Paul Hamilton was born in Saint Paul's Parish, South Carolina, on October 16, 1762. He left school at the age of sixteen due to financial problems. During the American War of Independence he served in military roles in the Southern United States, fighting under General Francis Marion. He participated with Colonel William Harden in the capture of Fort Balfour.

Political career

Following the war, he was a planter and public figure. Hamilton served South Carolina in many public offices including state Representative (1787), State Senator (1794), Comptroller (1800), and the 42nd Governor (1804).

In 1809, President James Madison selected Hamilton to become the third Secretary of the Navy. His term in office included the first months of the War of 1812, during which time the small United States Navy achieved several remarkable victories over British warships.

Hamilton was a proponent of military preparedness, especially sea fortifications. Although he wanted to strengthen the Navy, he found the Congress hostile and the President indifferent to his ideas. However, he was responsible for the Naval Hospitals Act of 1811. Secretary Hamilton resigned at the end of 1812 and returned to South Carolina, where he died in Beaufort on June 30, 1816.

Legacy

Three Navy destroyers have been named {{USS|Paul Hamilton}} in his honor along with {{USS|Hamilton|1809|6}} and one Liberty ship named {{SS|Paul Hamilton}}. Also bearing his name is the town of Hamilton, Georgia.{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n147 148]}}

References

{{NHC}}

External links

[http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/phamilton.html SCIway Biography of Paul Hamilton]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035647/http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=266425330cd1a010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD NGA Biography of Paul Hamilton]
{{Find a Grave|7181158}}
[http://www.sc.edu/library/digital/collections/paulhamilton.html Paul Hamilton Papers] at the University of South Carolina Library's Digital Collections Page (letters from 1802 to 1812)

{{succession box | before=James Burchill Richardson | title=Governor of South Carolina | years=1804–1806 | after=Charles Pinckney}}

{{succession box | before=Robert Smith | title=United States Secretary of the Navy | years=1809–1812 | after=William Jones}}