John Francis Hamtramck
Born	(1798-04-19)April 19, 1798 Fort Wayne, Indiana Territory
Died	April 21, 1858(1858-04-21) (aged 60) Shepherdstown, Virginia
Buried	Elmwood Cemetery, Shepherdstown
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army Virginia Militia
Years of service	1813–1815, 1819-1822, 1846-1848
Rank	Colonel
Unit	1st U.S. Infantry Regiment 3rd U.S. Artilley Regiment
Commands	1st Virginia Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars	War of 1812 Mexican-American War
Relations	Jean François Hamtramck (father) William H. Harrison (legal guardian)
Other work	planter, mayor

John Francis Hamtramck (April 19, 1798 – April 21st, 1858) was an American military officer who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. He was the son of French-Canadian officer Jean-François Hamtramck.

John Hamtramck was born to Jean-Francois Hamtramck and his wife Rebecca MacKenzie on April 19, 1758 at Fort Wayne in the Indiana Territory. When Colonel Hamtramck died in 1803 William Henry Harrison, the territorial governor and later President of the USA, became guardian to the children.^[1] In 1806 Rebecca married a second time, her new husband being Jesse Burgess Thomas.^[2]

During the War of 1812, John Francis Hamtramck enlisted in the United States Army, becoming a Sergeant in the 1st U.S. Infantry Regiment (his father's unit). He served in Zachary Taylor’s expedition up the Mississippi River.^[1] In 1815 he became a cadet at United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, appointed from Indiana.^[3] He graduated in 1819 as 11th out of a class of 26.^[4] He became a 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery and served in the 3rd U.S. Artilley Regiment when he resigned in 1822.^[3]

Hamtramck then became a farmer and for several years served as an indian agent to the Osage before settling down as a farmer again, this time in Jefferson County, Virginia. There he also was active in the militia, becoming a Captain, and in the Whig Party.^[1] After the Mexican-American War had begun he volunteerd for service and was named Colonel of the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment in December 1846.^[5] The United States Volunteers unit had 14 companies, including one of Grenadiers and one of Light Infantry, and was raised for the duration of the war. It's officer corps included prominent people like Major Jubal Early, Captains Kenton Harper and Montgomery D. Corse and Lieutenant David A. Weisiger.^[6] The regiment served in northern Mexico and saw little action, Hamtramck became military governor of Saltillo in early 1848. Quartermaster James L. Kemper described the Colonel as "a great stickler for the minutiae of military regulations and equipments" but added that these qualities were a necessity for the situation. The unit stayed in place till June 1848, and then was disbanded.^[1]

Hamtramck returned to Shepherdstown, continuing farming and militia duty but also became a court magistrate and, from 1850 to 1854, mayor of the town.^[1] He died on April 21st, 1858.^[5]

• Blanton, Nick. "John Francis Hamtramck". Historic Shepherdstown. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
• Catalogue of Cadets: June 1819. West Point, New York: United States Military Academy Printing Office. 1819. p. 5. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
• George W. Cullum (1868). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Vol. I. New York: D. van Nostrand. pp. 232–233. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
• Hamersly, Thomas H.S. (1881). 'Complete Regular Army Register of the United States for One Hundred Years (1779 to 1879) (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: T.H.S. Hamersly. p. 489. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
• Porter, Lorle (2005). Politics & Peril - Mount Vernon, Ohio in the Nineteenth Century. New Concord Press. p. 44. ISBN 1887932259.
• Robarts, William Hugh, ed. (1887). Mexican War veterans : a complete roster of the regular and volunteer troops in the war between the United States and Mexico, from 1846 to 1848. Brentano's. pp. 78–79. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

• John F. Hamtramck at Find a Grave