Son of John Henry Salah Branch, and Charlotte Sawyer Branch, both of Savannah, Georgia.
Husband of Marie Eugenia Dickerson who he married in Savannah, Georgia.
The 1860 US Census shows Hamilton is 17 years old and working as a clerk in a shoe store. He is shown living with his mother and brothers (Sanford is erroneously recorded as "Hanford") in Savannah. The census verifies he was born in Savannah.
Hamilton enlisted as a Private on 5/21/1861 in Company "B" of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment along with his brother Sanford W. Branch. Company "B" was mainly made up of Chatham County, Georgia volunteers and was called the "Oglethorpe Light Infantry". Sanford was wounded at Manassas and taken prisoner of war, and Hamilton fought at Manassas and in Georgia. Their brother John L. Branch served first in the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment (1861) then the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment with his brothers. It would be Hamilton who would write the letter to their mother, telling her of her son's death. John was killed at Manassas, Virginia, and Sanford was captured as he had stayed on the battlefield with his dying brother. Sanford would be paroled and captured again at Gettysburg (in dispute presently and needs verification). After John's death and Sanford's capture, Hamilton transferred to the 54th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was elected to the position of Second Lieutenant with Company "F" on 5/13/1862. On 9/22/1863 he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He saw combat in the Atlanta Campaign (the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain) and also served under Confederate General Nathan Bedord Forrest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Hamilton would be wounded three times (Battle of Dam #1, severely wounded at Atlanta on 6/24/1864 for his second wound, and third wound on 12/16/1864 location unknown) during the Civil War, twice returning to battle before his wounds had healed. After his third wound, he was unfit for field duty he was detailed to collect absentees or deserters.
The 1880 US Census shows the family as living in Savannah and Hamilton is employed as a "stevedore". The following family are recorded as living in the home along with four borders:
SELF Hamilton Branch M 37 Georgia
WIFE Marie E. Branch F 30 Georgia,
MOTH Charlotte Branch F 65 Georgia
SON Sanford Branch M 40 Georgia
DAU Charlotte H. Branch F 12 Georgia
DAU Meta D. Branch F 10 Georgia
SON John H. Branch M 4 Georgia
James S. Pornell M 36 Georgia
Taylor Walthous M 36 Georgia
Robert Walthous M 32 Georgia
Robert B. Hilliard M 28 Virginia
Hamilton was well-known and liked in the Savannah community. He was active in the local chapter of the Confederate Veterans Association (CVA) and was their vice-president at the time of his death.
Letters Hamilton and his brothers wrote during the war to their mother can be viewed in the publication "The Georgia Review" from 1961 and the book, "Charlotte's Boys: Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah" by Mauriel Phillips Joslyn.
Husband of Marie Eugenia Dickerson who he married in Savannah, Georgia.
The 1860 US Census shows Hamilton is 17 years old and working as a clerk in a shoe store. He is shown living with his mother and brothers (Sanford is erroneously recorded as "Hanford") in Savannah. The census verifies he was born in Savannah.
Hamilton enlisted as a Private on 5/21/1861 in Company "B" of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment along with his brother Sanford W. Branch. Company "B" was mainly made up of Chatham County, Georgia volunteers and was called the "Oglethorpe Light Infantry". Sanford was wounded at Manassas and taken prisoner of war, and Hamilton fought at Manassas and in Georgia. Their brother John L. Branch served first in the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment (1861) then the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment with his brothers. It would be Hamilton who would write the letter to their mother, telling her of her son's death. John was killed at Manassas, Virginia, and Sanford was captured as he had stayed on the battlefield with his dying brother. Sanford would be paroled and captured again at Gettysburg (in dispute presently and needs verification). After John's death and Sanford's capture, Hamilton transferred to the 54th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was elected to the position of Second Lieutenant with Company "F" on 5/13/1862. On 9/22/1863 he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He saw combat in the Atlanta Campaign (the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain) and also served under Confederate General Nathan Bedord Forrest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Hamilton would be wounded three times (Battle of Dam #1, severely wounded at Atlanta on 6/24/1864 for his second wound, and third wound on 12/16/1864 location unknown) during the Civil War, twice returning to battle before his wounds had healed. After his third wound, he was unfit for field duty he was detailed to collect absentees or deserters.
The 1880 US Census shows the family as living in Savannah and Hamilton is employed as a "stevedore". The following family are recorded as living in the home along with four borders:
SELF Hamilton Branch M 37 Georgia
WIFE Marie E. Branch F 30 Georgia,
MOTH Charlotte Branch F 65 Georgia
SON Sanford Branch M 40 Georgia
DAU Charlotte H. Branch F 12 Georgia
DAU Meta D. Branch F 10 Georgia
SON John H. Branch M 4 Georgia
James S. Pornell M 36 Georgia
Taylor Walthous M 36 Georgia
Robert Walthous M 32 Georgia
Robert B. Hilliard M 28 Virginia
Hamilton was well-known and liked in the Savannah community. He was active in the local chapter of the Confederate Veterans Association (CVA) and was their vice-president at the time of his death.
Letters Hamilton and his brothers wrote during the war to their mother can be viewed in the publication "The Georgia Review" from 1961 and the book, "Charlotte's Boys: Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah" by Mauriel Phillips Joslyn.
Son of John Henry Salah Branch, and Charlotte Sawyer Branch, both of Savannah, Georgia.
Husband of Marie Eugenia Dickerson who he married in Savannah, Georgia.
The 1860 US Census shows Hamilton is 17 years old and working as a clerk in a shoe store. He is shown living with his mother and brothers (Sanford is erroneously recorded as "Hanford") in Savannah. The census verifies he was born in Savannah.
Hamilton enlisted as a Private on 5/21/1861 in Company "B" of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment along with his brother Sanford W. Branch. Company "B" was mainly made up of Chatham County, Georgia volunteers and was called the "Oglethorpe Light Infantry". Sanford was wounded at Manassas and taken prisoner of war, and Hamilton fought at Manassas and in Georgia. Their brother John L. Branch served first in the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment (1861) then the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment with his brothers. It would be Hamilton who would write the letter to their mother, telling her of her son's death. John was killed at Manassas, Virginia, and Sanford was captured as he had stayed on the battlefield with his dying brother. Sanford would be paroled and captured again at Gettysburg (in dispute presently and needs verification). After John's death and Sanford's capture, Hamilton transferred to the 54th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was elected to the position of Second Lieutenant with Company "F" on 5/13/1862. On 9/22/1863 he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He saw combat in the Atlanta Campaign (the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain) and also served under Confederate General Nathan Bedord Forrest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Hamilton would be wounded three times (Battle of Dam #1, severely wounded at Atlanta on 6/24/1864 for his second wound, and third wound on 12/16/1864 location unknown) during the Civil War, twice returning to battle before his wounds had healed. After his third wound, he was unfit for field duty he was detailed to collect absentees or deserters.
The 1880 US Census shows the family as living in Savannah and Hamilton is employed as a "stevedore". The following family are recorded as living in the home along with four borders:
SELF Hamilton Branch M 37 Georgia
WIFE Marie E. Branch F 30 Georgia,
MOTH Charlotte Branch F 65 Georgia
SON Sanford Branch M 40 Georgia
DAU Charlotte H. Branch F 12 Georgia
DAU Meta D. Branch F 10 Georgia
SON John H. Branch M 4 Georgia
James S. Pornell M 36 Georgia
Taylor Walthous M 36 Georgia
Robert Walthous M 32 Georgia
Robert B. Hilliard M 28 Virginia
Hamilton was well-known and liked in the Savannah community. He was active in the local chapter of the Confederate Veterans Association (CVA) and was their vice-president at the time of his death.
Letters Hamilton and his brothers wrote during the war to their mother can be viewed in the publication "The Georgia Review" from 1961 and the book, "Charlotte's Boys: Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah" by Mauriel Phillips Joslyn.
Husband of Marie Eugenia Dickerson who he married in Savannah, Georgia.
The 1860 US Census shows Hamilton is 17 years old and working as a clerk in a shoe store. He is shown living with his mother and brothers (Sanford is erroneously recorded as "Hanford") in Savannah. The census verifies he was born in Savannah.
Hamilton enlisted as a Private on 5/21/1861 in Company "B" of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment along with his brother Sanford W. Branch. Company "B" was mainly made up of Chatham County, Georgia volunteers and was called the "Oglethorpe Light Infantry". Sanford was wounded at Manassas and taken prisoner of war, and Hamilton fought at Manassas and in Georgia. Their brother John L. Branch served first in the 1st Georgia Infantry Regiment (1861) then the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment with his brothers. It would be Hamilton who would write the letter to their mother, telling her of her son's death. John was killed at Manassas, Virginia, and Sanford was captured as he had stayed on the battlefield with his dying brother. Sanford would be paroled and captured again at Gettysburg (in dispute presently and needs verification). After John's death and Sanford's capture, Hamilton transferred to the 54th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was elected to the position of Second Lieutenant with Company "F" on 5/13/1862. On 9/22/1863 he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He saw combat in the Atlanta Campaign (the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain) and also served under Confederate General Nathan Bedord Forrest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Hamilton would be wounded three times (Battle of Dam #1, severely wounded at Atlanta on 6/24/1864 for his second wound, and third wound on 12/16/1864 location unknown) during the Civil War, twice returning to battle before his wounds had healed. After his third wound, he was unfit for field duty he was detailed to collect absentees or deserters.
The 1880 US Census shows the family as living in Savannah and Hamilton is employed as a "stevedore". The following family are recorded as living in the home along with four borders:
SELF Hamilton Branch M 37 Georgia
WIFE Marie E. Branch F 30 Georgia,
MOTH Charlotte Branch F 65 Georgia
SON Sanford Branch M 40 Georgia
DAU Charlotte H. Branch F 12 Georgia
DAU Meta D. Branch F 10 Georgia
SON John H. Branch M 4 Georgia
James S. Pornell M 36 Georgia
Taylor Walthous M 36 Georgia
Robert Walthous M 32 Georgia
Robert B. Hilliard M 28 Virginia
Hamilton was well-known and liked in the Savannah community. He was active in the local chapter of the Confederate Veterans Association (CVA) and was their vice-president at the time of his death.
Letters Hamilton and his brothers wrote during the war to their mother can be viewed in the publication "The Georgia Review" from 1961 and the book, "Charlotte's Boys: Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah" by Mauriel Phillips Joslyn.
