Thomas R. Hawkins

{{Infobox military person

| name = Thomas R. Hawkins

| birth_date = c. 1840

| death_date = {{Death year and age|1870|1840}}

| birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio

| death_place =

| placeofburial =

| placeofburial_label = Place of burial

| image = Thomas R Hawkins.jpg

| caption = Sergeant Major Thomas R. Hawkins

| nickname =

| allegiance = United States of America
Union

| branch = United States Army
Union Army

| serviceyears = 1863–1865

| rank = Sergeant Major

| commands =

| unit = {{flagicon|United States|1863}} 6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment

| battles = American Civil War

Battle of Chaffin's Farm

| awards = Medal of Honor

| laterwork =

}}

Thomas R. Hawkins (c. 1840 – February 28, 1870) was an African-American Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.

Biography

Hawkins joined the army as a substitute from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 4, 1863, and became sergeant major of the 6th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment on August 23. On September 29, 1864, he fought in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, Virginia. He was discharged in May 1865 for wounds received in action.

More than five years later, on February 8, 1870, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for "rescue of regimental colors" during that battle.

Thomas Hawkins died of cancer at age 29 or 30 on February 28, 1870,{{cite news|title=Died|work=The Evening Star|date=March 1, 1870|page=3}} and was buried in Columbian Harmony Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His remains were moved to National Harmony Memorial Park in Landover, Maryland, in 1960 when the original cemetery closed and was sold. A memorial plaque was placed at his grave in 1997.{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Hamil R.|last2=Smith|first2=Leef|title=On Memorial Day, Soldiers and Citizens Honor Sacrifices of Those Who Fought for Freedom|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 27, 1997|page=B12}}

Hawkins' courage at New Market Heights is depicted in the painting Three Medals of Honor by artist Don Troiani, which was unveiled on June 24, 2013 at the Union League of Philadelphia.{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=James E.|title=Scholar studies lives of African-American Civil War veterans buried in Woodbury|work=South Jersey Times|date=September 4, 2014|access-date=August 5, 2017|url=http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2014/09/scholar_studies_lives_of_african-american_civil_war_veterans_buried_in_woodbury.html}}

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 6th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Chapins Farm, Va., September 29, 1864. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio. Date of issue: February 8, 1870.

Citation:

Rescue of regimental colors.

Notes

==References==

{{cite book | last1 =Claxton | first1 =Melvin | last2 =Puls | first2 =Mark | title =Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War | publisher =Wiley | year =2006 | location =Hoboken, NJ | url =https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/845865418 | isbn =9780471468233 | oclc =845865418 }}
{{cite book| last = Dyer| first = Frederick H| title = A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion| publisher = Dyer Pub. Co.| place = Des Moines, IA| year = 1908| asin = B01BUFJ76Q| url = https://archive.org/details/08697590.3359.emory.edu}}
{{Cite book|last=Hanna|first=Charles W.|title=African American Recipients of the Medal of Honor|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehIkCQAAQBAJ|pages=199|isbn=0-7864-1355-7}}
{{cite book| last = War Department| first = U.S.| title = The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies| publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office| place = Washington, DC| year = 1880| oclc = 857196196| url = http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html}}
{{Cite web |publisher = United States Army Center of Military History |title = Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L) |work = Medal of Honor citations |date = 2005-04-27 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html |access-date = 2007-01-12 |archive-date = 2008-03-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080310030903/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html |url-status = dead }}