Charles Hawkins (Medal of Honor)

Charles Hawkins
Civil War era Navy Medal of Honor
Born	1834 or 1835 Scotland
Died	February 29, 1908 Rhode Island
Buried	Saint Mary Cemetery
Allegiance	Union
Service / branch	Navy
Rank	Seaman
Unit	USS Agawam
Battles / wars	American Civil War First Battle of Fort Fisher
Awards	Medal of Honor

Charles Hawkins (1834 or 1835 - February 29, 1908) was a Seaman in the Union Navy during the American Civil War, where he was awarded the Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor. Hawkins was born in either 1834 or 1835, depending on the source, in Scotland. He lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and enlisted in the Union Navy from New Hampshire. He served on board the USS Agawam, as one of a volunteer crew of a powder boat. He was given his Medal of Honor on December 23, 1864, when his boat exploded on that date near Fort Fisher. His boat was towed in by USS Wilderness to prevent detection by the enemy, and less than two hours after boarding the boat, the explosion took place, and the following day fires were observed still burning at the forts. Hawkins was awarded his Medal of Honor on December 31, 1864. He died on February 29, 1908, in Rhode Island. He was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

See also

• First Battle of Fort Fisher
• USS Agawam

References

• Ammen, RADM USN, Daniel (1885). The Atlantic Coast. The Navy in the Civil War. Vol. II. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. OCLC 166312281.
• Matthews, Franklin (1915). Our Navy in Time of War (1861-1915). New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. OCLC 940844432.
• Porter, ADM USN, David Dixon (1886). The Naval History of the Civil War. New York, NY: The Sherman Publishing Company. OCLC 280729.

External links

• Charles Hawkins at Find a Grave
• Naval History and Heritage Command: Agawam I (Side Wheel Gunboat)