Promoted to lieutenant on 19 October 1796, Hamond served in the fifth-rate HMS "Aigle" in the Mediterranean Squadron in Autumn 1796 and in the fifth-rate HMS "Niger" in Spring 1797. Promoted to commander on 20 October 1798, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS "Echo" and was employed in the blockade of Le Havre and on different occasions took charge of convoys. Promoted to captain on 30 November 1798, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS "Champion" and captured the French privateer "Anacreon" in June 1799. Hamond described "Anacreon" as "almost a new vessel, sails remarkably fast, is copper-bottomed, and seems fit for His Majesty's Service." He then took part in the Siege of French-held Malta in Spring 1800 before becoming commanding officer of the third-rate HMS "Lion" later that year. He went on to be commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS "Blanche" and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801.