Hoke, Robert F. (Robert Frederick)

Robert Frederick Hoke (1837-1912) of Lincolnton, N.C., served in the Confederate Army, attaining a rank of major general. After the war, Hoke was engaged in various business enterprises, including gold and iron mining, insurance, and railroads. He served as director of the North Carolina Railroad Company for many years.

Robert Frederick Hoke (27 May 1837-3 July 1912) of Lincolnton, N.C., was the son of Michael and Frances Burton Hoke. He attended school in Lincolnton and was graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1854. Upon completing his education, Hoke returned home to manage various family business interests, including a cotton mill and iron works, for his widowed mother.

Hoke entered the Confederate Army as a second lieutenant in the 1st North Carolina Volunteers and later served with the 23rd, 33rd, and 21st regiments of North Carolina troops. He fought in battles and aided defenses at Big Bethel, Va.; New Bern, N.C.; Hanover Court House, Richmond, second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, Va., where he was severely wounded; Plymouth, N.C.; Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, Va.; and Fort Fisher, Wilmington, Kinston, and Bentonville, N.C. Hoke had attained the rank of major general by the time he participated in the surrender of Confederate forces to General William T. Sherman at Bennett's Farm House near Durham, N.C.

After the war, Hoke was engaged in various business enterprises, including gold and iron mining, farming, insurance, and railroads. He served as director of the North Carolina Railroad Company for many years. Hoke was an Episcopalian and a Democrat.

Hoke was married to Lydia Van Wyck and with her had six children.

Adapted from an entry for Robert Frederick Hoke by John G. Barrett in Dictionary of North Carolina Biography (UNC Press, 1988), edited by William S. Powell.