|
177……(Born
Vt.)
Ethan A. Hitchcock*
(Ap’d Vt.)
Military
History. – Cadet at the Military Academy, Oct. 11, 1814, to July 17, 1817,
when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
Third Lieut., Corps of
Artillery, July 17, 1817.
Transferred upon
application, and promoted to
Second Lieut., 8th
Infantry, Feb. 13, 1818.
Served: in
garrison at Mobile, Ala., 1817-18, -- and New Orleans, La.,
(First Lieut., 8th
Infantry, Oct. 31, 1818)
1818-19; as Adjutant, 8th
Infantry, June 1, 1819, to June 1, 1821, being
(First Lieut., 1st
Infantry, in Re-organization of Army, June 1, 1821)
on Recruiting service,
1819; in garrison at the Bay of St. Louis, Mis., 1821-22, -- and at Baton
Rouge, La., 1822-23; on Recruiting service, 1823-24; at the Military
Academy, as Asst. Instructor of Infantry Tactics,
(Captain, 1st
Infantry, Dec. 31, 1824)
Feb. 1, 1824, to Apr. 20,
1827; on Recruiting service, 1827-29; at the Military Academy, as Commandant
of Cadets and Instructor of Infantry Tactics, Mar. 13, 1829, to June 24,
1833; on frontier duty at Ft. Crawford, Wis., 1834-35; volunteered for a
campaign in the Florida War against the Seminole Indians, 1836, being
engaged in the Skirmishes at Camp Izard, Feb. 27, 28, 29, and Mr. 5, 1836;
as Acting Inspector-General of the Western Department, Feb. 10 to July 5,
1836; on Recruiting service, 1836-37; as disbursing Indian Agent, Mar. 2,
1837, to Dec. 31, 1839; on Northern Frontier, at Madison Barracks, N. Y.
(major, 8th
Infantry, July 7, 1838)
1840, during Canada Border
disturbances; in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1840; in the Florida
War, 1840; on Special duty in the War Department, Sep. 29, 1841, to Aug. 29,
1842; in garrison at Ft. Stansbury, Fla., 1842; in command of the Western
District of Florida, from which he removed Pascofa’s band of hostile
Indians, 1842-43; in garrison
(Lieut.-Colonel, 3d Infantry, Jan. 31, 1842)
at Ft. Stansbury, Fla.,
1843, -- and Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1843-44; on frontier duty at Ft. Jesup
(Camp Wilkins), La., 1844-45; in Military Occupation of Texas, 1845-56; on
sick leave of absence, 1846-47; in the War with Mexico, 1847-48, being
engaged in the Siege of Vera Cruz, Mar. 9-29, 1847, -- Battle of Cerro
Gordo, Apr. 17-18, 1847, -- Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, -- Battle
of Molino del
(Bvt. Colonel, Aug. 20,
1847, for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in
the Battles of Contreras
and Churubusco, Mex.)
Rey, Sep. 8, 1847, --
Storming of Chapultepec, Sep. 13, 1847, -- Assault and Capture
(Bvt. Brig.-General, Sep. 8, 1847, for Gallant
and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey)
of the City of Mexico,
Sep. 13-14, 1847, -- and as Acting Inspector-General of the Army commanded
by Major-General Scott during the Campaign of 1847-48; in mustering out
Volunteers at Independence, Mo., 1848; on sick leave of absence, 1849-50; on
detached service at Washington, D. C., 1850-51; in command of the Pacific
Division
(Colonel, 2d Infantry, Apr. 15, 1851)
July 9, 1851, to May 21,
1854; and in garrison at Carslile Barracks, Pa., 1854-55.
Resigned, Oct. 18, 1855.
Civil History. –
Resided at St. Louis, Mo., engaged chiefly in literary pursuits, 1855-62.
Military
History. -- Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States,
(Major-General, U. S. Volunteers, Feb. 10,
1862)
1862-66; on Special duty,
under the direction of the Secretary of War, at Washington, D. C., Mar. 17,
1862, to Oct. 1, 1867; and as Commissioner for the Exchange of Prisoners of
War, Nov. 15, 1862, to Oct. 1, 1867.
Mustered Out of Volunteer
Service, Oct. 1, 1867.
Civil History. –
Tendered the appointment of Governor of Liberia, by the American
Colonization Society, Apr., 1833 (declined); and again 1837 (declined).
Author of “Remarks upon Alchemy and the Alchemists,”† 1857; “Swedenborg a
Hermetic Philosopher,”† 1858; “Christ the Spirit,”‡ 1860; “Red Book of Appin,
and other Fairy Tales,” 1863; “Remarks on the Sonnets of Shakespeare,
etc.;”§ “Spenser’s Colin Clouts Explained,” etc., || 1865; and of Notes on
the “Vita Nuova of Dante,” to explain its spiritual character and purpose,
1866.
Died, Aug. 5, 1870, at
Sparta, Hancock Co., Ga.: Aged 72.
*General
Hitchcock was a grandson of General Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga and
Crown Point.
†These works are
designed to show that the genuine Alchemists were religious philosophers,
writing in Symbolism, -- that the Philosopher’s Stone was a Symbol of Truth;
and that Swedenborg ws properly a Hermetic philosopher, -- that is, a Moral
and Spiritual philosopher, who wrote in Symbolism.
‡The object of
this work is to show that the Gospels are Symbolical books, written by
members of a secret society, of the Jews (the Essens), who recognized a
certain Spiritual sense underlying the letter of the Hebrew Sacred Law:
Christ is the Law personified; the Law, in its Spirit, is the Son of God;
and, as a writing, the son of man. (See Philo on the Contemplative
Life.).
§The object of
this work is to show that the Sonnets were not addressed to a person, but to
Nature, as double Spirit and Matter, called the Master-Mistress, or Love of
the Post (vide Sonnet 20).
||The object of
this work is to show that Colin Cloats is a poetic and figurative
description of the progress of a Life under the Goldance of the Gospel
Spirit of Truth, represented by the figure of a “Strange Shepherd,”
etc.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
Major-General
Ethan Allen Hitchcock, who was born May 18, 1798, at Vergennes, Vt., died
Aug. 5, 1870, at Sparta, Ga., aged 72, and his mortal remains were
re-interred Dec. 14, 1871, at West Point, N. Y. His father was Samuel
Hitchcock, one of the Circuit Judges of the United States under the
Administration of President Washington, and his mother was a daughter of the
celebrated General Ethan Allen, whose name, general appearance, and many
marked characteristics were inherited by the grandson from the old hero of
Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
At the age of
sixteen he became a Cadet at the United States Military Academy, from which
he was graduated and promoted in the Army to be Third Lieutenant in the
Corps of Artillery. Advancement in the Infantry being more rapid, he, on
his own application, was transferred to its Eighth Regiment, Feb. 13, 1818,
as a Second Lieutenant, and became First Lieutenant, Oct. 31, 1818. After
serving t Mobile and New Orleans in this regiment till June 1, 1819, he
became and continued as its Adjutant till the re-organization of the Army,
June 1, 1821, when he was transferred to the First Infantry, in which he was
subsequently promoted Captain, Dec. 31, 1824. Till 1829, except for three
years as Assistant Instructor of Infantry Tactics at West Point, he was
employed on recruiting and garrison duty, after which he became Commandant
of Cadets at the Military Academy, where his soldierly qualities and marked
intelligence were most conspicuous. Upon being relieved from this
responsible position, June 24, 1833, he went to Fort Crawford, Wis., and
continued on frontier duty till the outbreak of the Florida War, for which,
following his military instinct, he at once volunteered. He immediately
became Acting Inspector-General in “Gaines’s Campaign of 1836” against the
Seminole Indians, which terminated after a few skirmishes at Camp Izard, not
far from the battlefield of “Dade’s Massacre,” so graphically described in
Hitchcok’s report of this heroic struggle, written on the spot. This
campaign was one of the many blunder of that unfortunate war, the
responsibility for which led to so many after-criminations and
recriminations among our commanding officers, and finally to a court of
inquiry. Before this court Hitchcock testified that the continuance of the
war was in no small degree due to the want of concert between the rival
generals, Scott and Gaines, which testimony was perhaps the incipient cause
of General Scott’s unfriendliness to Hitchcock.
In 1833 the
appointment of Governor of Libera had been tendered to Hitchcock by the
American Colonization Society, which was then, and on its renewal in 1837,
declined.
From Florida,
Hitchcock returned with General Gaines to the Western Department, from which
he was transferred to recruiting service, and subsequently, Mar. 2, 1837, to
Indian duty. His services as disbursing agent to the ignorant savages of
the Northwest Territory were invaluable, and marked by the inflexible
justice and unflinching firmness characteristic of the performance of all
his public duties. Rigidly adhering to the strict interpretation of his
instructions, and resolutely determined to do right, he saved those wild
children of the forest a large portion of their annuities which they had
ignorantly assigned to those whose wicked intent was to deceive and swindle
them; but while protecting the weak by this firm, honest, and humane course,
he himself incurred the bitter enemity of these men, who subsequently rose
to influence. However, it was enough that in his own heart was crystal
purity, that his conscience was void of offense and that all his proceedings
met the cordial approval of the upright Poinsett, then Secretary of War, by
whom he was highly complimented, and who, as a reward for his good deeds,
had appointed him, July 8, 1838, a Major in the newly-created Eighth
Infantry. Though relieved from this service Dec. 31, 1839, and for the
succeeding two years doing garrison duty, he was placed, Sep. 29, 1841, by
Secretary John Bell, who highly appreciated the sterling merits and
administrative abilities of Hitchcock, in charge of the Indian Bureau, then
under the War Department. For near a year he continued in this important
trust, exposing frauds and discharging unworthy agents, despite the
influences brought against him.
Leaving
Washington, he joined his regiment in Florida, from which he removed, in
1842-43, Pascofa’s band of hostile Indians. Thence he was transferred to
the Western frontier, where he remained till 1845, in the mean time, Jan.
31, 1842, having been promoted Lieut.-Colonel of the Third Infantry, the
command of which soon devolved upon him, and took him back to Florida.
Though stationed amid pine barrens, under his careful instruction and guided
by his scholarly influence the Third became the crack regiment of infantry,
not only in drill and discipline, but in high mental culture. Upon the
transfer of the regiment in Apr., 1843, to Jefferson Barracks, Hitchcock,
though a laborious student and prolific writer, never for a moment neglected
the care of his regiment. For the first time after the war of 1812-15,
mainly through his efforts, there were “evolutions of the line” at Jefferson
Barracks, creating the greatest interest in military exercises and duties,
and producing between the Third and Fourth Infantry, there in garrison, a
spirit of generous rivalry in all that pertained to the career of arms.
Under Hitchcock’s influence this post was, in fact, a school of application
for officers in their higher duties, who became proud of belonging to the
military profession.
With his fine
regiment, Hitchcock went, in 1844, to Fort Jesup on the Louisiana frontier,
pending the negotiation which resulted in the annexation of Texas; and in
1845 joined the Army of Occupation under General Taylor, taking post at
Corpus Christi. Even here Hitchcock never relaxed his studies and devotion
to his regiment, and found time to write his masterly paper on “Brevet and
Staff Rank and Command,” sent with the signatures of many officers as a
petition to Congress. From Corpus Christi his regiment proceeded to the Rio
Grande, but at the close of the march Hitchcock’s failing health compelled
him to ask for a sick leave of absence.
In January,
1847, having somewhat recovered his strength, Hitchcock repaired to the
mouth of the Rio Grande to assume command of his regiment, which was to join
in the coming campaign for which General Scott was organizing at Brazos
Santiago preparatory to a descent on Vera Cruz. At this time a bitter feud
existed between Scott and Hitchcock, the incipiency of which has been
noted. This had been increased by transactions gr4owing out of the latter’s
service under Colonel Worth when Major of the Eighth Infantry, and was still
more intensified by the part taken by him in connection with the “Buell
Court-martial,” when, though not of the court, he wrote for its members a
severe protest denying General Scott’s right to revive a dissolved tribunal
to try Buell a second time. Between ordinary men this long-nursed wrath
would have continued to rankle and gather strength, but fortunately both
these excellent officers had the magnanimity to sacrifice self to country,
and contend, not with each other, but against the common enemy. This
reconciliation was effected in the following manner: On his way to join his
regiment, Hitchcock, being near the headquarters of General Scott, was
invited to call upon the latter. He was cordially received, the hatchet
buried, patriotism became paramount, with restored harmony he was tendered
the important appointment of Inspector-General, in which Scott stated “he
could be of greater service to the Army and his country than in any other
position.” Many worthy officers have denounced Hitchcock for giving up the
command of his splendid regiment for a staff office, forgetting that it was
for his commanding general to decide the field of his subordinate’s greatest
usefulness in the pending struggle. For his cheerful and prompt obedience
to Scott’s virtual order, Hitchcock is, under the circumstances, entitled to
the highest meed of praise, instead of bearing the stigma of unmerited
reproach.
In the great
campaign which eventuated in the occupation of the Halls of the Montezumas,
a large acquisition of valuable territory, and an honorable peace, Hitchcock
maintained the most cordial relations with his commanding general, and
performed with consummate ability the delicate and important duties, both
civil and military, which devolved upon him. Though his staff position did
not attract outside attention and glitter, with all the pomp and
circumstance of glorious war, it certainly was highly honorable, of manifold
usefulness, and largely contributed to the attainment of the great objects
of the campaign, manifestly more largely than had he remained at the head of
his regiment. In his well-written letters, published at the time, he
triumphantly vindicated himself, both as a soldier and a patriot, and
conclusively proved that, while his regiment was successfully led by a
captain, he had performed much more difficult and valuable service. At all
events, it was not his to choose his functions, to the performance of which
his commanding general could not have invited him to the compromise of his
honor; nor could his chief be derelict to any demands of the Army, whose
achievements were to be his own greatest glory, and destined to illume one
of the brightest pages of our wondrous history. Scott’s high consideration
and warm friendship, manifested ever after for Hitchcock, are sufficient
proofs of his appreciation of the wise counsels, zealous co-operation, and
efficient efforts of his distinguished Inspector-General, who for his
services received the brevets of Colonel and Brigadier-General.
After the
Mexican War, his health being much impaired by incessant labor, Hitchcock
sought rest and recreation in an extended journey in Europe and the East,
returning home in 1850, replete with mystic lore, the bright memories of
scenic and artistic beauty, and much intellectual wealth gained from every
treasure-trove which could not be veiled from his scrutinizing search.
After his return
he was placed on detached service at Washington, promoted Colonel of the
Second Infantry, Apr. 15, 1851, and then ordered to San Francisco, Cal.,
where he established his headquarters from July 9, 1851, to May 21, 1854,
while in command of the Military Division of the Pacific. Here, in our
newly-acquired possessions, he managed Army affairs with consummate skills,
protected the numerous Indian tribes from plundering politicians and
reckless adventurers, and promptly broke up Walker’s filibustering
expedition by the seizure of the brig Arrow, prepared to transport a
considerable force with arms to Guaymas for the purpose of inducing the
inhabitants of Sonora to declare their independence and set up a new
government; the government contemplated being in fact already organized in
San Francisco. Prominent plotters in California, who subsequently proved
disloyal to the United States, not only advocated this outrage upon a sister
State, but publicly denounced all interference with their unprincipled
schemes. Destitute of patriotism and regardless of consequences, these
greedy vultures, who had already fattened upon every government
appropriation, designed to seize Sonora, make war upon Mexico, and finally
secure sufficient territory for the establishment of a Southern slavery
republic. The conspirators had even ventured to boldly ventilate their
views at a public dinner in San Francisco, and had made efforts to have a
law enacted authorizing the organization of a regiment to protect the
southern border of California from raids, to which it was about as much
exposed as to an inroad from the Fejee Islanders. The real design was, of
course, to make the state authority play the wolf part to the Sonora lamb.
That this foul disgrace was not consummated is mainly due to Hitchcock’s
quick perceptions, sound judgment, firm attitude, and honest purposes. But
though the blow was warded off, he, who had kept the nation’s escutcheon
untarnished, became himself the victim of those whose wicked purpose he had
so boldly thwarted. The plotters of treason, who had failed in their
design, soon wreaked their vengeance through the then secessionist Secretary
of War, by ostracizing this loyal soldier from his high command to a nominal
one at Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
Hitchcock,
having for several years been threatened with paralysis, from which he had
sought relief at Wiesbaden, Germany, and at the Arkansas Hot Springs, and
with nothing to do in his new place of banishment, asked and obtained a
leave of four months from the general-in-Chief. Secretary Davis, who
disliked Hitchcock for reasons which it is unnecessary here to specify,
demanded, July 12, 1855, of General Scott why he had granted this
indulgence, which led to an angry controversy between these high officials,
subsequently published in a Senate document. This eventuated in a
peremptory order from the Secretary of War directing Hitchcock to go to Ft.
Pierre, some distance from the scene of hostilities of Harney’s Indian
expedition of 1855, in which his regiment was engaged. Knowing that the
order was not dictated by any necessity for his services, but for the
gratification of personal spite, Hitchcock asked for an extension of his
leave of absence, and, in the event of its not being granted, tendered his
resignation, expressly stating, however, that if his services were deemed
indispensable he, though still a decided invalid, would go to Ft. Pierre at
all hazards, “as nothing would be further from his purpose than to
jeopardize a reputation which had continued unblemished during a period of
nearly forty years in the Army.” The Secretary accepted Hitchcock’s
resignation, Oct. 18, 1855, having already refused his extension of leave of
absence. Thus, as stated by General Scott, was a most meritorious officer
forced out of service by the Secretary’s oppressive orders in denying a
simple indulgence at a time when there was no urgent reason for his presence
at a remote post.
After his
resignation Hitchcock made St. Louis his home, where he devoted himself to
general literature and the peculiar philosophical investigations which had
for years occupied his thoughts. All his life he had been a student,
whether reveling in fine libraries at West Point and Washington, or delving
among his own choice volumes, ever his companions, whether among the
everglades of Florida or the wilds of the Western frontier. Of books he
never had enough, and would spend his last penny to possess them. With
Spinoza, Plato, and the Neo-Platonists he first became familiar, then was
much interested in Swedenborg’s works and Rossetti’s “Anti-Papal Spirit,”
and finally went into an elaborate course of reading of Dante, Petrarch,
Boccaccio, Chaucer, Spenser, etc. In many of these writings he discovered a
double sense, -- one for the general reader, and the other for the members
of a society, possessed of the key of interpretation, which ramified all
over Europe, and had an existence as far back at least as A.D. 1000. This
society was composed of the most learned and scientific men, whose
intelligence was in advance of the world, enabling them to see the errors of
the Roman Church, which, however, by its power, controlled and restrained
these men from the free expression of their opinions. In consequence of
this the literary men of those ages avoided persecution, imprisonment, and
death by the use of a conventional language, the exoteric or outward import
of which appeared friendly to the party in power, while its esoteric or
secret meaning was in direct hostility to the Church, and clearly understood
to be so by the initiated. To point out to his friends the extraordinary
evidence of this symbolism gave Hitchcock the greatest gratification, and
many fragments which he then wrote on these curious and interesting
discoveries were subsequently developed in his after-published works. From
these favorite themes he was diverted for a time by the war with Mexico.
There, however, on subject pertaining to his civil and military duties, his
active mind and restless pen were ever at work, and those who suffered from
the shafts of his keen invective will not soon forget some of his masterly
papers growing out of the controversies of that period. Even amid the
intense excitements of California, when gold and speculation absorbed all
thought, Hitchcock pursued his peculiar studies and acute investigations
with unabated activity and relish, never, however, abstracting a moment from
the efficient administration of his important military command. His
fondness for original researches and metaphysical subtleties was very great,
but his high sense of official obligation was still greater – in him the
scholar never deteriorated the soldier.
The result of
his studies of the “Problem of Life” is given in his eight published
volumes, which, though not much read by this busy, money-making world, have
made their lodgment in the ethical mind of the age, and are yet destined to
be more fully appreciated by coming philosophical thinkers. Of these works
only a synopsis showing their general scope can be here given.
“The Doctrines
of Spinoza and Swedenborg Identified, in so far as they claim a Scientific
Ground,” published in 1846. Hitchcock had been a careful student of
Spinoza, and was well versed in the writings of Swedenborg, neither of whom
he assails or defends while pointing out some very7 remarkable resemblances
between them. He quotes largely from both, showing almost an identity in
their doctrines and principles, especially of God, of knowledge, and of
salvation; yet, strange to say, the Swedish philosopher, who borrows without
credit much of his ethics from the anathematized Jew, has been held up by
many good men as expressly illuminated for the teaching of the true
Christian religion and for founding the Church of the New Jerusalem, while
his theological prototype has been reviled as the veriest atheist the world
has produced. In a private letter to Hitchcock of Dec. 25, 1846, Theodore
Parker says of this parallel: “I have long been aware of a certain union in
their ideas of God, and of his immanency in matter and spirit; only I
thought Spinoza perhaps the more rational of the two in that matter, though
I think both make the world a sort of Dutch clock. I never thought the
similarity extended as far as you have shown it does. Henry Heine, the
wittiest and wickedest of modern writers, says that many a philosopher when
walking in a deep forest of thought has fancied he was treading new ground,
ori9ginal and all alone, when suddenly he has found himself confronted face
to face with the awful features of Benedict Spinoza. I think you have shown
that Swedenborg must have had Spinoza upon his mind when he wrote. It is
impossible that Emanuel should have omitted to read Benedict, for he read
everything and reveled in the mystics, old, middle-aged, and modern. I like
your view of Swedenborg. He was a great man, and is made ridiculous when
men worship him and stop not at his limitation. I reverence his genius most
profoundly, as I do that of Spinoza, though I worship neither. . . . I hope
justice will be done at length to both Spinoza and Swedenborg, and I thank
you for writing this little tract to show this agreement in their
Scientificals.”
Hitchock’s
“Remarks upon Alchemy and the Alchemists” was published in 1857. The object
of this work was not to describe gray-bearded, shriveled-up necromancers in
sooty cells with retorts and musty manuscripts seeking the phantom of gold
in transmuting crucibles, nor to trace from their Arabic paternity the
wonderful developments of chemistry and medicine. In the deep study of this
cabalistic literature he found, though many had devoted the energies of a
life to the passionate pursuit of a chimera, other noble men had discovered
a precious jewel in the head of this ugly monster, -- the real Philosopher’s
Stone, which was Spiritual Truth; that these latter were sincere moral
reformers, not seeking an elixir to convert the baser into purer metals, but
that purifying influence converting the earthly dross of mortal existence
into immortal wisdom; and that in an age of persecution were veiled under
the paraphernalia of this jugglery the occult symbols of things they dared
not utter in common speech. Among hundred of true Hermetic writers he had
studied, he found the Know Thyself was the real object of Alchemy, Man’s
transformation from a state of nature to a state of grace being symbolized
under the figure of the transmutation of metals; that astrolabes and
alembics, elixirs and essences, lilies and lions, were but the infinitely
varied expressions of the sublimer verities of the soul of man made in the
image of God; and that the true nature of Hermetic was Moral Philosophy, and
the real Philosopher’s Stone was Truth; hence his attempt to rescue from
undeserved opprobrium the reputation of a class of extraordinary thinkers in
past ages.
“Swedenborg a
Hermetic Philosopher,” published in 1858, was the natural sequence of
“Alchemy and the Alchemists.” Hitchcock had pondered much upon the writings
of one of Sweden’s profoundest thinkers and distinguished scholars. He
truly appreciated the harmonious mind and devotional spirit of one whose
maxims of life were so like his own, -- often to read and meditate on the
Word of God; to submit everything to the will of Divine Providence; to
observe a propriety of behavior, and always to keep the conscience clear;
and to discharge with fidelity the functions of his employments and the
duties of his office, and to render himself in all things useful to
society. In Emanuel Swedenborg he soon discovered, not a modern Midas,
avaricious of that earthly dross that “solder’th impossibilities and maketh
them kiss,” but of that spiritual treasure richer than rubies or than fine
gold; not a seeker of ephemeral pleasure good for a day, but that permanent
beatitude enduring for all time; and one in whose symbolical utterances,
embalmed in mysterious wrappings, were celestial thoughts upon the human
soul and its capacity for knowledge, for happiness, and for immortality.
With Hitchock’s habit of looking beyond the letter in the interpretation of
occult and mystical writings he was quick to detect in the perusal of
Swedenborg'’ “Heavenly Arcana” many remarkable coincidences with the
allegorical language of the alchemists, and formed a decided opinion,
fortified by abundant quotations and arguments, that the writings of the
learned Swedish moralist were to be judged and interpreted from the
standpoint of Hermetic Philosophy.
“Christ the
Spirit: being an Attempt to state the Primitive View of Christianity,” was
first published in 1860 and enlarged in 1861. The object of the work is to
show that the Gospels are not biographies of the living person, but
symbolical books written before the beginning of our era by members of a
secret society of Jews, the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness bordering
the Dead Sea, whose ethical principles and religious observances had the
essential features of the New Testament teachings, -- love of God, love of
Virtue, love of Man. That Christ is the personified spirit of the Hebrew
Sacred Law; He is the heart of the Bible in a figure which in after time
assumed a carnal existence; He is the interior Word, represented under
various phases as moving among men, but who were represented under various
phases as moving among men, but who were Hitchcock’s writings, but, as its
views are not in accord with generally received doctrines, the work has been
subject to much intolerant criticism, and its author misrepresented as an
infidel because he assumes the mythical character of the miraculous portions
of the New Testament in saying that, “If we accept the miracles as historic
realities, we must refuse the idea of law altogether, and must admit that
there is no truth in the doctrine which affirms an order in the course of
nature; we must then deny the possibility of science in all its branches;
and this must be extended to logic and reasoning, for these depend upon the
permanent operation of our faculties; and then we must hold our hands and
receive everything as equally possible in both nature and intellect.” Then
again in conscious rectitude he adds: “Man loves truth instinctively and
hates falsehood. Give him truth, indeed, and if he understands it, he will
drink it as the water of life. Error is only acceptable when it wears the
face of truth. A reputed infidelity turns out almost always to be a protest
against a real or apparent falsehood. For truth is an eternal virgin, and
the first love of all mankind, the first-born among many brethren. To
wander from it is to love, that is, to worship some mistaken image or shadow
of it; and this it is that leads man into the wilderness, through and out of
which, however, every man carries with him a Moses, a Joshua, a Jesus, -- a
word in the heart, an angel, a prophet, -- through whom the pure wine of
truth may be brought to that soul which hungers and thirsts after
righteousness.” Hitchcock’s book portrays, not a Christi of flesh and
blood, but that Spirit Christ dwelling in all men who are true sons of God;
the Spirit of Virtue seeking all goodness and purity; the Spirit of
Conscience acting justly and doing no evil; the Spirit of the Heart imbued
with faith, hope, and charity; and the Spirit of the Soul communing with the
Infinite and obedient to his will. This hypothesis may strip off the
historic robe of Christi the Son of Mary, yet there remains the heavenly
halo of the Spirit Christi which has dwelt in humanity from the foundation
of the world. In the words of an eminent divine we can say: “The book is
remarkable for the spiritual, we may almost say the mystical, character of
its thought, for the serenity of its view, the purity of its speculation,
the unceasing boldness and unaffected loftiness which we are apt to regard
as the solitary student’s peculiarity, which we find it difficult to
associate with the military habit of mind. It is remarkable again, and
still more remarkable, for the lovely temper in which it is written. A
sweeter moral atmosphere we never breathed than pervades every paragraph of
the two volumes. There is no harshness, there is no intolerance, there is
no aggression, there is no disagreeable dogmatism, no assumption of superior
wisdom. Its charity is perfect, for there is no air of charitableness about
it; it is the goodwill of an honest, believing, and gentle mind. We can
scarcely think of a theologian, living or dead, who might not with profit
sit at the feet of this brave soldier, and listen to him as he talks about
religion.”
“The Red book of
Appin,” published in 1863, is a Story of the Middle Ages, to which Hitchcock
subsequently added other Fairy Tables, with his explanation of their
Hermetic Mysticism. These stories he maintains are not mere fantastic
fictions addressed to the capacity of childhood, but, interpreted with the
key of truth, will be found to be medieval writings covered with the dust of
allegory, beneath which are hidden treasures, concealed wisdom, and precious
verities; that these seeming products of an unregulated imagination have,
like parables, a most rich and valuable meaning; and that we should bear in
mind the declaration of Solomon; “A wise man will hear, and will increase
learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels,” so as
“to understand a proverb and the interpretation, -- the words of the wise
and their dark sayings.”
“Remarks on the
Sonnets of Shakespeare,” published in 1865, and enlarged in 1865. These
exquisitely beautiful and most wonderful sonnets, Hitchcock maintains,
belong to the class of Hermetic writings, carrying one sense to the eye and
ear, but another for the head and for the heart; that they were not
addressed to a person – “the muddy vesture of decay,” – but that “Beauty’s
Rose” was a synonym of Religion, -- the Divine Beauty existing in the soul
of Humanity; and that Nature, as double Spirit and Matter, was the
“master-mistress” of the poet’s passion. He regards the sonnets as
containing the abstract doctrines and higher spirit of Shakespeare,
developed under the most intense contemplations of life; and that, in
symbolic form, the poet has inclosed in them what were to him eternal
principles, -- “the true sources of artistic births.” And he holds
that the object of the sonnets was to show that the Spirit of Man is one
with the Spirit of Nature, and that a sense of this unity was the secret joy
of the poet taking the name of Love, though the “deep substance of the
flesh,” at times, would “steal sweet hours from love’s delight.”
“Colin Clouts
Explained,” published in 1865. Hitchcock affirms that Spenser’s object was
not, as generally supposed, to give an account of his return to England and
the poet’s presentation to Queen Elizabeth and her court. That the poem had
a higher purport. First, as signifying a mental journal by the poet
himself, religiously illuminated, visiting the spiritual world, -- the
Arcadia of the ancient poets debarred to ordinary mortals, -- where he meets
the mystic Queen of the ideal realm (not the vixen Queen of England) for
whom he entertains that passionate devotion to some figurative beauty and
perfections, cloaked under the name of Love by a long succession of
spiritual poets, but which in reality is the Divine Love. Secondly, that by
“Colin Clouts come Home Againe” is to be understood his coming down to
ordinary life to give us a poet’s description of what he saw in the
spiritual world, using this expression metaphorically: for the eye hath not
seen nor hath the ear heard what is done in the Arcadian Land, where “men
immortally live, following all delights and pleasures,” and which is
governed by a Queen so beautiful that all the country round is rendered
shining “with one beam of her great beauty.” Finally, that Spenser in his
Hermetic poem has presented his view of a Christian Life, -- the life of a
man under the guidance of the Gospel Sprit of Truth, the rewards of which
are the glowing pictures in the poet’s land of Cynthia and its Queen.
Hitchcock
considers Spenser’s Sonnets, and the minor poems of Drayton, Sidney,
Chanucer, Carew, etc., as Hermetic writings inclosing the speculative
opinions of their authors upon deeply-meditated studies of nature and the
profoundest problems of life.
“Notes on the
Vita Nuova and Minor Poems of Dante,” published in 1866. This is a curious
work of no small learning, but we have dwelt so much upon the preceding
volumes that, in this already too extended notice, we must briefly pass it
over. Hitchcock considers it also as one of the mysterious books thrown out
upon the world in a mystic style of writing, so obscure that many of Dante’s
most intimate friends were unable to penetrate his meaning. To explain the
Commedia, and this its manifest introduction, the poet himself was induced
to furnish a commentary in a mystical volume, entitled the “Convito, or
Banquet,” which, however, only lifts the veil. Hitchcock in his Notes
endeavors to show the spiritual character of the Vita Nuova, and that
Beatrice, the bright central figure of the poem, was not an earthly mistress
thrilling his heart and guiding his soul, but was a celestial vision of a
radiant angel, -- Heavenly Wisdom personified.
Our space will
not permit even an enumeration of Hitchcock’s many fugitive articles,
controversial papers, critical notices, biographical sketches, official
reports, and well-digested letters, which do credit alike to his head and
heart.
At the outbreak
of the Rebellion, Hitchcock was a resident of St. Louis, and, though much
absorbed in mystic studies, saw clearly the much of passing events.
Missouri, then a Slave State, was intensely agitated, and many of her
prominent citizens had espoused secession sentiments; Governor Jackson had
refused compliance with the Government’s requisition for his State’s quota
of troops, characterizing it as “illegal, unconstitutional, revolutionary,
and diabolical;” and the seizure of Camp Jackson was followed by the
immediate passage by the Legislature of the “Military Bill.” Hitchcock,
born in the loyal atmosphere of the Green Mountains, educated as a soldier
of the Republic, and who, for half a century, had seen the stars and stripes
protecting our frontiers, guarding our coasts, leading us on to victory, and
commanding the respect of the world, quickly decided upon his course. Come
wha5t might, he would not forsake that revered emblem of nationality which
had floated over the Alma Mater of his youth, which had proudly streamed
from the capital of the Montezumas in his manhood, and which had shielded
his authority on the far-off Pacific in his later years. With him the
doctrine of secession was destructive of all government, and led to
universal anarchy; therefore did he firmly resolve to devote himself to the
maintenance of the Union, and the perpetuation of its counties blessing to
posterity.
Imbued with
these noble sentiments he repaired to Washington to tender his services to
the Government, though his health was so feeble that hemorrhage prevented
his leaving his room for several days after his arrival. At once General
Scott urged the bestowal of a high commission upon this meritorious soldier,
but the request was refused by the Secretary of War, and Hitchcock returned
to St. Louis. Here he promptly gave his talents to the Union cause,
particularly as the adviser of General Harney, who resumed command of the
Military Department of the Missouri, Sep. 15, 1861, and, on the same day,
issued a stirring proclamation, of which Hitchcock was the author. This
proclamation denounced the Legislature’s “Military Bill” as “an indirect
secession ordinance,” which, being in its material provisions manifestly in
conflict with the Constitution and laws of the United States, could not and
ought not to be upheld or regarded by the good people of Missouri, who were
warned that the whole power of the Government would be exerted, if
necessary, to retain the State, which “must share the destiny of the Union.”
When General
Halleck assumed command, Nov. 18, 1861, of the Department of Missouri, he
appreciated the importance of securing the more active services of
Hitchcock; hence he and prominent members of his staff renewed the request
for the bestowal of a high commission. This met a hearty response from
General Scott, who says in a letter of Feb. 18, 1862: “I early wrote to Mr.
Stanton to recall Hitchcock’s merits, and to say that personal hostility had
prevented his re-appointment to the Army, as it had been the personal
hostility of another Secretary of War that drove him from the service of
1855.” The result of these efforts, unknown to Hitchcock, was his
appointment and confirmation as Major-General U. S. Volunteers, Feb. 10,
1862. This deserved compliment he, in an admirable letter, declined on
account of impaired health, which would not permit him to perform the
responsible duties of a Major-General, and concludes with the utterance of
strong Union sentiments, an ardent desire for the speedy overthrow of the
Rebellion, and an early re-establishment of the Federal authority.
Subsequently he was inducted to retain his commission and go on duty in the
War Department, where he rendered those signal services for which, from his
culture, zeal, and firmness, he was admirably fitted. He soon won by his
sagacity and talents the confidence of the Secretary of War, and by his
purity of character the affections of the President, with both of whom he
was in constant consultation upon the policy and movements of the war. To
his confidential position of military adviser were added, Nov. 15, 1862, the
delicate duties of Commissioner for the Exchange of Prisoners of War, which
required consummate tact, unerring judgment, and prompt decision. How these
rare qualities were exhibited is best attested by his extensive and masterly
correspondence with the rebel authorities. In addition to these onerous
duties, those of Commissary-General of Prisoners devolved upon him Nov. 3,
1875, which materially increased his labors in closing up the voluminous
records of the office and the adjustment of comp0licated claims. Such was
the high value of his assistance to the War Department in the performance of
his multiplied vocations that he was retained till Oct. 1, 1867, when he was
among the very last mustered out of service.
Late in life he
had married, and for the benefit of his health sought with his wife a more
congenial clime in the sunny South, where he died full of years, after a
well-spent life, rich in honors, and crowned with an amaranthine wreath
entwined with the flowers of Fidelity, Justice and Tr4uth.
Hitchcock, while
inheriting much of the personal appearance and military determination of his
noted grandfather, possessed many of those sterling attributes so becoming
the ermine of his father’s judicial robes. As a soldier of the
Republic for near half a century, he was noted as an accomplished officer,
professionally well informed, a skillful tactician, able in administration,
a rigid disciplinarian, just as a commander, kind and genial to his
comrades, and persistent in usefulness manifested his high sphere of duty
during two great wars. Whatever his position, he conscientiously discharged
the functions of his office, whether instructing and governing Cadets at
West Point; giving attention to the drill and discipline of his regiment in
the barrens of Florida; teaching system and frontier; crushing lawlessness
in his Pacific command; or winning by zeal and intelligence the confidence
of his chiefs, both in Mexico and at the Capital. As a scholar,
without being classically educated, he became eminent for his erudition in
ancient, mediaeval, and modern literature. He reveled in choice libraries,
possessed a curious collection of rare volumes, an never was satiated with
books. Though his mind had a strong legal bias and exhibited considerable
mathematical power, his passionate fondness for metaphysical researches and
philosophical disquisitions led him into man y original and strange
investigations. When he had made of them a careful study, his conclusions
were clear and precise; but such was the integrity of his mind that he was
ever open to conviction, never obstinately dogmatic, and always sought for
further light till his judgment became so fixed that it could not be shaken
except by irresistible logic or an overwhelming array of facts. His love of
study infused its influence in his whole command, his young officers being
as noted for scholarly culture as for soldierly superiority. As a writer
his style was remarkable for its clearness, force, and precision; his pen
adorned all it touched, and against an adversary’s sophistry was sharper
than a two-edged sword; and his remarkable versatility, eloquence of reason,
skill in dialectics, philosophical analysis, subtlety of spiritual
perception, and vigor of thought, challenged our highest admiration. With
playful grace he unaffectedly discourses of fairly tales; with metaphysical
server interprets the sublimest productions of poetic genius; and with
humble reverence searches the secrets of the soul of man and his relations
to God. He was no sectarian, nor could he be shackled with Procrustean
articles of faith. Though he may have doubted the history of Jesus the
Nazarene of tribal lineage, a human being localized his Judea with temporal
connections, and an existence embalmed in gospel biographies and imprisoned
in creeds and liturgies, he devoutly acknowledged the Spirit Christ, the
living Emanuel born in us, the speaking witness of the Divine in our hearts,
and the distilled essence of all those pure desires, earnest purposes, noble
resolutions, holy aspirations, and moral obligations symbolized by
Christianity. His own guileless life, following the guidance of the Gospel
Spirit of Truth, is the best interpreter of the doctrines. As a man
his modest impressive manners inspired confidence and respect. In contrast
to his almost childlike simplicity and womanly tenderness was a Roman’s
resolution and the martyr’s devotion to principle; and interwoven with the
quick intelligence, mental dignity, and love of the ideal and spiritual
pertaining to his student life, were refined tastes, a delicate
susceptibility of beauty, and a passionate fondness for the concord of sweet
harmonies, being himself an excellent musician. With these rare traits of
character were combined the finest impulses, and his heart abounding with
generous emotion, would, while denying all luxuries to himself, lavishly
bestow of his means to the needy, saving by his frugality what was secretly
spent for the maintenance of the poor and education of the young. His
sympathy with the interests and regard for the feelings and welfare of those
around him were equal to his charity; hence he was almost idolized by those
who were the recipients of his bounty and knew the purity and beauty of his
nature. He was also the centre of a wide circle, embracing the good, the
cultivated, and the eminent, upon whom his death fell with the solemn pathos
of a deep calamity.
“’Cause he was wise, and
gallant things designed,
And pondered noble
projects in his mind.”
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