Hugh Hamilton (sailor)

Hugh Hamilton
Hugh Hamilton
	Civil War era Navy Medal of Honor
Born	1836; New York, New York
Died	December 10, 1890; Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York
Place of burial	Oak Grove Cemetery, Fall River, Massachusetts
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Union Navy
Rank	Coxswain
Unit	USS Richmond
Battles/wars	American Civil War ; • Battle of Mobile Bay
Awards	Medal of Honor

Last updated May 02, 2020

Hugh Hamilton (born 1836 - December 10, 1890) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Military service

Hamilton's Medal of Honor, front and back

Born in 1836 in New York City, Hamilton was still living in the state of New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a coxswain on the USS Richmond. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "performed his duties with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864.^[1]^[2]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1830, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864.

Hamilton's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Richmond during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Hamilton performed his duties with skill and courage throughout the prolonged battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the successful attacks carried out on Fort Morgan.^[2]

Death and burial

Medal of Honor recipient Hugh Hamilton died December 10, 1890 of cerebral apoplexy and was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River, Massachusetts.^[3]

Hamilton's death notice in the December 11, 1890 Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper read:

Sudden Death of a Quarter Gunner on the Minnesota. Hugh Hamilton, quarter gunner on the training ship Minnesota, now living at the navy yard, fell dead of apoplexy on the forward gun deck of the ship at 3:45 P. M. yesterday. He was 53 years old. Assistant Surgeons Harris and Pickrell applied restoratives shortly after Hamilton fell, but without effect. The body of the deceased will be taken to Fall River to-day.

Notes

↑ "Hugh Hamilton". Hall of Valor. Military Times . Retrieved September 23, 2012.
1 2 "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 26, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
↑ Hamilton, Hugh. "Findagrave". Findagrave.com.

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References

Mahan, CDR USN, Alfred Thayer (1885). The Gulf and Inland Waters. The Navy in the Civil War. III. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. OCLC 166312281.
Matthews, Franklin (1915). Our Navy in Time of War (1861-1915). New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. OCLC 940844432.
Porter, ADM USN, David Dixon (1886). The Naval History of the Civil War. New York, NY: The Sherman Publishing Company. OCLC 280729.

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[hallofvalor-1] "Hugh Hamilton". Hall of Valor. Military Times . Retrieved September 23, 2012.

[citation-2] 1 2 "Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 26, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2012.

[3] Hamilton, Hugh. "Findagrave". Findagrave.com.