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John Sullivan

John Sullivan

New Hampshire District Court

Born 1740 in Somersworth, NH

Died 1795 in Durham, NH

FJC ID: 2314

Major General John Sullivan (February 17, 1740 – January 23, 1795) was a Continental Army officer, politician and judge who served in the American Revolutionary War and participated in several key events of the conflict, most notably George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress, where Sullivan signed the Continental Association. After the war, he served as the third governor of New Hampshire and was appointed as a United States district judge of the District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

Sullivan, the third son of American settlers, led the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, a scorched earth campaign by the Continental Army which destroyed 40 Iroquois villages, killed 200 Iroquois and forcibly displaced 5,000 Iroquois as refugees to British-controlled Fort Niagara. There is a historiographical debate over whether or not the actions of Sullivan and his troops during the expedition constitute genocide. As a member of Congress, Sullivan worked closely with the French ambassador to the United States, the Chevalier de la Luzerne.

Gender
Male
Race
White

Prior employment

  1. Private practice, Durham, New Hampshire
    1760–1789
  2. New Hampshire
    President (governor) · 1786–1787, 1789
  3. New Hampshire convention to ratify U.S. Constitution
    Chairman · 1788
  4. State of New Hampshire
    Attorney general · 1782–1786
  5. Continental Congress
    Delegate · 1774, 1775, 1780–1781
  6. Continental Army major general
    1772–1779
  7. New Hampshire
    State representative
    • speaker · 1785, 1788

Appointments

  1. New Hampshire District Court
    1789–1795 · Appointed by George Washington
    Term ended: Death

Education

  1. Read law
    1760