Henry Tucker (of The Grove)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Colonel Henry Tucker (1713–1787), generally known as ''Henry Tucker of The Grove'' (in reference to his estate in Southampton Parish), was a prominent Bermudian merchant, politician and Militia officer, and was the co-conspirator with
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
of the 14 August 1775, theft of a hundred barrels of gunpowder from a magazine in St. George's for supply to the rebel army during the
American War of Independence 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 t ...
.Franklin Papers: Henry Tucker
/ref>


Early years

The Tucker family had been prominent in Bermuda since the 1616 appointment of Captain Daniel Tucker as Governor of the English colony. Before the war, he had been a Member of the Governing Council of Bermuda and an officer of the Militia, among other appointments. Colonel Tucker and other members of Bermuda's merchant elite that dominated all level of politics were primarily concerned during the American War of Independence not so much with supporting the rebellion as protecting Bermuda from economic disaster and possible starvation despite the embargo against its primary trading partners, the rebellious colonies. Following the end of hostilities, this clique remained in control of Bermuda, and suffered no reprisal for their treasonous activities. It was at this point that Tucker was promoted to Colonel, in command of all of Bermuda's Militia companies. Colonel Henry Tucker was the father of Henry Tucker (1742–1800), the President of the Council of Bermuda during and after the war. Two of his other sons, St. George Tucker (1752–1827), and
Thomas Tudor Tucker Thomas Tudor Tucker (June 25, 1745May 2, 1828) was a Bermuda-born American physician and politician representing Charleston, South Carolina. He was elected from South Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the U.S. House. He later was ...
(1745–1828), had served in rebel militias and civil government during and after the war.


See also

*
History of Bermuda Bermuda was first documented by a European in 1503 by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez. In 1609, the English Virginia Company, which had established Jamestown in Virginia two years earlier, permanently settled Bermuda in the aftermath of a h ...


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Henry Bermudian soldiers Military of Bermuda Henry Tucker 1713 births 1787 deaths Bermudian businesspeople Bermudian people of European descent