Known as “Old Reliable,” William Joseph Hardee was the first Confederate general sent at the outbreak of the Civil War to Arkansas, where he organized a number of regiments.
Hardee was already a well-known figure to officers in both armies because his manual on infantry tactics became required reading for a generation of officers during the Civil War. To quote Hardee’s biographer, Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., “It might be said that every officer of the war went into battle with a sword in one hand and a copy of Hardee’s manual in the other.”
William Hardee was born on Oct. 12, 1815, in Camden County, Ga. His father was a prominent citizen of Camden County, a state senator and slaveholder with a 1,300-acre plantation. Hardee was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy in 1834. He graduated in 1838, ranking 26th out of a graduating class of 45. After graduation, Hardee served in the Second Seminole War (1836–1843).
Prior to the Mexican War, Hardee, as part of Zachary Taylor’s “Army of Occupation,” was captured in a skirmish at the Carricitos ranch on April 25, 1846. Later released as part of a prisoner exchange, Hardee found that his command decisions at Carricitos came under question, and so he was determined to clear his tarnished reputation in combat. He was brevetted twice for gallantry during Winfield Scott’s campaign to capture Mexico City.
Hardee’s exploits gained the attention of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, who chose Hardee to write a new infantry tactics manual for the American army. Hardee’s “Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics” was completed in 1855 and became the standard textbook for Union and Confederate officers during the Civil War.
In 1856, Davis appointed Hardee commandant of cadets at the United States Military Academy. As commandant until 1860, Hardee earned a reputation as a firm disciplinarian. After Georgia seceded from the Union, Hardee resigned his commission and joined the Confederate army. He was appointed brigadier general on June…
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