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The original of Volume 2 is held in the Historic Manuscript Collection, Navy Department Library.

Acknowledgement

We thank Doris M. Soulé for her generous donation of this diary as well as for her transcriptions of both volumes.

Topic
Document Type
  • Manuscript
  • Memoir
Wars & Conflicts
  • Civil War 1861-1865
File Formats
  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials

William Metcalf Hawkins

Civil War Diary (1862–1865)

Biographical Sketch: William Metcalf Hawkins was born on 5 March 1840 in England. He lived in Hudson City, New Jersey, and enlisted in the US Army on 26 August 1862, where he worked on the fortification of Washington. He was discharged from the Army on 19 June 1863, and enlisted in the US Navy on 29 August 1864. He served aboard USS Pontoosuc until his discharge on 4 June 1865. Hawkins died in the fall of 1918.

Scope and Content: The diary is in two volumes. The Navy Department Library holds Volume 2, which details Hawkins’ life between his periods of service and his time aboard USS Pontoosuc, and transcriptions of both volumes. Volume 1 of the diary is held by the US Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Transcriptions of both volumes are provided below.

Hawkins Diary Volume 2 Title Page.  "Record of Events of 1862 by W. M. Hawkins"

Transcriptions:

Click here for the complete transcription of Volume 1.

Click here for the complete transcription of Volume 2.

Use and Reproduction Policy: Manuscripts are unavailable for loan and must be consulted in the library. Photocopying of manuscripts is generally prohibited, though the use of digital cameras by researchers to reproduce non-copyrighted materials is permitted.

Published: Thu Aug 20 12:19:18 EDT 2020