1st Lieut. James M Hamilton - Civil War Documents - Company C 85th Illinois Infantry

June 10, 2006

James was the younger brother of Supplina Hamilton and the twin of William McCord Hamilton. It's not 100% clear the enlistment history of James. It appears he may have had one year in another outfit and then was discharged and transferred to the 85th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C so he could serve along side his brother William who enlisted in the summer of 1862. From the documentation here it appears that James needed to reenlist in the 85th Infantry in 1864. The enlistments in this era were for three years. He had served one year in another unit and two years in the 85th. James was a 2nd Lieutenant when he reenlisted (in the heart of the war). He was subsequently captured during the battle of Peach Tree Creek, GA later that summer in July of 1864. He was released months later in a prisoner exchange. When he was discharged from Washington, DC at the War's end he held the rank of 1st Lieutenant... and was a true Civil War hero. James died an untimely death a few years later in 1869 near his home town of Mason City, Illinois. James was only 35 years old. During those years he had lived in the westward expansion of the country and the greatest national drama of our young nation. James apparently never married and had no children.

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