Louisiana Campaign

His volunteers were organized into Company K of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment at Camp Utley in Racine. The regiment mustered into service on July 2, 1861, and traveled to garrison in Maryland.^[5] They were attached to the Army of the Gulf and sent to Louisiana to attempt to regain control over the Mississippi River system. Hobart and the 4th Infantry participated in the successful capture of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Hobart after his promotion to Lt. Colonel

Tennessee

In 1862, Hobart left the 4th Infantry to accept promotion to Lieutenant Colonel with the newly organized 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The regiment left Wisconsin in September 1862, but Hobart would not rendezvous with them until a month later due to travel time from Louisiana. Before Hobart's arrival, the 21st had marched to join the Army of Ohio, which had been carrying out a defense against the Confederate Heartland Offensive in Kentucky. At the Battle of Perryville the regiment took significant casualties and their commander, Colonel Benjamin Sweet, was wounded.

Hobart met the 21st at Lebanon, Kentucky, shortly after Perryville. The 21st was now organized under Major General William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland, engaged in a counter-offensive against Confederate forces in Tennessee. With Colonel Sweet incapacitated, Hobart took command of the regiment and lead them at the battles of Stones River and Hoover's Gap.^[5] General Lovell Rousseau, in his report on the battle of Stones River, mentioned Hobart and the 21st for their good conduct. After the Union successes in central Tennessee, the 21st advanced toward Chattanooga with the Army of the Cumberland, eventually pushing into Georgia.^[1]

At the Battle of Chickamauga, on September 20, 1863, after a day of heavy fighting, the Union forces were given orders to withdraw. The 21st did not receive the orders and held their position until they noticed other regiments falling back. Hobart ordered the regiment to retreat to the second line of defenses, where they continued to hold until nearly surrounded by Confederate forces. While attempting to break out of this encirclement, Lt. Col. Hobart was wounded and taken prisoner along with about 70 of his regiment. The remainder of the regiment retreated toward Chattanooga.^[5]

Escape from Captivity

Hobart was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.^[5] There he helped lead the escape of 109 Union prisoners through a tunnel out of the prison on February 9, 1864.^[5] Hobart was tasked with closing off the tunnel after the last escapee had gone through.^[6] Roughly half the men made it back to Union lines, including Hobart.

Georgia Campaign

Hobart rejoined the 21st Regiment in April 1864 at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, where they had been stationed since the retreat from Chikamauga. The regiment marched from Lookout Mountain on May 2 to join the Atlanta Campaign, attached to General William Tecumseh Sherman's army. At the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, the 21st joined in the flanking maneuver that forced the Confederates to abandon their position and fall back toward Resaca. At the Battle of Resaca, the 21st was again engaged in heavy fighting, as their brigade was ordered to assault the enemy fortifications. A few days later, at the Battle of Dallas, the regiment held a defensive position under heavy fire for six days. They received the compliments of their brigade commander, General William Carlin, for their fortitude and gallantry.

The 21st, with its brigade, pursued retreating Confederate forces, engaging them in skirmishes near Big Shanty. They drove a North Carolina regiment from their position, taking captives, and moved into position before Kennesaw Mountain. The regiment received severe bombardment during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, but held their ground until Sherman's flanking maneuver forced the enemy to abandon their position. After Kennesaw, Lt. Col. Hobart was assigned to command three regiments of the first Brigade, and Major Michael H. Fitch was assigned to replace him as commander of the 21st Regiment.

After the Battle of Jonesborough, Hobart and the 21st camped at Atlanta in September 1864. The 21st was reinforced by incorporating the remaining forces of the 1st and 10th Wisconsin Regiments. At this time, Lt. Colonel Hobart was also promoted to Colonel and placed in command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XIV Corps.^[7][5]

XIV Corps now joined Sherman's Savannah Campaign, his "March to the Sea". Though they did not see significant fighting, they participated in the burning of Marietta, Georgia, and foraged for food and supplies to provision the army during its march. Upon reaching Savannah, on December 21, General Sherman recommended Colonel Hobart for brevet to Brigadier General.

On January 23, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln sent Hobart's nomination for brevet Brigadier General, United States Volunteers, effective retroactively from January 12, 1865, to the United States Senate, which confirmed the award on February 14, 1865.^{[note 1]}

Carolinas Campaign

In January, Sherman initiated his Campaign of the Carolinas, and Hobart led his brigade north with General Henry Warner Slocum's left column, engaging in a scorched earth march as they passed north of Columbia, South Carolina, and continued into North Carolina. Hobart's brigade led the advance out of Fayetteville and encountered the enemy, skirmishing with them at the Battle of Averasborough, and then confronting the Confederate counterattack at the Battle of Bentonville. Hobart was conspicuous at Bentonville, leading three regiments of his brigade in repelling the enemy attack. This was their last significant fighting of the war. Hobart's brigade reached Goldsboro, North Carolina, on March 23, and was the first unit to enter Raleigh, on April 13.^[8]

Hobart and his brigade remained in Raleigh until the announcement of the end of the war. Hobart was discharged on June 16, 1865.^[5]

Wisconsin Senate (1848)

U.S. House of Representatives (1850)

U.S. House of Representatives (1856)

Wisconsin Governor (1859)

Wisconsin Governor (1865)

Wisconsin Assembly (1866)