Maj. Gen. Alexander Schuyler Hamilton, Sr./ USA

Alexander Schuyler Hamilton was a Major General in the New York State Militia during the American Civil War, and was the grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

Hamilton was born on November 15, 1815. He was the eldest child born to John Church Hamilton (1792–1882) and Maria Eliza van den Heuvel Hamilton (1795–1873). His younger siblings were Charlotte Augusta Hamilton (1819–1896), John Cornelius Adrian Hamilton (1820–1879), Schuyler Hamilton (1822–1903), Mary Eliza Hamilton (1825–1887), Charles Apthorpe Hamilton (1826–1901), Adelaide Hamilton (1830–1915), Elizabeth Hamilton (1831–1884), William Gaston Hamilton (1832–1913), Laurens Hamilton (1834–1858), and Alice Hamilton (1838–1905).

His paternal grandparents were Alexander Hamilton (1755/7–1804), a Founding Father of the United States, and Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854). His maternal grandfather was Baron John Cornelius van den Heuvel, the one-time governor of Dutch Guiana.

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."

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.

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. He later reported directly to President Abraham Lincoln. He was placed in charge of troops during the New York Draft Riots in 1863.

He was the author of a life of Oliver Cromwell, and a book of poetry.[5][6] His book Dramas and Poems was published in 1887.[8] 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".

He was cited as "remarkable for his cultured mind, speaking a number of languages," and as a "mathematician and penman." 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 wife.

Hamilton married Elizabeth Smith Nicoll (1819–1873). Together, they were the parents of four children.

Rev. Alexander Hamilton (1847–1928) Henry Nicoll Hamilton (1849–1914) James Bowdoin Hamilton (1852–1853), who died young. Marie Elizabeth Hamilton (1855–1897) Hamilton died of influenza on December 10, 1907.

Find A Grave Memorial

Major-General, Civil War veteran. Inscription: Patriot. Poet. Fidelis. Co-founder of Christ Church of Ramapo son of John Church & Maria Eliza (Van Den Huevel) Hamilton grandson of Alexander & Elizabeth (Schuyler) Hamilton