A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Hand graduated from Shattuck Military Academy and attended the University of Michigan Law School from 1888 to 1890.
He served in Field Artillery postings of increasing responsibility throughout the United States, in addition to performing temporary quartermaster duties on several occasions.
During the Pancho Villa Expedition, Hand commanded the 3rd New York Field Artillery as it performed border security near McAllen, Texas.
Hand closed his career as commander of the post at Fort Mason, California and artillery inspector on the staff of the Ninth Corps Area.
[3] Hand attended Shattuck Military Academy,[4] where he was High Mogul of the 5th Avenue Club, an unsanctioned social organization that was often involved in campus pranks and rivalries with other schools.
[6] He attended the University of Michigan Law School from 1888 to 1890[7] as a special non-degree student, and became a member of the Chi Psi fraternity.
[8] After completing his education, Hand worked in Saint Paul as the manager of his families financial holdings, including real estate loans,[9] rental properties,[10][11] and building lots.
[14] When the 15th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was officially created that summer, Hand was commissioned as one of its two majors and assigned to command the 2nd Battalion.
[4] After returning to the United States, Hand applied for a regular army commission and in August 1901 received appointment as a first lieutenant of Artillery.
[34] In April 1909, Hand was assigned as quartermaster of USAT Thomas, a troop transport ship based in San Francisco that made regular trips to the Philippines during the U.S.
[35] In March 1910, nationwide news reports indicated that Hand had been arrested in San Francisco on an unknown charge following his return from a trip to the Philippines.
[40] In late May 1910, Hand was arrested again and charged with being drunk on duty, violating a pledge to his commander that he would abstain from alcohol, and conduct unbecoming an officer.
[56] With the United States preparing for entry into World War I, in June 1917 Hand was assigned to Fort Niagara, New York as an artillery instructor for the post's officer training school.
[57] In the fall of 1917, Hand was assigned as second-in-command of the 308th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Dix, New Jersey with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel.
[61] Hand briefly commanded the 16th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp Kearny, California, and he returned to Fort Sill following the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
[62] In early 1919, Hand reverted to his permanent rank of captain and was assigned to the War Department staff, where he worked to demobilize wartime bases and dispose of land, buildings, and materiel in the real estate section of the Bureau of Purchase, Storage and Traffic.
[63] Later in 1919, he received promotion to major, then lieutenant colonel, and was assigned to Field Artillery training on the staff of the Militia Bureau.
[80] As a result of his father's Civil War service, Hand was a hereditary member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
[82] For several years after World War I, the New York National Guard awarded the Daniel W. Hand Trophy annually to the artillery battery that attained the highest proficiency in firing and maintenance.