Joseph Hooker (1914-1879), a native of Massachusetts, graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1837. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Hooker was living in California. Returning to the east, he was appointed a brigadier general in August, 1861. Recognized for his aggression on the battlefield, he was promoted to major general in July, 1862. On January 26, 1863, President Lincoln appointed Hooker to command the Army of the Potomac. His poor battlefield performance over the next few months led Lincoln to replace Hooker with Major General George Meade on June 28, 1863. Hooker would be transferred to command the Army of the Potomac's XI and XII Corps in the western theatre, participating in the Battle of Chattanooga and in the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, when he asked to be relieved and was moved to command the Northern Department, headquartered in Cincinnati, where he served for the remainder of the war. Hooker continued in military service after the war, commanding the Department of the East and Department of the Lakes. He retired in 1868 and died in New York 11 years later.

Records show that a Henry Peters and William H. Tapp both enlisted in Company B, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry (organized in Clinton County), in September, 1861; and that both were transferred to the 2nd U. S. Artillery in December, 1862.