Scope and Content:
The collection contains letters, military records, and other material related to Charles E. Hewins, a Massachusetts soldier who fought in the Civil War. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written to and from Hewins, mostly dealing with the Civil War. Some of the topics include the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, General Sherman's southern campaign, and daily life during the war. The collection also contains military records for Hewins as well as a genealogical chart of his family.
Conditions Governing Access:
Open to researchers without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use:
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.
Biographical or Historical Information:
Captain Charles Hewins was born in Dorchester, Mass., September 2, 1841 and was the second of six children born to John and Charlotte Hewins. Volunteering at the beginning of the Civil War in the Union Army, Hewins was enrolled in Company I, 42nd Massachusetts Infantry. Hewins served in Company I until January 1863 when he was taken prisoner at Galveston, Texas. During this same year, Charles' oldest brother William was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Charles however, was fortunately paroled after a short confinement in a prisoner of war camp. After a prisoner exchange was arranged at New Orleans, Hewins returned for a brief period to his home in Dorchester and then came to Fort Monroe near the close of the Civil War. While stationed at Fort Monroe, Hewins and his friend Albert Howe served under Captain Charles Wilder in the Freedman's Bureau. Following the war, both Hewins and Howe began collaborating in the general mercantile business in Hampton, Virginia. A few years later, Charles Hewins began developing his business interests in oyster planting and harvesting. He remained in the oyster field for the rest of his life, and during the first year of business, owned and sailed two vessels, The Independence and The Farmer's Return. As one of the pioneer oyster planters of Virginia, Hewins held oyster grounds at Ballast Marsh and Hampton Bar. On March 31, 1891 Charles Hewins married Mary E. Coats of New York state, at the time a teacher at the Hampton Institute. They resided until his death in the home that he had built on a tract of land purchased from the former Bates Estate. Charles Hewins was active in community affairs and was a member of St. Tammany Lodge No. 5, A.F. & A.M., and of the Hampton Commandry, Knights Templar. In 1927 Hewins suffered a stroke of paralysis and died several months later, at the age of 86. Among those who survived Charles Hewins was his only son, Edward F. Hewins. Edward Hewins was born in 1893 in Hampton, Virginia and is the donor of the Hewins Papers to the Old Dominion University Department of Archives and Manuscripts. Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edward Hewins achieved prominence in the Tidewater area as a marine architect at the Newport News Shipbuilding Drydock Company. As was his father, he was active in local civic organizations until well advanced in years.Note written by Susan E. Yates
Title:
Charles E. Hewins Papers
Date (beginning and ending):
1856-1951, undated
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series: Series I: Correspondence; Series II: Military Records; Series III: Miscellaneous. The correspondence is arranged by receipient.
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Charles E. Hewins Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
Agent Name:
Hewins, Charles E. (1841-1927)
Agent Name:
United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 42nd
Agent Name:
Hewins, Charles E. (1841-1927)
Subject:
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Subject:
United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
Subject:
Battle of, Galveston, Tex., 1863
Subject:
Civic leaders--Virginia--Hampton
Subject:
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Assassination
Subject:
Sherman's March to the Sea
Subject:
letters (correspondence)
Subject:
Hampton Roads (Va. : Region)--History, Military
