VMI Archives Historical Rosters: Hamilton Leroy Shields

Historical Rosters Database

Hamilton Leroy Shields

Roster ID 24
This is a summary. Contact the Archives for additional biographical information.

First Name:	Hamilton
Middle Name:	Leroy
Last Name:	Shields
Suffix:
Affiliation:	Class of 1842
Biography & Genealogy:	Hamilton Leroy Shields. Class of 1842. Genealogy: Born 1821, Norfolk, VA.; Parents- William Cannon Shields (newspaper editor) & Elizabeth Finch; Grandparents- no information; Marriage- Caroline Hart of Troy, New York. Children-8- Elizabeth, William, Henry, Frances, Harriet, Caroline, Virginia, Howard. VMI record: Entered VMI Dec. 5, 1839, from Norfolk, VA; resigned April 15, 1841 to enter U. S. Military Academy at West Point; graduated USMA 1846. Military record: U. S. Army officer, 1846-1854; served in Mexican War. Career: Army officer (until 1854); lawyer (1854-1857), farmer in Bennington, Vermont after 1857. Died November 24, 1889.

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The database currently includes the names of all enrolled students (both graduates and non-graduates) from VMI's opening in 1839 through the World War II era. In addition, you will find biographical and genealogical information, including a summary of military service during the Civil War, for many individuals who attended in the 19th century. The database also includes some historical Faculty and Board of Visitors members, as well as U. S. Army students sent to VMI for training during World Wars I and II. The latter groups were not VMI cadets. For further information about an ancestor listed in the database, please contact the VMI Archives. We can check the complete record, let you know if other information available, and provide copies of original documents. This database is for historical research. We do not release information about living individuals.