Hugh A. Egger was born on December 27, 1834, in Mississippi to John and Hannah Egger. His father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property by 1860. He grew up in Lowndes County, Mississippi, and by 1860, he was working as a carpenter.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army on April 29, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company F of the 43^rd Mississippi Infantry. He fell ill in the fall of 1862 and spent the next several months in the hospital. He took part in the Vicksburg campaign, and his regiment surrendered along with the rest of the Vicksburg garrison on July 4, 1863. He received a parole two days later. He was eventually exchanged, and he returned to active service. Union forces captured him again near Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15, 1864. He was discharged on June 19, 1865.

 

He returned to Lowndes County after the war, and he married Cordelia Botters on November 13, 1866. They had at least five children: Minnie, born around 1868; Charles, born around 1870; Henry, born around 1872; John, born around 1874; and Reisa, born around 1876. By 1870, he was working as a wagon maker, and he owned $600 of real estate and $150 of personal property. He died on June 9, 1901.

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