Joseph Roswell Hawley

Major General Joseph Roswell Hawley was born in North Carolina in 1826. He lived in Hartford, Connecticut, and was a lawyer, a Free-Soiler, one of the founders of the Connecticut Republican Party, and editor of the Hartford Evening Press. As a captain in the 1st Connecticut Volunteers, he fought at the Battle of First Bull Run in July of 1861. Later, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Connecticut Volunteers, under Colonel Alfred Terry and, in this capacity, distinguished himself for bravery during the siege of Fort Pulaski, Georgia. As Colonel, he led the 7th Connecticut at James Island and Pocotaligo, South Carolina. Hawley also took part in engagements at Battery Wagner, Charleston, Morris Island, and St. Helena in South Carolina; at Olustee in Florida; and at New Market, Drewry's Bluff, Darbytown Road and Petersburg in Virginia. By the end of the war, he was commanding the District of Wilmington, North Carolina, with the rank of brigadier general, and, in September of 1865, received the brevet rank of major general of volunteers. In 1866, the year of his muster-out, Joseph Hawley was elected Governor of the State of Connecticut.

He was married to Edith A. Hawley, and they had at least two daughters, Edith Josephine Hawley and Alice Marian Hawley.