Harry T . Hays Harry Thompson Hays ( April 14 , 1820 – August 21 , 1876 ) was an American Army officer serving in the Mexican - American War and a general who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War . Known as the " Louisiana Tigers " , his brigade played a major role during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 , where they ascended Cemetery Hill in the darkness and overran several artillery batteries before finally being driven off for lack of support . Early life and career . Harry Thompson Hays was born in Wilson County , Tennessee . His family lived in a home known as " The Hermitage , " which was given to President Andrew Jackson by the Hays . Following the deaths of his parents , he was reared by an uncle in Wilkinson County , Mississippi . He attended St . Mary ’ s College in Baltimore , Maryland , and studied law . Hays soon established a prominent law practice in New Orleans , Louisiana . Hays saw his first military service during the Mexican - American War , serving in the 5th Louisiana Cavalry . Returning to Louisiana , Hays became active in politics as a Whig and served as a Presidential Elector supporting Winfield Scott in 1852 . His brother was the famous Texas Ranger John Coffee Hays . Author Shelby Foote described him as a " Tennessee born , Mississippi raised , lawyer from New Orleans . " Civil War . In 1861 , Hays entered the Confederate Army as colonel of the 7th Louisiana Infantry . Showing his attitude toward Northerners , Hays made the rogue ' s march of his regiment " Yankee Doodle , " stating that " More rascals have marched to that tune in one day than to any other . " After fighting at the First Battle of Bull Run and Stonewall Jackson ' s Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 , he suffered a severe wound at Port Republic . Recovering from his injury , Hays was promoted to brigadier general on July 25 , 1862 and assigned command of the First Louisiana Brigade , replacing Richard Taylor who had been promoted to major general and sent to the Western Theater . This brigade was known as the " Louisiana Tigers , " having taken the name from the original battalion commanded by Roberdeau Wheat . Hays lost half of his unit a few months later at the Battle of Antietam . Despite reduced numbers , he continued to lead his brigade at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in May 1863 . At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 , after he had garrisoned the town , he directed his troops in a twilight assault on Cemetery Hill . The brigade stubbornly fought their way up the steep slope , and for a brief period of time held several Union guns there . However , as General Hays looked rearward , he was dismayed to see that no additional troops had been sent to his support . Reluctantly , and with casualties mounting , he ordered the remnant of his brigade to retire in the gathering darkness just as Federal reinforcements arrived to secure the heights . His brigade brought back several battle flags captured during the attack . Hays was briefly captured in November 1863 , at Rappahannock Station , but escaped . In fierce fighting at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5 , 1864 , he lost a third of his remaining men . Five days later , he was badly wounded by a shell fragment at Spotsylvania Court House . He never again served in the Army of Northern Virginia . Upon his recovery , he was transferred to the Trans - Mississippi , then was assigned command in Louisiana . On May 10 , 1865 , Hays was promoted to major general by his superior , General Edmund Kirby Smith , but with the demise of the Confederacy , this promotion never was formally approved by Confederate President Jefferson Davis or the Confederate Congress . Postbellum career . After the war , Hays went back to New Orleans , where , after receiving a pardon from President Andrew Johnson , he served as sheriff of Orleans Parish for a year . He played a prominent role in the July 1866 New Orleans Riot , at one time deputizing nearly two hundred of his former soldiers who were now members of the " Hays Brigade Relief Society . " Hays was removed from office in November by the Federal Government at the insistence of influential former Union general Philip H . Sheridan . Hays was a Freemason , receiving his degrees in Louisiana Lodge # 102 in New Orleans . He then returned to his law practice until his death at age 56 of Bright ' s disease . Hays is buried in Lafayette Cemetery No . 1 in Washington Avenue Cemetery in New Orleans . He is the namesake of the Major General Harry T . Hays , Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp # 2019 in Baton Rouge , Louisiana .