Joseph Roswell Hawley
Encyclopedia
Joseph Roswell Hawley was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S.
politician in the Republican
and Free Soil parties, a Civil War
general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives
and was a four-term U.S. Senator.
, a direct descendant of Joseph Hawley (Captain)
, first of the name in America, through Ebenezer, Joseph and Samuel, was born in Stewartsville, near Laurinburg, North Carolina
, where Hawley's father, a native of Connecticut
, was pastor of a Baptist
church. His father returned to Connecticut in 1837 and Joseph attended and graduated from Hamilton College in New York
in 1847. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut
for six years.
An ardent opponent of slavery
, Hawley became a Free Soiler, was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated John Parker Hale for the presidency in 1852, and subsequently served as chairman of the party's State Committee and editor of the party's newspaper, the Charter Oak. In 1856, he took a leading part in organizing the Republican Party in Connecticut, and in 1857 became editor of the Hartford Evening Press, a newly established Republican newspaper.
major general
of volunteers. In April 1861, Hawley helped recruit and organize an infantry
company. He was mustered into the three-month 1st Connecticut Infantry with the rank of captain of Company A on April 22. He first saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run
in July, receiving praise from his brigade
commander, General Erasmus D. Keyes
.
After mustering out, he then assisted Col.
Alfred H. Terry in raising the 7th Connecticut Infantry
, a three-year regiment, and was named as lieutenant colonel
. He participated in the Port Royal Expedition in November, and commanded the forces assigned to garrison two captured forts. He was a part of the four-month siege that culminated in the capture of Fort Pulaski in April 1862. Again, he commanded the garrison force. With Colonel Terry's promotion to brigade command, Hawley succeeded him as commander of the 10th Connecticut, leading the regiment in the battles of James Island
and Pocotaligo.
He was in Brannan's expedition to Florida
in January 1863, and commanded the post at Ferandina, near Jacksonville
. In April, he participated in an unsuccessful expedition to capture Charleston, South Carolina
. In the summer, he commanded a brigade on Morris Island
during the siege of Charleston, and was involved in the attacks on Fort Wagner
in September. During the autumn, he procured enough Spencer breech-loading rifles to outfit his regiment with the rapid-fire weapon.
The following year, Hawley commanded a brigade under General Truman Seymour
in the Battle of Olustee
in Florida. He and his men were reassigned to the front lines in Virginia
as a part of Terry's Division, X Corps
, Army of the James
. He was in the battles of Drewry's Bluff, Deep Run, Derbytown Road, and other actions near Bermuda Hundred and Deep Bottom. With openings created by battlefield losses and reassignments, Hawley commanded a division during the Siege of Petersburg
and was promoted in September 1864 to brigadier general
of volunteers. Concerned over keeping the peace during the November elections, Hawley commanded a hand-picked brigade shipped to New York City
to safeguard the election process.
In January 1865, Hawley succeeded his mentor Alfred Terry as divisional commander when Terry was sent to command troops in the attacks on Fort Fisher
. Hawley later joined him in North Carolina
as Chief of Staff for the X Corps. After the capture of Wilmington, North Carolina
, Hawley took over command of the forces in southeastern North Carolina. In June, following the surrender of the Confederate armies, Hawley rejoined Terry and served as Chief of Staff for the Department of Virginia, serving until October when he returned home to Connecticut. He was breveted as a major general in September 1865, and mustered out of the army on January 15, 1866.
Hawley was the permanent chairman of the Republican National Convention
in 1868, was a delegate to the conventions of 1872, 1876 and 1880. He represented Connecticut in the U.S. Congress from December 1872 until March 1875 and again in 1879–81, having lost the two elections in between. From 1873 to 1876, he served as president of the United States Centennial Commission, which planned and ran the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. He was also a trustee of Hamilton College and received his LL. D. degree in 1875 (and another one from Yale
in 1888).
Hawley was a United States Senator from 1881 until March 3, 1905, being one of the key Republican leaders both in the House and the Senate. He was chairman of the committee on civil service
, and vigorously promoted civil service reform legislation. He also chaired a special committee called to investigate the production of military ordnance and warships. In this capacity, he wrote a detailed report on the heavy steel industry and gun making in the United States and England
.
He died in Washington, D.C.
, two weeks after stepping down from the Senate.
Hawley has a battery named his honor at Fort Baldwin
,in Phippsburg, Maine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician in the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Free Soil parties, a Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and was a four-term U.S. Senator.
Early life and career
HawleyHawley
-People:* Alan Ramsay Hawley, early American aviator* Cameron Hawley, American fiction writer* Caroline Hawley, BBC war correspondent* David Hawley , Stratfield, Connecticut, captain and privateer during the American Revolution...
, a direct descendant of Joseph Hawley (Captain)
Joseph Hawley (Captain)
Joseph Hawley , born in Parwich, Derbyshire, England, was the first of the Hawley name to come to America in 1629. He settled at Stratford, Connecticut in 1650, becoming the town's first town clerk or record keeper, tavern keeper and a shipbuilder.-Surname:The surname of Hawley is one of locality...
, first of the name in America, through Ebenezer, Joseph and Samuel, was born in Stewartsville, near Laurinburg, North Carolina
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Laurinburg is a mid-sized city in Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Scotland County. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina state border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews Presbyterian College...
, where Hawley's father, a native of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, was pastor of a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church. His father returned to Connecticut in 1837 and Joseph attended and graduated from Hamilton College in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1847. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
for six years.
An ardent opponent of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, Hawley became a Free Soiler, was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated John Parker Hale for the presidency in 1852, and subsequently served as chairman of the party's State Committee and editor of the party's newspaper, the Charter Oak. In 1856, he took a leading part in organizing the Republican Party in Connecticut, and in 1857 became editor of the Hartford Evening Press, a newly established Republican newspaper.
Civil War
Hawley served in the Federal army with distinction throughout the Civil War, rising from the rank of captain to that of brevetBrevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
of volunteers. In April 1861, Hawley helped recruit and organize an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
company. He was mustered into the three-month 1st Connecticut Infantry with the rank of captain of Company A on April 22. He first saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
in July, receiving praise from his brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
commander, General Erasmus D. Keyes
Erasmus D. Keyes
Erasmus Darwin Keyes was a businessman, banker, and military general, noted for leading the IV Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac during the first half of the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
.
After mustering out, he then assisted Col.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Alfred H. Terry in raising the 7th Connecticut Infantry
7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
The 7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Because it was in the same brigade as the 7th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment, both regiments were often jointly called the 77th New England.-Service:The regiment...
, a three-year regiment, and was named as lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
. He participated in the Port Royal Expedition in November, and commanded the forces assigned to garrison two captured forts. He was a part of the four-month siege that culminated in the capture of Fort Pulaski in April 1862. Again, he commanded the garrison force. With Colonel Terry's promotion to brigade command, Hawley succeeded him as commander of the 10th Connecticut, leading the regiment in the battles of James Island
Battle of James Island
The Battle of Secessionville on June 16, 1862, was the defeat of the only Union attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, by land during the American Civil War.-Battle:...
and Pocotaligo.
He was in Brannan's expedition to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in January 1863, and commanded the post at Ferandina, near Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. In April, he participated in an unsuccessful expedition to capture Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. In the summer, he commanded a brigade on Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
during the siege of Charleston, and was involved in the attacks on Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor...
in September. During the autumn, he procured enough Spencer breech-loading rifles to outfit his regiment with the rapid-fire weapon.
The following year, Hawley commanded a brigade under General Truman Seymour
Truman Seymour
Truman Seymour was an a career soldier and an accomplished painter. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of major general. He commanded the Union troops at the Battle of Olustee, the largest Civil War battle fought in Florida.-Early life and career:Seymour...
in the Battle of Olustee
Battle of Olustee
The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on 20 February 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war.-Background:In February 1864, Major General Quincy A...
in Florida. He and his men were reassigned to the front lines in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
as a part of Terry's Division, X Corps
X Corps (ACW)
X Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served during operations in South Carolina in the Department of the South, and later in Benjamin Butler's Army of the James, during the Bermuda Hundred and Petersburg Campaigns.-History:...
, Army of the James
Army of the James
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...
. He was in the battles of Drewry's Bluff, Deep Run, Derbytown Road, and other actions near Bermuda Hundred and Deep Bottom. With openings created by battlefield losses and reassignments, Hawley commanded a division during the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
and was promoted in September 1864 to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers. Concerned over keeping the peace during the November elections, Hawley commanded a hand-picked brigade shipped to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to safeguard the election process.
In January 1865, Hawley succeeded his mentor Alfred Terry as divisional commander when Terry was sent to command troops in the attacks on Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
. Hawley later joined him in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
as Chief of Staff for the X Corps. After the capture of Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina, in the Civil War
Wilmington, North Carolina, was a major Atlantic Ocean port city for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. A vital lifeline for the fledgling Confederacy to trading partners in Europe, Wilmington was one of the last ports to fall to the Union Army.Wilmington, located 30...
, Hawley took over command of the forces in southeastern North Carolina. In June, following the surrender of the Confederate armies, Hawley rejoined Terry and served as Chief of Staff for the Department of Virginia, serving until October when he returned home to Connecticut. He was breveted as a major general in September 1865, and mustered out of the army on January 15, 1866.
Postbellum
After the war, Hawley served as governor of Connecticut from April 1866 to April 1867, but was not re-elected. A few months after stepping down from that office, he bought the Hartford Courant newspaper, which he combined with the Press. Under his editorship, this became the most influential newspaper in Connecticut and one of the leading Republican papers in the country.Hawley was the permanent chairman of the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 1868, was a delegate to the conventions of 1872, 1876 and 1880. He represented Connecticut in the U.S. Congress from December 1872 until March 1875 and again in 1879–81, having lost the two elections in between. From 1873 to 1876, he served as president of the United States Centennial Commission, which planned and ran the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. He was also a trustee of Hamilton College and received his LL. D. degree in 1875 (and another one from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1888).
Hawley was a United States Senator from 1881 until March 3, 1905, being one of the key Republican leaders both in the House and the Senate. He was chairman of the committee on civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, and vigorously promoted civil service reform legislation. He also chaired a special committee called to investigate the production of military ordnance and warships. In this capacity, he wrote a detailed report on the heavy steel industry and gun making in the United States and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, two weeks after stepping down from the Senate.
Hawley has a battery named his honor at Fort Baldwin
Fort Baldwin
Fort Baldwin is a coastal defense land battery near the mouth of the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, United States. It was named after Jeduthan Baldwin, an engineer for the Colonial army during the American Revolution. The fort was constructed between 1905 and 1912 and originally consisted of...
,in Phippsburg, Maine.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals