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Birth: 9/23/1823 inFauquier County, VA
Eppastudied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843. He was very active in statepolitics and served in the state militia, rising to the rank of brigadiergeneral. At the outbreak of the war, he was serving as Commonwealth Attorney atBrentsville.When the Virginia Secession Convention was organized following Lincoln\'selection, Hunton was elected to the convention as an \"Immediate SecessionCandidate.\" He continued to press his fellow delegates for secessionthroughout the crisis, \"taking the peculiar position of favoring secessionfor the sake of the Union, arguing that if all the Southern States promptlywithdrew, war would be avoided, and reconstruction on favorable and lastingterms would soon follow\" (Conf Mil Hist, Vol III). Once Virginia left theUnion, Hunton immediately resigned his seat and applied for a commission.Governor John Letcher appointed him colonel of the 8th VirginiaVolunteer Infantry Regiment, then being organized at Leesburg, Virginia.He led the 8th Virginia Regiment at 1st Manassas and onthe Peninsula. When the Brigade commander Brigadier General Pickett was woundedat Gaines\' Mill, Col Hunton assumed command of the brigade. He did well at theSecond Battle of Manassas, but at the start of the Maryland Campaign the brigadewas given to Brigadier General Richard Garnett, and Hunton returned to commandof the 8th Virginia.
ColHunton was at the head of his Regiment in Pickett\'s Charge at Gettysburg, wherehe was seriously wounded. Hunton was promoted to the rank of brigadier generalon August 9, 1863, and received command of Garnett\'s Brigade. He led theBrigade through the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, toits end with capture at Saylor\'s Creek in April 1865. Hunton was sent to FortWarren, in Boston Harbor, until he was paroled in July 1865.
Huntonmoved to Warrenton, Va following the Civil War and established a law practice.Elected to Congress in 1872, he continued to serve the northern district ofVirginia until 1881, He was appointed to the United States Senate in 1892 andserved in that body until 1895.
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