Hazlett was born in Zanesville, Ohio to Robert Hazlett and Lucy Welles Reed.
 Hazlett's parents were abolitionists and supporters of the Underground Railroad in central Ohio.
After briefly attending Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, he was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
 During his first year at the academy, he was court-martialed and suspended for several months, but later graduated on May 6, 1861, fifteenth in his class.
Hazlett was born in Zanesville, Ohio to Robert Hazlett and Lucy Welles Reed.  Hazlett's parents were abolitionists and supporters of the Underground Railroad in central Ohio. After briefly attending Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, he was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  During his first year at the academy, he was court-martialed and suspended for several months, but later graduated on May 6, 1861, fifteenth in his class.
Charles E. Hazlett