Ethan A. Hitchcock

Ethan Allen Hitchcock (May 18, 1798 – August 5, 1870) was a career United States Army officer and author who had War Department assignments in Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War, in which he served as a major general. Early life Hitchcock was born in Vergennes, Vermont. His father was Samuel Hitchcock (1755-1813), a lawyer who served as United States District Judge for Vermont, and his mother was Lucy Caroline Allen (1768-1842), the daughter of American Revolutionary War hero General Ethan Allen; although no likeness from the life of the revolutionary is extant, Lucy said that he strongly resembled Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Hitchcock's siblings included Henry Hitchcock, a Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, who was married to the sister-in-law of Secretary of War John Bell. Henry's son Ethan Hitchcock served as United States Secretary of the Interior under William McKinley. Another of Henry's sons, Henry Hitchcock, was a prominent attorney in St. Louis. Ethan A. Hitchcock graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1817 (17th out of 19) and was commissioned a third lieutenant of Field Artillery. Career He was promoted to captain in 1824. From 1829 to 1833, he served as commandant of cadets at West Point and was promoted to major in 1838. By 1842, he achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, in command of Fort Stansbury.