Hudson Cemetery Home to Four Civil War Soldiers

Upon any given day of the week, hundreds of people drive past the littlle 1-acre Hudson Cemetery on Dexter-Pinckney Road in Dexter Township. Whether they are travelling to work, taking the kids to school, heading to the nearby metroparks, most, if not all, are oblivious to the serene, final resting place of this area’s earliest pioneers and four veterans of the American Civil War.

Had it not been for my interest and research of a Civil War regiment known as the 4th Michigan Infantry, I, too, would not have seen what was hidden in plain sight.

Shortly after acquiring a wartime photograph of Dexter native Lt. James Edward Hawks, of Co. K, 4th Michigan Infantry, I set out to find his final resting place. Eventually my search led me to the Hudson Cemetery, located just two miles from where I lived.

Near the southeast corner of this little cemetery I found the broken tombstone of Lt. James Edward Hawks, a young man who volunteered to serve his country in its greatest conflict, the American Civil War in 1861. According to the inscription on the tombstone, 26-year-old Lt. Hawks died on April 9, 1864.

Returning from a veterans furlough to the regiment’s camp in Bealton, VA., military records show that he died of quinsey (a complication of tonsillitis) only a week later.

On April 9 it had “rained all day” and was “very gloomy in camp," according to the diary entry of Pvt. John Hewitt, a comrade who also served in the regiment. Another soldier, Henry S. Seage, noted in his diary entry on April 10, that “Hawks died last night." Two days later, on April 11, Pvt. John Hewitt stated that “Lt. Hawks' body was escorted down to the (railroad) depot by four companies (approximately 200-300 men) and the field music (the regimental band)."

By the time of his death, the comrades of Lt. Hawks were well acquainted with the realities of war. Every day men were dying, whether by bullet or disease. The casualties of war had become a matter of fact. Yet Lt. Hawks’ death was “deeply mourned in the regiment” according to Capt. James B. McLean, in a letter written the next day to the Michigan Adjutant General. He went on to say “We have lost one of our noblest and bravest young men." While they may have sent his body home to Dexter, James Hawks spirit remained with his regiment. The soldier’s spirit is the core of Memorial Day.

George Wilkinson is a researcher and historian for the 4th Michigan Infantry. He may be reached at lionview@aol.com or through his website at www.4thmichigan.com.