Alexander Hamilton (general)

Alexander Hamilton
Major General Alexander Hamilton
Personal details
Born Alexander Hamilton
(1815-11-15)November 15, 1815
New York City
Died December 10, 1907(1907-12-10) (aged 92)
Tarrytown, New York
Spouse(s)
  • Elizabeth Smith Nicoll
    (m. 1842; d. 1873)
  • Sarah Elizabeth Bodine
    (m. 1878; d. 1901)
Children 5, including Alexander
Parents John Church Hamilton
Maria Eliza van den Heuvel
Relatives See Hamilton family
Alma mater Columbia College
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch New York State Militia
Rank Major General
Battles/wars American Civil War

Alexander Hamilton (November 15, 1815 – December 10, 1907) was a Major General in the New York State Militia during the American Civil War, and was the oldest grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.[1][2]

Early life and education

Hamilton was born on November 15, 1815. He was the eldest of fourteen children born to John Church Hamilton (1792–1882) and Maria Eliza van den Heuvel Hamilton (1795–1873).[3]

His paternal grandparents were Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States, and Elizabeth Schuyler. His maternal grandfather was Baron John Cornelius van den Heuvel, the one-time governor of Dutch Guiana.[4]

He graduated from Columbia College, and at a "very early age he had the management of a large amount of real estate for the family and others."[3]

Career

Hamilton joined the 11th Regiment of the New York Artillery, where he became a second lieutenant. When the Civil War broke out, he became the aide-de-camp to Major General Charles W. Sandford, and took part in active campaigns in Virginia.[5][6]

He was promoted to Major General in the New York Militia for his use of a gas balloon constructed by Thaddeus S. C. Lowe for military observation during the war.[1] He later reported directly to President Abraham Lincoln. He was placed in charge of troops during the New York Draft Riots in 1863.[1]

Personal life and death

He was the author of a life of Oliver Cromwell, and a book of poetry.[3][5] His book Dramas and Poems was published in 1887.[7] For his literary work, he added his mother's surname to his own in order to distinguish himself from his similarly-named relatives, publishing under the name Alexander Hamilton, of "Heuvel".[7]

He was cited as "remarkable for his cultured mind, speaking a number of languages," and as a "mathematician and penman."[3] He was a Republican, and attended an Episcopal church. In 1890 he was elected a member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati, by virtue of descent from his grandfather Alexander Hamilton.

In 1893, he was brought to court to prove his sanity, after threatening to kill his second wife.[8][9]

Hamilton died of influenza on December 10, 1907, at his home in Tarrytown, New York.[1][5]

Family

Hamilton had 13 younger siblings:[3]

  • Maria Williamson (1817–1822)
  • Charlotte Augusta (1818–1896)
  • John Cornelius Adrian (1820–1879)
  • Schuyler (1822–1903)
  • James (1824–1825)
  • Maria Eliza (1825–1887)
  • Charles Apthorp (1826–1901)
  • Robert P. (1828–1891)
  • Adelaide (1830–1915)
  • Elizabeth (1831–1884)
  • William Gaston (1832–1913)
  • Laurens (1834–1858)
  • Alice (1838–1905)

In 1842, Hamilton married Elizabeth Smith Nicoll (1819–1873). Together, they were the parents of five children, three of whom survived to adulthood:[3]

  • Rev. Alexander Hamilton (1847–1928)
  • Henry Nicoll Hamilton (1849–1914)
  • James Bowdoin Hamilton (1852–1853)
  • Marie Elizabeth Hamilton (1855–1897)
  • John Church Hamilton (1859–1865)

His second marriage, in 1878, was to Sarah Elizabeth Bodine.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gen. Hamilton Dead. Grandson Of Washington's Aid Succumbs To Grip In Old Age". The New York Times. December 11, 1907. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  2. ↑ Marquis, Albert Nelson, ed. (1909). "Alexander Hamilton". Who's Who in America. 5 (1908–1909). Chicago: A. N. Marquis & Company. p. 802.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reynolds, Cuyler; Cutter, William Richard (1914). "(II) John Church Hamilton". Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 1384–1390. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  4. ↑ "GEN. SCHUYLER HAMILTON DEAD; | Grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Who Distinguished Himself in the Mexican and Civil Wars". The New York Times. March 19, 1903. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  5. 1 2 3 "Obituary Notes – General Alexander Hamilton". The Publishers' Weekly. R.R. Bowker Company. 72 (No. 1872): 1938. December 14, 1907.
  6. ↑ Butler, Benjamin Franklin (1917). Private and Official Correspondence of Gen. Benjamin F. Butler: During the Period of the Civil War, Vol. 3 (February 1863 – March 1864). Plimpton Press. pp. 208–209 – via Google Books.
  7. 1 2 Hamilton, Alexander, of "Heuvel" (1887). Dramas and Poems. Dick & Fitzgerald – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Is Gen. Hamilton Insane". The New York Times. August 11, 1893. Retrieved 2010-06-04. (Subscription required (help)). A Legal Inquiry Caused By His Second Wife. Alleged To Be Under The Influence of a Mrs. Freeman In This City. He Is A Grandson of the Famous Alexander Hamilton, an Uncle Of Robert Ray, And Was Distinguished, In The Civil War. Said To Have Threatened Repeatedly To Take His Wife's Life. See also OCR text at Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "General Hamilton Speaks Out. He Will Account for Himself at Any Time Before a Proper Tribunal". The New York Times. August 16, 1893. Retrieved 2010-06-03. Gen. Alexander Hamilton, when seen to-night at the home of his son, the Rev. Alexander Hamilton, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Lyons Plains, town of Weston, six miles from here, was willing to express himself freely and fully in regard to the stories told in the press about him.
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