Samuel Hammond (September 21, 1757 – September 11, 1842) was a lieutenant colonel during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, governor and leader in the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and Missouri Territories, and

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in the

8th United States Congress The 8th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1803, ...

Early life

He was born in Farnham Parish in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

, to Elizabeth Hammond Steele and Charles Hammond; his parents were second cousins. Charles Hammond worked for the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

as a secretary. Like his son and three additional sons, Charles served during the Revolutionary War. Samuel attended the common schools.

Adult life

Virginia

Hammond served as a volunteer under

Governor Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1771 to 1775. Dunmore was named governor of New York in 1770. He succeeded to the same position in th ...

against

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

and "distinguished himself" at the Battle of Kanawha, now more commonly known as the

Battle of Point Pleasant The Battle of Point Pleasant, also known as the Battle of Kanawha and the Battle of Great Kanawha, was the only major action of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, between the Virginia militia and Shawnee and Mingo warriors. Along ...

. The battle took place on October 10, 1774. In July 1776, Hammond fought against the Cherokee under Colonel Andrew Williamson. During the

, he served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. In December 1776, led a company of

minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

he raised in the

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The refusal by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any ...

in an area since named

Great Bridge, Virginia Great Bridge is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake in the U.S. state of Virginia. Its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775, and resulted in the ...

. He served several years in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with his troops from Virginia.

Carolinas

In 1779 Charles Hammond moved to South Carolina. Samuel moved with his family and served the Revolutionary War in his new home state. He was promoted to Assistant Quartermaster at the

siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

. He served as member of the "council of capitulation" at Charleston and was made lieutenant colonel. He commanded troops in battle at Augusta, Blackstock's Farm,

Cowpens Cowpens may refer to: * Battle of Cowpens, a battle in the American Revolution * Cowpens National Battlefield, a unit of the National Park Service that protects the battlefield. * Cowpens, South Carolina * USS Cowpens (CG-63), USS ''Cowpens'' (CG-63 ...

Eutaw Springs Eutaw Springs Battleground Park is a historic site located near Eutawville, South Carolina, Eutawville, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was the site of the American Revolutionary War Battle of Eutaw Springs. The battle occurred on Septembe ...

Guilford Courthouse The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

, Hanging Rock, and Kings Mountain. Shortly after the war he settled in Savannah, Georgia.

Georgia

He served during the conflict with the Creek or

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

peoples in the latter 1780s and early 1790s, commanding a corps of Georgia Volunteers in 1793. Hammond was Surveyor General of Georgia in 1796. He was a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

1796-1798 and a member of the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

1799 and 1800. He was elected as a Republican to the Eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1803, until February 2, 1805.

Louisiana and Missouri Territories

February 2, 1805 he became Colonel Commandant of the St. Louis District of the

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of t ...

where he served from 1805 to 1824. He was made the first president (governor) of the Missouri Territorial Council in 1813. He was a receiver of public moneys in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and president of the Bank of St. Louis.

South Carolina

Hammond moved to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1824 and became a member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

. He then served as Surveyor General of South Carolina in 1825 and

Secretary of State of South Carolina The secretary of state of South Carolina is an election, elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The secretary of state is the chief clerk of state government in South Carolina and ...

in 1831–1835.

Marriage and children

Hammond married widow Rebecca Rae in 1783 and they settled in Savannah, Georgia. Rebecca's deceased husband was Colonel John Rae of Augusta, Georgia. Rebecca died in 1798. Then, Hammond moved to Rae's Hall Plantation. He married a second time to Eliza Amelia O'Keefe on May 5, 1802. He had eight children.

Freemason

Samuel Hammond was also a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and member of Solomon's Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M. at Savannah, Georgia. This lodge was established by the renowned Freemason and founder of the

Georgia colony The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of Ge ...

James Edward Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social reform ...

, on February 21, 1734, and is now the "Oldest Continuously Operating English Constituted Lodge of Freemasons in the Western Hemisphere".

Death

He retired from public life and died in 1842 at his home, "Varello Farm," at

Beech Island, South Carolina Beech Island is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States.Walter Edgar, Ed.: ''The South Carolina Encyclopedia'', The University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C., 2006, p. ...

, which is on the South Carolina side of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

, near

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. He is now buried near the Hammond Cemetery at the

Charles Hammond House The Charles Hammond House, located at 908 Martintown Road, North Augusta, South Carolina, was built on a bluff overlooking the Savannah River between other Hammond plantations, New Richmond and Snow Hill. The Charles Hammond House was added to ...

, North Augusta,

. A memorial commemorates the heroic actions of Colonel Samuel Hammond, Colonel LeRoy Hammond Jr., and Colonel LeRoy Hammond Sr.

Bibliography

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Samuel 1757 births 1842 deaths Continental Army soldiers Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Secretaries of state of South Carolina People from colonial Virginia People of Virginia in the American Revolution South Carolina Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves People from Farnham, Virginia People from Beech Island, South Carolina 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly