Benjamin Sturtevant Hawkins belonged to Company I, 12th Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers. The 39-year old was a resident of Center Harbor, having enlisted in the neighboring town of Meredith on Aug. 15th, 1862. He was mustered in for three years on Sept. 9th, a private.
The following is a letter he wrote to his wife Mary, while the regiment was encamped at Waterloo, Virginia. Punctuation (or rather, lack of) and spelling errors kept exactly as written by Private Hawkins.
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The following is a letter he wrote to his wife Mary, while the regiment was encamped at Waterloo, Virginia. Punctuation (or rather, lack of) and spelling errors kept exactly as written by Private Hawkins.
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| Virginia Waterloo Nov the 13 1862 Dear wife and friends i will inform you that i am well and harty i recieved your letter last night and was very glad to hear from you we are in camp at waterloo on our way to warrington i have not seen any Battle yet But expect to Before long we are enjoying ourselves first rate we have plenty of Beef Pork mutton and hard Bread and Coffee but i have not tasted any potatoes Butter nor milk nor indian Bread since i left Concord [stain] you to write to me as soon as you get this letter write all the news if there is a Box sent from the Village you can send me some tobackoo and the Gloves send me some postage stamps in the letter and 2 Dollars if you |  |
 | have it to spare i shall draw some next month and will send it home as soon as i get it i want you to write if you have drawed any thing from the town or not if they will not pay i will write to you what to do if you want a barrell of flour tell Mr Pain to get it for you or anything else but you get the money if you can if you cant i can save what money you can and i will dont pay out any more than you can help write if the Boys have got their Boots tell Willie to Be a good Boy and Darter a good Girl tell Albert and Edwin to not trap to much But be good Boys if you want some beef get it Direct your letter to me at Washi- ngton D C 12 N H V. Co I Whipples Division we are not Brigaded |
| the Rebs are Reatreating as fast as they can and our troops are following as fast as they can wee take Cattle and horses sheep and hogs without numbers the Country is in a desolate Condition the fences all Burnt up and their Buildings all stove to pieces their is now and then a log hut with about forty Negroes in and around it i cant write much more But i will say if the town voted to pay you they cannot help it if there is any trouble about it write to me and i will see about it you can draw it from the state after they pay me you let freeman look after it for you and get it there if you can tell freeman to write to me about what is going on |  |
 | Direct all your letters to Washington D C N H V 12 Reg Co I Capt J W Lang Jr Whipples Division Give my to all tell to have a good lot of wood and keep warm apples are 6 dollars a Barrell and tobacko is 1.50 cts per pound it is all most night and i must draw to a Close By asking you to write as soon you get this letter we shall get the mail twice a week now tell all family to write to me and i will write as often as i can excuse bad writing Mary i should like to be at home to nite butt i cant i have laid on the ground 4 weeks every nite Good By Benj S Hawkins |
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Benjamin Hawkins survived for a year in the service of his country. Sick with chronic diarrhea, he was sent back home to Center Harbor, with the hope that he would recover. He did not, and died on Sept. 18th, 1863.
His death notice, from the New Hampshire Statesman, on the 23rd of Oct.:
Benjamin Hawkins survived for a year in the service of his country. Sick with chronic diarrhea, he was sent back home to Center Harbor, with the hope that he would recover. He did not, and died on Sept. 18th, 1863.
His death notice, from the New Hampshire Statesman, on the 23rd of Oct.:
He was buried in the Meredith Village Cemetery.
photo taken June 4th, 2022 - S. Dow
Page 1 notes:
Waterloo, Virginia - the 12th NH marched into town on the 11th of Nov., their stay only lasting four days. During this time, the mail arrived, it having been nearly a month since they had received anything from home.
Page 2 notes:
Mr. Pain - aka Payne, there were several adult males of this surname in Center Harbor at this time, all farmers.
Willie, Albert and Edwin - three of his four sons are mentioned by name in this letter (Rufus was the 4th son). His "darter" is daughter Mary.
Page 3 notes:
"Freeman" - unclear who this may be, but there were several men in Center Harbor with this name.
Also mentioned on page 3 was the pay due from the town. She and her five children were on the list of recipients for state aid. For the year her husband had been gone, until his return home and subsequent death, she was due to receive $201.62.
Waterloo, Virginia - the 12th NH marched into town on the 11th of Nov., their stay only lasting four days. During this time, the mail arrived, it having been nearly a month since they had received anything from home.
Page 2 notes:
Mr. Pain - aka Payne, there were several adult males of this surname in Center Harbor at this time, all farmers.
Willie, Albert and Edwin - three of his four sons are mentioned by name in this letter (Rufus was the 4th son). His "darter" is daughter Mary.
Page 3 notes:
"Freeman" - unclear who this may be, but there were several men in Center Harbor with this name.
Also mentioned on page 3 was the pay due from the town. She and her five children were on the list of recipients for state aid. For the year her husband had been gone, until his return home and subsequent death, she was due to receive $201.62.
State Aid for Mary N and children, from Sept. 9th 1862 to May 1st, 1863
State Aid for Mary N and five children, May 1st to August 18th, 1863
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