Alexander Hamilton (general)

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]

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 1842, Hamilton married Elizabeth Smith Nicoll (1819–1873), a daughter of Henry Woodhull Nicoll. Elizabeth's sister, Mary Louisa Nicoll, was the wife of Gen. Henry Constantine Wayne.^[8] Together, they were the parents of five children, three of whom survived to adulthood:^[3]

• Rev. Alexander Schuyler Hamilton (1847–1928), who married Adele Walton Livermore.^[8]
• Henry Nicoll Hamilton (1849–1914), who married Mary Amelia Fish.^[8]
• James Bowdoin Hamilton (1852–1853), who died in infancy.^[8]
• Marie Elizabeth Hamilton (1855–1897), who married Francis Henderson of Virginia.^[8]
• John Church Hamilton (1859–1865), who died in childhood.^[8]

His second marriage, in 1878, was to Sarah Elizabeth Bodine.^[3] In 1893, he was brought to court to prove his sanity, after threatening to kill his second wife.^[9][10]

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