[1] Born in Edgefield, South Carolina, Hamilton received a Bachelor of Science degree from Wofford College in 1956 and a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in 1961.

He was in private practice in Edgefield from 1961 to 1963, and in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 1963 to 1982.

[2] On November 13, 1981, Hamilton was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Judge Robert F. Chapman.

Hamilton was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 24, 1981, and received his commission on December 1, 1981, serving until July 31, 1991.

[2] On June 12, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Hamilton for elevation to a new seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, created by 104 Stat.