Papers : 1766-1825.

            Sir Andrew Snape Hamond entered the British Navy as a midshipman in 1753 and by 1759 he had been promoted, through the interest of Lord Howe, to the rank of lieutenant. On 20 June 1763 he was again promoted to master and commander, and during the next ten years took command of several vessels, including the frigate Arethusa on the North American station from 1771 to 1773. In 1775 he was placed in command of the Roebuck of 44 guns, and served under Lord Howe in the expedition to the Chesapeake in 1777, and in the defence of Sandy Hook in July 1778. For his services he was knighted, and in April 1780 was present at the reduction of Charlestown. He became Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia in 1781, commissioner of the navy, and commander in chief of H. M. ships at Halifax, and remained there until the end of the war. He devoted much effort to the development of Halifax as a naval port. Upon his return to England he was created a baronet, but remained with the navy, and in 1794 was appointed comptroller of the navy, which office he held until he retired in 1806.

Graham Eden Hamond, son to Andrew, was a captain in the Royal Navy by the time he was nineteen. He was active in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic era. He was a senior officer at Malta, 1805-6, and held several other commands in 1808-9, 1813-14, and 1824-25. His last active service was as commander-in-chief of the South American station, 1834-38, where he was advanced to vice-admiral (1837).            

            The Hamond Papers consist of two segments: the papers of Captain Andrew Snape, 1766-1783, and the papers of his son, Admiral Graham Eden Hamond, 1799-1825. The major subjects are Great Britain and its Royal Navy, and the Nova Scotia government.

Organisation

Reel 1: Private correspondence and manuscript books of A.S. Hamond, including his autobiography
Reel 2: Naval records of A.S. Hamond; naval records of son G.E. Hamond, starting vol. 6
Reel 3: Naval records of his son G.E. Hamond

The Papers provide a record of the letters received and sent, and the orders received and issued, that relate to the commands held by both Captain Andrew Snape Hamond and his son Admiral Graham Eden Hamond.  Of special importance are the A.S. Hamond papers for the years 1771 to 1783 when he was in command of two warships, the Arethusa, 1771-1773, and the Roebuck, 1775-1780, in American waters, and during his time at Halifax, Nova Scotia, concerning naval affairs.
The G.E. Hamond Papers are important for naval operations at a later period during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, and in particular in the Mediterranean theatre of operations (1804-6). Volume 10 of the A.S. Hamond Papers is a Chronological List of the Captains of His Majesty's Royal Navy; with the Dates of their first Commissions, Promotions, and other Occurrences; Commencing The 21st June, 1673, in the Reign of King Charles, and brought down to the year 1783 by Rear Admiral John Hardy, London, 1784.            

            The Guide to the Naval Papers of Sir Andrew Snape Hamond ,1766-1783 and Sir Graham Eden Hammond, 1799-1825. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Library, 1966, is available in print and is shelved with the Loyalist Collection Finding Aids.