James Hogun

James Hogun
James Hogun
Born	Ireland
Died	January 4, 1781; Haddrel's Point, South Carolina
Allegiance	Continental Congress; United States of America
Service/branch	Continental Army
Years of service	1776–81
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	7th North Carolina Regiment; (1776 – November 1778); Philadelphia; (March 1779 – November 1779); North Carolina Line (1st Brigade); (November 1779 – May 1780);
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine; Battle of Germantown; Siege of Charleston; ;

James Hogun (died January 4, 1781) was an Irish-American military officer who was as one of five generals from North Carolina to serve with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in Ireland, Hogan migrated to North Carolina – then a British colony – in 1751. Settling in Halifax County, he raised a family and established himself as a prominent local figure.

A member of the county's Committee of Safety, he represented it at the North Carolina Provincial Congress and helped to draft the first Constitution of North Carolina. Initially a major in the 7th North Carolina Regiment, Hogun advanced quickly in rank during 1776 to become the unit's commanding officer. He participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in 1777. The Continental Congress promoted Hogun to brigadier general in 1779, although several congressmen and the North Carolina General Assembly wished to see Thomas Clark of North Carolina promoted instead.

Hogun was in command of North Carolina's line brigade during the siege of Charleston in the spring of 1780, which ended in the surrender of all but one of North Carolina's regiments of regular infantry as well as more than 5,000 Patriot soldiers under Major General Benjamin Lincoln. Hogun was the highest-ranking officer from North Carolina to be captured and imprisoned after the surrender of Charleston, and despite being offered the opportunity to leave internment under a parole that was generally extended to other captured Continental officers, he remained in a British prisoner-of-war camp near Charleston. Hogun likely chose imprisonment in order to prevent the British Army from recruiting Continental soldiers for its campaign in the West Indies. He became ill and died in the prison on Haddrel's Point, a peninsula in Charleston's harbor.