Hooker, Joseph
- Albert Castel
Extract
Hooker, Joseph (13 November 1814–31 October 1879), soldier, was born in Hadley, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph Hooker, a businessman, and Mary Seymour. He received his basic education at Hopkins Academy in Hadley and in 1833 was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated four years later. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the artillery, during the next nine years he served in Florida, at various posts in the Northeast, and as adjutant at West Point, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. During the Mexican War (1846–1848) he performed so superbly both as a staff and combat officer that he received three brevet promotions, the final one to lieutenant colonel. No other northern commander of the coming Civil War emerged from the Mexican conflict with a better record or higher reputation than Hooker....
