Born June 1, 1831
Owingsville, Kentucky
Died August 30, 1879
New Orleans, Louisiana

Confederate general
Led failed Southern effort to keep Union forces
from capturing Atlanta in 1864

"An aggressive, ferocious fighter, Hood came to be considered one of Lee's better brigade commanders. . . .

Writer Steven E. Woodworth

John B. Hood. (Reproduced by permission of the National Portrait Gallery.)

John Bell Hood was a Confederate general of unquestioned bravery and dedication. As a division commander he displayed great courage at many of the Civil War's most violent battles. These skirmishes included Second Bull Run (August 1862) and Fredericksburg (December 1862) in Virginia; Antietam (September 1862) in Maryland; Gettysburg (July 1863) in Pennsylvania; and Chickamauga (September 1863) in Georgia. Hood's devotion to the Southern cause was so great that he remained on active military duty even after suffering wounds that crippled one arm and required the amputation of one of his legs. But Hood's performance as...