Hamilton Fish II (June 27, 1873 – June 24, 1898) was an American soldier who was a member of the prominent
Fish family
The Fish family is a prominent American family, members of which became influential in politics, diplomacy, and business. The family is of English origin and is descended from Jonathan Fish (1615–1663), who was born in East Farndon, Northamptons ...
. During the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
he joined the
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
in the invasion of Cuba, where he died in the
Battle of Las Guasimas
The Battle of Las Guasimas of June 24, 1898 was a Spanish rearguard action by Major General Antero Rubín against advancing columns led by Major General Joseph Wheeler, "Fighting Joe" Wheeler and the first land engagement of the Spanish–Ameri ...
.
Biography
Fish was son of diplomat and banker
Nicholas Fish
Nicholas Fish (August 28, 1758 – June 20, 1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier. He was the first Adjutant General of New York.
Early life
Fish was born on August 28, 1758, into a wealthy New York City family. He was the son of Jo ...
and Clemence Smith (Bryce) Fish. He was the nephew of namesake
Hamilton Fish II
Hamilton Fish II (April 17, 1849 – January 15, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Early life
Fish was born in Albany, Ne ...
, the former speaker of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
, and grandson of the 26th
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State.
The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
,
Hamilton Fish
Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American statesman who served as the sixteenth governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States senator from New York from 1851 to 1857, and the 26th U.S. secretary of state from ...
. Fish attended
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
as a member of the class of 1895 and was a member of
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...
. To prepare for a career as a railroad executive, he was employed through family connections by the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, where he worked in the maintenance and repair shops, as a
brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes, brakes on every wagon which could be controlled by the driver, made this role r ...
, and in other
blue collar
A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
positions within the company.
During the Spanish-American war, he joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
's 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, known as the
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
, where he held the rank of sergeant, and was considered by
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
"one of the best non-commissioned officers we had". Fish was a member of "L" troop commanded by Captain
Allyn K. Capron Jr.
Captain Allyn K. Capron (24 June 1871 – 24 June 1898) was the first United States Army officer to die in the Spanish–American War.
Before Cuba
Allyn Kissam Capron was the first son of Agnes Kissam and Allyn Capron, an 1867 graduate of the ...
He was not the only soldier from a prominent family in the unit, which contained a number of
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
rs from wealthy Eastern families. In citing their qualifications for active duty, Roosevelt touted their athletic accomplishments: Hamilton Fish was "the ex-captain of the Columbia crew"; Dudley Dean was "perhaps the best quarterback who ever played on a Harvard elevan"; Bob Wrenn was "the champion tennis player of America." Other college athletes included Yale high-jumper Edward C. Waller,
steeplechase
SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...
rider
Craig Wadsworth
Craig Wharton Wadsworth (January 12, 1872 – May 20, 1960) was a diplomat, steeplechase rider, and member of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
Early life
Wadsworth was born in Philadelphia to Gen. Craig Wadsworth (1841–1872) and Evelyn Willin ...
, and polo-player Joe Stephens.
Fish was one of the first Americans killed at the
Battle of Las Guasimas
The Battle of Las Guasimas of June 24, 1898 was a Spanish rearguard action by Major General Antero Rubín against advancing columns led by Major General Joseph Wheeler, "Fighting Joe" Wheeler and the first land engagement of the Spanish–Ameri ...
, near
Santiago, Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana.
The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
, on June 24, 1898. His final moments were described by one of his troopers, Ed Culver, who was wounded by the same bullet. The journalist
Burr McIntosh
William Burr McIntosh (August 21, 1862 – April 28, 1942) was an American lecturer, photographer, film studio owner, silent film actor, author, publisher of ''The'' ''Burr McIntosh Monthly'', Fish's death was widely covered in the press: his youth, his famous family, and his untimely end made him one of the popular heroes of the war. McIntosh, who had taken the last photograph of Fish alive, resisted the temptation to photograph the face of the man in death, but he nevertheless took photographs of the covered body, alongside that of another fallen American soldier. First published in ''Leslie's Weekly'' on July 28, 1898, and often reproduced, these were among the very few published photos of American war dead, and became "one of the most enduring images of the Spanish-American war".