Charles Hawkins

The Sailor Who Volunteered for a Floating Bomb Mission

Charles Hawkins was a Scottish-born United States Navy sailor who received the Medal of Honor for his courage during the American Civil War. Serving as a seaman aboard USS Agawam, Hawkins volunteered for a dangerous mission to carry an explosives-laden vessel toward the Confederate defenses at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on December 23, 1864. His participation in the operation, which required the crew to prepare a floating powder boat for detonation near an enemy fortification and escape before it exploded, earned him the nation's highest military decoration.

Born in Scotland in 1834, Hawkins later immigrated to the United States. His early childhood, family background, education, and circumstances of immigration are not extensively documented in surviving biographical accounts. His military service became associated with Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the location to which his Medal of Honor was officially accredited.

Historical records also preserve the alternative spelling Charles Harkins. Although he is officially recognized as Charles Hawkins, the variation remains part of his recorded identity.

During the Civil War, Hawkins entered the United States Navy and served aboard USS Agawam, a steam-powered, double-ended gunboat. The vessel operated along the Atlantic coast and supported Union naval operations against Confederate positions and waterways.

Hawkins held the rating of seaman at the time of his Medal of Honor action. His position involved general seamanship duties aboard the vessel, but the mission for which he became distinguished required him to volunteer for an assignment far more dangerous than routine shipboard service.

By late 1864, Union naval commanders were preparing an expedition against Fort Fisher, a heavily fortified Confederate position protecting the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina. The fort guarded the entrance to the Cape Fear River and helped maintain Wilmington's importance as a port for Confederate blockade-running vessels.

Union forces had struggled to close Wilmington despite the continuing naval blockade. Fort Fisher's defensive guns made direct approaches hazardous, and its position created a significant obstacle to Union naval operations.

As preparations for an assault continued, Union naval commanders adopted an unusual plan intended to weaken the Confederate defenses. A steam-powered vessel would be filled with explosives, taken close to the fort, and detonated in the hope that the blast would damage the fortifications and their powder magazines.

The vessel selected for the operation was USS Louisiana, which was converted into a powder boat. The dangerous mission required a volunteer crew to guide the ship toward the Confederate shoreline, prepare the explosive charges, and escape before the planned detonation.

Hawkins volunteered from USS Agawam to participate in this operation. His decision placed him among a small group of sailors willing to enter a hazardous situation in which an accidental explosion or detection by Confederate defenders could have been fatal.

On December 23, 1864, the volunteers undertook the mission against Fort Fisher. The powder boat was towed toward the Confederate position by USS Wilderness, a supporting Union vessel assigned to assist the operation.

The approach was conducted under cover of darkness to reduce the possibility of detection. Bringing the explosives close enough to threaten Fort Fisher required careful navigation along the coast while avoiding Confederate observation.

As the powder boat neared its destination, it was released from the towing vessel and proceeded slowly toward the shoreline. The official Medal of Honor citation records that the vessel approached to within approximately 300 yards of the beach.

Once the powder boat reached its intended position, the volunteer crew prepared it for detonation. Fuses and fires were lit, and a second anchor with a short scope was deployed to help keep the vessel oriented toward shore.

These preparations formed the critical final stage of the mission. The sailors remained aboard an explosives-laden vessel while carrying out the actions necessary to initiate its destruction.

Hawkins participated in the operation as a member of the volunteer crew. The surviving citation recognizes his role in the collective mission without assigning him an individually documented responsibility for lighting a particular fuse or operating a specific piece of equipment.

After completing the preparations, the volunteers returned to USS Wilderness. The supporting vessel then withdrew approximately twelve miles from the shore, placing the crew at a safer distance before the expected explosion.

Less than two hours later, the powder boat detonated near Fort Fisher. The explosion illuminated the surrounding area, and fires were observed still burning near the fortifications the following day.

Although the detonation was dramatic, it did not destroy Fort Fisher or achieve the decisive damage that Union commanders had anticipated. The Confederate defenses remained largely effective, and the subsequent Union attack in December failed to capture the fort.

The failure of the explosive plan did not diminish the danger faced by the volunteers. Hawkins and his fellow sailors had successfully approached an enemy-held shoreline, prepared a vessel carrying a massive explosive charge, and escaped before the detonation.

Their mission represented an unusual form of naval warfare during the Civil War, combining the use of explosives, steam-powered vessels, and a small volunteer crew operating near defended Confederate territory.

Hawkins's courage was recognized because he willingly accepted the risks involved and participated in carrying out the dangerous assignment. His Medal of Honor citation specifically identifies his service aboard USS Agawam and his participation in the powder boat operation near Fort Fisher.

The Navy formally recorded his award under General Order No. 45, dated December 31, 1864. The order was issued only days after the mission.

On May 12, 1865, Charles Hawkins received the Medal of Honor aboard USS Agawam while the vessel was stationed off New Bern, North Carolina. The presentation came after the conclusion of the major fighting in Virginia and formally recognized his bravery during the December 1864 expedition.

Hawkins subsequently attained the naval rating of Boatswain's Mate, the highest rank recorded in his military career. His promotion distinguished his later service from his position as a seaman during the Medal of Honor action.

The surviving records provide limited information concerning his subsequent naval assignments, final discharge, and civilian occupation after the war. His documented historical recognition remains centered on his participation in the Fort Fisher powder boat expedition.

Charles Hawkins lived for more than four decades after the American Civil War. He died on February 29, 1908, in Cranston, Rhode Island, at approximately 73 or 74 years of age.

He was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Cranston, Rhode Island, where his grave preserves his connection to the community in which his life ended.

Hawkins's military legacy is defined by his willingness to volunteer for a dangerous operation against one of the Confederacy's most heavily defended coastal fortifications. Although the powder boat did not accomplish the destruction its planners had intended, the mission demanded exceptional courage from the men assigned to execute it.

His actions on December 23, 1864, demonstrated the risks accepted by Union sailors engaged in specialized naval operations during the Civil War. By taking part in the preparation and deployment of an explosive vessel near Fort Fisher, Hawkins helped complete a mission that placed the safety of its volunteer crew in considerable danger.

Charles Hawkins remains remembered as a Scottish-born Union Navy sailor whose bravery during the Fort Fisher expedition earned him the Medal of Honor. His service aboard USS Agawam and his willingness to undertake a hazardous assignment secured his place among the naval recipients of America's highest military decoration.