John Sullivan, born in Berwick, Maine, on the 17th of February, 1740,
was of Irish parentage, his father having emigrated to this country
in 1723. He was public-spirited, and hating oppression, as a zealous
advocate of American rights proved himself so able a partisan that
in 1772 he was commissioned major of the militia. In 1774, he became
a member of the Continental Congress, but resigned his seat to enter
the army, being appointed a brigadier-general, on the 22d of June,
1775. Employed for a time at Cambridge in disciplining the troops
and securing supplies, he was sent to Canada in 1776 to command the
survivors of the Northern army. Being superseded by Gates, he rejoined
the army under Washington, and on the 9th of August of the same year
was commissioned a major-general. He was made prisoner at the battle
of Long Island, but was soon after exchanged. In 1778, he was assigned
to the command of the forces in Rhode Island, and received not only
the commendation of the wisest men throughout the country, but also
the thanks of Congress for his conduct under very trying circumstances
during this campaign. In 1779, he was selected by Washington to lead
an army against the “Six Nations,” occupying the fertile region of
northern Pennsylvania and western New York. The atrocities of these
Indians demanding the severest measures, Sullivan, after defeating
their chief, laid waste their fields and orchards, burned their
villages, and drove them beyond the frontier to take refuge with their
English allies. He resigned his commission on the 30th of November,
1779, and entered upon the practice of the law. He held several
positions of national trust and responsibility, and served his State as
attorney-general, as president, and as justice of its Federal Court.
While discharging the duties of the latter office, he died at Durham
on the 23d of January, 1795. Harvard College conferred upon General
Sullivan the degree of LL.D. in 1780.