Mining engineer, diplomat, and philanthropist John Hays Hammond is his son.

He served in garrison at Fort McHenry and later at the Augusta Arsenal, where he assisted the Inspector general in investigating claims of losses by Florida, Georgia, and Alabama volunteers during the Seminole Wars.

[1] He briefly worked as a farmer, before becoming the general superintendent of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, and then served as vice president and later president of the California Pacific Railroad.

[2] Hammond died in San Francisco in 1891 and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

He was married to Sarah Elizabeth "Sallie" Lea (née Hays) from 1854 until her death in 1867.