Charles Hawkins (Medal of Honor)

Charles Hawkins, also recorded in some historical material as Charles Harkins, was born in 1834 in Scotland. He later emigrated to the United States and entered the United States Navy, where his service during the American Civil War eventually placed him among the recipients of the Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor record was accredited to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but this should not be confused with his birthplace or necessarily with his enlistment location. His official wartime identity remained Charles Hawkins, and no verified middle name or middle initial is associated with him. During the Civil War, Hawkins served aboard USS Agawam, a side-wheel gunboat assigned to the Union Navy's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. At the time of the action that would earn him the Medal of Honor, his rating was Seaman. He later reached the higher enlisted rating of Boatswain's Mate, which is therefore the appropriate highest verified rank for his final profile. Service Aboard USS Agawam USS Agawam entered service in 1864 and operated primarily along the Atlantic coast and the rivers of Virginia and North Carolina. The vessel supported Union operations during the later stages of the Civil War, when naval forces were increasingly focused on tightening the blockade, supporting Army movements around Richmond and Petersburg, and closing the last ports available to Confederate blockade runners. Agawam experienced direct combat during these operations. In August 1864, she fought Confederate shore batteries during an engagement at Deep Bottom on the James River. The ship endured several hours of enemy fire before ammunition shortages forced her to withdraw. By late 1864, however, mechanical trouble temporarily removed Agawam from active combat. While she underwent repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard, her commanding officer, Commander Alexander C. Rhind, was selected for an unusual and extremely dangerous special mission. Rhind was ordered to take command of another vessel—the steamer USS Louisiana—which the Union Navy intended to turn into a gigantic floating explosive. For that mission, Rhind selected a group of volunteers from the crew of USS Agawam. Charles Hawkins was one of those volunteers. The Strategic Importance of Fort Fisher By December 1864, Wilmington, North Carolina, had become the Confederacy's last major Atlantic port still open to blockade runners. The key to Wilmington's defense was Fort Fisher, a massive Confederate earthwork guarding the New Inlet entrance to the Cape Fear River. The fort protected blockade runners carrying weapons, ammunition, military equipment, and other supplies into the Confederacy. Closing Wilmington therefore became a major Union strategic objective. Rear Admiral David D. Porter assembled a huge naval force to attack Fort Fisher in cooperation with Union Army troops under Major General Benjamin Butler. Before the main bombardment and landing, however, Porter approved an experimental plan. A ship packed with explosives would be moved as close as possible to Fort Fisher and detonated. Union planners hoped that the resulting blast would damage the fortifications, detonate Confederate magazines, stun the defenders, or otherwise weaken the position before the main assault. The vessel chosen for the mission was USS Louisiana. The Powder-Boat Mission Louisiana was transformed into what was essentially a giant floating bomb. The vessel was packed with an enormous quantity of explosive material. Fuses and ignition systems were installed so that the volunteer crew could bring the ship close to Fort Fisher, start the detonation process, abandon the vessel, and escape before the explosion. It was one of the most hazardous naval assignments undertaken during the Civil War. The crew knew that any accidental spark, mechanical failure, premature ignition, enemy shot, or mistake in timing could destroy the ship before they escaped. Nevertheless, Hawkins volunteered. On the night of December 23, 1864, the operation began. The screw steamer USS Wilderness towed the explosive-laden Louisiana toward Fort Fisher. Darkness was essential because the Union sailors needed to approach the Confederate defenses without revealing what their vessel actually contained. As they moved toward the shore, Louisiana eventually cast off from Wilderness and proceeded slowly toward the fort. The powder boat was brought within only a few hundred yards of the beach. The men aboard were operating directly in the vicinity of one of the Confederacy's strongest coastal fortifications. Hawkins and the Volunteer Crew Charles Hawkins was serving as a Seaman during this operation. His Medal of Honor citation identifies him specifically as one of the volunteer crew from USS Agawam who undertook the dangerous powder-boat mission. Once Louisiana had reached its intended position, the volunteers prepared the vessel for destruction. Anchoring arrangements were made to keep the ship positioned toward the shore. The ignition systems were activated. Fuses were set. A fire was also started as an additional means of ensuring that the explosive charge would eventually ignite. Only after these preparations were completed could the volunteers attempt to escape. The crew left the powder boat and returned toward USS Wilderness. They then withdrew far from the fort, eventually reaching a position approximately twelve miles offshore with the other Union vessels waiting for the explosion. For Hawkins and the other volunteers, there was nothing more to do but wait. The Explosion The planned timing mechanism did not function exactly as intended. Nevertheless, the fire aboard Louisiana eventually reached the explosives. During the early hours of December 24, 1864, the powder boat detonated. The explosion produced an enormous flash, concussion, and column of smoke over the waters off Fort Fisher. The blast was spectacular. Its military effect, however, was disappointing. Union commanders had hoped the explosion might destroy or seriously weaken portions of the Confederate defenses. Instead, Fort Fisher's massive earthworks absorbed the shock remarkably well. The Confederate fort remained largely intact. The powder boat had also ended up farther from the fort than Union planners had hoped, further reducing the effect. The experiment therefore failed to accomplish its principal tactical objective. But the failure of the weapon did not diminish the courage required of the men who had volunteered to deliver it. Why Hawkins Received the Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor awarded to Charles Hawkins recognized the extraordinary danger inherent in the mission. He had voluntarily gone aboard a ship packed with enough explosives to destroy itself instantly. He helped bring that vessel toward an enemy fortification. He remained aboard while the ship was positioned and the demolition arrangements were prepared. And he left only after the fuses and fires intended to destroy the vessel had been activated. A mistake could have killed every man aboard before they had any possibility of escape. The fact that the explosion ultimately failed to destroy Fort Fisher did not change the nature of the risk Hawkins had accepted. The Medal of Honor recognized courage in undertaking the mission, not merely whether the experimental plan succeeded. The First Attack on Fort Fisher After the powder boat exploded, Rear Admiral Porter's fleet began the main bombardment of Fort Fisher. On December 24, dozens of Union warships moved into position and opened a massive naval cannonade against the Confederate works. The bombardment continued into Christmas Day while Union Army troops landed nearby. Despite the power of the naval attack, disagreements between Army and Navy commanders ultimately prevented a successful assault. General Butler concluded that Fort Fisher could not be captured with the force available and withdrew his troops. The first Union attempt therefore ended in failure. A second expedition returned in January 1865, this time with a new Army commander. Following another enormous naval bombardment and a bloody land assault, Fort Fisher finally fell on January 15, 1865. Its capture effectively closed Wilmington to Confederate blockade-running and removed one of the South's final major connections with overseas supply networks. Hawkins's powder-boat mission belonged to the opening phase of this decisive campaign. Medal of Honor Recognition Charles Hawkins received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the dangerous operation of December 23, 1864. His official Medal of Honor action details were: Rank at Action: Seaman Branch: United States Navy Ship: USS Agawam Special Assignment: Volunteer crew of the powder boat USS Louisiana Action Date: December 23, 1864 Action Area: Fort Fisher, North Carolina The award was presented on May 12, 1865, only weeks after the effective end of major Confederate resistance. Hawkins received the decoration aboard USS Agawam, off New Bern, North Carolina. His Medal of Honor was not posthumous. For the project's historical ribbon classification, the correct decoration is: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — No device No V device, star, clasp, or other attachment should be added to his Medal of Honor. Rank Progression One important distinction must be preserved in Hawkins's profile. During the Fort Fisher operation, his official Medal of Honor rank was: Seaman However, he later achieved the higher enlisted rating of: Boatswain's Mate For this reason: Rank at Heroic Action: Seaman Highest Verified Rank: Boatswain's Mate A Boatswain's Mate was an experienced member of a ship's deck force, responsible for important aspects of seamanship, deck operations, equipment, and supervision of other sailors. Reaching that rating indicates advancement beyond the position Hawkins held during his Medal of Honor action. Later Life Hawkins survived the Civil War and lived for more than four decades after the dangerous Fort Fisher mission. Authoritative Medal of Honor records place his later life in Rhode Island. He died on February 29, 1908, in Cranston, Rhode Island, at approximately seventy-three or seventy-four years of age. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Cranston, Rhode Island. His surviving Medal of Honor record also preserves the alternate surname Harkins, an example of the spelling variations that frequently occur in nineteenth-century military and immigration records. For the project database, however, his verified Medal of Honor identity should remain: Charles Hawkins Legacy Charles Hawkins's Medal of Honor story is unusual because it was not based on a conventional gun battle. He did not receive the decoration for firing a cannon under enemy fire. He did not capture an enemy flag. He did not board an opposing warship. Instead, he volunteered for what amounted to a nineteenth-century naval demolition mission. A ship was deliberately filled with explosives and sent toward one of the strongest Confederate fortifications on the Atlantic coast. Hawkins knew that once the ignition process began, the margin between escape and death could become extremely small. Yet he volunteered to go aboard. The experiment did not destroy Fort Fisher. But bravery is not measured only by whether a weapon works as planned. Hawkins and the other volunteers had accepted a level of danger far beyond normal shipboard duty. Their willingness to take Louisiana toward the enemy defenses, arm the explosive vessel, and escape after setting its destruction in motion represented exactly the type of extraordinary personal courage for which the Civil War Navy Medal of Honor was created. Charles Hawkins survived that night, advanced from Seaman to Boatswain's Mate, and lived into the twentieth century. His Medal of Honor permanently links his name to one of the most daring and unconventional naval operations of the American Civil War.