Hamilton Smith Hawkins (November 13, 1834 – March 27, 1910) was a United States Army Major General during the Spanish–American War.
Biography
Hawkins was born in Fort Moultrie, South Carolina on November 13, 1834. He attended the United States Military Academy between 1852 and 1855, but did not graduate with the class of 1856 due to deficient academics. Despite being a South Carolinian, Hawkins served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He fought at several battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg. He remained in the army after the Civil War and participated in campaigns against the Plains Indians. He became Commandant of Cadets at West Point, the only one to have attended the academy and failed to graduate. He served in this position between 1888 and 1892.
Battery Hawkins built in 1914 to protect Pearl Harbor was named for him.
Personal
Hawkins was the son of Hamilton Smith Hawkins, an Army surgeon from Maryland who was killed during the Mexican–American War.
His son, Hamilton S. Hawkins III, was an 1894 West Point graduate who commanded the 1st Cavalry Division from 1934 to 1936. His grandson, Hamilton Smith Hawkins IV, was a member of the Military Academy Class of 1926 who received his diploma posthumously after dying in a polo match one month before graduation. His son-in-law Robert Lee Howze and two other grandsons were also West Point graduates.
Hawkins and his wife, Annie Gray Hawkins, were buried in Section I of the West Point Cemetery. His son, daughter-in-law and grandson were buried in Section V. His daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Hamilton Hawkins Howze, were also buried in Section I.