b. 1836 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. d. 06/07/1881 Camden, New Jersey.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 27/10/1864 Plymouth, North Carolina.
Hamilton, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served in the Union Navy from 1862 to 1865. He was taken prisoner after the action on the Roanoke River for which he would later be honoured. He was presented with his Medal on March 15, 1865 at the Washington DC Navy Yard Commandant’s Office by Commodore Montgomery. Medal of Honor recipient Richard Hamilton survived the war and died in Camden, New Jersey on July 6, 1881 due to paralysis complicated by syphilis. He was buried July 10, 1881 in Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey. Although a record of his interment has yet to be found in the Evergreen Cemetery burial register at the Camden County Historical Society, both Hamilton’s death certificate and obituary indicate that he was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, most likely in the William B. Hatch Post, No. 37, G. A. R. Soldiers plot.
MOH CITATION:
Hamilton served on board the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1, in action, 27 October 1864, against the Confederate ram, Albemarle, which had resisted repeated attacks by our steamers and had kept a large force of vessels employed in watching her. The picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo, succeeded in passing the enemy pickets within 20 yards without being discovered and then made for the Albemarle under a full head of steam. Immediately taken under fire by the ram, the small boat plunged on, jumped the log boom which encircled the target and exploded its torpedo under the port bow of the ram. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire and almost the entire crew was taken prisoner or lost.
BURIAL LOCATION: EVERGREEN CEMETERY, CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.
WILLIAM B HATCH POST, NO 37, G.A.R. SOLDIERS PLOT (NOT CONFIRMED).
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.