JEFFREY HAZARD.
Capt. Jeffrey Hazard, son of John Hazard, and grandson of Governor Jeffrey Hazard, was born in the town of Exeter, R. I., on the 23d day of September, 1835. His elder brother, John G. Hazard, served with distinction in the War of the Rebellion, rising from the rank of first lieutenant to brevet brigadier-general of volunteers. The subject of our sketch obtained his education at the Providence High School, and, previous to the war, was a teller in the Manufacturers’ Bank.
He received a commission as second lieutenant in Battery A, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, Oct. 5, 1861, and was subsequently appointed regimental adjutant. He participated with his battery in many engagements. Among these may be mentioned Balls Bluff, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, and Antietam. At the latter battle the battery won for itself great renown, holding an advanced position under a heavy fire from the enemy. It fought nearly four hours within three hundred yards of the enemy’s line of battle, losing four men killed and fifteen wounded. The only officers of the battery present with Captain Tompkins were lieutenants Hazard and Mason, who bravely worked the guns for want of men.
On the 1st of October, 1862, Lieutenant Hazard was promoted to the captaincy of Battery H, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Capt. C. H. J. Hamlin. Captain Hazard immediately proceeded to Rhode Island, joined the battery at Camp Mauran, and assumed command. Shortly after his arrival he was ordered by the governor to proceed with his battery to the Dexter Training Ground, where the Twelfth Rhode Island Infantry was encamped. Trouble was anticipated in regard to bounties, which had been promised the men before leaving the State. Four guns of the battery were placed at the corners of the grounds ready to repel any mutiny that might arise. Happily no blood was shed, and Captain Hazard returned with his command to Camp Mauran.
Oct. 23, 1862, Captain Hazard’s battery left Providence for Washington, D. C, and proceeded to the artillery camp of instruction, Camp Barry. While stationed here the battery attained great efficiency in drill and discipline, due in great measure to the indefatigable efforts of its commander.
At the time of the battle of Chancellorsville Captain Hazard, with one section of his battery, was ordered to Rappahannock Station, where it remained nine days with the Twelfth Vermont Infantry, for the purpose of guarding the river at that point.
On the 29th of June, we find Captain Hazard with his battery on Little River Turnpike in the vicinity of Forts Worth and Ward, where it was engaged in supporting the picket line, as it was apprehended that the enemy, who were reconnoitering on the turnpike, might be seeking to force an entrance within our lines at that point. Commendable mention is made of the services rendered by Battery H at this time by Colonel Abbott, commanding the brigade to which the battery was attached.
On the 17th of August, Captain Hazard resigned his commission and took his departure on the evening of that date. The battery deplored the loss of its commander, for by his energy and ability he had labored to bring it to a high state of proficiency, and he had the satisfaction of knowing that it was unsurpassed by any of the volunteer batteries stationed around Washington.
On his retirement from the army Captain Hazard engaged in mercantile pursuits, and is now the senior member of the well known firm of the Hazard Cotton Company, cotton merchants, in the city of Providence.
He is connected with the Massachusetts Commandery Loyal Legion of the United States, and is a member of Prescott Post, No. 1, Department of Rhode Island, Grand Army of the Republic.
He is a member of the Providence Board of Trade, and held the office of president in 1887–8.