Civil War Union Brigadier General. A West Point Class of 1844 graduate and veteran of the Mexican War, he began his Civil War service as Colonel and commander of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Severely wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas, during his recovery time he was promoted to Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers (September 29, 1862). At the Battle of Gettysburg, as commander of the 3rd Division of the II Corps, he was stationed on Cemetery Ridge and repulsed the attacks of July 2nd and Pickett's Charge on July 3rd. After the fighting ended, he rode up and down the lines with fists full of battle flags captured that day from the Confederates. On the morning of May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near the intersection of the Brock Road and the Orange Plank Road, he was killed by a Confederate bullet. He was posthumously brevetted Major General, U.S. Volunteers. Today, a statue of General Hays stands on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg and a monument marks the spot where he was killed in the Wilderness.

Civil War Union Brigadier General. A West Point Class of 1844 graduate and veteran of the Mexican War, he began his Civil War service as Colonel and commander of the 63rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Severely wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas, during his recovery time he was promoted to Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers (September 29, 1862). At the Battle of Gettysburg, as commander of the 3rd Division of the II Corps, he was stationed on Cemetery Ridge and repulsed the attacks of July 2nd and Pickett's Charge on July 3rd. After the fighting ended, he rode up and down the lines with fists full of battle flags captured that day from the Confederates. On the morning of May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near the intersection of the Brock Road and the Orange Plank Road, he was killed by a Confederate bullet. He was posthumously brevetted Major General, U.S. Volunteers. Today, a statue of General Hays stands on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg and a monument marks the spot where he was killed in the Wilderness.

Bio by: EFB III