Richard Hawes
Encyclopedia
Richard Hawes was a United States Representative from Kentucky
and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky
. He was part of an influential political family, with a brother, uncle, and cousin who also served as U.S. Representatives. He began his political career as an ardent Whig
and was a close friend of the party's founder, Henry Clay
. When the party declined and dissolved in the 1850s, Hawes became a Democrat
, and his relationship with Clay cooled.
At the outbreak of the Civil War
, Hawes was a supporter of Kentucky
's doctrine of armed neutrality
. When the Commonwealth's neutrality was breached in September 1861, Hawes fled to Virginia and enlisted as a brigade commissary under Confederate general Humphrey Marshall
. When Kentucky's Confederate government was formed in Russellville
, Hawes was offered the position of state auditor
, but declined. Months later, he was selected to be Confederate governor of the Commonwealth following George W. Johnson
's death at the Battle of Shiloh
.
Hawes and the Confederate government traveled with Braxton Bragg
's Army of Tennessee
, and when Bragg invaded Kentucky in October 1862, he captured Frankfort
and held an inauguration ceremony for Hawes. The ceremony was interrupted, however, by forces under Union general Don Carlos Buell
, and the Confederates were driven from the Commonwealth following the Battle of Perryville
. Hawes relocated to Virginia, where he continued to lobby President Jefferson Davis
to attempt another invasion of Kentucky.
At the end of the war, the Confederate government of Kentucky in exile ceased to exist, and Hawes returned to his home in Paris, Kentucky
. He swore an oath of allegiance to the Union, and was allowed to return to his law practice. He was elected county judge
of Bourbon County
, a post he held until his death in 1877.
, Caroline County
, Virginia. He was one of eleven children born to Richard and Clara Walker Hawes. The Hawes' were a political family; Richard's brother, Albert Gallatin Hawes
, nephew, Aylett Hawes
, and cousin, Aylett Hawes Buckner
, all served in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1810, the family moved to Kentucky, settling in Fayette County
, near Lexington
. Part of Hawes' early education was obtained through the Jessamine County
school conducted by Samuel Wilson.
On November 13, 1818, Hawes married Hetty Morrison Nicholas of Lexington. He pursued classical studies at Transylvania University
, then studied law under Robert C. Wickliffe
. Hawes and Wickliffe became law partners upon the former's admission to the bar
in 1818. Due to overcrowding of the bar in Lexington, Hawes moved to Winchester
in 1824. While there, he became part owner of a rope
and bagging factory with Benjamin H. Buckner.
in the Kentucky House of Representatives
. As a member of the state militia
, Hawes saw limited service in the Black Hawk War
in 1832, and returned to his position in the Kentucky House in 1834. He was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Representative in 1834, but was elected to represent Henry Clay's "Ashland
District" three years later, serving from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1841. He then moved to Paris, Kentucky in 1843 and continued the practice of law.
Hawes was once close friends with Clay, but the friendship between them cooled when Hawes supported Zachary Taylor
instead of Clay for president
in 1848. When the Whig Party dissolved in the 1850s, Hawes became a Democrat, supporting presidential candidates James Buchanan
in 1856 and John C. Breckinridge
in 1860.
Though alarmed by the election of Abraham Lincoln
in the election of 1860, Hawes was an opponent of secession, supporting instead the idea of armed neutrality. In May 1861, Hawes, Breckinridge, and Kentucky governor Beriah Magoffin
represented the Southern Rights viewpoint at a convention to decide Kentucky's course in the Civil War. He attended another such convention in September 1861. Neither convention produced a conclusive decision.
A July 1861 address to the people of Bourbon County
, authored by Hawes and other like-minded Democrats, blamed Republicans
for starting the Civil War, denounced the coercion of states to remain in the Union, and warned that the Lincoln administration would fight to end slavery. The address called for an end to the war, recognition of the Confederate States of America as a sovereign nation, and equitable distribution of the national debt and federal property.
. Though his ability to obtain supplies for Marshall's brigade was commendable given the difficult conditions, his age (64) and lack of military experience lessened his value to Marshall's unit, and his predilection for jumping the chain of command and communicating directly with Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin
put him at odds with Marshall personally.
In November 1861, the self-appointed members of the Confederate state sovereignty convention in Russellville, Kentucky appointed Hawes state auditor of the Commonwealth's Confederate government, but he declined in order to continue his military service. However, he wrote President Davis on January 25, 1862 to inform him that he was traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky
at Confederate Governor George W. Johnson's request in order to assist Johnson in administering the state government. He resigned his military commission two days later, but his departure for Bowling Green was delayed when he was stricken with typhoid fever
.
Governor Johnson was killed while participating in the Battle of Shiloh
. Following the resolutions of the Russellville Convention, the provisional Confederate government's ten legislative councillors selected Hawes to succeed Johnson as governor. (Under these provisions, the councillors could not select one of their own.) He joined the leaderless and nomadic shadow government
, which had been traveling with the Army of Tennessee, in Corinth, Mississippi
, and took the oath of office on May 31. The army's leader, General Braxton Bragg, had been considering an invasion of Kentucky. On August 27, Hawes was dispatched to Richmond, Virginia
to favorably recommend this action to President Jefferson Davis, but Davis was non-committal. Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith
proceeded with the invasion nonetheless, while the leaders of Kentucky's Confederate government remained in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, awaiting Hawes' return. They departed on September 18, and caught up with Bragg and Smith in Lexington, Kentucky on October 2.
Bragg, desiring to enforce the Confederate Conscription Act in the Commonwealth, decided to install the provisional government in the recently-captured state capital of Frankfort. The ceremony took place on October 4, 1862. Humphrey Marshall gave the opening remarks, then General Bragg introduced Governor Hawes. Hawes delivered a lengthy inaugural address in which he declared "It is now a truth and a fact that the late Union cannot be restored." He promised to call a convention to provide for a permanent government as soon as such a convention was feasible, and denounced the Union's goal of freeing the slaves. In the celebratory atmosphere of the inauguration ceremony, however, the Confederate forces let their guard down, and were ambushed and forced to retreat by Union general Don Carlos Buell. Hawes later denied ever taking the oath of office, and became a vocal critic of Bragg.
Displaced from their home state, the legislative council dispersed to places where they could make a living or be supported by relatives until Governor Hawes called them into session. Scant records show that on December 30, 1862, Hawes summoned the council, auditor, and treasurer to his location at Athens, Tennessee
for a meeting on January 15, 1863. Hawes unsuccessfully lobbied President Davis to remove Hawes' former superior, Humphrey Marshall, from command. On March 4, he told Davis by letter that "our cause is steadily on the increase" and assured him that another foray into the Commonwealth would produce better results than the first had.
The government's financial woes also continued. Hawes was embarrassed to admit that neither he nor anyone else seemed to know what became of approximately $45,000 that had been sent from Columbus
to Memphis, Tennessee
during the Confederate occupation of Kentucky. Another major blow was Davis' decision not to allow Hawes to spend $1 million that had been secretly appropriated in August 1861 to help Kentucky maintain its neutrality. Davis reasoned that the money could not be spent for its intended purpose, since Kentucky was now a part of the Confederacy.
By 1864, Hawes had joined his sister at the small Virginia settlement of Nelly's Ford. His wife and daughter joined him there. This location was only 100 miles (160.9 km) from Richmond, allowing Hawes to travel easily to the Confederate capital for audiences with President Davis. Records show that as late as September 16, 1864, Hawes still maintained hope for another military advance into Kentucky. In the summer 1864, Colonel R. A. Alston of the Ninth Tennessee Cavalry requested Governor Hawes' assistance in investigating crimes allegedly committed by General John Hunt Morgan
during his unauthorized raid into Kentucky. Hawes never had to act on the request, however, as Morgan was suspended from command on August 10 and killed by Union troops on September 4, 1864.
James Morrison Hawes
; only three sons returned home from the war. On September 18, 1865, Hawes took an oath of allegiance to the United States, and was allowed to return to his previous career as a lawyer.
In 1866, he was elected county judge of Bourbon County. His most notable ruling in this capacity was to nullify the apprenticeship contracts of the Freedman's Bureau in Kentucky. Hawes based this decision on the fact that the Bureau's powers extended only to states that had been part of the rebellion, which Kentucky had not. Hawes was also chosen master commissioner of the circuit court in 1866. In 1871, Hawes was mentioned as a possible candidate for governor of Kentucky. In 1876, he helped frame his party's response to the disputed Hayes
–Tilden
presidential election. Hawes died in Paris, Kentucky on May 25, 1877 and was interred in Paris Cemetery.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky
Confederate government of Kentucky
The Confederate government of Kentucky was a shadow government established for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by a self-constituted group of Confederate sympathizers during the American Civil War. The shadow government never replaced the elected government in Frankfort, which had strong Union...
. He was part of an influential political family, with a brother, uncle, and cousin who also served as U.S. Representatives. He began his political career as an ardent Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and was a close friend of the party's founder, Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
. When the party declined and dissolved in the 1850s, Hawes became a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and his relationship with Clay cooled.
At the outbreak of the 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...
, Hawes was a supporter of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's doctrine of armed neutrality
Armed neutrality
Armed neutrality, in international politics, is the posture of a state or group of states which makes no alliance with either side in a war, but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from all parties....
. When the Commonwealth's neutrality was breached in September 1861, Hawes fled to Virginia and enlisted as a brigade commissary under Confederate general Humphrey Marshall
Humphrey Marshall (general)
Humphrey Marshall was a four-term antebellum United States Congressman and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army and a Confederate Congressman during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
. When Kentucky's Confederate government was formed in Russellville
Russellville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,149 people, 3,064 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.1 people per square mile . There were 3,458 housing units at an average density of 325.1 per square mile...
, Hawes was offered the position of state auditor
State auditor
State auditors are executive officers of U.S. states who serve as auditors and comptrollers for state funds....
, but declined. Months later, he was selected to be Confederate governor of the Commonwealth following George W. Johnson
George W. Johnson (Civil War)
George Washington Johnson was the first Confederate governor of Kentucky. A lawyer-turned-farmer from Scott County, Kentucky, Johnson favored secession as a means of preventing the Civil War, believing the Union and Confederacy would be forces of equal strength, each too wary to attack the other...
's death at the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
.
Hawes and the Confederate government traveled with Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
's Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...
, and when Bragg invaded Kentucky in October 1862, he captured Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
and held an inauguration ceremony for Hawes. The ceremony was interrupted, however, by forces under Union general Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered...
, and the Confederates were driven from the Commonwealth following the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
. Hawes relocated to Virginia, where he continued to lobby President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
to attempt another invasion of Kentucky.
At the end of the war, the Confederate government of Kentucky in exile ceased to exist, and Hawes returned to his home in Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
. He swore an oath of allegiance to the Union, and was allowed to return to his law practice. He was elected county judge
County Judge/Executive
A County Judge/Executive is an elected official in the U.S. state of Kentucky who is the head of the executive branch of a government in a county. The Judge/Executive is an ex officio member of the Fiscal Court, the county's legislature...
of Bourbon County
Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...
, a post he held until his death in 1877.
Early life
Richard Hawes was born on February 6, 1797 near Bowling GreenBowling Green, Virginia
Bowling Green is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 936 at the 2000 census.The county seat of Caroline County since 1803, Bowling Green is best known as the "cradle of American horse racing", the home of the second oldest Masonic Lodge, and the...
, Caroline County
Caroline County, Virginia
Caroline County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 28,545. Its county seat is Bowling Green. Caroline County is also home to The Meadow stables, the birthplace of the renowned racehorse Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and...
, Virginia. He was one of eleven children born to Richard and Clara Walker Hawes. The Hawes' were a political family; Richard's brother, Albert Gallatin Hawes
Albert Gallatin Hawes
Albert Gallatin Hawes was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, brother of Richard Hawes, nephew of Aylett Hawes, granduncle of Harry Bartow Hawes, and cousin of Aylett Hawes Buckner....
, nephew, Aylett Hawes
Aylett Hawes
Aylett Hawes was a nineteenth century politician and planter from Virginia. He was the uncle of Richard Hawes, Albert Gallatin Hawes and Aylett Hawes Buckner....
, and cousin, Aylett Hawes Buckner
Aylett Hawes Buckner
Aylett Hawes Buckner was a U.S. Representative from Missouri, nephew of Aylett Hawes and cousin of Richard Hawes and Albert Gallatin Hawes....
, all served in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1810, the family moved to Kentucky, settling in Fayette County
Fayette County, Kentucky
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....
, near Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. Part of Hawes' early education was obtained through the Jessamine County
Jessamine County, Kentucky
Jessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. The population was 48,586 in the 2010 Census...
school conducted by Samuel Wilson.
On November 13, 1818, Hawes married Hetty Morrison Nicholas of Lexington. He pursued classical studies at Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
, then studied law under Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert C. Wickliffe
Robert Charles Wickliffe was Lieutenant Governor and the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856-60.-Early life and education:...
. Hawes and Wickliffe became law partners upon the former's admission to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1818. Due to overcrowding of the bar in Lexington, Hawes moved to Winchester
Winchester, Kentucky
Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,724 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in 1824. While there, he became part owner of a rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
and bagging factory with Benjamin H. Buckner.
Political career
Hawes began his political career in 1828 when he was elected as a Whig to represent Clark County, KentuckyClark County, Kentucky
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1793. The population was 35,613 in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Winchester, Kentucky...
in the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
. As a member of the state militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, Hawes saw limited service in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
in 1832, and returned to his position in the Kentucky House in 1834. He was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Representative in 1834, but was elected to represent Henry Clay's "Ashland
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...
District" three years later, serving from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1841. He then moved to Paris, Kentucky in 1843 and continued the practice of law.
Hawes was once close friends with Clay, but the friendship between them cooled when Hawes supported Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
instead of Clay for president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1848. When the Whig Party dissolved in the 1850s, Hawes became a Democrat, supporting presidential candidates James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
in 1856 and John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
in 1860.
Though alarmed by the election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in the election of 1860, Hawes was an opponent of secession, supporting instead the idea of armed neutrality. In May 1861, Hawes, Breckinridge, and Kentucky governor Beriah Magoffin
Beriah Magoffin
Beriah Magoffin was the 21st Governor of Kentucky, serving during the early part of the Civil War. Personally, Magoffin adhered to a states' rights position, including the right of a state to secede from the Union, and he sympathized with the Confederate cause...
represented the Southern Rights viewpoint at a convention to decide Kentucky's course in the Civil War. He attended another such convention in September 1861. Neither convention produced a conclusive decision.
A July 1861 address to the people of Bourbon County
Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...
, authored by Hawes and other like-minded Democrats, blamed Republicans
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...
for starting the Civil War, denounced the coercion of states to remain in the Union, and warned that the Lincoln administration would fight to end slavery. The address called for an end to the war, recognition of the Confederate States of America as a sovereign nation, and equitable distribution of the national debt and federal property.
Military service
When Kentucky's neutrality was breached in September 1861, Hawes fled to Virginia to escape imprisonment by Federal authorities. While there, he enlisted as a brigade commissary under Confederate general Humphrey Marshall and was given the rank of majorMajor (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
. Though his ability to obtain supplies for Marshall's brigade was commendable given the difficult conditions, his age (64) and lack of military experience lessened his value to Marshall's unit, and his predilection for jumping the chain of command and communicating directly with Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
put him at odds with Marshall personally.
In November 1861, the self-appointed members of the Confederate state sovereignty convention in Russellville, Kentucky appointed Hawes state auditor of the Commonwealth's Confederate government, but he declined in order to continue his military service. However, he wrote President Davis on January 25, 1862 to inform him that he was traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
at Confederate Governor George W. Johnson's request in order to assist Johnson in administering the state government. He resigned his military commission two days later, but his departure for Bowling Green was delayed when he was stricken with typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
.
Confederate Governor of Kentucky
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
. Following the resolutions of the Russellville Convention, the provisional Confederate government's ten legislative councillors selected Hawes to succeed Johnson as governor. (Under these provisions, the councillors could not select one of their own.) He joined the leaderless and nomadic shadow government
Shadow government
Shadow government may refer to:*An opposition government in a parliamentary system, see Shadow Cabinet*A term for plans for an emergency government that takes over in the event of a disaster, see continuity of government...
, which had been traveling with the Army of Tennessee, in Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,054 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alcorn County. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835.- History :...
, and took the oath of office on May 31. The army's leader, General Braxton Bragg, had been considering an invasion of Kentucky. On August 27, Hawes was dispatched to Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to favorably recommend this action to President Jefferson Davis, but Davis was non-committal. Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith was a career United States Army officer and educator. He served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy after the fall of Vicksburg.After the conflict ended Smith...
proceeded with the invasion nonetheless, while the leaders of Kentucky's Confederate government remained in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, awaiting Hawes' return. They departed on September 18, and caught up with Bragg and Smith in Lexington, Kentucky on October 2.
Bragg, desiring to enforce the Confederate Conscription Act in the Commonwealth, decided to install the provisional government in the recently-captured state capital of Frankfort. The ceremony took place on October 4, 1862. Humphrey Marshall gave the opening remarks, then General Bragg introduced Governor Hawes. Hawes delivered a lengthy inaugural address in which he declared "It is now a truth and a fact that the late Union cannot be restored." He promised to call a convention to provide for a permanent government as soon as such a convention was feasible, and denounced the Union's goal of freeing the slaves. In the celebratory atmosphere of the inauguration ceremony, however, the Confederate forces let their guard down, and were ambushed and forced to retreat by Union general Don Carlos Buell. Hawes later denied ever taking the oath of office, and became a vocal critic of Bragg.
Displaced from their home state, the legislative council dispersed to places where they could make a living or be supported by relatives until Governor Hawes called them into session. Scant records show that on December 30, 1862, Hawes summoned the council, auditor, and treasurer to his location at Athens, Tennessee
Athens, Tennessee
Athens is a city in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of McMinn County and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Chattanooga-Cleveland-Athens Combined Statistical Area. The population was 13,220 at the 2000...
for a meeting on January 15, 1863. Hawes unsuccessfully lobbied President Davis to remove Hawes' former superior, Humphrey Marshall, from command. On March 4, he told Davis by letter that "our cause is steadily on the increase" and assured him that another foray into the Commonwealth would produce better results than the first had.
The government's financial woes also continued. Hawes was embarrassed to admit that neither he nor anyone else seemed to know what became of approximately $45,000 that had been sent from Columbus
Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 229 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbus is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
during the Confederate occupation of Kentucky. Another major blow was Davis' decision not to allow Hawes to spend $1 million that had been secretly appropriated in August 1861 to help Kentucky maintain its neutrality. Davis reasoned that the money could not be spent for its intended purpose, since Kentucky was now a part of the Confederacy.
By 1864, Hawes had joined his sister at the small Virginia settlement of Nelly's Ford. His wife and daughter joined him there. This location was only 100 miles (160.9 km) from Richmond, allowing Hawes to travel easily to the Confederate capital for audiences with President Davis. Records show that as late as September 16, 1864, Hawes still maintained hope for another military advance into Kentucky. In the summer 1864, Colonel R. A. Alston of the Ninth Tennessee Cavalry requested Governor Hawes' assistance in investigating crimes allegedly committed by General John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
during his unauthorized raid into Kentucky. Hawes never had to act on the request, however, as Morgan was suspended from command on August 10 and killed by Union troops on September 4, 1864.
Later life and death
Hawes remained at Nelly's Ford until May 1865. Finally satisfied that it was safe to return to Kentucky, Hawes arrived in Paris to find his home had been burned by Union troops. Four of Hawes' sons served in the Confederate Army, including brigadier generalBrigadier 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...
James Morrison Hawes
James Morrison Hawes
James Morrison Hawes was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
; only three sons returned home from the war. On September 18, 1865, Hawes took an oath of allegiance to the United States, and was allowed to return to his previous career as a lawyer.
In 1866, he was elected county judge of Bourbon County. His most notable ruling in this capacity was to nullify the apprenticeship contracts of the Freedman's Bureau in Kentucky. Hawes based this decision on the fact that the Bureau's powers extended only to states that had been part of the rebellion, which Kentucky had not. Hawes was also chosen master commissioner of the circuit court in 1866. In 1871, Hawes was mentioned as a possible candidate for governor of Kentucky. In 1876, he helped frame his party's response to the disputed Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
–Tilden
Samuel J. Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in the disputed election of 1876, one of the most controversial American elections of the 19th century. He was the 25th Governor of New York...
presidential election. Hawes died in Paris, Kentucky on May 25, 1877 and was interred in Paris Cemetery.
See also
- Confederate government of KentuckyConfederate government of KentuckyThe Confederate government of Kentucky was a shadow government established for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by a self-constituted group of Confederate sympathizers during the American Civil War. The shadow government never replaced the elected government in Frankfort, which had strong Union...
- History of KentuckyHistory of KentuckyThe history of Kentucky spans hundreds of years, and has been influenced by the state's diverse geography and central location.-Origin of the name:The name "Kentucky" derived from an Iroquois name for the area south of the Ohio River...
- Kentucky in the American Civil War
External links
- Hawes family of Virginia at The Political GraveyardThe Political GraveyardThe Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...