William Hoffman ( United States Army ) William Hoffman ( 1807 – 1884 ) was a 19th - century officer in the United States Army . The West Point graduate was involved in the Black Hawk War , Seminole Wars , Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . During the Civil War he served as the Commissary - General of Prisoners and set policy for the treatment and release of prisoners . Biography . Early life and education . William Hoffman , Jr . was born in New York . He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman , Sr . , who fought in the War of 1812 . He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th infantry on July 1 , 1829 . He was a classmate of Robert E . Lee . Early military career . Hoffman ' s early military career was on the frontier . Between 1829 and 1836 he was stationed at either Jefferson Barracks in Missouri or Fort Leavenworth in Kansas . In 1832 he fought in the Black Hawk War . On November 16 , 1936 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant , 6th Infantry . Hoffman then moved south to Fort Jesup and Camp Sabine in Louisiana before fighting in the Second Seminole War from 1837 - 1842 . On February 1 , 1838 he was promoted to Captain , 6th Infantry . In 1842 he served in the Recruiting Service before being posted at Fort Smith in Arkansas . In 1846 he mustered volunteers into the military before his engagement in the Mexican - American War . During the war with Mexico between 1846 and 1847 , Hoffman was engaged in the march through Chihuahua , the Siege of Vera Cruz , the Battle of Cerro Gordo , a skirmish at Amazoque , the Capture of San Antonio , the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco , where he was wounded . On August 20 , 1847 Hoffman was brevetted to Major for gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco . He was also involved in the Battle of Molino del Rey , the Battle of Chapultepec , and the Assault and Capture of Mexico City . He was brevetted a Lieutenant Colonel on September 8 , 1847 for his gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey . Between the war with Mexico and the Civil War Hoffman served on recruiting duty for two years before returning to the frontier . There he was garrisoned again at Fort Leavenworth and was promoted to Major , 5th Infantry , on April 15 , 1851 . He returned to Jefferson Barracks in 1852 and was transferred back to the 6th Infantry the same year . From 1852 - 1854 he was garrisoned at Newport Barracks in Kentucky . He returned to the frontier in 1854 with his posting at Fort Laramie in the Dakota Territory . He was involved in the Sioux Expedition of 1855 , the Utah Expedition of 1858 and the March to California the same year . Hoffman relocated to California for frontier duty in the Mojave Country and Benicia , California . On October 17 , 1860 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel , 8th Infantry , and was transferred to San Antonio , Texas . Civil War . Hoffman was in San Antonio at the start of the American Civil War . He was taken as a prisoner of war by the Confederates when Brigadier General David E . Twiggs surrendered the Union command on February 18 , 1861 . On April 25 , 1862 he was promoted to Colonel , 3rd Infantry , while still a POW , and was released in a prisoner exchange on August 27 , 1862 . He was reassigned to Washington , D . C where that year he became Commissary - General of Prisoners . The Office of the Commissary - General of Prisoners had been organized on October 7 , 1861 under the Quarter Master General ’ s Department . It was made directly responsible to the Secretary of War on June 17 , 1862 , so when Hoffman took the position , he had access to the top of the military and political structure . On November 11 , 1864 the office was divided into an Eastern and Western Branch . Hoffman , who had been in charge of the whole office up to that date , was placed in charge of the Eastern Branch . On February 1 , 1865 , it was restructured as a single unit , and Hoffman was placed in charge overall again . Over 104 , 000 Confederate soldiers deserted the army during the war , with a third of them surrendering to the Union army . In addition , the army captured thousands of soldiers , whom they held as POWs , transferring them away from the fronts to camps set up to house them . The two governments negotiated a prisoner exchange , which operated from 1862 and 1863 before it broke down for a variety of reasons . The Union was not prepared to handle the number of prisoners it took in and scrambled to set up facilities . On both sides , the prison camps were overcrowded , suffered food shortages and poor sanitation , and were plagued with infectious disease . In 1862 some of the Confederate POWs refused to be exchanged , saying they would not return to the South . Hoffman , working with President Abraham Lincoln and War Secretary Edwin Stanton , developed a procedure whereby Confederate POWs and deserters could swear allegiance to the Union to gain their release . Release requests from Union officials , Confederate soldiers , and Southern family members came to Hoffman ’ s office for review and evaluation . Hoffman believed deserters , because they had already renounced their military obligation to the Confederacy , provided an opportunity to “ reconstruct ” the rebel soldiers and undermine the Confederate war effort . Military field commanders could administer the oath of allegiance to deserters if they could verify their stories and be assured they were not spies . He believed that POWs presented a problem , as they could return to their units or act as spies . They could only be released after Hoffman ’ s staff reviewed each case individually and the release was approved by Secretary of War Stanton . To encourage desertion , the Union started to offer incentives to Confederate soldiers , such as transportation home . Hoffman narrowed the conditions for Confederates to take the oath of allegiance , and the number of prisoners released decreased dramatically . On October 7 , 1864 Hoffman was brevetted to Brigadier General for faithful and meritorious services during the Rebellion , and then brevetted to Major General on March 13 , 1865 , for faithful , meritorious and distinguished services as Commissary - General of Prisoners during the Rebellion . He served in the post of Commissary - General until November 3 , 1865 . Later career and death . After the Civil War , Hoffman was placed in command of regiments at St . Louis , Missouri from 1865 – 1866 and Fort Leavenworth from 1866 - 1868 . He was on leave from March 6 , 1868 – April 26 , 1869 when he became the Superintendent of the General Recruiting Service . He retired from the army on May 1 , 1870 as a colonel . Hoffman retired to Rock Island , Illinois where he married his second wife . He and his wife Mary started a school for girls there . Hoffman died in 1884 and was buried in Chippiannock Cemetery in Rock Island .