ambition to achieve greater things and
as a means to escape his low social status
by distinguishing himself in the military.
Not long after the Battles of Lexington
and Concord in April 1775, Hamilton
recruited his King College reading group
to form a militia company called the
Hearts of Oak. His time became increasingly consumed by revolutionary activities, and he never finished his degree.
Shortly after forming the Hearts of Oak,
he organized and became the captain of
the New York Provincial Company of
Artillery. After several successful battles
under his belt, Washington’s generals recognized that Hamilton was a rising star.
In March 1777, Hamilton was promoted
to officer and served as personal secretary and aide-de-camp to General George
Washington, commander of the Continental Army. In this position he essentially
served as Washington’s chief of staff, but
Hamilton began to chaff under the administrative position, and after four years he
returned to active combat. He transitioned
to a commander of an infantry regiment
and played a key role in the pivotal battle at
Yorktown that marked America’s victory
in the Revolutionary War.
After Washington was elected as the first
US President in 1789, he appointed Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury.
Because import tariffs and tonnage duties
were two of the few sources of revenue
for the fledgling nation, it was Hamilton’s
responsibility to defend the coasts and
surrounding waters from smugglers and
pirates, and to make them safe for legitimate trade. He was instrumental in the
passage of the Tariff Act of 1790 that created the US Revenue Cutter Service (later
known as the US Coast Guard) and the
passage of the Naval Act of 1794, which was
responsible for the creation of the Navy.
Hamilton remained an arms distance
away from the military until France
threatened war in 1798. At the outset of the
Quasi-War, Washington urged President
Adams to appoint Hamilton as Inspector
General of the US Army, a position in
which Hamilton served until 1800.
His military involvement served as
a means to advance his
career, but it was also a
great source of personal pride.
Hamilton distinguished himself in countless other arenas in addition to his military
career, and was in many ways a Renaissance
Man of his time. He was a prolific and gif