USS Paul Hamilton DDG 60 / SECNAV Paul Hamilton / Arleigh Burke class Guided Missile Destroyer – US Navy

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Guided Missile Destroyer
DDG 60 - USS Paul Hamilton
		USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60)						US Navy photo
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Destroyer; Arleigh Burke – class / Flight I; planned and built as DDG 60;
Builder:		Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: February 22, 1990; Laid down: August 25, 1992; Launched: July 24, 1993; Commissioned: May 27, 1995; ACTIVE UNIT/ in commission (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Paul Hamilton (1762 – 1819); > see history, below;
Ship's Motto:		> THE COURAGE TO PREVAIL <
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Guided Missile Destroyer / Arleigh Burke - class.
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Paul Hamilton
Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical Center,
Namesake & History:
Paul Hamilton (October 16, 1762 – June 30, 1819); 3rd Secretary of the Navy (1809 – 1812);
Paul Hamilton, born on October 16, 1762 at Willtown, St. Paul's Parish, South Carolina, Paul Hamilton was the second of three sons born to Archibald and Rebecca (Branford) Hamilton. His great-grandfather, also Paul Hamilton, had come from Scotland to Carolina with Lord Cardross in 1686. Paul's father and two brothers died while he was still a boy, leaving him the sole survivor for his mother's attentions and under the guardianship of his uncle Paul Hamilton. His uncle determined to prepare Paul for the study of medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland, and so sent him to school in Charleston. However in December 1778 Uncle Paul removed him from school because of decreased revenues from his ward's estate. Paul spent most of the winter months of 1779 in the carefree pursuits of deer hunting, enjoying the last of his childhood. After conquering Georgia, the British under General August Prevost invaded South Carolina in April and advanced upon Charleston. Men capable of bearing arms and every boy of 16 years or older were called into the militia. Paul joined the local militia company called the 'Willtown Hunters," commanded by Lt. Thomas Moss Osborn. In his journal Paul wrote: "I felt a great anxiety to see the enemy and to hear a shot whistle, the stories of my friends who had seen some service, and could descant upon the merits of our struggle for Independence, and relate the enormities committed by our enemies, the British, warmed and excited me to a pitch of enthusiastic hatred of them, and I really longed to engage in battle." Paul's initial ardor was cooled by his participation in many disheartening defeats. He was present, for instance, at the siege of Savannah, and he was almost captured by British dragoons under Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton after the fall of Charleston. He fled to North Carolina and joined forces with Major General Baron de Kalb. In July Gen. Horatio Gates, the hero of Saratoga, took command of the southern army. Ignoring advice from de Kalb and other Continental officers, Gates determined to meet Lord Cornwallis head-on at Camden, S.C. There on August 16 the American army suffered its worst defeat of the war. Once again, Paul and his acquaintances fled for their lives, pursued by British dragoons. During their 21-mile retreat, they witnessed several of their comrades cut down and killed. In Waxhaw, to which Paul and several of his friends had retreated, he wrote in his journal, "We then lay down to rest but such was the state of my spirits and the impression made on my mind by the horrid scenes of the morning, that I could not for a long time close my eyes." Paul proceeded to Hillsborough N.C., where he joined up with the remnants of the southern army. On December 31 1780, Gates was relieved by Gen. Nathanael Greene. A few days after this change of command Paul left North Carolina and proceeded south to join up with Gen. Francis Marion then practicing guerrilla warfare in the low country. For the next three months, Hamilton advanced retreated, ambushed and skirmished almost on a daily basis under the wily Swamp Fox. At Georgetown, they captured the British commander by surprise at his home. In April Hamilton joined a group of 70 men from the low country who wished to return to their homes and harass the British and force them out of their country. Paul was involved in several engagements against the British, including the capture and destruction of Fort Balfour at Pocotaligo. Additionally, Hamilton visited his mother at her home in Jacksonboro, and also a young lady by the name of Mary Wilkinson. With the movement of forces under General Greene into the low country in November 1781, the British took refuge behind the walls of Charleston. For all practical purposes, the fighting was at an end. Paul now turned his attention to other passions, and on October 10, 1782, he married Mary Wilkinson. After receiving his inheritance on his 21st birthday, he and Mary established their home at Edisto Island. Paul planted indigo and became a father with the birth of his first daughter, Mary, on November 22, 1783. In 1785 Hamilton began a public career that lasted for almost three decades. He served as parish tax collector, justice of the peace, and district commissioner; he was elected a member of the state house of representatives, of the constitutional convention, and served in the state senate between 1794 and 1799. A year later he was selected as the state's first comptroller general. Hamilton was elected governor of South Carolina in 1804. During his term he laid the groundwork for the establishment of the South Carolina College (now USC), and ended the importation of slaves. On March 4, 1809, President James Madison nominated Paul Hamilton to be Secretary of the Navy, the first South Carolinian to be selected to serve in a president's cabinet. President Madison selected Paul because of his interest in military preparedness while governor and his proven administrative ability. Additionally, a majority of the naval officers at that time were southern, so a southern secretary made sense. Confirmed by the Senate on May 15, Hamilton immediately went to work to improve the Navy. He wanted to increase its size, but Congress declined to appropriate money for new ships and even considered reducing the fleet. The danger of war with France was high in 1809, yet Congress severely cut the Navy's budget. Lack of ships was only one of Paul's problems, as the Navy was short on arms, gunpowder, and lumber to repair ships. He finally convinced Congress to appropriate $400,000 in January 1812 to purchase supplies, but the Navy was still short of crews and skilled workmen. His lack of experience in naval matters did not hinder Hamilton's pursuit of innovative strategies in naval warfare. He funded Robert Fulton's experiments with torpedoes and tried to improve harbor defenses by building blockships and floating batteries. More importantly, Paul backed his captains in selecting a strategy at the beginning of the War of 1812, one that gave the small American Navy victories at sea until the larger British Navy blockaded them in port. He divided his small fleet into three divisions and sent them to sea to capture and destroy British shipping, forcing the British to concentrate their fleet and allow American merchant ships at sea to escape capture. Paul's second son, Archibald, was with Stephen Decatur on board the frigate United States, when they captured the British ship Macedonia on October 25, 1812. Upon their return to port in Baltimore, Commodore Decatur selected Midshipman Hamilton to deliver the captured flag to the White House. He arrived there on December 8, during a ball held to celebrate the victory of the Constitution over the Guerriere. Just as the dancing began, the official news arrived via Secretary Hamilton's son. Entering the ballroom with hurried pace, the ensign of the Macedonia in his hands, the young midshipman laid the British trophy at the feet of Dolly Madison, who received it like a queen. Tragically, Lieutenant Hamilton was killed on January 15, 1815, when the USS President was captured off the Chesapeake Bay, three weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. Despite Congressional opposition, Paul had effectively led the small American Navy, and his warships had been successful in the early months of the war. Yet, opposition continued, especially from Sen. William Crawford of Georgia. The unpopularity of the war and Madison's administration caused many to seek a scapegoat for its shortcomings and Hamilton became the target. Paul had never been at ease in Washington. He considered the living conditions there unhealthy, he missed his home and family, and creditors were tearing at his plantation with each successive crop failure. Hamilton could endure the criticism no more and determined to return home, resigning on December 31, 1812. Paul returned to South Carolina, living at his plantation at McPhersonville. In 1815 he moved to Beaufort to live with his son, Dr. Paul Hamilton. There he died on April 30, 1816 (based on his tombstone), and was buried in the Hamilton burying ground on the Rhodes plantation on Port Royal Island. 2 ships before were named after Paul Hamilton: DD 307 Paul Hamilton (DD 307) was launched 21 February 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of San Francisco, California. Miss Justin McGrath christened the ship on 24 September 1920 with LCDR J.F. McClain in command. USS Paul Hamilton (DD 307) was assigned to Division Thirty-Three, Squadron Six, Flotilla Two of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force based at San Diego, California. She performed yeoman service with the Pacific Battle Fleet from 1920 to 1930. Paul Hamilton (DD 307) was decommissioned on 20 January 1930. DD 590 Paul Hamilton (DD 590) was laid down 20 January 1943 at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. Mrs. William Deware Gordon officially christened the ship on 7 April 1943 and USS PAUL HAMILTON (DD 590) came to life on 25 October 1943 under the command of CDR Leo G. May. Stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia, Paul Hamilton (DD 590) served the lower Chesapeake Bay as a destroyer training unit until April 1944. Arriving in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in May of 1944, Paul Hamilton (DD 590) formed part of the protective screen for the replenishment aircraft and fueling groups that serviced the Third Fleet during the landing at Saipan on 15 June 1944. She accompanied Task Force 58 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In the fall of that same year, Paul Hamilton (DD 590) served as a screening vessel for the replenishment and fueling groups that serviced the Third Fleet during the capture and occupation of the southern Palau Islands. A similar role was also carried out during the air strikes against Okinawa, Luzon, Formosa, The Visayan Islands and the Japanese Fleet. In December of 1944 Paul Hamilton (DD 509) served outside the Philippine Islands protecting shipping from enemy surface attacks culiminating in the screening for the amphibious assault force that landed on Mindoro Island, Philippines, where on 15 December 1944 she shot down three enemy planes. In January 1945 Paul Hamilton (DD 590) participated in the assault of Iwo Jima, providing shore bombardment, fire support, and pilot rescue. By the end of World War II, she had received seven battle stars for service. In July of 1945 Paul Hamilton (DD 590) reported to San Diego, California, for overhaul. In September 1945 she reported to the Reserve Fleet 24 where she remained inactive until struck from the Naval Register in 1968.
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