Royal Naval Biography/Hawkins, Abraham Mills
ABRAHAM MILLS HAWKINS, Esq.
[Commander.]
Second son of Richard Hawkins, of Kingsbridge, co. Devon, Esq. among whose ancestors may be particularly noticed those distinguished sea-officers, Sir John Hawkins, who was knighted for the conspicuous part he bore, as rear-admiral, at the memorable defeat of the Spanish Armada; and Sir Richard Hawkins, his son, also much spoken of in our early naval annals. The augmentations to the family arms, granted by Queen Elizabeth, in consideration of Sir John’s services, are borne by the subject of the following sketch, whose mother, Mary Creed, was likewise of an old and highly respectable family long settled in the above county.
Mr. Abraham Mills Hawkins was born at Kingsbridge; and entered the navy in 1798, as midshipman on board the Barfleur, second-rate. Captain James Richard Dacres. On the promotion of that officer, in Feb. 1799, he was removed to the Prince 98, bearing the flag of Sir Roger Curtis, off Cadiz: and on the latter being appointed to the chief command at the Cape of Good Hope, he accompanied him thither in the Lancaster 64. After serving for nearly four years on that station, he proceeded to the East Indies, and there continued about the same length of time, as petty-officer and acting-lieutenant in various ships, one of which, the Sheerness 44, Captain Lord George Stuart, was wrecked near Trincomalee, in the beginning of 1805[1]. His first commission bears date June 11th, 1807; at which period he was appointed to l’Aimable 32, then on the North Sea station, but afterwards employed in escorting the array under Sir Arthur Wellesley from Cork to Portugal. On the 3d Feb. 1809, he assisted at the capture of l’Iris, French frigate, armed en flûte, victualled and stored for four months, and having on hoard a considerable quantity of flour for the relief of Martinique[2]. On the 29th July following, his captain, Lord George Stuart, then commanding a light squadron at the mouth of the river Elbe, reported the expulsion of the enemy from the town of Gessendorf, the demolition of a four-gun battery, together with a magazine, guard-houses, &c. and the re-capture of six waggons of confiscated merchandize:– “A want of zeal and activity,” says his lordship, “was discernible no where; to every officer and man I must award the meed of praise so justly their due; but of Lieutenant Burgess, of the Pincher, and Lieutenant Hawkins, second of l’Aimable, I am more competent to speak in favor, for their indefatigable exertions in forwarding my orders to the different detachments[3]. About Sept. 1810, Mr. Hawkins followed Lord George Stuart into the Horatio 38, of which frigate he served as first lieutenant until promoted to the rank of commander, for an exploit thus officially detailed:
“H.M.S. Horatio, Tromptsen Sound, 3d Aug. 1812.
“Sir,– I have the honor to make known to you, that when in execution of your orders, running down the coast of Norway on the 1st instant, in lat. 70° 40' N., a small sail was seen from the mast-head, close in with the land, which we discovered to be an armed cutler before she disappeared among the rocks. Being anxious to destroy the enemy’s cruisers, who have so considerably intercepted our trade in this quarter, I despatched the barge and three cutters, under the command of my first lieutenant, Abraham M. Hawkins, who gained information on shore that the cutter had gone to a village on an arm of the sea, thirty-five miles inland, where he immediately proceeded, and, at 8 a.m. on the 2d, she was discovered at anchor, together with a schooner and a large ship, which, on the appearance of the boats, presented their broadsides with springs on their cables.
“As a strong tide set the boats towards them, Lieutenant Hawkins determined to attack, notwithstanding their advantageous position; at nine the fire commenced on the boats (one of which was despatched under the directions of Mr. James Crisp, master’s-mate, to disperse some small-armed men collected on shore – this he effected, and returned to the attack before the enemy struck); and after a most sanguinary combat, they were carried, in that true and gallant style which far surpasses any comment of mine on its merits, or of the characters of the brave fellows employed. They proved to be his Danish Majesty’s schooner. No. 114, of six six-pounders and thirty men, and cutter No. 97, of four six-pounders and twenty-two men, commanded by Lieutenant Buderoff, a first lieutenant in the Danish navy, and commodore of a division of small vessels employed on this coast, in person on board the schooner; and an American ship of about four hundred tons, their prize.
“I lament to say, that the loss on both sides is severe, and nearly similar. Though I have before had occasion to represent the meritorious conduct of Lieutenant Hawkins, I cannot in this instance sufficiently express my sentiments of his gallantry, as well as that of Lieutenant Thomas J. P. Masters, second of the Horatio. Lieutenant Hawkins, who received a severe wound in the right hand when the boats were advancing, and another in the left arm in the act of boarding, represents the spirited and able support he received from Lieutenant Masters, who was also severely wounded in the right arm; and I must also bear testimony to the merits of this officer. The service has lost a valuable officer in First Lieutenant George Syder (royal marines), killed in the act of boarding; and that of a most amiable young man, Mr. James Larans, assistant-surgeon, who soon after died of his wounds. I must also represent the high terms in which Lieutenant Hawkins speaks of Mr. James Crisp, master’s-mate, Mr. William Hughes, boatswain, and Mr. Thomas Fowler, midshipman; the two latter are also severely wounded.
“The services of Lieutenants Hawkins and Masters, with the petty-officers, and the several instances of spirited behaviour of the seamen and marines, well deserve the encomiums already passed. The unwearied, skilful, and humane attention of Mr. Thomas Bishop, surgeon, to the wounded, demand my warmest acknowledgments. Our loss is to be attributed to the desperate resistance made by the Danish commodore, (who is severely wounded, as well as the commander of the cutter) and the excellent position his vessels were placed in. I have the honor to be, &c.
(Signed)“G. Stuart.”
“To Admiral William Young, &c. &c.”
The persevering gallantry displayed on this occasion was in the highest degree honourable to Lieutenant Hawkins and his party; but the more their gallant spirit excited the admiration of Admiral Young the more he lamented that so many brave officers and men should have been lost to their country. In addition to those above mentioned, eight were slain, one mortally, seven severely, and three slightly, wounded. The Danes had ten killed, and thirteen (including officers) wounded.
The subject of this memoir was promoted to his present rank on the 12th Dec. 1812; granted a pension for his wounds in Sept. 1813; appointed to the command of the Conflict sloop, on the Channel station. Mar. 18th, 1814; and paid off at Sheerness, in the summer of 1815. He married, in 1819, Mary, only daughter of Christopher Savery, of South Efford, co. Devon, Esq.; and is now settled at Battville, in the neighbourhood of his native place. Mrs. Hawkins, by whom he has had issue two sons, is also a descendant of an ancient and very respectable Devonshire family.