Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish III
Captain of the Harlem Hellfighters
Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish III was from a long line of distinguished politicians. His grandfather, Hamilton Fish, served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, lieutenant governor and governor of New York, a senator, and the 26th Secretary of State under Ulysses S. Grant. His father served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a also as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Fish attended Harvard where he graduated in 1909 with a cum laude degree in history and government. He turned down an offer to teach history there after his graduation, instead opting to sell insurance in New York City.
At the outset of the U.S. involvement in World War I, Fish was made a captain in the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment, a unit composed of African American enlisted men that came to be famously known as the "Harlem Hellfighters." The 369th spent 191 days on the front lines, which was the longest of any Am…
