[4] James Hawes did not follow the family tradition, however, and enrolled at the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1841.

[3] When war broke out with Mexico, Hawes participated in the Siege of Veracruz, and the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey.

[6] On his return to the United States in 1852, Hawes was stationed on the Texas frontier, served in the Utah expedition in 1857 and 1858, and helped put down disturbances in "Bleeding Kansas.

[6] With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Hawes resigned his position in the U.S. Army to accept a commission as a captain in the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry.

[6] Following the Civil War, Hawes and his wife returned to their destroyed home in Paris, Kentucky.

[3] He still resisted the family tradition of a political career, possibly because of improprieties committed by his brother, Smith Hawes, while he was city treasurer.

[2] In January 1925, the United Daughters of the Confederacy honored Hawes with a service cross medal, which his grandson accepted on his behalf.