Virginia Military Institute - Bomb Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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he continued to hold until graduated in July, 1871. These promotions were unusually rapid and would, under any conditions, constitute a high testimonial to the character and worth of the recipient. In Mr. Hamilton ' s case the testi- monial was unusually high. He was a member of the largest class that ever entered the Institute and a member of the largest corps in its history. In this corps were men who had served through years of the Civil War, and some who had been officers in the armies of the South, yet from so large a number, the majority of whom were his seniors, Mr. Hamilton, a third class plebe just nine- teen j-ears of age, was selected by his superior officers to fill one of the most important and honorable positions within the reach of the cadet. To be adjutant and command the corps of cadets on parade occasions is ever a laudable ambition of the 5 ' oung cadet. To have been adjutant and to have commanded such a corps as that of ' yo- ' yi, ought to be, and doubtless is, one of the cherished recollec- tions of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Hamilton ' s academic record is no less felicitous. While maintaining a creditable standing in all the departments of .study that formed the strict curri- culum of his day it was in the classical, philosophical and literary branches that he excelled. In Latin, Moral Philosophy and English Literature he stood first in a class that eventualh ' graduated forty-five of its members. Immediatelj ' after graduation in the summer of 1871 on the joint recom- mendation of Colonel J. T. L. Preston, Professor of Latin, and Colonel ( now General ) Scott Shipp, Commandant of Cadets, he was appointed assistant pro- fessor of Latin and Tactics. At this time he was just twentj ' years of age. For two years he held this position, discharging his duties with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the governing authorities of the school. In 1872, whilst discharging his duties as assistant professor, he entered the law school of Washington and Lee University, presided over at that time by Judge John A ' . Brockenbrough and the Hon. John Randolph Tuckir. He successfully accomplished the entire course of study in one j-ear. The writer has often heard Mr. Tucker speak of Mr. Hamilton ' s success as a student of the law, and of the generous emulation for the highest distinction in the class that existed between C. A. Graves, now a distinguished professor of law in the University of Mrginia, and himself. Both have since been eminently successful in their specialties — Professor Graves as a teacher and expounder of legal theories — Mr. Hamilton as a general practicioner and legal adviser. In the line of his profession Mr. Hamilton ' s career has been one of contin- uous advance. After one year ' s practice in Richmond, A ' irginia, he returned to Petersburg, his old home, and formed a partnership with Alexander Dounan

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HON. ALILXANDER HAMILTON. ' ON. Alexander Hamilton, president of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Military Institute, was born in Granville Count} ' , North Carolina, March iSth, 1851. His grandfather, Patrick Hamilton, emigrated to this countrj ' from Scot- land about the year 18 10. A man of great means and ability, and a Scotsman, with those qualities of perseverance, courage and personal integrity which have ever characterized his race, he readily acquired a position of prominence and influence in the land of his adoption. Robert Alston Hamilton, the son, inherited his father ' s ability and personal qualities and rose to even greater prominence in his native .state. He, in early life, married Miss Sarah Caroline Alexander, of Mecklenburg County, ' irginia. The second son of this union, Alexander Hamilton, the subject of this sketch, unites therefo re the maternal and paternal names. Alexander Hamilton was three years of age when his father moved from Granville County to Raleigh to accept the presidency of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company. After two or three years of successful administration Mr. Hamilton resigned and moved to Petersburg, Va. Here the family has since resided, and here the primary education of its .sons was conducted. In October, 1864, Petersburg being in a state of siege, Alexander was sent to the Belmont School in North Carolina, Mr. Ralph Graves, principal. Here he remained for several years prosecuting the academic courses which in later j ' ears formed the foundation on which his collegiate instruction was based. Returning to Peters- burg after the close of hostilities he spent one j ear at the Universitj- School, W. Gordon McCabe, head-master. In September, 1868, Mr. Hamilton enlisted at the ' V ' irginia Military Insti- tute, entering the third cla.ss. In July following, he was made second sergeant of D company and further promoted in the middle of his second class year to sergeant-major. In July, 1870, he was made adjutant of the corps, an ofSce

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under the firm name of Dounan Hamilton. There he has since resided and there has been the centre of his field of useful endeavor. Today he stands in the front rank of the lawyers of the State, and in South-side Virginia his ability is so generally recognized that in the more important cases in litigation his services are in constant demand. But his reputation has not been confined to local surroundings, nor have the honors that have came to him been only those conferred by his neighbors. President Cleveland , during his second term, offered him the United States District Attorneyship for the eastern district of Virginia. The compliment was great, but Mr. Hamilton ' s practice was too large and too important to justify his acceptance. Later he was prominently mentioned, inside and outside of the State, as the probable successor to Judge Bond of the U. S. Circuit Court. Had the appointment gone to a Virginian Mr. Hamilton would doubtless have been offered the position. Political considerations, how- ever, prevailed, and South CaroHna, another State in the circuit, carried off the honor. For some years Mr. Hamilton has been general counsel for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, one of the most extensive railway systems of the South, and for several years one of its vice-presidents. Combining legal acumen with great business sagacity, his services have been and still are in great demand by his fellow townsmen. As President of the Petersburg Savings Bank he directs one of the strongest financial institutions of his section. But probably one of the greatest honors conferred upon him was his unsolicited nomination and election by his fellow citizens, irrespective of party, as a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention. In January, 1892, under the appointment of Governor P. W. McKinney, he resumed his connection with the Virginia Military Institute as a member of her Board of Visitors. This position he has held under successive appointments up to the present time. In January, 1899, on the resignation of Judge S. H. Litcher, he was elected president of that body by his colleagues. Of Mr. Hamilton ' s services in this connection too much cannot be said in way of praise. Strict and firm as a disciplinarian, yet softened in the discharge of duty by a paternal indulgence for the delinquencies of youth ; a wise and conservative counselor of executive and acadamic authorities, he has endeared him.self alike to officer and student. With an absorbing love for his alma mater and a consequent abiding interest in her welfare, he has contributed the best energies of a well-trained intellect and the be.st promptings of a kindly disposition to the promotion of her success in her special line of usefulness. E. W. N.