Daniel Sullivan (1754 – 1790) was an American military officer and frontiersman of Irish descent. Daniel Sullivan was born in 1754 into a Virginian family of Irish descent. At age 9, he and another boy, Cunningham, were captured by a party of

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

during

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...

. Each was adopted and raised along the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River ( ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio ...

. In 1772, the two accompanied a trading party to Fort Pitt, where Sullivan was recognized by his brother-in-law, Zadock Wright. Wright successfully bought the two teenage boys, but Sullivan refused to leave his Delaware family unless Wright gave him a beaver hat. Sullivan soon left his family and returned to Fort Pitt. When

Lord Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War, also known as Dunmore's War, was a brief conflict in the fall of 1774 between the British Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony south of the Ohio River. Broadly, the war incl ...

commenced, Sullivan served as a guide for Major John Connolly's

Virginia militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulso ...

company, in which Zadock Wright served as a lieutenant. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Sullivan served as a scout and a spy. He hired himself as a boatman to a trader, and travelled to

Fort Detroit A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. There, he was arrested by Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton after he was recognized by an American Indian. Hamilton sent Sullivan to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, where he was paroled in December 1777. Sullivan returned to Fort Pitt, where he was again arrested in 1779 for "endeavouring to make the Delaware Indians break the last treaty of peace." After his release, Sullivan moved to

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. In 1785, Sullivan moved north to

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. He led the Vincennes militia in the Embarras River skirmish. He was killed along the Buffalo Trace in 1790.

Legacy

Sullivan County, Indiana Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana, and determined by the US Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1940. As of 2023, the population was estimated at 20,757. The county seat (and the county's only ...

is named for Daniel Sullivan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Daniel 1754 births 1790 deaths American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain History of Pittsburgh Indiana Territory People from the Northwest Territory