Private Lorenzo P Hawkins, Company I, 12th New Hampshire Infantry

Lorenzo Plaisted Hawkins was the third son of Stephen Hawkins and Jane (Plaisted) Hawkins of Center Harbor, New Hampshire.  Born June 13, 1847, Lorenzo was a mere 15 years old when he joined his older brothers, William and James in enlisting into Company I, 12th New Hampshire Infantry in August of 1862.  Like Lorenzo, their father Stephen Hawkins also shaded the truth about his age to be eligible for service.  The year before, at age 55, he enlisted into Company G, 8th New Hampshire Infantry.

The war exacted a particularly high cost to the Hawkins family.  Stephen died of disease on Nov 12, 1862 at Camp Kearney, Louisiana.  Two of the Hawkins brothers, Lorenzo and William were wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863.  Lorenzo was sent to a hospital in Annapolis, Maryland; his oldest brother William was hospitalized in Falmouth, Virginia and died there on June 15, 1863.  Second born son, James escaped serious injury at the Battle of Chancellorsville but was mortally wounded at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863.  He died the following day.  In less than a year, three of the four members of the Hawkins family serving in the Civil War were dead.  Only Lorenzo Hawkins survived.

Pvt. Lorenzo P. Hawkins, Company I, 12th Regiment New Hampshire Infantry

According to the New Hampshire Adjutant General's report, Lorenzo deserted the 12th New Hampshire on July 21, 1863 though it remains unclear whether he intentionally deserted or was in preparation for a disability discharge and mistakenly assumed his hospital discharge completed his service.  This was not an uncommon assumption some wounded soldiers made at the time.  Hmmm...I think we should pull his Complied Military Service record at the National Archives to see if we can solve this mystery...Bruce?

Following his service, Lorenzo went home and married Helen M. Reed (b. 1848) of Dover, New Hampshire.  The couple moved to Portland, Maine where Lorenzo operated a successful shoe manufacturing business in that city.  Lorenzo and Helen were the parents of William H Hawkins (b. abt. 1870); Maude Hawkins (b. abt. 1875); and Ernest Hawkins (b. abt. 1878).  Wife Helen died in 1885.  Lorenzo later married Hattie Stoddard (b.1867) of Lynn, Massachusetts in 1894.  The couple had no offspring together.  Lorenzo spent the remaining years of his life a resident of Portland, Maine.

Lorenzo P. Hawkins died as the result of pneumonia on March 16, 1916 at the age of 68.  He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Portland Maine.

Stephen Hawkins is buried Meredith Village Cemetery (formally known as Plymouth Street Cemetery), Meredith, New Hampshire next to his wife, Jane Plaisted Hawkins.  You can see the family plot (with cenotaphs for William and James) here on findagrave.com

William Henry Hawkins is buried in Alexandria National Cemetery (Grave 835), Fairfax, VA

James Hawkins is buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery (Section: New Hampshire, Row A, Grave 14)

John Hawkins, younger brother of Lorenzo, was too young to serve in the Civil War.  He remained in the Meredith, New Hampshire area his entire life and is also buried in Meredith Village Cemetery, Meredith, New Hampshire next to his wife, Annie Otis.

*****

Photograph of Lorenzo P Hawkins courtesy of the Library of Congress; The Liljenquist Collection.

Researched and written by Bruce D Frail and Laurie L Pratt.

(Sources used: New Hampshire Adjutant General Report  (1865); original death records found at familysearch.com; US Federal Census Records (1850, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910) at Ancestry.com.  Burial information for Jane Plaisted Hawkins and John Hawkins at findagrave.com.  Burial information for Stephen, James, William and Lorenzo Hawkins courtesy of Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Grave Registration Database  www.suvcwdb.org ) 

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