John Hamilton ( American Revolution ) John Hamilton ( died December 12 , 1816 ) was a military officer in the British Army , and the commander of the Royal North Carolina Regiment of Loyalist militia during the American Revolutionary War from 1777 to 1783 . Prior to the Revolution , Hamilton was a successful merchant in Halifax , North Carolina , with business interests throughout the Province of North Carolina . Hamilton commanded soldiers in several major engagements , including the battles of Briar Creek , Camden , Guilford Courthouse , and Yorktown . After the conclusion of the war , Hamilton was made British consul to Norfolk , Virginia , one of only three Loyalists to receive consular positions in the newly created United States . Early life and business . Born in Scotland , Hamilton immigrated to Nansemond County , Virginia at some point prior to 1760 , where other members of his family had already established businesses . Hamilton formed a partnership with two of his brothers , Archibald and William , who had set up a trading center near Halifax in North Carolina . Hamilton ' s venture extended credit to a number of planters throughout the burgeoning Piedmont region of the province , which has been cited as a major factor in that region ' s development during the colonial era . Much of the firm ' s activities relied on regular trade with and credit from the rest of the British empire , and so the beginning of the American Revolution signalled the end of Hamilton ' s commercial successes . American Revolution . In August 1777 , Hamilton refused to take an oath of allegiance to the newly formed state of North Carolina . Due to the animosity against him for his Loyalist beliefs , Hamilton was forced to wind down his business activities in the state , and eventually left from New Bern on October 25 , 1777 aboard a newly purchased merchant ship . According to a later accounting generated by Hamilton and his brother , their business suffered approximately £200 , 000 in losses due to the Revolution . Hamilton arrived in British - controlled New York and served as a courier in the British Army for Generals William Howe and Henry Clinton before being authorized a commission as an officer to recruit Loyalist soldiers in the southern theater . Hamilton ' s rank would be dependent upon the number of men he would be able to recruit . The recruitment process began after the British Capture of Savannah , when Hamilton recruited approximately 30 Loyalist refugees to serve as the basis for his regiment of " North Carolina Volunteers " . Eventually the unit was named the Royal North Carolina Regiment , and had a peak membership of 750 men . Hamilton and his regiment saw action at the Siege of Savannah , as well as the battles of Briar Creek , Kettle Creek , Stono Ferry , Monck ' s Corner , Hanging Rock , Camden , and the Guilford Courthouse . At Briar Creek on March 3 , 1779 , Hamilton recovered a pair of distinctive riding boots belonging to Patriot militia general and fellow North Carolinian Thomas Eaton , who had lost them in that battle . When Hamilton attempted to return the boots to Eaton at a dinner party in 1809 , Eaton responded violently , reportedly beating the Loyalist with the very same boots . During the confrontation at Stono Ferry on June 20 , 1779 , Hamilton commanded his regiment at the center of the British line , behind redoubts set up to protect the withdrawal of the main British Army . Hamilton ' s Royal North Carolina Regiment held firm along with the 71st ( Highland ) Regiment of Foot , and dealt a defeat to the attacking Continental Army forces commanded by Benjamin Lincoln . At Hanging Rock , though , Hamilton ' s regiment was routed during the initial Patriot attack , but he rallied his command for an attempted stand along with other Loyalist units . The rallied Loyalist units were dispersed by a cavalry charge commanded by militia leader William Richardson Davie , and the Patriot forces were permitted to ransack the British camp . Hamilton surrendered his regiment , with 80 of its 142 survivors , after the Siege of Yorktown . After his surrender , Hamilton was sent to Saint Augustine in British Florida . When Florida was ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War , Hamilton quashed talks of mutiny among the Loyalist soldiers and residents of British Florida , who sought to remain there under British rule and were then evacuated to Nova Scotia . In the course of his service in the Revolutionary War , Hamilton was wounded three times . General Charles Cornwallis , who had at one point during the war called Hamilton a " blockhead " , would later commend Hamilton for his conduct and service to the British Army . Post - war career and death . The Royal North Carolina Regiment was disbanded in November 1783 , and Hamilton went to London . At some point prior to 1785 , Hamilton married and had one child , but little is known of his family after that date . Between 1784 and 1790 , Hamilton attempted to receive compensation from the British government for the losses he sustained in the Revolution , eventually receiving £13 , 630 along with his brother . In 1790 , Hamilton was appointed the British consul at Norfolk , Virginia , one of only three former Loyalist military leaders to be given diplomatic posts in the United States . At the outbreak of the War of 1812 , Hamilton was recalled to England , where he died in 1816 .