William Hammond
MSA SC 3520-17207
Biography:
William Hammond's story is hard to parse out because of his common name. As a result, his place of birth could be in numerous Maryland counties or in the Baltimore area. [1]
Since his name does not appear on the muster roll or payroll in December 1776, his only record as part of the First Maryland Regiment is the fact he was signatory to the will of Edward Sinclair, a Sergeant in the Fifth Company, in 1779. [2] Due to this, it is probable that he was a member of Capt. Nathaniel Ramsey's Fifth Company as a private.
The First Maryland Regiment were the first troops Maryland raised at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Maryland was more than willing to do its part to recruit the men needed for the eight Continental batallions that had been assigned to the state. [3] A few days after independence was declared, the First Maryland Regiment was ordered to New York so it could join the forces of General George Washington. [4] The regiment arrived there in early August, with the Battle of Brooklyn set between the Continental Army and the British Army, joined by their Hessian allies. [4]
He and his company served at the Battle of Brooklyn in late August 1776. Ramsey's company, William included, was placed at the front of the lines, but "hardly a man [in the company] fell," even though they took the first line of fire from the British. [5] This confirmed the assessment of the British Parliament's the Annual Register which described how "almost a whole regiment from Maryland…of young men from the best families in the country was cut to pieces" but brought men of the Maryland 400 together. [6] Years later, Captain Enoch Anderson of the Delaware Regiment wrote about the Battle of Brooklyn, saying the following:
"A little before day, we marched towards the enemy, two miles from our camp we saw them. A little after daylight our Regiment and Colonel Smallwood's Regiment from Maryland, in front of the enemy took possession of a high commanding ground,--our right to the harbour. Cannonading now began in both armies...Colonel Smallwood's Regiment took another course,--they were surrounded but they fought hard. They lost about two hundred men, the rest got in. A hard day this, for us poor Yankees! Superior discipline and numbers had overcome us. A gloomy time it was, but we solaced ourselves that at some other time we should do better." [7]
The Battle of Brooklyn fits into the larger context of the war beyond the fact that this was the first large-scale battle of the Revolutionary War. If the Maryland Line had not stood and fought the British, enabling the rest of the Continental Army to escape, then the Continental Army would been decimated, resulting in the end of the Revolutionary War. [8] This heroic stand gave the regiment the nickname of the Old Line and those who made the stand in the battle are remembered as the Maryland 400. [9]
After the Battle of Brooklyn, it is unknown what happened to this William Hammond. There were several men by that name who served in the Maryland Line including one who enlisted in the Seventh Maryland Regiment, one in a Kent County company and another within Gunby's Regiment. [10] Other men by his name became merchants in Baltimore Town, received bounty land, and died in Baltimore County. [11]
While William was not a general, his role as a soldier in the First Maryland Regiment is still worth noting.
- Burkely Hermann, Maryland Society of the Sons of American Revolution Research Fellow, 2016.
Notes
[1] Stirling, Bettle. Signers of the Oath of Fidelity to Maryland During the Revolution Vol. 1. Cockeysville: Baltimore Historical Society, 1987 pp. 11, 36; Stirling, Bettle. Maryland Oaths of Fidelity [1777]. Vol. 1. Lutherville, Baltimore County Historical Society, 1987. pp. 87; Hodges, Margaret Roberts. Unpublished Revolutionary Records of Maryland. Vol. 6. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1939. pp. 37, 68; Davis, John. Baltimore County, Maryland Deed Records Vol. 4: 1767-1776. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1997. pp. 3, 27; Barnes, Robert W. Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989. pp. 248.
[2] Will of Edward Sinclair, Baltimore County Register of Wills, 1779. MdHR 8892-16-1/73, box 16, folder 28 (MSA C437-19, 2/33/8/15).
[3] Alexander, Arthur. How Maryland Tried to Raise Her Continential Quotas. Maryland Historical Magazine 42, no. 3 (1957), pp. 187-188.
[4] Truitt, Jeffrey W. "'Animated by the Spirit of '76?': The Motivations and Aspirations of the Revolutionary War's Common Soldiers." Senior Thesis, Washington College, 2014. pp. 16.
[6] Tacyn, Mark Andrew. "'To The End:' The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution." PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland College Park, 1999. pp. 4.
[7] Enoch Anderson. Personal Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution. New York: New York Times & Arno Press, 1971. pp. 21-22.
[8] Truitt. "Animated by the Spirit of '76?," 17, 46.
[9] Ibid, 18, 38.
[10] Archives of Maryland, Vol. 18, 64, 216, 308, 322. National Archives. Revolutionary War Rolls, compiled 1894 - 1913, documenting the period 1775 - 1783 Record Group 93. NARA M246. Roll 0034. Folder 25. Courtesy of Fold3.com; National Archives. William Hammond Service Record. Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War. Record Group 93. NARA M881. Roll 0407. Courtesy of Fold3.com.
[11] Intendants Day Book 2, 1782, Auditor General, Day Book. MdHR 1771-2, pp. 5 (MSA S149-2, 1/1/4/8); Administration Accounts of William Hammon, Baltimore County Register of Wills. MdHR 11727, book 8, p. 327-329 (MSA C261-9, 2/30/7/14); Administration Accounts of William Hammond, Baltimore County Register of Wills. MdHR 11728, book 9, p. 210-211 (MSA C261-10, 2/30/7/15); Administration accounts of William Hammond, Baltimore County Register of Wills. MdHR 11730, book 11, 5 (MSA C261-12, 2/30/7/17); Barnes, Robert. Maryland Marriages, 1778-1800. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1979, pp. 93; Dallam, Edith Stansbury. St. James's Parish, Old Herring Creek Parish: A History, 1663 - 1799. Anne Arundel County: Vestry of St. James' Parish, 1976. pp. 517; Hodges, Unpublished Revolutionary Records of Maryland, 109; Barnes, Robert. Marriages and Deaths from the Maryland Gazette, 1777-1839. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1973. pp. 81; Teeples, Ronald. Maryland 1800 Census. Provo, UT: Accelerated Indening Systems, 1973. pp. 226.
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