Richard II of England ordered their release from the Mayor and bailies of that city on 29 June.
It appears that their imprisonment was due to violations of the truce between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland.
The Hamiltons had been caught at sea by English privateers, again in violation of the truce.
The English were urged to release the ship and restore their goods to them, or alternatively pay suitable recompense.
There is no record of Hamilton's death, though it is possible that he was one of the prisoner fatalities at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402, where a Sir John Hamilton, elder, appears on a list of captives.