Thomas Sprigg (1747 – December 13, 1809) was an 18th-century American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He represented the fourth district of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from 1793 to 1797. Sprigg was born in

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ( ...

. He served 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

as ensign in the Maryland Battalion of the

Flying Camp A Flying Camp was a military formation employed by the Continental Army in the second half of 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. History After the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776, General George Washington met with members ...

from September to December 1776. He was appointed the first

register of wills Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the Western Maryland, western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown, Maryland, Hagerstown. Washington Coun ...

, in 1777, and served until September 29, 1780, when he resigned. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. He was appointed lieutenant of Washington County by the governor and Council of Maryland on December 21, 1779. Sprigg was elected as an Anti-Administration candidate to the Third Congress and reelected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

Fourth Congress 4th Congress may refer to: *4th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (1928) *4th Congress of the Philippines (1958–1961) *4th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (1906) *4th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (1961 ...

, serving from March 4, 1793, to March 3, 1797. He died in Washington County. Sprigg was an uncle of

Richard Sprigg, Jr. Richard Sprigg Jr. (17691806) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from Prince George's County, Maryland. He represented Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives and later served as a state court justice. Sprigg was born about 1769 i ...

, another Congressman.

References

1747 births 1809 deaths Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Maryland militiamen in the American Revolution People from Prince George's County, Maryland Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Sprigg family {{Maryland-politician-stub