Sullivan, John, 1740-1795

Major-General John Sullivan (February 17, 1740 – January 23, 1795) was a Continental Army officer, politician and judge who fought in the American Revolutionary War and participated several key events of the conflict, including 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 United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Sullivan, the third son of American settlers, commanded the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, a scorched earth by the Continental Army which destroyed 40 Iroquois villages, leading to the forced displacement of 5,000 Iroquois as refugees to British controlled Fort Niagara and the deaths of several hundred Iroquois during the harsh winter of 1779–1780. As a member of Congress, Sullivan worked closely with the French ambassador to the United States, the Chevalier de la Luzerne.