Hodge was born in Fleming County,Kentucky,to William and Sarah (Baird) Hodge.[1] He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis,Maryland,and graduated as a midshipman,December 16,1845. Hodge was later promoted to acting lieutenant,but eventually resigned his commission January 28,1850. Hodge married Keturah Moss Tibbatts,daughter of ColonelJohn Wooleston Tibbatts. They had seven children:S. Catherine Taylor (c.1853-1886),Anna Taylor (1854–1923),Jane "Nan"/"Nannie" (1855–1856),Mary (1856–1869),William Baird (1857–1873),Georgena Baird (1859–1927),and John T. (1864–1934).
Hodge enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in 1861. Soon thereafter,he was chosen to represent Kentucky in the Provisional Confederate Congress from 1861 to 1862. When Hodge was not present in Richmond,Virginia,he was promoted to captain and assistant adjutant general in Breckinridge's First Kentucky Brigade. Hodge received a promotion to major May 6,1862,for gallantry at the Battle of Shiloh and served as a cavalry brigade commander under Joseph Wheeler and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Wheeler commended Hodge for his service during the Middle Tennessee Raid. Forrest,however,relieved Hodge of his command,charging him with incompetence and cowardice. Hodge was acquitted of the charges and later reinstated to field command. He was promoted to colonel May 6,1863,and briefly served as inspector-general at Cumberland Gap.
Hodge represented Kentucky in the House of Representatives of the First Confederate Congress from February 18,1862,to February 17,1864. After his term expired,he was promoted to colonel and inspector-general and assigned command of the District of Southwest Mississippi and East Louisiana,a post he held until the end of the war. Hodge was promoted acting brigadier general November 20,1863,but the promotion was rejected by the Confederate Senate. The promotion was resubmitted August 2,1864,and,again,went unconfirmed. Although he was paroled as a brigadier general and Warner lists him as a Confederate general,Eicher shows him as unconfirmed at that grade and does not list him as a general.
Later life
After the Civil War,Hodge returned to his law practice in Newport. He remained active in politics and served as an elector for the Greeley ticket in 1872. Hodge was elected to the Kentucky Senate and served 1873 to 1877. He also became an orange grower and spent the last years of his life in Florida.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Midshipman (USN)
