"Hooker Was a Strange Composition" Like many top-ranked officers, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker had supporters and detractors. One of his critics, fellow West Pointer John Gibbon, was a career soldier who distinguished himself on many a battlefield, notably Gettysburg, where he and his men took the brunt of Pickett’s Charge. Here is Gibbon's evaluation of Hooker’s character. "Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine. Lear