During the formation of the Republican Party at the Bloomington Convention, Hatch was named their nominee for Illinois Secretary of State due to his abolitionist views.

Hatch was re-elected as Secretary of State later that year and served his second term under Richard Yates Sr.

This term coincided with the American Civil War, and Hatch oversaw the raising of troops.

[1] It was on the recommendation of Hatch and Judge Jesse K. DuBois that Yates appointed Ulysses S. Grant – then an unknown colonel – to head one of the Illinois regiments.

[2] Hatch also visited soldiers in the field, mostly traveling with President Abraham Lincoln to inspect the Army of the Potomac.

[3][4] He also used his influence to protect the career of his younger brother, quartermaster Lt. Col. Reuben Hatch [died 1871], who was involved in the death of 1700 union prisoners on the Sultana.