Book/Printed Material ... Captain L. M. Hamilton, Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868. Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years. [Obituary] [Signed] R. M. W. Camp on the North Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868.

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[ From the Army and Navy Journal, January 2, 1869.]

CAPTAIN L. M. HAMILTON.

Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868, Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years.

Such are the words which announce to family and friends a heart-rending bereavement. No eulogy is needed to place this brilliant young soldier's name on the scroll of fame, by the side of his grandsire's the illustrious Alexander Hamilton, or to keep his memory pure and fresh in the hearts of his sorrowing comrades.

The battle of the Washita was fought on the morning of November 27, 1868, by General Custar's command—eleven companies of the Seventh Cavalry, and Black Kettle's band of Cheyenne Indians, assisted by other bands of Sioux, Kiowas and Arrapahoes. The fighting commenced at dawn of day. The dispositions for attack, which had been arranged, placed Hamilton's squadron in the centre to charge the enemy's camp mounted. Thus charging and marshalling his squadron in splendid style right up to the enemy's lodges, the heroic Hamilton fell dead from his horse, shot through the heart by a bullet from a Lancaster rifle in the hands of a savage, who was concealed in his wigwam. Yet he could see that complete success was assured; he could hear the shouts of victory going up from the throats of his men. So the angel of death met him with a beaming smile upon his countenance, the thrill of glory in which he died.

Tenderly his comrades lifted him, and bore him from the scene of his death, leaving only his precious blood to be absorbed by the hard, red clay of the Washita. Friends and comrades gathered around; manly hearts swelled with deep emotion, and eyes became suffused with tears, as they looked upon the lifeless form of the genial, gentle Hamilton. He had become indispensable to us. His ready wit, his keen appreciation of the ludicrous, his admiration for the beautiful, and, more than all, the sympathy of his great, warm heart, had served to entwine him so completely around us, that in losing him, we felt that we had lost the better portion of ourselves.

He was devoted to his men, and to the regiment. On the day before the battle, he was officer of the day for the command, and when, for the purpose of more rapid pursuit, the troops were ordered to leave the train behind under a guard, his place, as officer of the day, was with the train. But his soldier spirit could not brook the thought of allowing his squadron to face danger without him. So he appealed to his commander, with the earnestness almost of demand, to be allowed to accompany the pursuit. The request was granted, and we moarn the dead soldier all the more, as we reflect that the shaft of death might have been averted had he remained with the guard and train.

Though we knew him well and loved him dearly, he was not all ours, nor was his fame all made with us. Long before we knew him he had won encomiums from great heroes on the bloody fields of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He entered the Third Regular Infantry in September, 1862, and served in the famous Regular Infantry Division until the close of the war, partly with his regiment, and for some time aide to General Romyn B. Ayres, for whom he cherished the most devoted affection up to the hour of his death. From thence he came to us upon the re-organization of the Army in 1866, when, as First Lieutenant in the Third Infantry, he was commissioned Captain in the Seventh Cavalry, a distinction conferred upon him in consideration of his gallant bearing and the enthusiasm of his nature, which better fitted him for dashing service. Here the resources of his fruitful mind and the energy of his character came into full play. Out of the chaos in which he found his recruits in December, 1866, he brought a company the finest in his regiment, and equal to any in the service.—Thus laboring, he contributed largely toward perfecting the organization and the discipline which enabled his regiment to win victory and distinction in the battle which cost him his life.

Hamilton's ambition was to be a perfect soldier. He was gallant in everything. It would have been safer to have aroused a sleeping lion than to have cast a shadow of suspicion upon his honor. While he was susceptible of the perfect phrensy of enthusiasm, and would brave danger and death in every form of duty, yet, in the quiet hours of life, he was gentle and winsome as a maiden. His strong intellect, refined by careful culture, enabled him to comprehend the “fluctuations and vast concerns” of life with rare intelligence and discrimination. His well stored mind was as delightful and fragrant, so to speak, as a beautiful garden. The training of his youth, and the examples suggested by parental affection and solicitude, were kept green in his memory by his overpowering attachment to parents and home. His conceptions of the Holy Scriptures were sublime. Thus attuned and trained, he lived a noble and blameless life, an honor to his profession and a worthy possessor of the great name which he inherited.

He died on the field of honor.

The roll of the funeral drum, and of the volleys which will be fired by his devoted men, will be the last outward token we shall have to give of his great worth and of our undying love. That His feet with angel feet may vie And tread the palace of the sky, will be the aspirations which will arise from our breasts as we mournfully leave him in his grave. R. M. W.

Camp on the North Fork Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868.

About this Item

Title
... Captain L. M. Hamilton, Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868. Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years. [Obituary] [Signed] R. M. W. Camp on the North Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868.
Contributor Names
Hamilton, Louis McLane.
Created / Published
1869.
Subject Headings
-  United States
Genre
Broadsides
Notes
-  At head of title: From the Army and Navy Journal January 2, 1869.; Gift Mrs. Carroll Greenough 11-6-42.; Rec. R. B. June 25, 1943.; On verso: Gift Mrs. Carroll Greenough Nov. 6, 1942.
-  Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML.
-  Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 236, Folder 31a.
Medium
1 p.; 25 x 20 cm.
Call Number/Physical Location
Portfolio 236, Folder 31a
Source Collection
Broadsides, leaflets, and pamphlets from America and Europe
Digital Id
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbpe.2360310a
Online Format
online text
image
pdf
Description
At head of title: From the Army and Navy Journal January 2, 1869.; Gift Mrs. Carroll Greenough 11-6-42.; Rec. R. B. June 25, 1943.; On verso: Gift Mrs. Carroll Greenough Nov. 6, 1942. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 236, Folder 31a.

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Chicago citation style:

Hamilton, Louis Mclane. [... Captain L. M. Hamilton, Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868. Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years. Obituary Signed R. M. W. Camp on the North Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868]. 1869. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.2360310a/. (Accessed September 25, 2017.)

APA citation style:

Hamilton, L. M. (1869) [... Captain L. M. Hamilton, Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868. Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years. Obituary Signed R. M. W. Camp on the North Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868]. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.2360310a/.

MLA citation style:

Hamilton, Louis Mclane. [... Captain L. M. Hamilton, Died, on the field of battle, November 28, 1868. Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, aged 24 years. Obituary Signed R. M. W. Camp on the North Canadian River, I. T., December 3, 1868]. 1869. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.2360310a/>.