3rd Lt. Henry H. "Harry" Hatcher, Co. A,
b. 1841, son of Gurley R. and Mary Hatcher of Hatcher's Mill, Middleburg
m. ??
d. April 23, 1895
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"the bravest of the brave."--Col. Mosby, describing Harry Hatcher
Harry Hatcher was a member of Captain Turner Ashby's Mountain Rangers prior. The week after the attack on Ft. Sumter, they were reorganized as Company A, of the first Virginia Cavalry and Hatcher enlisted in this company at Harpers Ferry on April 19. His brother Daniel also joined this company and eventually was promoted to Captain in the 7th Va.
By November, he had been promoted to 4th Sergeant. He possibly saved Gen. Ashby's life in April of 1862, killing a Federal cavalryman who was riding up behind the General.
He was wounded in May of that year at Buckton Station and promoted in August to Sergeant Major. He reenlisted on March 12, 1863 at New Market.
While on leave with his family or assigned to Northern Virginia with the 7th Virginia, he rode several raids with Mosby. The first recorded incident of his fighting under Mosby was the April 1, 1863 fight at Miskell's Farm near Dranesville. In this engagement, he gave Mosby his horse and was cited fro bravery by Mosby in his reprot to General Stuart.
At some time prior to the March 9 Fairfax Raid, his younger brother Richard Wellington "Welt" Hatcher joined Mosby's command.
After the death of his hero and mentor, General Turner Ashby, Harry Hatcher apparently found service in the 7th Virginia Cavalry a lot less exciting. He longed to join Mosby and eventually took matters into his own hands. He appears on the the 7th Virginia muster rolls for December 1863 - March 1864 as AWOL, having joined up with Mosby instead without benefit of a formal transfer. In March 1864, he managed to be formally transferred to the 43rd Battalion, perhaps through Mosby's intercession. Upon his formal transfer on March 28, he was appointed 3rd Lt. of Company A.
Following his transfer, he participated in most of the major engagements of the 43rd, including the famous "Greenback Raid" on the B&O Railway., and led various manuevers, including leading a squadron in the November 18, 1864 fight at Myerstown.
Whereas Rangers from outside "Mosby's Confederacy" boarded with various families, the Hatcher boys, as local residents, stayed at home with their parents at Hatcher's Mill just outside of Middleburg. Unfortunately, this made them easier to track down by Federal troops seeking to round up Mosby's men and Hatcher was captured at home on March 14, 1865. He was sent to the Old Capitol Prison and then transferred to Fort Warren where he remained for the duration of the War. He was not paroled until June 16, when he took the oath at Ft. Warren.
In the parole records he is descibed as being 5'7" tall, witha dark complexion, brown hair and blue eyes.
Both during and after the War, Col. Mosby referred to hims as "the bravest of the brave."
After the War, he continued to live in Middleburg, where he died on April 23, 1895. He is buried in the Sharon Cemetery in Middleburg.
Relations to Other Rangers:
His younger brother, Welt Hatcher, 5 years his junior, was also a member of Mosby's command and played a key role in the famous Fairfax Courthouse Raid and capture of General Stoughton. Another brother, Daniel, served with him in the 7th Virginia cavalry, but stayed with the 7th Virginia where he was promoted to Captain. As Mosby did not take the roll before raids, it is possible that Capt. Daniel Hatcher may have ridden occasional raids with Mosby as well, while home on furlough or while assigned in the area, despite staying with the 7th Va.
Mentions in various references:
(incomplete, more to be added)Virgil Carrington Jones, Ranger Mosby (1944)
Pages: 111-112, 116, 207
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