American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.

Thomas Hickey was an Irish-born soldier who served in the French and Indian War and American Revolutionary War, and was the first Continental Army soldier to be executed for "mutiny, sedition, and treachery". Born in Ireland, Thomas Hickey came to America as a British Army soldier and fought as a combat field servant to Major-general William Johnson in the French and Indian War. He later joined the Continental army when the Revolutionary War broke out, and became part of the Commander-in-Chief's 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.