HAMILTON, ISAAC D. (1804-1859). Isaac D. Hamilton, soldier in the Texas Revolution,^qv was a native of Courtland, Alabama, the son of Francis and Mary Hamilton. In 1835 he joined John Shackelford's^qv company of Red Rovers^qv to fight for the independence of Texas from Mexico. He was quartermaster, fifth in the chain of command, with the rank of second sergeant. His company joined James W. Fannin, Jr.,^qv at Goliad and fought in the battle of Coleto,^qv after which Fannin surrendered to Gen. José de Urrea.^qv Hamilton was one of four Red Rovers who survived the Goliad Massacre.^qv Seriously wounded and left by his companions, he accomplished, according to historian Harbert Davenport,^qv the "most incredible of all the escapes from the massacre at Goliad," only to be recaptured by Plácido Benavides^qv at Dimmitt's Point and sent to Victoria, where he was again scheduled to be shot. But word came that Sam Houston^qv had defeated Antonio López de Santa Anna^qv at San Jacinto. In the confusion that followed in the Mexican camp Hamilton again escaped, with the aid of Francisca de Alavez,^qv the "Angel of Goliad." He eventually made his way back to Courtland, Alabama, recuperated from his ordeal, and returned to Texas. He never regained his health. On February 13, 1858, the Texas legislature approved a measure awarding Hamilton a league of land near the site of present Beaumont as a reward for his services in the revolution. But before the land was surveyed he died at Moulton, Texas, in 1859. He was buried in Old Moulton Cemetery.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: "Dr. Shackelford's Red Rovers," Alabama Historical Quarterly 18 (Fall 1956). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Lester Hamilton