The Baseball Peace: An Unknown Story of Thomas Hamilton and His Brother, Bill

December 25, 2022

Read Time: 10-15 minutes

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, the United States of America was at war with itself.  Well, that’s not what President Lincoln said.  But the USA was split in two.  There was the Union and there was the Confederacy.  A lot of these facts have come to bore people over time.

The following is about two twin brothers: Thomas and Bill Hamilton.  Thomas fought for the Union and Bill fought for the Confederacy.  Both lived through the war, re-connected afterwards, and found time to have a couple of cups of whiskey together.  Today, Thomas is buried in Virginia with his wife, Emma.  Today, personal diaries and documents assume Bill died in the Bahamas.  Bill drank whiskey, smoked cigars, and loved the affection of all women, seemingly, until he died.

Once upon a time during the American Civil War…there was the Battle of Cooperstown, New York.  Today, that is where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located.  Actually, calling what happened a “battle” is still debated to this day.  Historians who don’t like the word “battle” call it a “scuffle.”

So back in the day, the Confederacy hired a bunch of loose cannon rebels to flank the entire Union nation.  These guys swept through Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania before the Battle of Cooperstown. 

They stole, they left pro-Confederacy pamphlets, one of them even spat on a woman.  It was their job to cause mayhem in the quietest of ways.  They were called “spies.”  One of these spies was Bill Hamilton.

***

Back home, in Virginia, Thomas and Bill were the best of friends.  It was quite the sight by Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton.  It was pleasant to see their twin sons have such a thick bond.  At home, Thomas was the herder on their farm and Bill was the farmer.  Both were built naturally strong.  Both got some of the best grades in school.  Thomas grew to have no trouble asking Bill for herdsman help…Bill had no trouble asking Thomas for farming help.  They loved each other.

One of the nice things about the Hamilton boys was their effective social skills.  This allowed for them to become quite well known in their home town.  Over time, they had a great group of friends.  They liked fishing, hunting, they shot arrows, and talked crap to one another. 

Eventually, the game of baseball made its way into town.  The travelling teams, the Cincinnati Baseball Union and the Dayton Gentlemen, played each other.  The Hamilton boys were giddy watching the game and learning the game of baseball.

At the game, Thomas gave his famous knock to get everyone’s attention: 

knock-knock-knock knock knock…knock-knock.

Thomas said, “Hey fellas,” Thomas said, “we need this in our lives.”  So, the Hamilton’s built a baseball field on their land.  The Hamilton’s baseball field was built by local labor. 

The baseball field became so well-known, locals, no matter what gender or race, would play without the Hamilton’s even knowing.  The Hamilton family always knew to take care of their local community.  Without asking, people would leave pennies to Mr. Hamilton on home plate for the trouble of using the field.

***

By Christmas 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg had already happened. 

Good Christmas feelings were in the air and Thomas Hamilton was on his way back home to Massachusetts.  The war had been tough, so far.

***

You see, after Thomas turned 18 years old, Thomas went to school in Massachusetts.  While there, Thomas fell in love and worked in finance.  The finance world is how he met H.G. Scuttlefield.  H.G. Scuttlefield introduced Thomas to Thomas’ future wife, Emma.  Thomas married Emma within a year.  They remained in love for the rest of their lives.

Thomas was now all set in Massachusetts.  After marrying Emma, Thomas called Massachusetts home until the day he died.  Don’t get it wrong, Thomas still called Virginia home too.  Thomas would visit Virginia a handful of times over the course of the rest of his life.  The war really did a number on the Hamilton residence in Virginia.  Going back home to Virginia was always emotional for Thomas.  The Hamilton’s baseball field no longer existed.

***

Thomas had hoped he’d be home from the war by Christmas Day in 1863.  But him and many of the troops were still moving north.  The weather was terrible.  They took up shelter in a saloon.  There were a bunch of them.  They were drinking, singing songs, playing cards, and trying to enjoy the holiday without their families and without a worry of the Confederacy. 

All of the sudden, Thomas heard a knocking:

knock-knock-knock knock knock…knock-knock

The sound reminded Thomas of home.  He looked up and towards the knocks.

“Tommy!” 

It was his brother, Bill.

Chapter 2

Bill smiled devilishly and continued on talking across the room to Thomas, “Why are you looking at my belt with those blonde eyes, Tommy?”

Thomas couldn’t help but smile and chuckle at the insult.  Talking crap is one of the things Thomas and Bill loved to do.  It reminded Thomas of home, again.

Bill sat there with a group of plainclothes wearing fellas.  Bill had plainclothes on too.  They were playing cards and drinking.  Bill waved his hand…he was using body language to tell Thomas to come over.  Thomas was halfway shocked.  He could not believe it was Bill. 

What was Bill doing here?  He’s not wearing uniform…it’s about to be Christmas…what is Bill doing here?

***

Bill knew why he was there…these spies had done a good job so far in unfamiliar territory.  But now, Bill had found a familiar face.  His group of Confederate spies had little to no problems being seen wearing plainclothes, drinking, and enjoying whatever towns had to offer all across the Union.  Now, the jig was up. 

It was Bill’s job to instill small amounts of fear across the entire Union.  Now, Bill came face-to-face with Thomas, someone who knew him as a child.  Thomas knew just how badly Bill hit his head at the age of 5.  Thomas knew just how badly he could make Bill cry.

***

“Who is that fella calling you, Private?” asked Thomas’ Leader. 

Thomas said nothing.

“Private?” asked Thomas’ Leader again. 

“My brother…it’s my brother, sir.”

Thomas’ Leader looked at Thomas.  Thomas’ face looked like it was stone.  Only Thomas’ eyes were moving.  They were glazed, like Thomas was about to cry.  Thomas’ jaw tightened and shook. 

“Well go on,” said Thomas’ Leader.  “It’s Christmas, son.  Enjoy your brother.”

Thomas walked to Bill and Bill’s eight friendly spies.  Bill sat and waited.

***

Thomas walked over, held out his hand to shake hands with Bill and they shook hands. 

“Good to see you, Tommy,” Bill said.  “Fellas, this gentleman right here is my brother.  Look at him, a fine and dandy Union soldier.  Doesn’t he look well fed?”

None of the other men at the table said a word.  Thomas half-smiled, looked around the table, and looked down at Bill.  “How do you do?” 

Everyone nodded.

“Take a seat,” said Bill.  Thomas sat.

Thomas looked around at the table.  For a second or two, nobody said anything. 

Then, Thomas said, “Excuse me everyone.”  The men at the table’s ear perked up.  “It is Christmas…do you all think I can talk to my brother in private?”

The table did not counteroffer.  Thomas and Bill walked outside to get some air.

***

Bill immediately started firing words at Thomas.

“You’re lucky I don’t put a bullet in you right now you piece of garbage, you traitor.”

“Do you even know what’s happened to home since all of this garbage fighting happened, do you?” 

Bill’s jaw tightened.  Bill’s eyes glazed over.  Thomas’ eyes looked down.  He hadn’t heard anything from home since the war began.  The federal government made it difficult to get mail from Virginia.

“Do you know what they did to your mother?  Your mother???  Our…”

“Willy…” Thomas said.

Bill stopped talking.  Bill’s eyes continued to glaze.  Thomas looked into those glazed eyes. 

They hugged.

They traded words back and forth.  “It’s okay.”  “It’s okay.”  “It’s okay.”  Eyes glazed.

“We’ll talk about this someday,” Thomas said.  Thomas and Bill both wiped their faces.

***

After cooler heads prevailed, they shared some of Thomas’ cigarettes and caught up on life.

“So,” said Bill, “how’s Emma?”

“Good,” said Thomas, “they’re all good.”

“How’d you end up here…wearing this…this Yankee crap?” asked Bill.

“Back in March,” Thomas gritted his teeth and jaw, “Lincoln did us in for good, you know?”

Bill did know.  Bill snarled and cigarette smoke came out of his mouth.  Bill knew what Thomas was talking about.  Thomas was drafted by the federal government into war.  Bill said, “They’re all scum.”

“Yeah.”

A moment passed.  Bill changed the subject.  Bill said, “You know about what’s happened in Dayton, in Columbus…in Pittsburgh?”

Thomas’ eyes squinted.  He looked Bill up and down.  Thomas’ eyes moved through a saloon window and counted eight men at Bill’s table. 

Thomas chuckled and raised his eyebrows, “No…”

“Yes.”

“You know what the papers call you?”

Bill smiled and chuckled, “What do they call us?”

“The Notorious Nine.”

Bill let out a big howling laugh.  A cloud of cigarette smoke flew out his mouth and another and another.  He was keeled over laughing.  Thomas started laughing too.

“It’s been too long since I’ve heard your laugh.”

Thomas’ eyes were glazed again, but he was quite happy now.

***

“Hey kiddo,” said Bill to Thomas, “I saw a baseball field across town.  You get nine of your guys, we have nine…we got a game.  What do you say?”

Thomas raised his eyebrows like a good Union private…

“A baseball game?  Promise?”  asked Thomas.  Thomas held out his hand to shake.

Bill was actually a bit shocked and quickly said, “Brother…yes…oh my gosh, it’s Christmas.”  They shook hands.

“Quit staring at my belt, little man,” said Bill.

***

The results of the baseball game are disputed by historians to this day.  Confederate spies say they won in extra innings.  Union troops say they won in extra innings.  There is no documentation known from either Thomas or Bill about what happened during the baseball game. 

On December 25, 1863, Thomas wrote a letter to his wife, Emma.  It said this:

Dear Emma,

        I cannot believe this…my brother, Bill, we have met again.

        Today is Christmas and we had the pleasure of saying “Hello,” to one another. 

        I miss him. 

        I miss you and the kids too, but right now, my heart…it aches for William.  I cannot believe that this is where we are at. 

        It’s okay, the fighting is over.  I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when I get home.   I’ll be home soon.  Give a kiss and a hug to everyone for me.

Love, Thomas

Time for a joke:

What did the Oxygen molecule say to the Magnesium molecule?

"OMg!"