Those who served with and under Hotaling regarded him as a born leader; charismatic, intelligent, and friendly. There soon began talk within the higher ranks of promoting Hotaling to the rank of colonel and a command of his own, but Logan so well-liked his adjutant that he would hear nothing of it. Hotaling was repeatedly passed over for promotions, and would stay at his rank of major until the end of the war. After the war, during Army reunions, Logan was regularly heard praising Hotaling's bravery and resourcefulness. In 1868, General Charles C. Walcott said of Hotaling: "Our forces owed their success before Atlanta more to him than any other man."