Hitchcock, Ethan Allen, 1798-1870

Army officer and author.

From the description of Papers of Ethan Allen Hitchcock, 1810-1873. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78216510

Soldier and author. During the Mexican War, Hitchcock served in Zachary Taylor's army of occupation and as Inspector-General on Winfield Scott's staff.

From the description of Commentary on Winfield Scott's campaign in the Mexican War, [18--]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84926698

From the description of Commentary on Winfield Scott's campaign in the Mexican War, [18--]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702150207

Ethan Allen Hitchcock was born in Vergennes, Vermont in 1798. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1817 and was a career Army officer. He served in the Second Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War. A philosopher and scholar, he published several monographs, including Remarks Upon Alchemy and the Alchemists (1857), Swedenborg: A Hermetic Philosopher (1858), and Christ the Spirit (1860). His memoirs are collected in A Traveler in Indian Territory: The Journal of Ethan Allen Hitchcock (Cedar Rapids, Ia., The Torch Press,1930).

From the guide to the Ethan Allen Hitchcock collection on Indian removal, 1804-1896, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Ethan Allen Hitchcock, grandson of the American patriot Ethan Allen, attended West Point in 1817 and spent most of his life thereafter in the U.S. military.

He served under General Taylor in the Mexican War and held administrative posts with the Union Army during the Civil War.

From the description of Hitchcock, Ethan Allen, letter, 1845. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 23175331

Career army officer and author.

An 1817 U.S. Military Academy graduate born in Vergennes, Vt., Hitchcock served with distinction in various military assignments prior to his Jan., 1842, appointment as lieut. col. of the 3rd Infantry. Stationed at Fort Stansbury, Fla., Hitchcock was ordered in the fall of 1842 to reopen the Seminole War and to pursue, capture, and destroy the remnants of a fugitive Creek Indian band headed by the chief Pascofa. Exercising his belief that friendly negotiation was more effective than hostilities, Hitchcock dismissed two local volunteer companies and convinced the chief and his band to leave peaceably for Arkansas. Throughout his long army career, Hitchcock also studied philosophy, alchemy, and literature, and published several works on those topics.

From the description of Letters : Fort Stansbury, [Fla.], and Jefferson Barracks, Mo., to Samuel Hitchcock, Burlington, Vt., 1843 Jan. 15 - Sept. 20. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 34916750

Biographical Note

• 1798, May 18: Born, Vergennes, Vt.
• 1817: Graduated, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
• 1824 - 1827 : Instructor, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
• 1829: Commandant of corps, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
• 1833: Offered governorship of Liberia by American Colonization Society
• 1833 - 1836 : Frontier duty, Fort Crawford, Wis.
• 1837 - 1840 : Indian duty, Northwest
• 1841 - 1843 : General duty, Florida
• 1846: Published, The Doctrines of Spinoza and Swedenborg Identified
• 1851: Published, Christ the Spirit
• 1855: Resigned from army
• 1857: Published, Remarks upon Alchemy and the Alchemists
• 1858: Published, Swedenborg, a Hermetic Philosopher
• 1862: Commissioner for Exchange of Prisoners
• 1865: Published, Remarks on the Sonnets, and Colin Clouts Commissary General of Prisoners of War
• 1866: Published, Notes on the Vita Nuova
• 1868: Married Martha Rind Nichols
• 1870, Aug. 5: Died, Sparta, Ga.

From the guide to the Ethan Allen Hitchcock Papers, 1793-1888, (bulk 1830-1865), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)