Schuyler Hamilton 1822-1903

Schuyler Hamilton was a grandson of Alexander Hamilton [1757-1800] and Elizabeth Schuyler [1757-1854]. He was the son of John Church Hamilton [1792-1882] and Maria Eliza Van Den Heuvel. His grandmother was the daughter of Revolutionary War General Philip J. Schuyler and Catherina Van Rensselaer.

Schuyler Hamilton was born in New York City. He graduated from  Westpoint in 1841. He served in the Mexican War, became a lieutenant in 1846 and a captain in 1847. From 1847 until 1854 he was aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott.

In 1854, he resigned from the United States Army. But at the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered as a private in the Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard.

Hamilton’s prior military training was quickly realized and he was rapidly promoted and became a colonel in April 1861. Later that same year he was again promoted to brigadier general, and in September 1862 he became a major general. In about two years he went from private to major general, a rise in rank that can only occur during a war.

On the battlefield Hamilton was actively engaged in the Union Army operations against New Madrid, Missouri, in Island 10 in the Mississippi River, and in the Tennessee and Mississippi campaigns. He was involved in the Second Battle of Corinth where he led a division of the Army of the Mississippi during 1862.

Shortly following Hamilton’s active military activities he developed health problems and had to resign from the New York National Guard in 1863. Although he was only 41 years old at that time, he had to give up active duty.

Following the War, in 1871, Hamilton began work as a hydrographic engineer in the New York City Department of Docks. He did this until 1873 when he was promoted to superintendent of yards in the Department of Docks. In 1875 he was forced to resign because of ill health, and lived in retirement until his death 1903.

Schuyler Hamilton was married to Louisa Frances Payne Allen [1832-1898]. They had one child, a son named Schuyler Hamilton [?-1907]. Note that Schuyler lived to the old age of 80 while his wife passed away at age 66. There is no information on where he was interred.

See the appendix at the end of the bio profile for Pieter Schuyler [1657-1724] to understand the relationship, if any, between the eight Schuylers in this listing.