My Genealogy Hound

OSCAR F. HAMILTON was born in Portage county, Ohio, June 8, 1845, and is the son of Andrew and Eliza (Mott) Hamilton, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His father was an iron worker and worked in the rolling mills at Youngstown, Ohio. When the rebellion threatened the life of the country he immediately enlisted and served through the war. His mother was a daughter of Elijah Mott, who was the first settler in Deerfield township, Portage county, Ohio. He died about 1842.

Oscar F. Hamilton was but a boy when he enlisted, October 15, 1861, in the Tenth Ohio cavalry. He participated in the battles of Stone river, Chickamauga and Resaca, and followed Sherman to the sea and back through the Carolinas to the surrender at Greensboro, N. C. He was mustered out July 4, 1865, but re-enlisted in the regular army in the spring of 1866 and walked from Leavenworth, Kans., via Ft. Kearney, to Montana. He helped establish Ft. Reno, Ft. Phil Kearney and Ft. C. F. Smith. During his service in the regular army he experienced several thrilling episodes while on the western frontier. He relates one incident especially worthy of note, which happened near Ft. Phil Kearney in Montana. It was on the ninth of September, 1866, when about four hundred regulars were encamped in Ft. Phil Kearney. Young Hamilton, with a party of soldiers, was sent to the timber about nine miles distant to cut logs to be used in completing the fort. The first thing they did was to erect a small log shanty in which they could lodge during the night. They knew, of course, that there were Indians in the country, but they did not suspect that they were in any immediate danger of being molested by them. However, they took the precaution of carefully stopping every hole about the walls of their cabin, in order that no light from the fire within might penetrate the darkness without and disclose their whereabouts to outside intruders. One evening, just after they had retired for the night, they were suddenly startled by a shot from without. Although one of the boys had been severely wounded in the heel, he did not make the fact known to his comrades, but they at once suspected that their cabin was surrounded by the red skins. A kettle of water was dashed on the fire by one of the boys, while the others grabbed their guns and stationed themselves at the four port holes. Nothing could be seen until the Indians began to shoot lighted arrows of pine-pitch in order to set fire to the shanty. Whenever an Indian would shoot, thereby disclosing his location, the boys inside the shanty would shoot in that direction. The Indians were unsuccessful in their attempts to set fire to the shanty, but the firing was kept up between them for some time. When morning came Mr. Hamilton and a comrade volunteered to go out for water, which they had been in the habit of getting from a small creek near by. When they emerged from the shanty no Indians were in sight, so they proceeded to procure their kettle of water, while the few soldiers engaged in hauling the logs to the fort arrived, and while the awful experience of the night before was being discussed by the small group standing about the cabin, about sixty Indians emerged from a thicket near by and killed and scalped two soldiers who had just commenced to cut down a tree within a few yards of the shanty. Before the soldiers could recover from their surprise, the wily Indians had disappeared in the woods. It was supposed that they concealed themselves in the bushes the previous night and were awaiting a favorable opportunity to commit their murderous acts.

Oscar F. Hamilton left the regular army, March 3, 1869, and was married July 17, 1870, at Three Oaks, Mich., to Charlotte Smith. She was born in Portage county, Ohio, June 2, 1841, and the daughter of Noah and Rebecca Smith, both of whom were natives of Ohio. This union was blessed by the birth of three children — Nettie (deceased), Frank (deceased), and Ella.

Mr. Hamilton came to Buffalo county, Nebr., October 3, 1873, and took up a homestead adjoining the present town of Armada. He was one of the first to settle in that locality and has been identified with every step of the wonderful progress made since. He laid out the present town of Armada and is doing as much as any other one man in furthering the growth and development of the town. He has been justice of the peace for several years and served as postmaster of Armada during Cleveland’s administration.