The Ladies of the Hollywood Memorial Association tender to Captain Dawson their heartfelt thanks for his untiring devotion to their cause; for the efficiency and aid extended to their efforts when most needed; and the prompt co-operation in all measures adopted by the Association; and beg leave to say that while they regret his absence from the meeting yesterday afternoon, they recall with pleasure and gratitude the noble work in which he was then engaged.

May the success and energy which crowns that effort be the earnest for the future of the Association, the ladies of which will always hold in grateful remembrance the effective support rendered by Captain Dawson.

Tuesday Morning, May 29th, 1866.

Head-quarters Department of Virginia, }
Richmond, Va., April 18th, 1865. }

I, Captain F. W. Dawson, C. S. A., Prisoner of War, do hereby give my solemn parole of honor not to take part in hostilities against the government of the United States until properly exchanged; and that I will not do anything directly or indirectly to the disparagement of the authority of the United States until properly exchanged as aforesaid.

(Signed) FRANCIS W. DAWSON,
Captain and Chief Ordnance Officer Cavalry Corps,
Army of Northern Virginia.

I certify that F. W. Dawson gave the foregoing parole in my presence, and signed it in duplicate.

(Signed) D. M. EVANS,
Colonel and Provost Marshal.

Richmond, Va., April 18th, 1865.

The bearer, Captain F. W. Dawson, having taken the oath of parole, has permission to go to his home in Mechlenburg County, Va.

Richmond, Va., April, 1865.

Captain F. W. Dawson,

Chief Ordnance Officer Fitz Lee’s Cavalry Division:

Captain—The recent surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia dissolves our official relations for the present. I take pleasure in expressing my high sense of the zeal, intelligence, and courage you have manifested in the discharge of your duties.

Hoping you may soon recover from your wounds, and wishing you a speedy re-union with your friends,

I remain, with much esteem,
Yours, truly,
BRISCOE G. BALDWIN,
Lt.-Col., Chief Ordnance Officer Army Northern Virginia.

Richmond, Va., April 19th, 1865.

Dear Captain—The recent reverses to our armies, and your wound, have for a time relieved you from command. I trust by the time your health is restored that some arrangement may be made to effect your exchange, and allow you to again enter the field, and our country to have the services of an officer who has by his faithfulness, activity, and courage, added no little to the cause which he has adopted; and won for himself a name which will long be respected and admired where honor and courage are recognized.

Believe me, very truly,
PEYTON L. MANNING,
Lt.-Col., Chief Ordnance Officer 1st Corps
Army of Northern Virginia.

Petersburg, April 26th, 1865.

To Captain F. W. Dawson,

Chief Ordnance Officer Fitz Lee’s Cavalry Division:

I hereby certify that Captain Francis W. Dawson, C. S. Ordnance, was regularly commissioned, and at the time of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia was on my staff as Chief Ordnance Officer of the Cavalry Corps.

FITZ LEE, Major-General.

Richmond, September 10th, 1866.

Captain F. W. Dawson:

My Dear Sir—As you are about to separate your connection with the Dispatch, please accept this expression of my sentiments on the occasion.

The Dispatch will miss your valuable contributions and your intelligent and persevering efforts to promote its interests, and increase its attractions. I can truly say that I never knew a gentleman more earnest and energetic, in the pursuit of journalism, while you have displayed accomplishments for the profession that are rare and invaluable. Socially, we will all feel a great loss in parting with you; and the recollections of our intercourse with you will always be agreeable. While your own talents and bearing will command respect for you in every community, and your gallantry in the Southern cause will commend you to the hospitality and friendship of every Southern man, I tender you my most earnest and heartfelt good wishes for your prosperity and happiness in life.

Very truly and sincerely, yours,
J. A. COWARDIN,
Editor Dispatch.

Charleston, S. C., April 14, 1869.

To the Officers and Members of the Survivors’ Association of Charleston District,
Charleston, S. C.:

Gentlemen—The undersigned respectfully applies for admission into your Association, and presents the following as the RECORD of his services in the Confederate Army and Navy:

Entered Confederate service in December, 1861, at Southampton, England, as sailor, aboard the C. S. Steamer Nashville. Promoted to Master’s Mate, C. S. N., February, 1862. Resigned as Master’s Mate, C. S. N., June, 1862. Entered Purcell Battery, Field’s Brigade, Army Northern Virginia, as Private, June, 1862. Promoted to First Lieutenant of Artillery, August, 1862. Promoted to Captain of Artillery, April, 1864.[A]

Present at the following Engagements: Mechanicsville, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania C. H., North side James River, 1864, Valley of Virginia, 1864, Five Forks.

Wounded at Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862; at Harrisonburg, Va., 1864; Five Forks, March 31, 1865.

Taken Prisoner near Williamsport, Va., September 14, 1862. Released on parole, October, 1862.

Surrendered and was paroled, May, 1865.

FRANCIS W. DAWSON,
Applicant.

Petersburg, Va., October 29, 1869.

I take pleasure in bearing testimony to the authenticity of the accompanying record, as furnished by Captain F. W. Dawson, whilst he was under my command on board of the C. S. Steamer Nashville; and I do most earnestly recommend him to the favorable consideration of the Committee on Applications, as one eminently entitled, by his efficient services, to enjoy all the advantages and honors of a Survivor.

Captain Dawson offered his services to the Confederate cause on board the C. S. Steamer Nashville, at Southampton, England, December, 1861, in any capacity I might designate. He was under age at the time, being about 17 or 18 years old; for this reason I declined to take him away from his home and friends to set him adrift in a foreign land then engaged in a bloody war.

A few days before sailing from Southampton, duty called me to London, and Dawson, taking advantage of my absence, assumed the garb of a sailor boy, and was enlisted by the First Lieutenant on board the Nashville. I did not know that he was on board until we were at sea, and was so surprised at seeing him that I called him to enquire how he had thus gotten the weather-gage of me? He replied, he was determined to espouse the Confederate cause at all hazards, even by smuggling himself on board, if indispensable to attain his object.

During the voyage of the Nashville homeward, the admirable conduct of young Dawson attracted my attention, and that of all the officers; and such favorable reports were made to me of his zeal in the discharge of every duty required of him, that I determined to give him an acting appointment of Master’s Mate in the C. S. Navy, which appointment was promptly confirmed by the Honorable Secretary of the Navy, upon my recommendation, when the Nashville arrived at Beaufort, N. C.

Mr. Dawson was attached to a vessel of the James River Squadron at the time that General McClellan made his advance upon Richmond, yet such was his anxiety to engage in the battle, that he offered his services as a volunteer to the officer in command of the Purcell Battery. He was taken from the field of battle at Mechanicsville badly wounded, but remained fighting his gun until the close of the action, when, from loss of blood, he was completely prostrated. Mr. Dawson’s bravery on this occasion, elicited the admiration of his Captain, who went with me to the Hon. G. W. Randolph, then Secretary of War, to request that he might be appointed a Lieutenant in the C. S. Army. The request was readily granted as a reward of merit.

Though suffering from a painful wound, Mr. Dawson did not remain idle. An invitation had been issued by the Secretary of War to the junior officers of the army, to propose for admission into the Ordnance Corps. An examination was ordered; and when the Board of Examiners met, Mr. Dawson was examined and passed with distinction, and was commissioned in the Corps of Ordnance. His career of duty in that branch of the service is better known to the officers of the army with whom he served than to myself: though I have watched his course with great satisfaction, and always felt a profound interest in his advancement and welfare, having long since forgiven him for his tact in weathering an old sailor.

R. B. PEGRAM,
Lt. Com’g, C. S. N.

I take pleasure in certifying to the services of Captain Dawson in the 1st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.

JAMES LONGSTREET,
Lt.-Gen., C. S. A.

Charleston, S. C., April 16, 1869.

It affords me pleasure to recommend this application to the favorable consideration of the Committee on Applications, and to say that the services rendered by the applicant eminently entitle him to share the privileges and distinctions of a Survivor.

My acquaintance with Captain Dawson began in the early part of the war; but during a period of about six months, following the battle of the Wilderness, (whilst in command of Longstreet’s Corps,) I had constant opportunities to observe the meritorious conduct and gallant bearing of this officer.

The record given within, between the dates or during the period above mentioned, is correct.

R. H. ANDERSON,
Lt.-Gen’l, C. S. A.

Richland, Stafford Co., Va., November 10, 1869.

Captain F. W. Dawson was my Ordnance Officer at the time he specifies. He was a brave soldier and an efficient officer.

“Survivors!” let him in.

FITZHUGH LEE,
Maj.-Gen., C. S. A.