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Alfred T. Hamilton
Dr. Alfred T. Hamilton was born in 1836 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. The son of a merchant lumberman, Hamilton chose a career in medicine and graduated from the Hygeia Therapeutic College of New York in 1858. He practiced hydropathic medicine, which was part of the growing field of "sectarian" (homeopathic and preventative) medicine in 19th-century America. After graduating, Hamilton practiced for two years in Tennessee before returning to Lewistown to open his own practice.
The professional tension between "allopathic" (traditional chemical-based) and "sectarian" medicine in 19th-century America was so pervasive that only allopathic practitioners, could become US army surgeons. Many sectarian practitioners like Hamilton, however, wanted to serve when war erupted in 1861. So, listing himself as an 1858 graduate of the New York Medical College (an allopathic institution), Hamilton took the Pennsylvania State Medical Board's examination on September 11, 1862 in Harrisburg, passed, and became an Assistant Army surgeon. He joined the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry on February 4, 1863.
The Journey to Gettysburg:
Robert E. Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 would bring both Barksdale and Hamilton together. Barksdale and his men began the march from Virginia on June 3, 1863. They crossed the Potomac River on June 26th and reached Chambersburg, Pennsylvania the next day> Remaining there until June 30th, Barksdale and his brigade then marched towards Gettysburg.
Hamilton and the men of the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry began their march from Virginia on June 14th, crossing the Potomac near Washington the same day Barksdale's men were fording the river further west. The regiment camped three miles from Gettysburg on the night of July 1st where, according to Hamilton, they "threw up a defense of rails & dirt" and "did not get any sleep." Despite this, they were, he wrote, "glad when we trod the sacred soil of our native state." |