General John Hood

General Hood Arguably one of the best and toughest brigade and division commanders in the American Confederate Army, He had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness, and by the age of 33 was promoted to full general making him the youngest soldier on either side of the war to be given command of an army.  Always leading from the front he was wounded numerous times.  Lost his left arm and his right leg but continued commanding.

After the Lincoln War, Hood moved to Louisiana and became a cotton broker and worked as president of the Life Association of America, an insurance business. In 1868, he married New Orleans native Anna Marie Hennen, with whom he had 11 children over 10 years, including three pairs of twins. He also served the community in numerous philanthropic endeavors, assisting in fund-raising for orphans, widows, and wounded soldiers.

During the winter of 1878–79 he was  killed during a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans.   The epidemic also killed Hood’s bride, and his eldest daughter Lydia. His other ten children were left orphaned and destitute. The Texas Brigade Association provided support for the children of their beloved commander for more than 20 years and all ten children were eventually adopted by seven different families in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, and New York.

He is appropriately memorialized by Hood County in Texas and the U.S. Army installation, Fort Hood in central Texas.