Charles Smith Hamilton Charles Smith Hamilton ( November 16 , 1822 – April 17 , 1891 ) was a career United States Army officer who fought with distinction during the Mexican - American War . He also served as a Union Army general during the early part of the American Civil War . After the war Hamilton entered law enforcement and engaged in manufacturing . Early life . Hamilton was born in Westernville , New York . He attended the United States Military Academy and graduated in 1843 , standing 26th out of 39 cadets . He was appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U . S . Infantry . Hamilton was promoted to second lieutenant on November 17 , 1845 , in the 5th U . S . Infantry , and promoted to first lieutenant on June 30 , 1847 . During the Mexican - American War , he received a brevet promotion to captain for the battles of Contreras and Churubusco and was wounded in the Battle of Molino del Rey . He resigned from the U . S . Army on April 30 , 1853 , moved to Fond du Lac , Wisconsin , and became a farmer and miller . Civil War . Hamilton chose to follow the Union cause and was appointed colonel of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry on May 11 , 1861 , and was promoted to brigadier general on May 17 . He was then given brigade command in Maj . Gen . Nathaniel P . Banks ' division of the Army of the Potomac . At the outset of the Peninsula Campaign , Hamilton was given command of the 3rd Division , III Corps . He led this division during the Siege of Yorktown , but drew the ire of George B . McClellan for insubordination . Ignoring the fact that shelving Hamilton would create powerful political enemies , McClellan relieved Hamilton on April 30 , 1862 without explanation . When Lincoln pointed out the impropriety of McClellan ' s action , McClellan claimed " You cannot do anything better calculated to injure my army . . . than to restore Gen . Hamilton to his division . " Before the month - long siege preparations were complete , Hamilton was transferred to the Western Theater where he commanded the 3rd Division in the Army of the Mississippi at the battles of Iuka and Corinth . Following Corinth in October 1862 , he was promoted to major general , effective from September 19 , 1862 . During his brief military service in the conflict , Hamilton served in both the eastern and western theaters . He commanded divisions , " wings " and corps of the Army of the Potomac , the Army of the Mississippi , as well as in the Army of the Tennessee . During the months of January and February 1863 Hamilton was in simultaneous command of the Dist . of West Tennessee , Dist . of Corinth , the Left Wing of the XVI Corps , and the XVI Corps . While in command at Corinth , he began intriguing for higher command against Generals Hurlbut and James B . McPherson , which drew Grant ' s ire . When Grant ordered him to Vicksburg to serve under General John Alexander McClernand , Hamilton offered his resignation from the U . S . Army on April 13 , 1863 . Grant gladly accepted the resignation , forwarding several pages of documentation to Washington to support his case . Later years . After his army service Hamilton became a U . S . marshal and a paper manufacturer . He died in Milwaukee , Wisconsin in 1891 and is buried there in Forest Home Cemetery .