A Union officer who survived the bloodshed at Gettysburg spent years fighting out West with the Buffalo Soldiers, only to be dishonorably discharged after showing up to roll call appearing intoxicated. He insisted he had been drugged, and his fight to clear his name took decades to resolve. Major William H. Hugo was serving with the 70th New York Infantry at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, when Confederate troops under William Barksdale launched a furious assault across the fields near the Peach Orchard.
Hugo had his men ready by 8 a. m. that morning, but the order to advance did not come until around 1 p. m.
His unit formed up with other New York regiments in and around the orchard, and then the waiting ended. Around 4 p. m. , thousands of Mississippi soldiers came charging across the open ground directly at the Union position.
Hugo was hit by a Confederate bullet in the hip almost immediately. Wounded badly, he refused to leave the field until he knew the rebels had been pushed back. Only after the Union line repulsed the attack did he finally allow himself to be taken for medical help. Hugo survived Gettysburg, but his military career was far from over.
He had already served through the Peninsula Campaign, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, earning a promotion from captain to major. After the Civil War ended, he joined the regular U. S. Army in 1866 and served extensively with the Buffalo Soldiers, including the 25th Infantry and the 9th Cavalry, fighting out West.
Between 1877 and 1880, Hugo was stationed with his family at Fort Bayard, where his wife died, likely from illness. In 1881, his career came to an abrupt end. At a roll call, he appeared intoxicated, and the Army discharged him for being drunk on duty. Hugo maintained his innocence, claiming he had been drugged.
He believed something had been put in his drink, and fellow soldiers supported his account, suggesting the medications he was taking could have caused the effect. Whether he was intentionally drugged or suffered a reaction to his medication was never established at the time. The Army did not accept his explanation, and his career ended in disgrace. For years, Hugo fought to clear his name.
Eventually, the U. S. Army reversed its decision, clearing his record and granting him a pension, a late vindication for a man who had served from Gettysburg to the Western frontier. The position Hugo defended at the Peach Orchard was part of a controversial forward deployment ordered by Major General Dan Sickles, who moved his men away from Cemetery Ridge to higher ground near the orchard, creating a vulnerable salient.
The move has been debated ever since, with some arguing Sickles accidentally brought on a general engagement that helped the Union, while others maintain he disobeyed lawful orders from General George Meade. Hugo is not buried at Gettysburg. He lived out the rest of his life elsewhere, which he could consider a measure of luck given how many men were lost defending that field.