Alexander Hamilton Jr.

Who was Alexander Hamilton Jr.?

Alexander Hamilton Jr. was the third child and the second son of Alexander Hamilton. He graduated from Columbia University several weeks after his father was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. He was invited to be an apprentice attorney in Stephen Higginson's Boston law firm and later became a lawyer.

Hamilton fought in the Duke of Wellington's army then returned to America to serve in the War of 1812 as an infantry captain in the United States Army where served in the 41st Infantry Regiment from 1 August 1813 to 15 June 1815.

He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1819. He also represented Eliza Jumel during the time she was divorcing her unfaithful husband Aaron Burr.

U.S. Attorney James Alexander Hamilton was his brother.

Alexander Hamilton also corresponded with President Abraham Lincoln regarding Gen. George McClellan's Peninsular Campaign during the American Civil War. Hamilton encouraged Lincoln to not press McClellan for quick results during his careful and ultimately unsuccessful siege of Richmond, Virginia. He references his time with Wellington as authority to judge military strategy.