Frank Hastings Hamilton

Frank Hastings Hamilton (September 13, 1813 in Wilmington, Vermont – August 11, 1886 in New York City, New York) was an American surgeon.

Hamilton was the son of Calvin and Lucinda (Hastings) Hamilton. Through his mother, he was a descendant of Thomas Hastings who came from the East Anglia region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634. Hamilton graduated from Union College in 1830 and received the degree of MD degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1835.

After teaching in various colleges, he became in 1861 professor in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. He was a military surgeon for two years in the Civil War and was appointed medical inspector with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1863. Among the many positions of honor and trust which he held was the presidency of the New York Society of Medical Jurisprudence.

He served as consulting surgeon to various hospitals and asylums and became widely known as an authority on surgery, his three large works having a recognized place in the literature of medical science. They are:
 * Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations (1860)
 * Practical Treatise on Military Surgery (1861)
 * The Principles and Practice of Surgery (1872)



In his later years, his place in history was secured by a tragic event. "Almost immediately after President Garfield was shot in 1881, Mrs. Garfield insisted upon sending for Dr. Hamilton. He was telegraphed for, and a special train being provided him, he went directly to the President's bedside.  Until the President died, Dr. Hamilton in connection with Drs. Bliss and Agnew was almost constantly in attendance."

Terms

 * Hamilton's bandage &mdash; a compound bandage for the lower jaw, composed of a leather string with straps of linen webbing.
 * Hamilton's pseudophlegmon &mdash; a circumscribed swelling which may become red and indurated, but never suppurates.
 * Hamilton's test &mdash; When the shoulder joint is luxated, a rule or straight rod applied to the humerus can be made to touch the outer condyle and the acromion at the same time.
 * Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1938)

Death and burial
Hamilton died at his home in New York City on August 11, 1886. He was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Family
Hamilton was the great-grandfather of Frank H. Davis, who served as Vermont State Treasurer from 1969 to 1975.

Dr. Frank Hastings Hamilton & Mary Van Doren Van Arsdale had a son, Colonel Theodore B. Hamilton (1836-1893). Theodore B. Hamilton (1836-1893) began his military service on May 21, 1861 at Buffalo, Erie County, New York as a Captain in Co. G. 33rd New York Infantry Regiment. On December 27, 1862 at Buffalo, Erie County, New York he mustered into service as Lieutenant Colonel of 62nd New York Volunteers. The 62nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, “Anderson Zouaves” was named in honor of the hero of Fort Sumter, Robert Anderson. The regiment lost 3 officers and 85 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 officers and 82 enlisted men to disease during the Civil War. It is honored by a monument at Gettysburg. The 62nd brought 237 men to the field, losing one enlisted man killed and Lieutenant William Davies and 10 enlisted men wounded, 1 mortally, fighting in the Wheatfield.

Battle of Gettysburg (Jul 1 - 3, 1863)

The regiment was commanded by Colonel David J. Nevin, who took over brigade command on July 1st. Lieutenant Colonel Theodore B. Hamilton took temporary command of the “Anderson Zouaves” regiment. A bronze tablet on the regiment’s monument on the J. Weickert farm at Gettysburg states: “On the site of this monument the Regiment under command of Lieut. Col. T. B. Hamilton charged the enemy and recaptured two guns.”

Spotsylvania Court House (May 12, 1864)

Theodore B. Hamilton was wounded on May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. He was appointed Colonel for gallant service in the battle of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania CourtHouse on August 1, 1864. Colonel Theodore B. Hamilton ended military service on August 20, 1865. In June, 1890 he was listed in the 1890 Veterans Schedule.