Thomas Hammond (c. 1600–1658), was an officer in the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

and a

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

Family life

Hammond was the third son of the five children of Dr John Hammond (c. 1555–1617), physician to the royal household under James I, who purchased the site of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey in 1602. His brother was the cleric,

Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, church historian and theologian, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the y ...

. He married Susan Temple (daughter of John Temple of Frankton) in 1635.

Civil War

In 1642, at the start of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

he was commissioned as an artillery officer. As he was an experienced officer he must have seen military service in the continental wars that preceded the Civil War although there is no direct evidence of this. His motives for joining the Parliamentary side against King Charles I are not recorded but his radicalism was evident by 1644 when he testified against his own commander-in-chief, Edward Montagu in favour of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. Between 1647 and 1649 he was active member of small committee that represented the interests of the

Grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

s in the New Model Army in their dealings with the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

, the Agitators in the army with their and their Leveller allies, and King Charles. Was named as a Commissioner at the

High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I The trial of Charles I was a significant event in English history that took place in January 1649, marking the first time a reigning monarch was tried and executed by his own subjects. Following years of conflict during the English Civil War, ...

and attending no fewer than fourteen of its sittings, but he did not sign the death warrant. His motives for not signing are not recorded.

Post Civil War

Hammond did not take part in the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

or in the initial invasion of Scotland, but he joined Cromwell at a later date. While in Scotland he fell seriously ill. His health appears never to have fully recovered and he resigned his commission in 1652. After his retirement he was occupied with obtaining pay arrears due to himself and the other personnel of the artillery train that he had commanded. He was granted Irish lands for his part in the initial campaign of 1642, and along with his men lands confiscated from Royalists in Middlesex and Surrey. In 1657 with his health failing he made his will and he died the next year shortly before his old friend and former commander Oliver Cromwell. After the Restoration his name was exempted from the Indemnity and Oblivion Act allowing the state to confiscate the property that had belonged to him.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Thomas 1600s births 1658 deaths Regicides of Charles I Roundheads New Model Army personnel