Richard Hamilton (officer)

Richard Hamilton
Born	c. 1655
Died	December 1717
Allegiance	Jacobite Army
Battles/wars	Williamite War in Ireland
Relations	George Hamilton of Donalong (father) Anthony Hamilton (brother)

Richard Hamilton (c.1655 - December 1717) was an Irish military officer who served as part of the Jacobite Irish Army during the Williamite War.

Richard was a younger son of George Hamilton of Donalong, an Irish baronet and the younger son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn. He was a younger brother of the playwright Anthony Hamilton. As an infant the family moved to France, until the Restoration, when his family moved to Whitehall.

In 1671 he was commissioned into a regiment raised by his brother George for service in France, and in 1678 he succeeded Thomas Dongan as the regiment's colonel, but it was disbanded later that year and he joined a French regiment, which he commanded for over six years. He was said to have been popular in the French court and in 1681 was documented as putting on a performance in front of Louis XIV as a zephyr at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in Quinault's ballet Le Triomphe de l'amour. In March 1685 he departed from the French service after a bitter disagreement with the minister of war over the state of his regiment and after a brawl with the Marquis d'Alincourt (), fighting for the affections of the Princess de Conti, Louis XIV's recently widowed daughter.

After returning to England, he was made a colonel of dragoons of Ireland by James II on 20 June 1685. He was promoted to brigadier in April 1686, making him the third most senior member of the Irish Army. In May 1686 he was appointed to the privy council of Ireland. He was promoted to major-general on 12 November 1688.

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