Thomas James Hamilton enlisted into the Confederate service 27 February 1862 and received a commission of Captain. He began enlisting troops into the Hamilton Rangers in March 1862 at both the Appling Court House and the Thomson Depot. Almost all of the recruits resided in the immediate Thomson, Georgia, area although some were from Dearing, some from near Wrightsboro, and some from Warren County. At that time, Thomson was situated in southwestern edge of Columbia County; it is now in McDuffie County. Captain Hamilton and his wife, the former Martha Ann Evans, used their own money to equip most of the troops.
By April 1862, the Hamilton Rangers were in camp near Grahamville, South Carolina, a small railroad town northeast of Savannah. As training began so did deaths from disease. 2nd Lt. Adam Wilkerson died from a disease caught there. A small number of men, perhaps nine in all, came from Thomson to Grahamville to enlist.
In May 1862, Lt. James Young, a trained medical doctor, came back to the Thomson area and recruited additional volunteers. In total 131 men answered the call to duty. By mid-May the Hamilton Rangers were loaded aboard a train and transported to Richmond.
When compared to the other two infantry companies from Columbia County, generally speaking, the men in the Hamilton Rangers were older and most were already married with children. Their average age was 26.34 years; the oldest recruit was Alexander Wesley McDonald who was 55 years old in 1861. The Hamilton Rangers included 23 sets of brothers and 2 sets of fathers/sons. Primarily these men were planters or overseers; many were from very prominent families.
These men waited for nearly a year after the war began before they enlisted; I believe they wanted to see if the war would really continue before they left their homes and families. Once the Hamilton Rangers reached Virginia they were immediately thrust into some of the most vicious fighting of the war. At least 26 of the Hamilton Rangers were killed in action, some 20 others died of disease or from wounds received in combat. These soldiers left at least 17 widows and 40 orphans. Many other soldiers including both Captains Hamilton and Wilson died very soon after returning home.
The Hamilton Rangers received many battle honors. They included:
Mechanicsville
Malvern Hill
Falling Creek
2nd Manassas
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Manassas Gap
Spotsylvania Court House
Haw’s Shop at Enon Church
Petersburg
In the following Comparative Analysis, there is a complete comparison among the three infantry companies that mustered in from Columbia County. Hopefully this work adequately conveys our respect and admiration for our Confederate ancestors.
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