William Whipple (1730-1785)
Mariner and sea captain/merchant in the Europe/West Indian/African/"Triangle Trade"; Revolutionary War leader.
Portrait by U.D. Tenney after Trumbull.
State purchase, 1893.

Whipple and his brother Joseph were part of the mercantile life of Portsmouth (NH) from 1759 to the Revolution. In 1776 Whipple was sent to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, and he signed the Declaration with the two other New Hampshire delegates, Josiah Bartlett and Matthew Thornton. Whipple served in congress until 1779, with periods off for commanding militia at Saratoga, and at Rhode Island. He was an activist, and his correspondence expresses exasperation at poor public service, lack of national spirit, and the greed and selfishness of individuals and communities. He recognized the failings of the commissary and recruiting systems. He felt it was necessary to strike hard blows against the British, emphasized importance of naval operations, and believed in taxing heavily and spreading the burden over the entire population. He had extensive correspondence with John Langdon, Josiah Bartlett, J. Lowell, and Henry E. Lee of Virginia; this correspondence was copied for posterity by Rev. Alfred Langdon Elwyn of Philadelphia.

Between 1782-1785 Whipple served as associate justice of New Hampshire Superior Court. He died early. [For further information, see Arthur Little, "William Whipple, Signer of the Declaration of Independence," in New Hampshire Historical Society Proceedings, Volume, 3 (1902); and Dumas Malone, ed., Dictionary of American Biography (New York, 1936), Volume 20.]

Location: First Floor Visitor Center Wall (Rooms 118,119)