James Hogun

James Hogun (died January 4, 1781) was an Irish-American military officer who was as one of five generals from North Carolina to serve with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

[4] Between August, 1775, and November, 1776, Hogun represented Halifax County in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congresses, and demonstrated an interest in military matters.

[5] While commanding his regiment, Hogun fought against the British Army in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and was present at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777–78.

[6] After his arrival, and throughout the late autumn and winter of 1778–79, Hogun's regiment served on a work detail tasked with building up the fortifications at West Point.

[6] His promotion came about in part as a result of what Thomas Burke, a delegate to the Continental Congress from North Carolina, and a fellow Irishman, termed the "distinguished intrepidity" Hogun had exhibited at Germantown.

Through the winter of 1779–80, Hogun led the brigade of about 700 men[10] from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was placed under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

"[13] The North Carolinians were immediately put to the task of defending the city, which was threatened with a siege by British General Henry Clinton in early March.

[12] Shortly after Hogun's arrival, many of North Carolina's militia present in the city began to return home because their enlistment terms ended on or about March 24.

[21] On May 8, Lincoln called another council of war with all his army's general and field officers and ships' captains to discuss terms of surrender that had been proposed by Clinton.

[27] Officers at Haddrel's Point were subjected to harsh treatment, barred from fishing to catch much-needed food, and threatened with deportation from South Carolina.

[28] Because of the conditions, many Continental soldiers agreed to join Loyalist regiments, but Hogun and other officers set up courts martial in the camps and attempted to maintain a dignified military structure.

[30] On March 14, 1786, the North Carolina legislature granted Hogun's son, Lemuel, a 12,000-acre (4,900 ha; 19 sq mi) tract near modern-day Nashville, Tennessee, in recognition of his father's service.

[31] The elder Hogun was one of twenty-two Patriot generals who perished during the American Revolutionary War, and one of twelve who died from disease or other non-combat causes.

[33] Hogun's personal papers appear to have been destroyed while in the possession of his descendants in Alabama during the American Civil War, leaving virtually no surviving correspondence that would shed further light on his life.

An excerpt from John Collet's 1770 map showing the Roanoke River running Northwest to Southeast, with Halifax depicted as a large settlement on the river at the center of the map.
A portion of John Collet's 1770 map of North Carolina depicting the environs of Halifax and the Roanoke River
A black and white depiction of the siege of Charleston from the British perspective
A black and white print of Alonzo Chappel 's Siege of Charleston , depicting the engagement from the British perspective. Hogun's position would have been on the left of the Patriot lines from this vantage point.
A copy of Henry Clinton's map from 1780 detailing the layout of British and Patriot forces in the siege of Charleston, showing Haddrel's Point, where Hogun died
A copy of General Henry Clinton's 1780 map of the siege of Charleston, showing the location of Haddrel's Point, where Hogun died, at far right.