Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Benjamin Lewis Hodge

Article promoted by Hawkeye7 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 07:20, 3 July 2020 (UTC) &laquo; Return to A-Class review list

Benjamin Lewis Hodge
Instructions for nominators and reviewers
 * Nominator(s): 

Benjamin Lewis Hodge was a lawyer and politician in Shreveport in north Louisiana who became a colonel in the Confederate Army, leading a regiment at the Battle of Shiloh. After leaving military service due to ill health, Hodge resumed his political career and became a Confederate congressman. However, he only briefly fulfilled his ambitions, serving in Congress for a few weeks and dying soon afterwards. This article was improved from a stub and passed a GA this week. Kges1901 (talk) 14:01, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

 Comments Support from Hog Farm

Lead
 * Consider linking colonel in the lead, military ranks may not be obvious to those not familiar with the military systems.
 * Done

Secession and Civil War
 * "After the election of Lincoln, Hodge became a proponent of immediate disunion" - For readers without a background knowledge of American history, this isn't going to make much sense. Maybe something along the lines of "After Abraham Lincoln was elected president, Hodge became a proponent of immediate disunion"
 * Done


 * Link DeSoto Parish at the first mention, not the second.
 * Done, good catch


 * Consider linking Lieutenant Colonel
 * Done


 * Link Major General at the first usage, not the second.
 * Done

References
 * Ref 23 doesn't directly connect the person as being Hodge's son, multiple people of that name could have existed in Louisiana at that time.
 * The names of the sons are also mentioned in the 1860 census.


 * Is Family Search reliable? See Reliable_sources/Noticeboard/Archive_115. At any rate, it should have a subscription parameter, looks like free subscription required.
 * Family Search is a service that provides scans of original documents, so the slave schedules are really what is being cited. Added subscription parameter
 * Hi, does this constitute an ACR source review? Gog the Mild (talk) 13:48, 30 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes, it can, unless I did a bad job. Hog Farm (talk) 14:02, 30 June 2020 (UTC)

Images
 * Best to have someone who's an expert in copyright look at File:Benjamin Lewis Hodge hand sketch.png. I'm not sure if fair use is required or not, I'm also not an expert at image licensing though, so I defer to the opinions of others.
 * I don't believe the image can be PD because it does not appear to have been published before 1976.

That's what I can see. Hog Farm (talk) 22:01, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Looks good to me now. Hog Farm (talk) 01:53, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

Comments Support by PM
This article is in good shape. A few comments:
 * I would beef up the detail and notability in the first sentence, suggest "Benjamin Lewis Hodge (c. 1824 – August 12, 1864) was a Confederate politician who commanded the 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment during the early stages of the American Civil War, including during the Battle of Shiloh.", then thin out the redundant bits of the second para
 * for election in "unopposed election", link Confederate Congressional elections, 1863, and same link in the body
 * suggest "in 1864 before his death."→"before his death in 1864."
 * suggest using the c. template in the first sentence and in the body
 * any info available about which party and seat he represented in the state legislature and what years?
 * Information is sparse, but I was able to find proof of an 1857-1859 term.


 * suggest "by those advocating immediate secession"
 * link Confederate States Army
 * free colored→ free colored man
 * link Major General to General officers in the Confederate States Army#Major general
 * "being vindicated"→"but was vindicated"
 * "Hodges attempted to rejoin Gibson's brigade"
 * "command of the regiment"→"command of the 19th Louisiana Infantry"
 * full stop after "Washington Artillery", start new sentence, "His ad hoc formation was positioned on the right of the army..."
 * for protectionism link Protectionism in the United States#Civil War
 * for special election link by-election
 * no idea what ailed him?
 * Someone may have known then, but if he did, it hasn't survived. A contemporary newspaper mentions the time he died at, but not the cause of death.

That's all I could find. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 07:27, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Nice work on this, supporting. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:02, 20 June 2020 (UTC)

Support by Nick-D

 * "He won election as a Know Nothing representative from Caddo Parish in 1857" - what was he elected to? (the state legislature or the local government?)
 * Clarified


 * "Despite Hodge's connections, he was not an extreme proslavery advocate " - given that this scumbag owned four slaves, invested in other slavery-related businesses and was a notable proponent of succession, this doesn't seem an accurate summation.
 * Four slaves was unexceptional for the context of north Louisiana and the source specifically describes him as not being an "extreme proslavery advocate" in the antebellum period. The Constitutional Union Party favored an impossible compromise but were less pro-secession in 1860 then the Southern Democrats, which aligns with available information on Hodge's politics, as he was a member of the Whigs and then the Know Nothings.
 * This wording minimises this jerk's awfulness by defining him as what he wasn't rather than the horror of what he was: a slave owner and a prominent advocate of succession in the cause of continuing slavery. The Know Nothings were also a collection of cranks. I'd suggest flipping this around, and describing his views. Nick-D (talk) 10:34, 15 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I've added details about his political activities in 1860. Kges1901 (talk) 13:49, 15 June 2020 (UTC)
 * That looks good, and adds a lot of useful detail. Nick-D (talk) 05:43, 20 June 2020 (UTC)


 * The sentence starting with "Hodge advanced his men" is a bit overly lengthy and complex.
 * Rephrased


 * A bit more context on the battle of Shiloh would be helpful - for instance, what was "Davis' wheat field" and where was the regiment located in relation to the front line (in the centre, one of the flanks, etc)?
 * The sentence starting with "Attending less than a full session of the Second Confederate Congress" is also overly complex Nick-D (talk) 04:13, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Rephrased

Support My comments are now addressed. Nick-D (talk) 05:43, 20 June 2020 (UTC)