Paul Hamilton (October 16, 1762 – June 30, 1816) was the 3rd

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, from 1809 to 1813. Paul Hamilton was born in Saint Paul's Parish, South Carolina, on October 16, 1762. He left school at the age of sixteen due to financial problems. During the American War of Independence he served in military roles in the southern states, fighting under General Francis Marion. He participated with Colonel William Harden in the capture of Fort Balfour. Following the war, he was a planter and public figure. Hamilton served South Carolina in many public offices including state Representative (1787), State Senator (1794), Comptroller (1800), and the 42nd

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(1804). In 1809, President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

selected Hamilton to become the third Secretary of the Navy. His term in office included the first months of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, during which time the small

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

achieved several remarkable victories over British warships. Hamilton was a proponent of military preparedness, especially sea fortifications. Although he wanted to strengthen the Navy, he found the Congress hostile and the President indifferent to his ideas. However, he was responsible for the Naval Hospitals Act of 1811. Secretary Hamilton resigned at the end of 1812 and returned to South Carolina, where he died in Beaufort on June 30, 1816. Three Navy destroyers have been named in his honor along with and one Liberty ship named . Also bearing his name is the town of

Hamilton, Georgia Hamilton is a city in, and the county seat of Harris County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,680 at the 2020 census, up from 307 at the 2000 census. As of 20 ...

References

External links

SCIway Biography of Paul HamiltonNGA Biography of Paul Hamilton
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at the University of South Carolina Library's Digital Collections Page (letters from 1802 to 1812) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Paul 1762 births 1816 deaths Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives South Carolina state senators Governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees United States Secretaries of the Navy United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Farmers from South Carolina South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution American planters American slave owners South Carolina Democratic-Republicans Madison administration cabinet members Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American politicians Comptrollers General of South Carolina