Born on a plantation, near New Orleans, Louisiana, His father was wealthy and provided him with a good education. Hull graduated from Norwich University in 1833 and. At age 19, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army and served in the Second Seminole War in Florida. While there, his brother was killed in a duel. Hull took leave from the Army and studied law under Judah P. Benjamin. He investigated his brother's death and came to believe that his opponent had fired before the word to fire had been given. Hull vowed to kill the man and, a short time later, encountered the man in New Orleans and made good on his vow. He fled Louisiana and came north to the Wisconsin Territory. During the Seminole War, Hull had become acquainted with Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, who had previously served as second-in-command to Zachary Taylor at Fort Crawford in the Wisconsin Territory. Hull traveled there and resumed his duties with the Army. While at Crawford, he was sent to Fort Snelling, and, on his return, camped at the site where the city ofLa Crosse would later stand.
Wisconsin career
After his resignation from the United States Army, he relocated to Potosi, in Grant County, Wisconsin, where he participated in the lead mining industry and practiced law. He also became involved in politics, first as a Henry ClayWhig, then as a supporter of Henry Dodge and leader of a faction of "Dodge Whigs". He eventually came over to the Democratic Party in 1850, and was elected that year District Attorney for Grant County for 1851 and 1852. He was then chosen as Chief Clerk of the Wisconsin State Senate for the 1851 session, and, in 1853, was elected as a Democrat to represent Potosi and southwestern Grant County in the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1854 session, and was re-elected to the 1855 and 1856 sessions. In 1856, he was chosen as Speaker of the Assembly. As speaker, Hull enthusiastically supported the case of Governor William A. Barstow in the controversy over the 1855 election, and was determined to lead the Assembly in defiance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. But he and the other Democrats relented after Barstow dropped his claim and accepted Coles Bashford as Governor of Wisconsin. While Hull was serving as speaker, the Governor of Louisiana, Robert C. Wickliffe, sent a message to Governor Bashford, charging Hull with murder and requesting his extradition to Louisiana to face trial. Bashford ignored the request. In 1856, Congress made a generous land grant to the state, to be used for railroad development. An extra session of the legislature was called in the fall to determine the proper allocation of the land. At that time, Milwaukee businessman Byron Kilbourn engaged in mass bribery of the Governor and important members of the legislature to obtain tracts of the railroad grant. Hull at first threatened to expose the bribery scheme, marching into the capitol with a list of the officials that he claimed had been bribed, but later dropped his objections and voted with the Kilbourn gang. In the investigation after the fact, Hull was found to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the "corruption bonds."
Hull's first wife died. In 1855, Hull became desperately in love with Margaret A. "Maggie" Jones. She refused his proposals several times, before eventually relenting. They had one son together, but Hull proved too eccentric and they divorced within a year. Maggie would eventually go on to marry Isaac E. Messmore and move to Michigan with him. After his term as speaker, Hull relocated to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he coninued his law practice. He died in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on September 15, 1881. His obituary states that he remained depressed over his divorce for the rest of his life and eventually drank himself to death.
