John Sullivan (general)

John Sullivan
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
In office
September 26, 1789 – January 23, 1795
Appointed byGeorge Washington
Preceded bySeat established by 1 Stat. 73
Succeeded byJohn Pickering
3rd Governor of New Hampshire
In office
January 22, 1789 – June 5, 1790
Preceded byJohn Langdon
Succeeded byJosiah Bartlett
In office
June 7, 1786 – June 4, 1788
Preceded byJohn Langdon
Succeeded byJohn Langdon
Personal details
BornJohn Sullivan
(1740-02-17)February 17, 1740
DiedJanuary 23, 1795(1795-01-23) (aged 54)
Resting placeDurham, New Hampshire, U.S.
PartyFederalist
ChildrenGeorge Sullivan
RelativesJames Sullivan
Educationread law
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceContinental Army
Years of service1775-1779
RankMajor general
Battles/wars
Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox officeholder with deprecated parameter "serviceyears". Replace with "service_years".

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.