Louis McLane Hamilton, son of Philip and Rebecca Hamilton, was born July 21, 1844, in the City of New York. He joined the 22 N.Y. Militia as a private in June 1862 and entered the 3 U.S. Infantry as a 2nd lieutenant the following September. He served throughout the war with the Army of the Potomac in Sykes Division, was brevetted for gallantry at Chancellorsville and again at Gettysburgh, and was appointed captain in the 7th Cavalry in July 1866. He was killed in the Battle of the Washita on Nov. 27, 1868, while gallantly leading his command, and after his death was brevetted major in the U.S.A. for gallant and meritorious services in engagements with the Indians, particularly in the battle with the Cheyennes on the Washita River.