Thomas Hickey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ireland |
| Died | June 28, 1776 Bowery, New York City |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain (pre-1765) United States (post-1765) |
| Service | British Army Continental Army |
| Commands | Commander-in-Chief's Guard |
| Battles / wars | Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War |
Thomas Hickey (died June 28, 1776) was a Continental Army soldier in the American Revolutionary War, and the first person to be executed by the Continental Army for "mutiny, sedition, and treachery".
Born in Ireland, Hickey came to America as a soldier in the British Army and fought as a combat field servant to Major General William Johnson in the Seven Years' War. He later joined the Patriot cause when the American Revolution broke out, and became part of the Life Guard, which protected General George Washington, his staff, and the Continental Army's payroll. Hickey was briefly jailed for passing counterfeit money; during this incarceration, he told another prisoner he was part of a conspiracy. He was later tried and executed for mutiny and sedition against the Continental Army. Plausible, but unverified, reports suggest that he may have been involved in an assassination plot against Washington in 1776.
Washington made a general announcement:
The unhappy fate of Thomas Hickey, executed this day for mutiny, sedition, and treachery, the General hopes will be a warning to every soldier in the Army to avoid those crimes, and all others, so disgraceful to the character of a soldier, and pernicious to his country, whose pay he receives and bread he eats. And in order to avoid those crimes, the most certain method is to keep out of the temptation of them, and particularly to avoid lewd women, who, by the dying confession of this poor criminal, first led him into practices which ended in an untimely and ignominious death.[1]
- ^ Washington's general order, June 28, 1776 in Lawrence J. Morris (2010). Military Justice: A Guide to the Issues. ABC-CLIO. p. 15. ISBN 9780275993665.