Thomas Gardner
Encyclopedia
Col. Thomas Gardner was an American
political figure and soldier.
Gardner was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. He was a descendant of Thomas Gardner of Roxbury. In 1755, he married Joanna Sparhawk, a member of one of Brighton's founding families.
Gardner, a political figure in Massachusetts
on the eve of the Revolution
, was in the forefront of those urging resistance to the King
's dissolution of the General Court in 1774, following the Boston Tea Party
. He was chosen to represent Cambridge
in the Middlesex County Convention, called to consider measures for public safety, as well as in the First and Second provincial Congresses. In May 1775 he was elected to the Revolutionary Council of Safety.
During the spring of 1775, he was commissioned a Colonel of a regiment he had organized largely at his own expense. Gardner's rapid rise to prominence ended when he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill
, in June 1775. Lingering until July 3, 1775, Gardner was the second-highest ranking American officer killed at Bunker Hill. His funeral services were attended by General George Washington
.
Places named for him include Gardner Street in Boston, Massachusetts, the Gardner Pilot Academy school, and the city of Gardner, Massachusetts
in 1785.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political figure and soldier.
Gardner was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. He was a descendant of Thomas Gardner of Roxbury. In 1755, he married Joanna Sparhawk, a member of one of Brighton's founding families.
Gardner, a political figure in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on the eve of the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, was in the forefront of those urging resistance to the King
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
's dissolution of the General Court in 1774, following the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
. He was chosen to represent Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in the Middlesex County Convention, called to consider measures for public safety, as well as in the First and Second provincial Congresses. In May 1775 he was elected to the Revolutionary Council of Safety.
During the spring of 1775, he was commissioned a Colonel of a regiment he had organized largely at his own expense. Gardner's rapid rise to prominence ended when he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
, in June 1775. Lingering until July 3, 1775, Gardner was the second-highest ranking American officer killed at Bunker Hill. His funeral services were attended by General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Places named for him include Gardner Street in Boston, Massachusetts, the Gardner Pilot Academy school, and the city of Gardner, Massachusetts
Gardner, Massachusetts
Gardner, Massachusetts is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,228 as of the 2010 census. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.-History:Named in honor of...
in 1785.