Who Was General Peter Hains?

Answer: The Only U.S. Soldier to Serve on Active Duty During Both the Civil War and World War I

General Hains During the First World War

By James Patton

Born 188 years ago today, Maj. Gen. Peter Conover Hains (1840–1921) was a Corps of Engineer  officer who was very instrumental in the development of the District of Columbia. He graduated from West Point in the top tier of the Class of 1861 (George A. Custer was at the bottom) and served as a horse artillery battery commander during the First Battle of Bull Run. Shortly thereafter he secured a transfer to the engineers and proceeded to serve in that capacity in 29 other engagements as well as two sieges. He acted as the chief engineer of the XIII Corps at the siege of Vicksburg, reporting directly to (then) Maj. General Ulysses Grant. Hains was brevetted (temporarily promoted) three times and at war’s end was a lieutenant colonel. 

Reverting to his regular rank of Captain, Hains remained on active duty after the war and engaged for nearly 40 years in public works projects. For several years he served as the senior army engineer on then-Capt. George Dewey’s Lighthouse Board and designed several lighthouses on the East Coast. In 1882 Congress determined to get rid of the noxious swamps in the District of Colombia and appropriated $400,000 (equivalent 2022 project cost of $784 million) for the project. Maj. Hains was assigned to head up this effort, and 650 acres of land were reclaimed to become the East Potomoc Park, which includes Hains Point. Dredging also improved river navigation. 

Cadet Hains at West Point

At the onset of the Spanish-American War in 1898 Col. Hains was given the command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division I Corps, which unit captured Puerto Rico in a short campaign. Hains then returned to engineering, serving on both the Nicaragua and Panama Canal Commissions. He was a strong advocate for the Panama choice, even though the Nicaraguan proposal was for a sea level canal. He retired as a brigadier general in 1904 after 43 years of service. 

His retirement was not to be a quiet one. His son Capt. Peter C. Jr. (1872–1955) had been commissioned in the army from Annapolis as an artilleryman, but his military career was cut short by scandal in 1908. Peter C. Jr., abetted by his brother Thornton, a popular author of dime novels, were accused of the murder of magazine editor William E. Annis, who was romantically involved with Peter C. Jr.’s wife. This event occurred in front of many witnesses at a yacht club in New York and was popularly called the "Murder at the Regatta." The subsequent trials became notorious front-page copy. Thornton pled temporary insanity and was acquitted in January 1909. Peter C. Jr. put forth a defense based on a psychiatric pathology of the time called Dementia Americana, which sought to explain why a cuckholded husband was justified in killing his wife and/or her lover. As a result, in May 1909 Peter C. Jr. was convicted of the reduced charge of manslaughter, received a custodial sentence of eight years, and was remanded to the state prison known as Sing Sing. His military career was over, but in 1911, after strident appeal by his father, he was pardoned by the governor of New York. His father had spent much of his wealth and energy in the defense of his two sons.

In 1916 Hains was promoted to major general (ret.), which didn’t involve an increase in his pension, and at this rank he was recalled to active duty in September 1917. He was appointed the chief engineer of the Eastern Division, based at Norfolk, VA.

Lt. Hains During the Civil War

Thus Maj. Gen. Peter C. Hains uniquely served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I. He was also America's oldest active-duty soldier to serve in the Great War. His grandson Peter C. III (1901–1998), who was raised by Hains and his wife, graduated from the USMA in 1924, competed in the 1928 Olympics, served as an armor officer and also attained the rank of major general in WWII.  Hains’ great-grandson Peter C. IV and two great-great grandsons have also served as senior army officers. 

Sources GhostsofDC.org and the Washington Post