Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill
NOTE: This event has been canceled. See below.
Descendants of Confederate veterans will take time out Saturday to pay homage to one of the region’s most famous Confederate leaders, Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill. At his grave site in Davidson College cemetery off North Main Street, they’ll hold a ceremony and dedication to mark the anniversary of his death.
Who was D.H. Hill?
Saturday’s event is organized by Sons of Confederate Veterans Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill Confederate Camp No. 2106 of Mooresville. Spokesman Mike Brewer said about 20 to 30 people are expected to gather at the cemetery around 1 p.m.. “It’ll be a quiet little ceremony,” he told DavidsonNews.net, with a musket salute.
Other eventsAlso this weekend in and around Davidson: Friday – The college symphony and jazz orchestra host a “Jam Thingy” outdoor concert on campus at 5 p.m., and Davidosn men’s soccer game plays Carolina at 7. Saturday – The college’s Cats on Main shop holds a grand opening all day; Davidson Farmers Market holds its weekly sales 8-12, and The Children’s Schoolhouse annual carnival runs 10-3 on the Green. Sunday there’s a classical Indian music concert at the college, and Rusty Knox and Friends close the 2009 Concerts on the Green Series. Details in our Weekend Calendar, in The Guide |
Born July 12, 1821, Lt. Gen. Hill died on Sept. 24, 1889, in Charlotte.
D.H. Hill was famous not only as a military leader, but also taught at Davidson College, from 1853 to 1859. Hill was famous for his enforcement of discipline. His inaugural address on that topic is on the college website (PDF).
According to a biography provided by Davidson College archivist and local historian Jan Blodgett, he married Isabella Morrison, one of the daughters of Davidson College’s first president Robert Hall Morrison, in 1852.
Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson married another Morrison daughter, making them brothers-in-law, Ms. Blodgett says.
Lt. Gen. Hill left Davidson to form a military academy in Charlotte, served in the army, edited a magazine called “Land We Love” and later was president of Arkansas Industrial College – now the University of Arkansas. He also went on to be president of Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College in Milledgeville, 1886 to 1889.
He also served on the Davidson College Board of Trustees from 1859-1875.
Born July 12, 1821, Lt. Gen. Hill died on Sept. 24, 1889, in Charlotte.
WANT TO GO?
SATURDAY, SEPT. 26, 1 p.m., Davidson College cemetery, North Main Street – Sons of Confederate Veterans Lt. General D.H. Hill Confederate Camp No. 2106 of Mooresville holds a ceremony and dedication. Hill was a Confederate General and Davidson College professor, who died on Sept. 25, 1889. (More about the general on the website of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.)
Update: D.H. Hill ceremony canceled
A Saturday ceremony marking the death of Lt. General D.H. Hill has been canceled.
The Mooresville-based D.H. Hill Camp of Sons of the Confederacy had scheduled the event, with a musket salute, at the Davidson College cemetery off North Main Street.
Campus Police Chief Fountain Walker said the group approached Davidson town officials for permission, but those officials didn’t realize the cemetery was college property.
State law bars weapons from the campus, Chief Walker said. And the group did not have the necessary backing of a a campus group or organization, he said.
