In 1854 he accepted a position in Indianapolis, but soon afterward entered the law office of his half-brother, Abram A. Hammond.
In 1857, he was admitted to the senior law class at Asbury University, graduating that spring with an LL.B.,[2] and gaining admission to the bar in 1858.
[1] At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment, and served three months, later serving as captain of the 87th Indiana Infantry Regiment, coming out of the service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
[1] In his two years of service on the court, Hammond "wrote nearly two hundred opinions on issues ranging from libel, blackmail, murder, probate, and liquor sales to minors".
[2] In 1892 he was again elected to the Circuit bench, but after two years resigned to form a partnership with Charles B. and William V. Stuart, at Lafayette, Indiana.