Historical Marker

Major Andrew Graff Hamilton

Hamilton, a leader of one of most incredible prison escapes of the Civil War, was born in Pa., Jan. 9, 1835. A Woodbury resident before the war, he joined Co. A of the 12th Ky. (Union) Cavalry, Aug. 12, 1862. Captured at Jonesboro, Tn., Aug. 1863; sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Va. Along with Col. Thos. Rose, he led a mass prison escape.

(Reverse) On Feb. 9, 1864, he led 109 Federal officers from Libby Prison. 48 were recaptured, including Col. Rose. Hamilton was the guest of honor at Libby Prison Nat’l War Museum, at the World’s Fair in Chicago, in 1893. He was murdered on April 2, 1895 by Sam Spencer in Morgantown and is buried in the Bethlehem Cemetery in Reedyville, Ky.