Justin Hodge

Justin Hodge, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on April 21, 1815, was a Connecticut politician who served in the state legislature for many years. He represented his hometown of Barkhamstead as a loyal member of the Democratic Party. He served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War as well as the Mexican War before that. He served as the Connecticut Adjutant General in 1855.

Military career
Justin Hodge served in both the war with Mexico and the American Civil War. Serving as Connecticut’s Adjutant General in for a short time as Adjutant General in between the wars in 1855. In Mexico he was a captain of volunteers and served with General Winfield Scott at Vera Cruz. He was appointed to the position of Adjutant General by Governor William T. Minor in August 1855. Upon appointment, he was ordered by the Governor to disband several companies of the state militia that were composed primarily of Irish immigrants. Hodge refused to execute the order and was removed from the office by the displeased Governor. Joseph D. Williams was appointed Adjutant General and carried out the order. Justin Hodge is the shortest serving Adjutant General in Connecticut’s military history.

On April 23, 1861, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and served as a commissioned officer in Company S, Connecticut 1st Infantry Regiment. During the course of the war, he would rise to the rank of Colonel, where he primarily served under General Nathaniel P. Banks and the Army of the Gulf. Colonel Hodge mustered out of the military on October 13, 1866

Personal life
Hodge married Lucia Hewitt, daughter of Joshua Hewitt and Polly Williams of Winsted, Connecticut. His son, Kosky Hodge, served with him in the Civil War as a teenager. Justin died at his home on October 22, 1900