- Thomas Hickey (soldier)
Thomas Hickey (died
28 June 1776 ) was aContinental Army soldier who was executed formutiny andsedition early in theAmerican Revolutionary War .In 1776, after the conclusion of the
Boston campaign , GeneralGeorge Washington and the Continental Army marched toNew York City and prepared for an anticipated attempt by theBritish Army to occupy the city. The Royal Governor of New York,William Tryon , had been driven out of the city by American Patriots and was compelled to seek refuge on a ship in New York Harbor. Nevertheless, the city had many residents who favored the British side, known as Loyalists.Thomas Hickey was a private in the
Commander-in-Chief's Guard , a unit formed on12 March 1776 , to protect General Washington, his official papers, and the Continental Army's cash. That spring, Hickey and another soldier were arrested for passingcounterfeit money . While incarcerated, Hickey revealed to another prisoner,Isaac Ketchum , that he was part of a wider conspiracy of soldiers who were prepared to defect to the British once the expected invasion came. Arrested by civilian authorities, Hickey was turned over to the Continental Army for trial. He wascourt-martial ed and found guilty of mutiny and sedition. He was executed before a crowd of 20,000 spectators.Hickey was the only person put on trial for the conspiracy. During the trial,
David Mathews , theMayor of New York City , was accused of funding the operation to bribe soldiers to join the British. Although the charge was never proven, Mathews and twelve others were briefly imprisoned. The conspiracy became greatly exaggerated in rumor, and was alleged to include plans to kidnap Washington, assassinate his officers, and blow up the Continental Army's ammunition magazines. The false rumors greatly damaged the reputation of Loyalists throughout the nascent United States.References
*Van Doren, Carl. "Secret History of the American Revolution". New York: Viking Press, 1941.
Primary documents from the "The American Archives", published online by the Northern Illinois University Libraries:
* [http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/amarch/getdoc.pl?/projects/artflb/databases/efts/AmArch/IMAGE/.17512 "Court Martial for the trial of Thomas Hickey and others"]
* [http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/amarch/getdoc.pl?/projects/artflb/databases/efts/AmArch/IMAGE/.17582 "Warrant for the execution of Thomas Hickey"] , from George Washington
* [http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/amarch/getdoc.pl?/projects/artflb/databases/efts/AmArch/IMAGE/.17583 Notice] from the Provost-Marshal that Hickey had been executed as directedExternal links
* [http://law.jrank.org/pages/2365/Sergeant-Thomas-Hickey-Court-Martial-1776.html "Thomas Hickey court martial"]
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