Morgan Calvin Hamilton (February 25, 1809 – November 21, 1893) was an American merchant, politician from Alabama and Texas, and brother of Andrew Jackson Hamilton. Both men were unusual as Unionists in Texas during the American Civil War.
Early life and career
Morgan Calvin Hamilton was born in Madison County, Alabama near Huntsville. His siblings included Andrew Jackson Hamilton.
He moved to Texas when it was still part of Mexico and worked there as a merchant. For six years, from 1839 to 1845, he served in the war department of the Republic of Texas, first as clerk and from 1844 to 1845 as Secretary of War. He settled in Austin.
One of the few Texan abolitionists, Hamilton fought for Union forces during the American Civil War. During Reconstruction, he was elected by the Texas Legislature to the United States Senate as a Radical Republican. While in Congress, Hamilton voted for the Ku Klux Klan Act, but against the Civil Rights Act of 1875. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas.
References
External links
- Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
- Morgan C. Hamilton from the Handbook of Texas Online
