on november 9, 1825, ambrose powell hill, jr., was born at greenland, his father's plantation near culpepper, virginia. but all throughout his childhood, he was called powell. he went to the local schools. hill wanted to go into the military, and in 1842 he was admitted to west point. but he did not graduate in 1846 with the rest of his class because he missed a year due to illness. graduating in 1847, he was posted to the u.s. 1st artillery. after serving in the mexican-american war, he was sent to texas, then florida. hill came down with yellow fever, typhoid fever, and malaria. during the 1850s he was sick much of the time and was confined to his bed. when he recovered, he was assigned to the coast surveying department (now the u.s. national geodetic survey).