Military Monday: Elijah Hillhouse, Two Wars, Two Different Outcomes

Elijah Hillhouse grave marker
photo c2006 Gordon Jones, posted on findagrave.com

Elijah Hillhouse, my husband's Second GreatGrandfather,  was the grandson of Capt. John Hillhouse, the Revolutionary War soldier.  Like his grandfather, Elijah Hillhouse was also a soldier.

His first military service was during the  Mexican War (1846-1847), serving as a private in Company K, 1st Georgia Infantry, also known as the "Canton Volunteers".(1)  According to The Cherokee County Advance, the volunteers left Cherokee County, Georgia, on 6 Jun 1846 and returned on 10 Jun 1847.  This company was one of the first groups organized in response to a letter sent to the states by the United States War Secretary William Marcy.(2)  Following his tour in the Mexican War, Elijah returned to Cherokee County, Georgia, where he farmed and was elected to serve a number of terms as the Cherokee County Tax Receiver. 

Soon after the start of the Civil War,  Elijah and his brother Samuel Wilson Hillhouse, Jr joined Company D of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry, known as the McAfee and Donaldson Guards, when the company formed 3 Sept 1861(3).  Elijah was seriously wounded during the Battle of Seven Pines on 31 May 1862.  He was taken to a military hospital in Richmond, Virginia where he later died on 8 Jun 1862.(4)  Elijah was one of almost 11,000 casualties of the battle.(5)  When he died, Elijah left behind his wife Nancy, two sons, and other relatives still fighting in the war.  Today Elijah is buried in the historic Hollywood Cemetery of Richmond, VA in Soldiers Section L, Lot 173.(6)

In 1927 Elijah Hillhouse was honored for his military service by the Atlanta Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  The Chapter awarded a Cross of Honor in his memory; the award was received by a grandson C W Hillhouse.(7)

(1) "Mexican Soldiers Officers and Privates of the Canton Volunteers,: The Cherokee Advance, 11 Feb 1887, transcribed by Teresa Burks; http://www.rockbarn.org/genDoc01.php.
(2) Kurtz, Wilbur G., "The First Regiment of Georgia Volunteers in the Mexican War" ; Georgia Historical Quarterly, vol. XXVII, Dec 1943;  http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mex-war/Georgia-Mexican-War.pdf.
(3) Henderson, Lillian. Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, vol. 3. accessed through www.hathitrust.org.
(4) Hillhouse, Billy.  Hillhouse Kinship, http://www.cinetropic.com/hillhouse/kinship/, c2010; 
(5) "May 31, 1861: Yankees and Rebels clash at Battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks); http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of- seven-pines-fair-oaks-virginia.
(6) "Genealogy" Hollywood Cemetery ; http://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/index.html.
(7) Buzzett, Isabell Smith, "Crosses of Honor Awarded by Atlanta Chapter No. 18 United Daughters of the Confederacy From 1900 to 1935";  //www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txvhdudc/southerncrossatlantachapter.html.