Sir Andrew Hammond

Sir Andrew Hammond
(Ship: t. 301; cpl. 31; a. 12 guns)

During the War of 1812, Sir Andrew Hammond—a whaling ship cruising in the Pacific as a privateer-was captured by Essex, flagship of Capt. David Porter, off the Galapagos on 13 September 1813. She was armed and manned by Porter who placed Chaplain David P. Adams on board her as prize master.

On 2 October, Hammond was one of the ships which Porter selected to accompany Essex to Nuka Hiva Island in the Marquesas for rest and refit. Prior to sailing from Nuka Hiva for the coast of South America on 12 December, Porter had Seringapatam, Sir Andrew Hammond, and Greenwich moved under the guns of the fort which he had constructed on the island. He placed the entire force under the command of Lt. John M. Gamble, USMC, commander of Greenwich. Soon after Porter's departure, the savages became troublesome, finally forcing Gamble to land a detachment of men to restore order.

In April 1814, Gamble began to rig Seringapatam and Sir Andrew Hammond with the intention of leaving the island. When signs of mutiny appeared among his crews-largely made up of men who had been captured from British whalers-he had all the arms and ammunition put on board his ship, Greenwich. But, in spite of his precautions, the mutineers captured Seringapatam on 7 May, and Lt. Gamble was wounded in the fight. He then made an attempt to get Sir Andrew Hammond to sea, but on the 9th was attacked again, losing one officer and three men in the fray. His entire party at that time consisted of eight men, only four of whom were fit for duty. He finally got to sea in the Hammond and made the 2,000-mile voyage to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. There the ship was captured by HMS Chenlb on 19 June 1814.