Rush C. (Rush Christopher) Hawkins

Born in Vermont in 1831, Rush Christopher Hawkins first saw military service as a teenager in the Mexican-American War. He later settled in New York, built a career in law, and became best known during the Civil War as the colonel of the 9th New York Infantry, the colorful regiment often called Hawkins' Zouaves.

After his army service, he remained active in public life as a politician, writer, and prominent cultural figure. He also became an important book collector and art patron, interests that gave him a place not just in military history but in the literary and artistic world of the late nineteenth century.

Hawkins lived a long life that linked several different eras of American history, dying in New York City in 1920. Today he is remembered as a man of many roles: soldier, attorney, collector, and advocate for the arts.