Thomas Stickney was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military officer and statesman born in Bedford, Massachusetts

Bedford, Massachusetts

Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...

 on June 15, 1729. He moved to Concord, New Hampshire

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

 as a young man with his father Jeremiah and brother William. Their house was made into a "garrison house

Blockhouse

In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...

" where others could come for protection from Indian raids. During King George's War

King George's War

King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...

, Stickney served under John Goffe

John Goffe

John Goffe was a Colonial American soldier...

 in a company of scouts (rangers). Stickney married Anna Osgood, also of Concord; they had eight children. On January 20, 1774, Thomas was promoted to Lt. Col. in the New Hampshire Militia

New Hampshire Militia

The New Hampshire Militia was first organized in March 1680, by New Hampshire Colonial President John Cutt. The King of England authorized the Provincial President to give commissions to persons who shall be best qualified for regulating and discipline of the militia. President Cutt placed Major...

 and often was moderator of the Concord town meetings.

With the start of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, Col. Stickney was appointed to the New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 Committee of Safety

Committee of Safety (American Revolution)

Many Committees of Safety were established throughout Colonial America at the start of the American Revolution. These committees started to appear in the 1760s as means to discuss the concerns of the time, and often consisted of every male adult in the community...

. In the spring of 1777, Col. Stickney was with his regiment, the 11th New Hampshire Militia Regiment

Stickney's Regiment of Militia

Stickney's Regiment of Militia, also known as the 11th New Hampshire Militia Regiment, was at Fort Ticonderoga during the spring of 1777 reinforcing the Continental Army garrison. The regiment was again called up on July 21, 1777, at Pembroke, New Hampshire for Gen. John Stark's Brigade gathering...

 at Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...

 to reinforce the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 garrison there. No sooner did they arrive back in New Hampshire than the regiment was called up to serve in Gen. John Stark

John Stark

John Stark was a New Hampshire native who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.-Early life:John Stark was born in Londonderry, New...

's brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 during the Saratoga Campaign

Saratoga campaign

The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...

. Col. Stickney led his men at the Battle of Bennington

Battle of Bennington

The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake Bennington, Vermont...

, where 2 detachments of British

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

 Gen. John Burgoyne

John Burgoyne

General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....

's army were defeated. In 1778, Col. Stickney raised men for Gen. John Sullivan

John Sullivan

John Sullivan was the third son of Irish immigrants, a United States general in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge....

 for the unsuccessful Battle of Rhode Island

Battle of Rhode Island

The Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Siege of Newport, took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of...

.

Thomas Stickney was the moderator at the New Hampshire constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 on October 31, 1783 that ratified the New Hampshire Constitution

New Hampshire Constitution

The Constitution of the State of New Hampshire is the fundamental law of the State of New Hampshire, with which all statute laws must comply. The constitution became effective June 2, 1784, when it replaced the state's constitution of 1776....

. He died on January 26, 1809 at his beloved home in Concord.