HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Schuyler Hamilton (July 22, 1822 – March 18, 1903) was an American soldier, farmer, engineer, and a grandson of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
.


Early life

Hamilton was born on July 22, 1822, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He was the fifth of 14 children born to John Church Hamilton (1792–1882) and Maria Eliza van den Heuvel. His paternal grandparents were Alexander Hamilton (1755/7–1804), a
Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...
, and Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854). His maternal grandfather was Baron John Cornelius van den Heuvel, the one-time governor of Dutch Guiana. Through his sister, Elizabeth Hamilton (1831–1884), he was the brother-in-law of Gen. Henry Halleck, and after his death, of Gen. George Washington Cullum. Hamilton attended and graduated from
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
in 1841.


Career


Mexican War

Hamilton served with great gallantry in the Mexican War, and was brevetted first lieutenant in 1846 and captain in 1847. From 1847 until 1854, he was aide-de-camp to Lieutenant General
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...
. In 1852, he wrote ''A History of our National Flag'' and on May 31, 1855, he resigned from the Army. During the War, he was wounded twice, once by a ball in the stomach and once by a lance which went completely through his chest, piercing his lung. Hamilton became an original member of the
Aztec Club of 1847 The Aztec Club of 1847 is a military society founded in 1847 by United States Army officers of the Mexican–American War. It is a male-only hereditary organization with membership of those who can trace a direct ancestral connection "based on ma ...
.


California and Connecticut

After the Mexican War, he went to California and briefly interned for William Tecumseh Sherman Lucas, Turner & Co. bank before becoming the administrator of the New Almaden quicksilver mine in
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
. After three years, he returned to the East coast and became a farmer in
Branford, Connecticut Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Regi ...
.


Civil War

Upon the outbreak of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, he left his crops and volunteered as a private in the Seventh Regiment, New York National Guard. He worked on the staff of Gen. Benjamin Butler and was rapidly promoted, becoming a lieutenant colonel on the staff of General Scott as military secretary, and renewing his acquaintance with Gen.
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in November 1861 and served as a staff officer in the Department of the Missouri. At the Battle of Island Number Ten, Hamilton led the 2nd Division in the Army of the Mississippi. He was transferred to command the 3rd Division throughout much of the
Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth, also known as the first battle of Corinth, was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry H ...
. Toward the close of that campaign Hamilton was elevated to command the Right Wing of the Army of the Mississippi, consisting of the 3rd and 4th Divisions. In September 1862, he was selected for promotion to major general but this promotion was never confirmed. In 1863 he was compelled to resign, due to a prolonged illness. President Lincoln, with whom he had maintained a correspondence during the war, regretfully accepted the resignation. After the war, he joined the New York Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...
.


Later career

He returned to his farm in Connecticut for three years and then moved back to New York City. From 1871 until 1873, he was a hydrographic engineer, in the Department of Docks, New York City. From 1873 until 1875, he was superintendent of yards, and subsequently, owing to ill health, lived in retirement. In 1874, his son, Robert Ray Hamilton, on a trip west, had a jacket commissioned by the
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
Metis people, a Native American tribe, for Hamilton. On June 4, 1877, he delivered an address in front of the New York Historical Society, that was later published into a book, ''Our National Flag, the Stars and Stripes, Its History in a Century''. In 1889, he wrote to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', calling for a return to civility and grace in allowing foreigners to compliment the United States and its leaders who have departed.


Personal life

On April 3, 1850, Hamilton married Cornelia Ray (1829–1867) in New York City. She was the daughter of Robert Ray (1794–1879), a merchant, and Cornelia Prime (1800–1874). * Robert Ray Hamilton (1851–1890), a New York State Assemblyman * Schuyler Hamilton Jr. (1853–1907), a well known architect, who married Gertrude Van Cortlandt Wells (1849–1944), daughter of Alexander Wells and later the Baroness de Graffenried. * Charles Althrop Hamilton (1858–1875), who died aged 17 On July 11, 1886, several years after his first wife's death, he married Louisa Francis Paine Allen (1832–1898) at the Park Hotel in Manhattan. On March 18, 1903, he died at his residence, 24 West 59th Street in New York City, after having been invalid for several years.


Descendants

Hamilton's grandchildren included: Schuyler Van Cortlandt Hamilton, Gertrude Ray Hamilton, and Violet Loring Hamilton.


References

;Notes ;Sources *


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Schuyler 1822 births 1903 deaths Schuyler family United States Military Academy alumni People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Schuyler American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 Military personnel from New York City United States Army generals Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery American people of Dutch descent