Gettysburg at Arlington Part 31: Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr

The painting “Last Night of the War” shows Major George Wallis Hamilton (bending slightly with right hand raised to his helmet) leading his men in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment across the Meuse River on the night of November 10-11, 1918. On November 11th the war officially ended, and Hamilton was the last field officer in the United States Armed Forces to receive word of the Armistice. This by Frederick C. Yohn was completed in 1920, and is courtesy of the Marine Corps Heritage Studio.

Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking Washington, D.C., has many connections to Gettysburg and to the Gettysburg Campaign. There are many more connections than to only Robert E. Lee’s residence, and John F. Kennedy’s grave. Almost every row in the older sections have someone buried there who had a link to Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shows us the individuals connected to Gettysburg who are buried at Arlington.

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To see the previous posts on Gettysburg at Arlington, click here.

In today’s Arlington post, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shows the site of the Johns Farm. On that farm, Marine Captain George Wallis Hamilton crashed his plane and ended his life on June 26, 1922.

This map shows us the locations taken of videos for our Gettysburg at Arlington series. Videos #1-#83 were shown in our previous Arlington posts. Video #84 was taken in Colt Park at the intersection of Johns Avenue and Culp Street. This map was created facing north at approximately 7:00 PM on Monday, February 21, 2011.

Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr is the host for our series on Arlington National Cemetery. He is standing in Colt Park near the intersection of Johns Avenue (behind Rich) and Culp Street (out of sight on the right). The Johns House is the gray structure in the background. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 5:00 PM on Friday, February 25, 2011.

In Video #84 (Videos #1 – #83 were shown in our previous Arlington posts) Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr explains how George W. Hamilton met his death when he crashed his airplane onto the Johns Farm. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 5:00 PM on Monday, February 21, 2011.

This photograph shows what remained of George W. Hamilton’s airplane after he crashed it on June 26, 1922. Sources stated that his plane was approximately 400 feet in the air, “something went wrong” and it fell nose first into the Johns Farm. The photograph seems to testify to the damage suffered to the front of the plane. This view was taken circa June, 1922.

George Wallis Hamilton (1892-1922). Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune stated that Hamilton was the Marines best combat field officer in France. Hamilton was known to lead from the front, and he never asked anything of anyone he wasn’t prepared to do himself. He personally “wiped out” a German machinegun crew with his rifle and bayonet at Belleau Wood. He also fought at Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the two Meuse-Argonne offensives. He was well liked and trusted by those with whom he served. This view was taken circa 1920.

This map shows us the locations taken of videos for our Gettysburg at Arlington series. Videos #1-#83 were shown in our previous Arlington posts. Video #84 is shown on the previous map in this post. Video #85 was taken at the grave of George Wallis Hamilton. This map was created facing north at approximately 7:30 PM on Friday, March 4, 2011.

Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr is in Arlington National Cemetery at the grave of Captain George W. Hamilton. Note that he was a Major during the war, and a Captain when he became an aviator. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 26, 1922, the same day as his death in Gettysburg. This view was taken facing north at approximately 2:00 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.

In Video #85 Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shows us the grave of Major/Captain George W. Hamilton along with some background information about Hamilton’s life. This view was taken facing north at approximately 2:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.

To see other posts by Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides, click here.