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: Wacky Whiskers Wednesday! This whiskered warrior is Brevet Major General Edward Hatch. He was not only a "major" fox, but also had an impressive military career, enlisting at the beginning of the Civil War as a private, having never served before, and rising through the ranks.
Illinois Representative Robert R. Hitt wrote to Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln (our boy's eldest son), recommending his commission to Brigadier General. He wrote on behalf of his many constituents that served under Hatch during the war:
"I know from their oft expressed admiration for their old commander, how valuable were his services, how distinguished his courage, how efficient he was in the daily work of an officer, as he was fortunate in being able, on several critical occasions to render conspicuous services to his country, especially at Colliersville and Moscow (at which last place he fell, shot through the right lung) and at Franklin and Nashville. It would be hard to find, among all the gallant and able men now in the service, and eligible to this position, one upon whom the mantle Genl McKenzie would more worthily fall; for his fitness and for his services."