As a junior officer he twice volunteered to take part in missions to search for Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

[1] He volunteered to become a mate on the barque HMS Assistance which was despatched in 1850, under the command of Captain Erasmus Ommanney, on a mission to search for Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

[3] Promoted to lieutenant on 11 October 1851, he volunteered for a second mission this time in the barque HMS Resolute which was despatched in 1852, under the command of Captain Henry Kellett, in search of Franklin.

[5] Hamilton was given command of the gunboat HMS Haughty in February 1856 and took part in the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857 during the Second Opium War.

[3] He became commander of the steam reserve at Devonport in 1873 and captain-superintendent of Pembroke Dock in March 1875 and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 29 May 1875.

[13] In retirement he wrote Naval Administration; The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments It Directs.