Brigadier General Hamilton commanded the 21st Foot (Scots Fusiliers) in the American Revolutionary War. During the Battle of Freeman's Farm he commanded the Center Column of the three groups of advancing troops. He was part of the forces surrendered after the Battle of Saratoga. While a prisoner, he adopted a son, James Anderson, who was afterward known as James Inglis Hamilton.
Hamilton was a Major General in the west Indies campaigns of the 1790s, commanding the 15th Foot. He died at his estate in Scotland on July 27,1803 and his adopted son was his only heir.