1236:: Stamps, U.S., 2¢, 1929, red, Sullivan’s Expedition, uncirculated #657

1236:: Stamps, U.S., 2¢, 1929, red, Sullivan’s Expedition

U.S. #657
1929 2¢ Sullivan’s Expedition

Issue Date: June 17, 1929
First City: Auburn, NY
Quantity Issued: 51,451,880

John Sullivan (1740-1795) was born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, and practiced law in Durham. Although closely aligned with New Hampshire’s British governor as a young lawyer, Sullivan joined the fight for American Independence in the early 1770s. Sullivan served as New Hampshire’s delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, rose to the rank of major general in the Continental Army, and took part in several prominent battles during the War of Independence.

Sullivan led a controversial expedition against the Iroquois confederacy in 1779. His force of 4,500 troops sought to eliminate England’s close allies by destroying their food supply. The Sullivan Expedition destroyed villages and crops across a broad swath of Pennsylvania and New York. Criticized for the brutality of the campaign, Sullivan resigned his commission in 1779.

The citizens of New Hampshire considered Sullivan a hero, and he served as the state’s attorney general, speaker of the house, and governor before being appointed the first judge of the Federal District Court in 1789.

USA 1929 c.Reference number: 2021.1136sw