Schlacht auf dem Eriesee
Hambleton was born in 1777 in Talbot County, Maryland at "Martingham", an estate granted to his great-great-grandfather, William Hambleton, by Lord Baltimore in 1657. Entering the Navy and quickly becoming a Purser of the Navy on 6 December 1806, he served as Acting Lieutenant in "Lawrence" during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. A detailed and avid journalist and letter-writer, Hambleton's wartime journal, housed at the Maryland Historical Society, has become one of the most-used primary sources by historians researching the Battle of Lake Erie.