| 1818 December 12 |
Born about five miles south of Plaquemine in Iberville Parish. |
| 1836 | Graduates first in class at Jefferson College. |
| 1840 June 21 |
Graduates from United States Military Academy. He is a classmate of Civil War Generals W. S. Hancock, W. T. Sherman, Joseph Wheeler and George H. Thomas. |
| 1841 | Professor of Engineering at USMA. |
| 1842 August 2 |
Marries Cora Wills Vaughn who is the daughter of a sugar planter. They will have five children. |
| 1845 February 28 |
Hebert resigns from the army after being appointed Chief Engineer, State of Louisiana by governor Alexander Mouton. . |
| 1846 | Reappointed Chief Engineer, State of Louisiana by governor Isaac Johnson. |
| 1847 April |
Resigns to fight in the Mexican War. As a Lt. Col. of the U. S. 14th Infantry Regiment he fights at Contrerras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec and Mexico City. At Molino del Rey he is honored by General Winfield Scott and is breveted a Colonel for bravery. He is cited for gallantry at Chapultepec and Mexico City. |
| 1848 July 25 |
Honorable Discharge at New Orleans. |
| 1849 | As a Democrat his run for the State Senate falls nine votes short and he returns to his sugar plantation. |
| 1851 | Governor Joseph Marshall Walker appoints Hebert as a delegate to Industrial Exhibition in London. |
| 1852 | A division among Iberville Whigs gives him a seat at the constitutional convention. Since John Slidell, a leader of the Democrats is focusing on a national office the Democrats turn to Hebert as their nominee for governor. He campaigns against Republican features of the new constitution, calls for internal improvements, reform of the state militia, a banking system by general laws and redemption in specie of all paper money. He is running against Judge Bordelon, a Whig from St. Landry Parish and wins 17,334 votes to 15,781. |
| 1853 January |
Hebert takes the oath as governor and guides the legislature toward improvements in water commerce and railroad construction. |
| 1853 March 31 |
Hebert also establishes the Louisiana Seminary of Learning at Alexandria which will later become Louisiana State University. He Instituted the State Library, reorganized the militia, improved Charity Hospital and organized the efforts against the yellow fever of 1853. The issue of nationalism and the rise of the Know Nothing or American Party becomes a cause of concern. Whig newspapers try to discredit Hebert and start rumors of his allegiance with the Know Nothings. He still appointed some Whigs to minor offices and some Know Nothings to lucrative posts. He is very independent in his appointments and many Democrats are disenchanted with him toward the end of his administration. Hebert is twice mentioned as a possible candidate for the U. S. Senate, but John Slidell is too powerful. During his administration four major railroads are incorporated including the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern. Hebert wants to connect every part of Louisiana to New Orleans, The Great Emporium, by rail. He also builds levees and seeks land reclamation projects. |
| 1855 March 15 |
Promotes and passes a tax of one mill on all property to support the public school system which is open only to whites between the ages of six and sixteen |
| 1856 | Retires to a life as a gentleman planter. |
| 1860 | Lincoln is elected in December and Governor Thomas Overton Moore appoints Hebert to the military board to reorganize militia and defenses in the New Orleans area. He is appointed as a Colonel of the 1st Louisiana Artillery. |
| 1861 April 1 |
Appointed a Brigadier General in the Louisiana Militia. |
| 1861 August 3 |
Hebert’s first wife Cora dies. He will remarry to Penelope Lynch, daughter of John Andrews of Iberville Parish. It is a marriage of convenience. |
| 1861 August |
Commissioned a Brigadier General in the provisional Army of the Confederacy but is not given an active position. Later he will have a command of Louisiana troops and in the Trans-Mississippi Department. |
| 1862 | This year he is posted in the Department of Texas and later in the defense of Vicksburg. |
| 1863 June |
The only time Hebert sees battle is at the Battle of Milliken's Bend in Louisiana. |
| 1864 August |
Again posted in Texas. |
| 1865 | Still in Texas at the time the war ends, he returns to Louisiana , receives a pardon from Andrew Johnson and returns to his sugar plantation. He will be active in the politics of reconstruction supporting a Liberal Republican movement and accepting a minor office appointment in New Orleans. |
| 1872 | Endorses Horace Greeley and opposes Louisiana Custom House Republican faction. He supports Republican governor Henry C. Warmoth. |
| 1873 | Appointed to the Board of State Engineers by governor William Pitt Kellogg. |
| 1874 | Appointed to of Board of U. S. Engineers for Mississippi River Comm. |
| 1876 | Changes political allegiance to Democrat. |
| 1880 April 29 |
Dies and is buried at Bayou Goula. |