Louisa Hawkins Canby [SEP] date of death
Louisa Hawkins Canby
Louisa Hawkins Canby (December 25, 1818 – 1889) was nicknamed the "Angel of Santa Fe" in 1862 for her compassion toward sick, wounded, and freezing Confederate soldiers at Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mrs. Canby was the wife of Union Brig. Gen. Edward Richard Sprigg Canby whose order to destroy or hide not only weapons and ammunition but all food, equipment, and blankets prior to any retreat was largely responsible for the Confederates' misery. Taking pity on her husband's enemies, Mrs.
Canby not only organized other officers' wives to nurse the sick and wounded among the occupying Confederate forces, but also showed Col. William Read Scurry where fleeing Union forces had hidden blankets and food. Mrs. Canby, said one rebel, "captured more hearts of Confederate soldier [sic] than the old general ever captured Confederate bodies."
Early life of a military wife.
Louisa Hawkins, was born December 25, 1818 at Paris, Kentucky, to John and Elizabeth (Waller) Hawkins. Relatives and close